A’s ballpark faces another big vote

A key state agency is expected to vote Thursday on whether the Oakland A’s can move forward with their $12 billion plan to build a waterfront ballpark and surrounding development at Howard Terminal.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is expected to weigh in on whether to approve the A’s request to remove Howard Terminal’s 56 acres from port designation — an important step in their long quest to build the project.

The A’s need a two-thirds vote in their favor before they can submit a permit application to BCDC. Without a yes vote, the A’s project will die.

The A’s have proposed building a $1 billion, privately financed 35,000-seat waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal, with 3,000 residential units, up to 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, up to 270,000 square feet for retail, an indoor 3,500-seat performance center, 400 hotel rooms and up to 18 acres of publicly accessible open space.

The BCDC vote is only one of several OKs the A’s need before their project is approved. If the commission votes yes on Thursday, the A’s will still have to get approvals from the State Lands Commission and the Department of Toxic Substances and Control for site remediation, and the port for a real estate agreement.

The team also needs a final development agreement and community benefits package approved by the City Council. But the team is still negotiating with Oakland officials over the development agreement. Mayor Libby Schaaf said the unresolved issue is how to pay for necessary infrastructure upgrades.

The A’s are pushing for a council vote this year before Schaaf terms out and two council members give up their seats to campaign for mayor. If approved, the Howard Terminal project would be one of the largest developments in state history and could completely transform the Jack London Square area.

Thursday’s vote comes after a mid-June final recommendation from BCDC staff that determined Howard Terminal can be used for a new ballpark project. Howard Terminal is currently used for truck parking, storage and other ancillary uses.

BCDC staff said the A’s have demonstrated that removing Howard Terminal from port use would “not detract from the region’s capability to meet the projected growth in cargo, and has demonstrated that the cargo forecast can be met with existing terminals.”

Dave Kaval, president of the A’s, called the staff recommendation a “critical win for the project” and said a “yes” vote from BCDC would be “a really important milestone.”

BCDC’s staff determination came several months after the commission’s Seaport Advisory Committee voted narrowly against recommending using Howard Terminal for a waterfront ballpark and development project — a major setback for the A’s. Some committee members expressed concern that the port needs Howard Terminal to meet cargo demands.

The City Council is scheduled to hear a financial analysis of the project in September. Alameda County, which is deciding whether to join a tax district with the city to help fund infrastructure improvements needed for the project, is expected to get a financial analysis in July. The county has not yet scheduled a vote on joining the tax district.

In addition, three groups have filed separate lawsuits against the A’s and the city on the certification of the environmental review of the project, arguing that the analysis is insufficient.