Community Spotlight: City of Oakley

Photos courtesy of the City of Oakley

CAMS Quarterly | Fall 2021
By: Harumi Murata, Economic Development Analyst, City of Oakley

Officially incorporated on July 1, 1999, Oakley is the 11th newest city in the state of California. Located beyond the extensive San Francisco Bay, the area was historically known as a railroad town along the Santa Fe railroad line and became San Francisco’s easternmost frontier for agricultural production in 1960s. Today, Oakley has blossomed into a growing suburban community of planned business and commercial development, landscaped parks, shopping centers, and an abundant leisure opportunities, including an abundance of excellent fishing and recreational boating opportunities along the Delta.

Oakley’s residents enjoy a progressive community that is rich in history, supports strong family values, and offers a high quality of life. The City’s leadership is working to maintain Oakley’s small town character while strongly encouraging the development of new industries to employ the growing local workforce.  

Oakley Downtown Specific Plan

The community began downtown revitalization planning in the early 90’s while an unincorporated part of Contra Costa County. In 1996, the County adopted the Old Town Oakley Specific Plan. Following incorporation, the community revisited major recommendations from this earlier effort as part of the Oakley Downtown Design & Development Plan process. In the early 2000s, under the direction of the Downtown Task Force, the Downtown Specific Plan was developed to review downtown revitalization to encourage walkability and spur economic investment in a pedestrian-oriented downtown.

Downtown Oakley overlaps an older at-grade portion of Highway 4, which was relinquished to the City and is known Main Street, and borders the active San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority rail line. The initial phase of the construction project has helped transform a wide, vehicle-dominated strip of the road into a more cloistered and walkable street that incorporates rain gardens, bike paths, unique paving along the retail strip, custom rammed-earth walls for seating, and other seating areas. Oakley has completed the renovation of Oakley Plaza to include landscaped medians, additional lighting, 130 new parking spots, and other improvements while several formerly empty storefronts host shops and services. Landowners of adjacent properties have similarly rebuilt their storefronts to attract tenants. In 2017, the city launched a series of improvements to the Main Street corridor, including widening Main Street as well as installing a traffic signal, adding sidewalks, safety medians, and landscaping to Fifth Street.

Downtown Revitalization Loan Program

Oakley has partnered with the private sector to make a substantial financial commitment to the downtown corridor with the development of the Civic Center Plaza, the Oakley Plaza, and neighboring commercial uses. This program encourages the downtown business partners to improve the physical appearance of the buildings, helps small businesses thrive, and creates a vibrant and safe neighborhood commercial corridor. 

Downtown Oakley Entrepreneur Center and Entrepreneur Development Program

To strengthen the city’s small business and entrepreneur community as well as to encourage their growth and expansion, the City opened the Entrepreneur Center in the heart of downtown Main Street, across from Civic Center Plaza, in 2019. The Center supports the incubation of small businesses by providing offices, conference rooms, and co-working spaces, and hosting entrepreneurial programs and business events.

Together with the California Main Street Program, Oakley is thrilled to continue achieving Main Street’s revitalization that will enhance its unique qualities, enrich the sense of community and elevate the economic vitality.