The Port of Oakland Turning Basin expansion, crucial to allowing mega containerships to expeditiously dock at the Port of Oakland, could be in jeopardy if the Bay Conservation and Development Commission approves the Oakland Athletics application to exclude the Howard Terminal site from its current seaport designation, according to Mike Jacob, vice president and general counsel, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA).
The proposed Oakland A’s ballpark and condominium complex requires that the current Public Priority Use (PPU) designation be removed for the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal site by the Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC).
The issue will be decided on June 30th when BCDC votes on the A’s application.
A spokeswoman for the Port of Oakland re-iterated that the Turning Basin remains a top Port of Oakland priority:
“The Port of Oakland is fully committed to the Turning Basin project moving forward. The Turning Basin is an open water area next to the Howard Property used by container ships to turn around for berthing and navigation purposes. To accommodate longer, modern ships, the Turning Basin needs to be enlarged into a portion of the Howard site. The Port’s agreement with the Oakland A’s reserves up to 10 acres of the Howard Property for the Turning Basin project.”