During its meeting on Wednesday, November 6, City Council heard a staff update on the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for a major development project at the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK) and considered a resolution to admonish Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer for behavior that allegedly violated Council’s Code of Conduct. Herrera Spencer was not present during Wednesday’s meeting.
OAK Airport expansion may generate additional flights
The Port of Oakland—which owns and operates OAK—has released the FEIR for the San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport Terminal Modernization and Development Project, which would modernize and rebuild existing terminal and cargo facilities, expand parking, and build a new passenger terminal that would result in a net addition of 16 passenger gates. Construction is proposed to begin in 2025 and continue through 2030.
According to Planning, Building, and Transportation Director Allen Tai, the FEIR failed to adequately address the City’s concerns, which were summarized in a lengthy letter and submitted to the Port of Oakland during the comment period for the Draft EIR in October 2023. City staff analysis highlights outstanding disagreements over several of the project’s analyses and assumptions over air quality and health impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and traffic generation.
Council focused primarily on one key disagreement about whether the expansion project at the Oakland Airport would generate additional flights, which many stakeholders, including City staff, voiced concerns about last year.
In a written response in the Final EIR, the Port noted that data from similar development projects at several other airports in the nation showed “no correlation between the construction of a passenger terminal building and an increase in annual enplanements at the same airport. This data shows that the passenger terminal building does not increase passenger demand at an airport.” Instead, the Port concludes that increases in the number of arrivals and departures are a function of “socioeconomic conditions” in the region or are a result of the addition of airport runways, which is not within the scope of this project.
“If you believe the airport is going to invest millions of dollars and not increase air departures, I have a lovely bridge I’d like to sell you all,” quipped Steven, a public commenter.
Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft expressed similar skepticism.
“I don’t think the airport is going to the effort, and also litigation expense, to do a name change…if they weren’t looking to attract more flights,” opined Ashcraft as she directed her comments to Port staff that she surmised may have been watching the Council meeting live. She called on the Port to work together with various stakeholders on addressing concerns over noise and greenhouse gas emissions, noting that a changing climate could hasten sea level rise and is an outcome that is “not in the Port’s best interests.”
Councilmember Malia Vella suggested that the City implement data collection on noise, pollution, and traffic to track fluctuations as the project progresses, while Vice Mayor Tony Daysog called on creating a coalition of stakeholders from around the East Bay to give concerned citizens a voice.
City staff will continue to analyze the FEIR and will meet in a closed session with Council on Tuesday, November 19, to finalize a comment letter to the Port and discuss the potential for litigation.
Resolution to admonish Herrera Spencer falters
Following the incident during which the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) found Councilmember Trish Herrera Spencer “heavily intoxicated” and on the ground in front of a bar in the early morning hours of October 18, Ashcraft and Vella drafted a resolution to admonish Herrera Spencer for her behavior, which they believe violated Council’s Code of Conduct. At the time, Herrera Spencer, along with Ashcraft and Vella, were in Long Beach representing the City of Alameda at the League of Cities Conference, which convenes civic leaders from across the country for leadership workshops and networking.
“Whenever we are sent anywhere, we are paid for by the City and the taxpayers. We are there in our official capacity and we’re representing the City,” said Vella, as she justified her decision to refer this matter to Council. “If it were a City employee engaged in this behavior, we would be asking about this employee’s ability to perform their job. We need to hold ourselves to the same standard.”
Most public commenters spoke in favor of Herrera Spencer, cautioning against misinformation and a rush to judgment with what they believed was insufficient evidence. Some wondered whether she was drugged or a victim of a crime, which Herrera Spencer’s public statement offers as a possibility. However, she has not yet filed a police report.
During Council discussion, Ashcraft and Vella denied claims that the timing of this referral around Election Day had political undertones, noting that this was the first Council meeting following the incident. Ashcraft added that Herrera Spencer has a history of attending events where Councilmembers and the public have witnessed her “imbibing,” and in one case, attempting to operate a vehicle afterwards.
But Daysog and Councilmember Tracy Jensen expressed reluctance at admonishing a fellow Councilmember. Daysog suggested that the LBPD bodycam videos and police report were not enough evidence to determine whether Herrera Spencer was intoxicated.
“My concern is not about whether Councilmember Spencer was attacked or whether she was drunk. I’m concerned about my colleague’s health,” added Jensen. “Councilmember Spencer has already suffered much in the court of public opinion, and I don’t think that a censure by members of this body will do anything other than to place blame that may or may not be warranted.”
Ashcraft clarified that the resolution was not for a censure, but for an admonishment, which is the lowest level of recognition Council can make. However, without support from a majority of Council, Ashcraft closed discussion on the item without a motion.
“I believe that all the evidence does point to public intoxication,” the Mayor stated. “It is also my first hope that our Councilmember will recover and seek help. And for those of you that want to support her, please consider those forms of support, rather than denial, which is what I have heard here.”
Ken Der is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact him via [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Ken-Der.
