Little Caesar's on Mac - Summary of NCPC ED/ LC negotiations

[Daniel Swafford]

WHAT HAPPENED:

As you probably remember, the Little Caesar's was slated to be nothing
more than
two pick-up windows. After our vocal community response, the planning
department
told the owner that the application would be rejected based on zoning
laws
regulating fast food restaurants. The applicant then changed the
restaurant to
double in size, include seating, and offer a full menu with diverse
entrees,
then renamed the restaurant to "Little Caesar's Dimond Kitchen."
Planning then
indicated to DIA/NCPC econ dev committee that they would approve the
application
since it was not a "fast food restaurant." We could have appealed this
decision
to the Planning Commission, but given the resources it would take
(money for the
appeal and people's time to pressure planning commissioners) and the
weaker
regulatory hurdles to justify stopping the restaurant, we instead met
with the
owner to ensure as much as possible that it would be a full-menu sit-
down
restaurant. We also had
the owner agree to a list of conditions that would mitigate many of
the
negative impacts an additional fast food restaurant would create.
These
conditions are listed below.

WHAT IT MEANS:

Obviously, this was not the ideal outcome for a lot of people - we
must make
sure that any future fast food restaurant has a much harder time
getting through
the planning department. At the same time, the basic change in the
nature of the
proposed restaurant (this is perhaps the only Little Caesar's
franchise in the
country with such a menu) and list of conditions we imposed reflect
the fact
that our community has a vision for our neighborhood. By getting
organized,
speaking out, and engaging city government, we made sure that our
vision is
respected. We reinforced our vision when a new store attempted to
open, making
sure that the approval of the store was only possible if the owner
followed
strict guidelines which ensured it would not be a convenience store.
However,
unlike the store, the promises from the Little Caesar's owner will be
more
difficult to enforce, and may require more organizing. But I want to
point out
that the owner has thus far
demonstrated good faith efforts to follow through on his promises.

THE CONDITIONS:

These conditions came from brainstorms at meetings announced on this
email list
and attempts to address the reasons why people oppose additional fast
food
restaurants in our area. Each point helps mitigate any negative
impacts. There
was also a sample menu and floor plan we reviewed with the owner.


* Business must join the Dimond Merchants Association and
maintain
membership for the duration of its tenancy.
* Business must schedule deliveries between 6 am and 8 pm,
avoiding morning
and evening rush hours. This is both to prevent disturbance to nearby
residential neighbors from delivery trucks at early or late hours and
to prevent
traffic problems at busy times.
* Business must have a written clean-up and maintenance plan for
its
property including regularly scheduled steam cleaning of sidewalks and
washing
of exterior and interior windows.
* Business must have a written graffiti removal plan.
* Business must have a written plan to prevent loitering.
* After the first three 3 years of business operation, if the
business is
profitable, employees will be paid at least 80% of Oakland's living
wage based
on the following criteria:
a) Employee is working from one year with a minimum of 25 hours per
week.
b) Employee has a satisfactory employment record with no major
violation.
c) Total labor percentage of business operation is not exceeding
21%.
* Business will attempt to hire locally, particularly local youth
and young
adults if possible and appropriate.
* Business will attempt to buy supplies from local suppliers,
wherever
possible.
* Businesses providing disposable utensils and dishware must use
biodegradable products only.
* Business must abide by City of Oakland laws and regulations
regarding the
ban on plastic carry-out and take-away bags.
* Business will donate $500-$1000 per year to local community
groups such as
Save Sausal Creek, the Dimond Improvement Association or 22X
Neighborhood Crime
Prevention Council, not including in-kind donations.
CONCLUSION:

Anyone on this email list can see that as people living in this
neighborhood, we
care deeply about its well-being - coordinating events, supporting the
library,
restoring the creek, raising money for schools or a tot lot,
addressing public
safety, removing blight and trash, or any number of other things. It
is all of
us coming together that accomplishes these goals. I simply want to
emphasize
that we need to be organized to get closer to our vision, and this
requires that
we all be engaged with multiple priorities and donate our time, even
if it's
just an hour to plant daffodils or five minutes to send an email. For
example,
in the last couple months, some folks have been trying to improve
safety at the
intersection of Boston and MacArthur, which has a bad sight line and
is often
used by seniors going from their apartments in Lincoln Court to the
bus stop. A
crosswalk has been repainted thanks largely to Pat Raburn and Richard
Cowan's
efforts, but more
is needed to slow down the cars coming from the direction of
Fruitvale. This is
just one of many efforts resulting from NCPC discussions which may
require
greater involvement by folks in order to move closer to our vision for
our
community. Stay tuned!

- Courtesy Owen Li

[KRussell]

Thank you for this posting which is interesting to read. It shows
that
effort has gone into working with Little Caesar's management to ensure
a mutually beneficial operation in Dimond. I especially appreciate
there
is a written plan for removing graffiti and the litter that is sure to
come
with fast food restaurants, as we see from McDonald's wrappers that
are dropped daily in Dimond. Kathleen Russell (22X Beautification)