Comprised of neighborhood residents, city and county officials, and local businesses, the West Oakland Community Action Plan (WOCAP) Steering Committee oversees and advises on implementation of the Owning Our Air community action plan.
Next meeting
Wed, Feb 5 • 6-8 pm • on Zoom
February WOCAP Steering Committee Meeting
Join WOEIP and BAAQMD to see what’s on deck for WOCAP, the West Oakland Community Action Plan, in 2025.
November Recap
Over 100 community members, partners, and friends joined us at Celebrating WOCAP: Building on the First Five Years. Attendees connected with the agency staff and partner organizations responsible for carrying out WOCAP: they learned how an air monitor works with Sonoma Technology, tested their jewelry for lead with the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and more.
We heard from special speakers Veronica Eady (Resources Legacy Fund), Davida Herzl (Aclima), and Paul Cort (Earthjustice). All three have been pivotal to WOCAP’s progress so far, and we were so moved by their reflections on this historic process.
Our progress is measurable
The biggest news from our celebration: five years into the West Oakland Community Action Plan, we’re seeing real reductions in toxic emissions and exposure, and more investment in West Oakland’s future. Here are a few highlights from our 5-year progress report:
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) has spent $51 million on emissions reduction-related projects.
- Diesel particulate matter is down.
- Cancer risk-weighted emissions are down.
- Enforcement is up.
About the committee
The WOCAP Steering Committee is comprised of neighborhood residents, independent technical advisors, city and county officials, and local business representatives. The committee has quarterly meetings open to the public.
Community
Rev. Ambrose Carroll
Resident/Green the Church
Alvirdia Owens
Resident
Robert Phillips
West Oakland Health Center
Leila Yasmin Saddat
West Oakland Health Center
Nonprofit and
technical Advisors
Richard Grow
Resident (US EPA, retired)
Brent Bucknam
Hyphae Labs/Urban Biofilter
David Wooley
UC Berkeley
Local business
Bill Aboudi
AB Trucking
Government
Laura Arreola
Alt: Amy Tharpe
Port of Oakland
Khalilha Haynes
City of Oakland
Matt Hoeft
EBMUD
Soni Johnson
Alameda County
Kevin Krewson
Caltrans
Tram Nguyen
Alt: Adriana Alvarado
Alameda County Public Health
Cathy DeLuca
Alt: Colin Piethe and Celina Chan
Oakland Dept. of Transportation
Lily Wu
CalEPA
Get involved!
Anyone can attend the monthly Steering Committee meeting! If you’d like to get more involved, joining the Steering Committee as a voting member is a wonderful opportunity for West Oakland residents and advocates to learn more and influence the fight for environmental justice in West Oakland. Email us to learn more.
Meetings & documents
Outreach Documents
Steering Committee members are encouraged to use the following documents when engaging with the public about WOCAP.
2024
October 2, 2024
At this steering committee members-only working session, we heard from partners at Hyphae Design Lab about our Prescott Greening project. We have a plan to add trees and greenery to the “immediately plantable” areas of Frontage Road (where we wouldn’t have to make major changes to add plants). We also got updates on the Civil Protection of the People of Oakland Ordinance (OMC Ch. 1.10) from the City Attorney’s Office.
Meeting documents:
- Meeting slides (PDF)
September 4, 2024
August 7, 2024
At this steering committee members-only working session, we revisited WOCAP’s original description of the West Oakland community. We looked at new health data and considered what changes this description needs 5 years later.
Meeting documents:
- Meeting slides (PDF)
July 25, 2024
At this steering committee members-only working session, we continued to refine WOCAP strategies that have yet to make significant progress, so they’re more actionable.
June 5, 2024
Meeting documents:
- Proposed WOCAP strategy revisions (PDF)
- Meeting agenda (PDF)
- Meeting slides (PDF)
May 1, 2024
At this steering committee members-only working session, we did a deep dive on the West Oakland Air Quality (WOAQ) monitoring network. We explored the types of monitors the network uses, went over preliminary data results, and explored potential new sites we could include in the network.
Meeting documents:
- Meeting slides (PDF)
April 3, 2024
At this steering committee members-only working session, we brainstormed how we can encourage people to report potential violations so more West Oakland residents can take action against illegal polluting. We also discussed our plan for our five-year progress report.
Meeting documents:
- Meeting slides (PDF)
March 6, 2024
At this steering committee members-only working session, we went over how to use the WOCAP tracker to see how our strategies are making progress. We also got updates from some of our partners, including BAAQMD (Bay Area Air Quality Management District), the Port of Oakland, and the City of Oakland.
Meeting documents:
- Meeting slides (PDF)
February 7, 2024
Meeting documents:
- Meeting agenda (PDF)
- Meeting slides (PDF)
- Breakout discussion notes (Miro board)
Resources shared during the meeting:
- Frontage Road Study conducted by the City and Port of Oakland
2023
There was no meeting in Jan, Feb, July, and Nov of 2023.
December 7, 2023
Driving rain and early sunsets couldn’t keep people away from our first in-person WOCAP gathering since the pandemic. Nearly 150 people showed up to participate in our end-of-year celebration of the West Oakland Community Action Plan. We were deeply inspired by keynote speaker Christina Garcia, co-author of the AB617 legislation that sparked the West Oakland Community Action Plan, and her fight to set a new bar for community self-determination in air policy development.
We heard over and over again from attendees how much people enjoyed interacting with the many partner organizations and agency staff who we’ve collaborated with over the past several years of WOCAP work. It was a joy to share the work—and each others’ company.
October 4, 2023
September 6, 2023
Documents and resources
- Agenda (PDF) and meeting slides (PDF)
- Environmental Enforcement Cheat Sheet (PDF)
- WOEIP’s Schnitzer backgrounder and community impact survey
- Outline of CARB’s enforcement process ↗️ and it’s latest Truck Inspection Summary (PDF)
August 2, 2023
Documents and resources
- Agenda and meeting slides
- WOCAP Glossary
- List of WOCAP strategies on woeip.org (view on desktop to filter by topic)
- Strategy Updates Cheat Sheet
- Strategies Update Q2 2023 spreadsheet
June 7, 2023
Documents and resources
- Agenda and meeting slides
- Oakland General Plan: Environmental Justice Element documents
May 3, 2023
Documents and resources
- Agenda and meeting slides
- Oakland General Plan: Environmental Justice Element documents
- Environmental enforcement cheat sheet
Action items for Steering Committee members
- Steering Committee members have until Sunday, May 7 to provide final feedback on the Draft Planning Code Amendments Related to WOCAP Strategies comments that will be submitted to the City on the Steering Committee’s behalf. Please submit your feedback to Alicia Parker (aparker@baaqmd.gov).
- We will continue to discuss the WOCAP/air quality related policies at the June meeting. If you want to help us design June’s discussion/activity, please reach out to Beth Altshuler Munoz (BethAltMunoz@gmail.com).
April 5, 2023
March 1, 2023
2022
There was no meeting in August 2022
Dec. 7, 2022
Nov 2, 2022
Due to technical difficulties, this meeting’s recording is not available.
Documents
- Slides
- Meeting minutes
- Residential Electrification 101 presentation slides