The hidden agenda of Measure A1

The Oakland Zoo board is pouring an enormous amount of money into getting Alameda County voters to pass Measure A1, using its political and monetary muscle to defeat a grass roots effort to protect one of the few remaining open space wildlife areas in Oakland. The zoo's expensive campaign rests on a plea that these parcel tax funds are needed to care for its animals and maintain its educational programs and facilities. But its hidden agenda is an extravagantly expensive development on rich ridgeline California native habitat in Knowland Park--native grasslands and beautiful old oaks and maritiime chaparral that is home to coyotes, foxes, and many species of birds, mountain lions, and the threatened Alameda whipsnake, among others, accessible on rambling trails with spectacular views of the Bay. It is a place of natural beauty and peace, and it is open to everyone to explore and enjoy, free.

The zoo board has long had this ridgeline development project at the top of its "to do" list, rejecting a construction site down the hill near existing zoo facilities.  Despite its claims to the contrary, Measure A1 is written to provide the money for this 54-acre complex and any other project zoo management undertakes in Knowland Park.

It's necessary to read the full text of A1 to see what it really says: It explicitly includes expansion, construction, and development projects, without specificity or limitation; it states that the generally worded projects listed in the Expansion Plan that follows the full text are only examples of what the zoo can do with A1 money, that they can be changed and expanded, and that they are in no way prioritized. There is no stipulation that A1 funds  must first be used for animal care or educational programs.

Furthermore, the A1 oversight committee is a toothless tiger: there are no elected members, it is heavily weighted to favor the zoo, and it would have no access to complete financial information because zoo management is a private nonprofit not subject to California's sunshine laws. The committee's primary job of ensuring that A1 funds are used for the purposes stated is meaningless, since the stated purposes are not limited or prioritized. Without crucial limitations completely lacking in this measure, a vote for Measure A1 is a vote to destroy open space wildlife habitat in Knowland Park, forever.