Oakland City Council Gives Green Light To Controversial Zoo Expansion Plan
OAKLAND (KCBS) – A long awaited expansion plan for the Oakland Zoo was given the green light early Wednesday morning.
Plans to expand the Zoo have been floating around since 1996. Zoo officials were asking the City Council to grant eight additional acres to the previously approved 45.
It will include more than 34,000 square feet of space for a visitor center, gift shop, restaurant and administrative offices on some of the most sensitive parts of Knowland Park, which is above the Zoo.
The City Council has granted the Zoo an easement that allows for the expansion, much to the dismay of conservationists who argued the Zoo is trying to build on the exact kind of land it claims to want to protect.
"The Zoo can provide Oakland's kids with wonderful conservation education without destroying the park," said one concerned opponent.
The $61 million project could begin next year.
Proponents say it will leave 319 acres of Knowland Park untouched and that it is the only possible site for the expansion.