March 31, 2004

Our Neighborhood is No Fast Food Nation

Last Saturday, Oakland residents demonstrated the power of community. An ad- hoc coalition gathered a thousand signatures in opposition to the proposed conversion of the Kwik Way on Lake Park Avenue into a McDonald's franchise.

Reactions to the news that the fast food giant might move in ranged from livid to incredulous. With just over twenty-four hours' notice, more than fifty sign-carrying demonstrators, including Council Members Danny Wan and Ignacio De La Fuente, picketed the Kwik Way to make loud and clear our unwillingness to let Ronald McDonald invade our charming Grand Lake neighborhood.

Among our many concerns is that a McDonald's drive-thru would generate an enormous increase in traffic and litter. This we find especially troubling since the location is directly across the street from the recently revitalized Splash Pad Park—home of the hugely successful Saturday Farmers' Market. This community open space is the result of many years of activism by hundreds of local residents, with over a one-million-dollar investment from the city. Locating the Golden Arches within smelling distance of the park is a slap in the face to all those who worked so hard to make this vision a reality.

Other reasons for the intense opposition to a McDonald's outlet can be summed up as a feeling that the Grand Lake neighborhood is a community—in the truest sense of the word. We have all the qualities that make Oakland a unique and wonderful place to live. We enjoy racial, ethnic, and economic diversity. We are environmentalists and liberal to a fault. We are generous with our tax dollars. Even in these tough, economic times, we approve bonds to improve our schools, parks and libraries. We volunteer in our schools and for neighborhood improvement projects in astounding numbers. We have charming blocks, with a wonderful mix of vintage homes and businesses. When we go out to eat, we can choose from dozens of cuisines and point with pride to local institutions. Because we are all this and more, we have developed an incredible sense of community that demands that we respect and preserve what we have.

So, when we envision a McDonald's here, it prompts a visceral sense of revulsion—like plopping a Martian spaceship into our midst. It just doesn't belong. It represents the antithesis of everything we as a community value most.

Especially distressing is that the property owner, Alex Hahn, has shut out the community from offering input into the fate of this pivotal property at the crux of the Grand Lake and Lakeshore business districts. Mr. Hahn has been quietly negotiating with McDonald's, while for five months he has rebuffed our requests to meet with any neighborhood organization, despite Council Member Danny Wan's insistence that community input is essential.

In view of Mr. Hahn's position as an appointed member of the City of Oakland's Parks and Recreation Commission, we are especially disappointed in his unwillingness to listen to our concerns before embarking on a plan of action that enjoys no community support.

We have never questioned Mr. Hahn's right to pursue a high financial return on his investment. However, it's critically important that he recognize a responsibility to serve this community's long term interest. We should not have to pay the cost of a lowest common denominator business, with all the potential destruction that goes along with it, just to further Mr. Hahn's real estate aspirations.

Moreover, other options are available. In just the past two weeks, several prospective tenants whose concepts are much more aligned with the neighborhood have approached community leaders. We are confident that, if willing, Mr. Hahn could find a viable tenant who will serve the community's needs. Such a solution would be a win-win for both Mr. Hahn and the residents, and would continue to enhance the pedestrian friendly, commercial district revitalization that has been fostered by the Splash Pad Park Project and the expansion of the Lakeshore Business Improvement District.

At a meeting with a small number of community representatives on March 30, Mr. Hahn agreed to consider giving us more time to find viable alternatives. We hope to have the opportunity to work together. Until then, our focus will continue to be on our efforts to convince McDonald's that they are not welcome in the Grand Lake neighborhood and to pursue every legal means at our disposal to obstruct and eventually prevent what we view as a travesty being perpetrated on our community.

Bob Archibald, Grand Lake Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council

Kim Cardoso, Rose Garden Neighborhood Preservation Association

Ken Katz, Splash Pad Neighborhood Forum

Mary Ellen Nevas, Grand Lake Grime Busters

Jim Ratliff, Beat 15X Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council

Michele Simon, Center for Informed Food Choices