Oakland Vegetation Management Plan
The Vegetation Management (Plan) will cover more than 1,400 acres of City property plus treatment areas approximately 300 miles of roadside. Vegetation management activities conducted on these lands currently includes goat grazing on nine sites covering approximately 1,300 acres, vegetation clearing along 16 roadways (58 miles), monitoring for vegetation clearance along approximately 300 miles of road within the High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (16.5 square miles), and brush clearance on critical City-owned properties (~332 acres). The Plan and EIR will evaluate these and additional vegetation management practices to reduce fire hazard.
About
Overview
In May 2024, The Oakland City Council formally adopted a 10 year Vegetation Management Plan.
Adoption of the Vegetation Management Plan (VMP), which outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), is an actionable step to reduce the likelihood of a catastrophic wildfire, such as the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire.
The Council also certified the Environmental Impact Report which provided formal approval to ensure that the City follows the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA").
The Adopted Vegetation Management Plan and certified Environmental Impact Report(PDF, 29MB) can be found here.
Project Location
The Vegetation Management (Plan) covers more than 1,900 acres of City property plus treatment areas along approximately 300 miles of roadside. Vegetation management activities conducted on these lands currently includes goat grazing on nine sites covering approximately 1,300 acres, vegetation clearing along 16 roadways (58 miles), monitoring for vegetation clearance along approximately 300 miles of road within the High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (16.5 square miles), and brush clearance on critical City-owned properties (~332 acres). The Plan and EIR evaluate these and additional vegetation management practices to reduce fire hazard.
Background
Since 1923, more than a dozen major wildfires have impacted the Oakland hills, resulting in extensive damage, economic harm, and loss of life. Most notably, the 1991 Oakland/Berkeley firestorm burned over 1,500 acres, destroyed more than 3,000 homes, caused the deaths of 25 people, and injured over 150 people. Most of the Oakland hills fall within High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ), as designated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, where vegetation must be actively managed to reduce the threat and devastating effects of future wildfires. The FHSZs in the Oakland hills include areas described as the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), which are characterized by hot and dry fall seasons, high winds, dense flammable vegetation, steep and varied terrain, hill slope development, and limited accessibility for emergency responders.
Public Review and Comment Period
The City of Oakland has published the Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (Recirculated DEIR) for the Revised Draft Oakland Vegetation Management Plan (Revised Draft VMP). The EIR recirculation is due to revisions made to the Draft VMP since the prior 2020 DEIR was made available for public review. Key revisions to the Draft VMP include expanding the roadside buffer width from 30 feet to 100 where the City's focus would be to remove or thin dead or dying trees on City owned parcels adjacent to roadways in the FHSZs. This change in project activity required the City to reconsider the previous environmental analysis and findings, thus the reason for the project delay and distribution of a Revised Draft VMP and a Recirculated DEIR.
A hard copy of the Recirculated DEIR is also available for review by the public during normal operating hours at the Oakland Fire Department office at 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3354, Oakland, CA 94612. The public review period is from Wednesday, September 20, 2023 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 4, 2023. Comments on the Recirculated DEIR may be submitted in the following ways:
Email: DEIR-comments@oaklandvegmanagement.org
Mail:
Montrose Environmental
Attn: Ken Schwarz, Principal, Revised Draft VMP Recirculated DEIR Comments
1 Kaiser Plaza, Suite 340
Oakland, CA 94612
Public Meetings
In addition, the City of Oakland Planning Commission will conduct a public meeting on the Recirculated DEIR for the VMP on November 1, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.
For information about how to participate in this meeting, please visit Planning Commission Meetings.
Oakland Vegetation Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) Documents
- Second Revised Draft Vegetation Management Plan (September 2023)(PDF, 42MB)
The Second Revised Draft Vegetation Management Plan describes the actions that the Oakland Fire Department will continue to take over the 10-year Plan timeframe to reduce fire hazard on 1,924 acres of City-owned land and along 308 miles of roadway in the City of Oakland's designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
- Supplemental Notice of Availability (NOA): Notice of Extended Comment Period for the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan(PDF, 905KB)
The purpose of this Supplemental NOA is to announce that the City has extended the comment period from 45 days to 60 days to allow the public and interested parties additional time to comment on the DEIR for the VMP. The original comment period in the initial NOA was from November 24, 2020 to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 7, 2021, a total of 45 days. This comment period has now been extended to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 22, 2021.
- Corrected Notice of Availability (NOA) of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan and Notice of Public Hearing on DEIR(PDF, 895KB)
This corrected NOA corrects a typographical error in the email address for sending written comments on the DEIR. No other changes have been made to the NOA.
- Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan(PDF, 799KB)
A Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) has been prepared for the Draft Oakland Vegetation Management Plan
- Cover and Table of Contents (DEIR)(PDF, 2MB)
This is the cover and Table of Contents of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Executive Summary (DEIR)(PDF, 861KB)
This is the Executive Summary of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 1 - Introduction (DEIR)(PDF, 206KB)
This is Chapter 1 of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 2 - Project Description (DEIR)(PDF, 9MB)
This is Chapter 2 of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 3 - Environmental Setting, Impacts and Mitigations - Sections 1 to 3 (DEIR)(PDF, 10MB)
This is Chapter 3, Sections 1 to 3, of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 3 - Environmental Setting, Impacts and Mitigations - Section 4 (DEIR)(PDF, 61MB)
This is Chapter 3, Section 4, of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 3 - Environmental Setting, Impacts and Mitigations - Sections 5 to 14 (DEIR)(PDF, 17MB)
This is Chapter 3, Sections 5 to 14, of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 4 - Other Statutory Considerations (DEIR)(PDF, 194KB)
This is Chapter 4 of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 5 - Alternatives (DEIR)(PDF, 243KB)
This is Chapter 5 of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 6 - References (DEIR)(PDF, 187KB)
This is Chapter 6 of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Chapter 7 - Report Preparation (DEIR)(PDF, 98KB)
This is Chapter 7 of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report. (DEIR)
- Appendices to the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)(PDF, 94MB)
These are the Appendices to the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Report.
- Oakland Vegetation Management Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Scoping Comment Period Extension(PDF, 2MB)
The purpose of this second, supplemental NOP is to extend the comment period to allow the public and interested parties additional time to comment on the scope of the Draft EIR for the OVMP and to correct the below name and email address of Angela Robinson Piñon, the person receiving comments during the scoping period. The original comment period in the initial NOP was from Friday, November 1, 2019 to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 2, 2019, a total of 31 days. This comment period has been extended to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 12, 2019.
- Notice of Preparation of a Draft EIR for the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan - November 1, 2019(PDF, 2MB)
The Notice of Preparation announces that the City of Oakland will be preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan (Plan). The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that the "lead agency", which is the City of Oakland, host at least one "scoping meeting" on the Plan. The purpose of the scoping meeting is to hone in on what information and analysis should be included in the EIR.
- Revised Draft Oakland Vegetation Management Plan, November 1, 2019(PDF, 41MB)
This is a revised draft of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan (Plan). This document is a revision to the draft Plan released in 2018.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan - May 2018(PDF, 26MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan Appendices - May 2018(PDF, 22MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan Public Meeting Presentation - May 2018(PDF, 4MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan Fact Sheet #2 - May 2018(PDF, 8MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan Comment Card - May 2018(PDF, 297KB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan Posterboards - May 2018(PDF, 10MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan Fact Sheet #1 - May 2018(PDF, 8MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan June 2017 Overview Fact Sheet(PDF, 861KB)
As part of the Oakland Vegetation Management Plan to reduce fire hazard risk, a fact sheet has been developed to inform the public of the project's purpose and timeline.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan June 2017 Stakeholder Briefing Summary(PDF, 139KB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan March 2017 Stakeholder Briefing Presentation(PDF, 3MB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.
- Draft Vegetation Management Plan March 2017 Stakeholder Briefing Summary(PDF, 149KB)
This Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) outlines a framework for managing fuel loads and vegetation arrangements on City-owned properties and along roadways in the City's Very High Wildfire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) and acknowledges that vegetation is a dynamic component to wildfire hazard necessitating an adaptive management approach.