History of RCPC
1985: RCPC Officially Becomes a Nonprofit
The Rockridge of the ’70s and ’80s looked very different from what it does today. The neighborhood had just lost hundreds of homes due to the construction of BART and Highway 24; many College Avenue businesses were boarded up, and several now-treasured spots, like Market Hall, were vacant lots. Our housing crisis — and the street homelessness exacerbated by it — were essentially non-existent. Home prices were far lower than they are today, and far more proportional to the average salary. RCPC was instrumental in opposing high-density housing Rockridge District, from front page around BART in an effort to “maintain the neighborhood's character” and recover from the installation of the highway and BART.
1986: First Edition of The Rockridge News is Published
Don Kinkead founded this treasured publication, which is hand-delivered by volunteer Block Captains to more than 6,000 residents and businesses within RCPC’s boundaries. The newsletter has grown from one to 16 pages, and began publishing in color last year due to the efforts of its former editor, Anna Marks, who took over from Don in 2019. “The original and continuing purposes of the newsletter are to provide a source of neighborhood information, a platform for community comment, and a sense of place,” said Kinkead in a 2016 interview with the East Bay Times. Look for the full story when we acknowledge the newsletter’s 40th anniversary in early 2026; we’ll also gather the community to recognize its team and volunteers.
1990: First Rockridge Halloween Parade
This fabulous event invites children to trick-or-treat along the avenue, paired with fun children’s activities. The Halloween Parade has been an annual tradition, canceled only due to smoky conditions in 2019 and the pandemic in 2020. Due to the event’s popularity — and the number of families, strollers, and bikes that participate — the 2025 event will be the biggest one yet with more space closed off to gather and provide seating to enjoy food from College Avenue restaurants.
1992–1998: Rockridge Area Specific Plan (RASP)
In partnership with the City of Oakland and the architectural firm they hired, RCPC engaged hundreds of residents, appointed representatives to the Steering Committee, and later implemented countless initiatives identified in the plan. The goals included a pedestrian-friendly and vibrant business district; expansion of open space and streetscape; improvements to transportation; and encouragement of “measured development.”
1992–2002: Creation of Frog Park
Frog Park was born of the need for a children’s play area within walking distance of Rockridge, when every children’s park was a drive or bus ride away. It was not easy to find a space for a new park in this dense neighborhood, and the master plan to create a greenbelt along the spine of Temescal Creek brought the community together. “The Big Build in October 2001 was a true triumph of community, with more than 1,300 volunteers building the two wooden play structures in ten amazing days. The Friends of the Rockridge-Temescal Greenbelt (FROG) managed the whole process and fundraising, which continues today, decades later, to help improve and maintain the park as a community asset for all to enjoy.” — Theresa Nelson, former RCPC Chair.
1987–1996: 4th Bore Negotiations and Community Benefits
RCPC advocated for the needs of Rockridge residents when CalTrans proposed expanding the Caldicott Tunnel. Through the work of the Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore Coalition, the neighborhood gained significant community benefits, including improvements to Chabot Elementary (located just below the tunnel), traffic mitigation projects, park improvements, and more.
1987–1996: Rockridge Builds a Library
As noted in an early The Rockridge News article by former board member Annette Floystrup: “In 1987, the City was forced to close the Rockridge Branch Library because the building needed extensive structural repairs. RCPC formed a Library Committee to find a temporary home, which was located in a 1,000-square-foot portable at Claremont Middle School. Neighbors for a Rockridge Library, led by Nancy Dutcher, became the official fundraising and advocacy group, with RCPC acting as fiscal agent.
To help finance a permanent Rockridge library, neighbors and merchants proposed a special assessment district that would levy an annual tax of $25 per living unit on each residential parcel within designated boundaries for 30 years. In 1990, Rockridge voters approved Measure L with 81.6 percent of the vote — far surpassing the required two-thirds majority. Rockridge residents also led extensive fundraising efforts and solicited individual donations to purchase books and a DVD collection.
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The doors officially opened on August 3, 1996, with a well-attended Grand Opening and Dedication Ceremony, during which California State Librarian Kevin Starr said, “Rockridge is the only community in the nation to finance and drive to completion the building of a local library,”
“I have loved almost every minute of the nine years I’ve been involved in the long, sometimes circuitous, sometimes frustrating journey we have traveled together in our determined effort to build a new library… These years have truly been one of the high points of my life.” — Nancy Dutcher, The Rockridge News, October 1986
1995: The First Rockridge Kitchen Tour
The Kitchen Tour, created by then RCPC Board Member, Susan Montauk, has always served as the major fundraiser for RCPC’s operations and community projects. Anyone who has attended the tour knows it’s so much more — it’s a fabulous opportunity to connect with neighbors and share the history of our homes and our neighborhood. Tour attendees also get to meet the designers who bring these kitchens to life. The Kitchen Tour has been held every other year since 1995 (except for 2021 when it was postponed a year due to the pandemic).
1995–2009: SCoR (Schools Committee of Rockridge)
SCoR was established in January 1996 to forge stronger links between the neighborhood and its public schools. Representatives from all of our local schools — Chabot and Peralta Elementaries, Claremont Middle School, Oakland Technical High School, and Far West (an alternative arts high school, now closed) — met monthly to share news and collaborate on community projects. This committee conceived the first-ever Rockridge Career Day.
“On May 6, 1998, in partnership with the Rockridge Area Merchants and Professional Association, 76 students from Oakland Tech interned for a day at College Avenue shops. In later years, students from Claremont Middle School conducted interviews with shop owners.” — Susan Montauk, RCPC Board Member, 1994-2008.
1996: RCPC Launches Rockridge.org
2009–2012: Advocating for Community Benefits for College/Claremont Safeway Project
RCPC and two neighborhood groups participated in extensive negotiations with Safeway over the design and potential impacts associated with the store’s expansion. A negotiated agreement led to a redesign that moved public parking to the top of the store, included additional traffic mitigation efforts in the surrounding area, and created the outdoor public plaza — now a vital community space in the neighborhood. Safeway would not have agreed to these revisions were it not for the multi-year commitment by RCPC and the other groups to monitor the proposed redesign.
2013–2014: Retail Survey and Focus on Crime Prevention
“When I served on the RCPC, we organized events to help the neighborhood improve public safety and conducted a survey of local commercial activity in response to concerns about vacancies on College Avenue.” — Zabrae Valentine, RCPC Chair, 2013–2015.
(Author’s note: In 2015, one of the most desired retail stores opened on College Avenue: Cole Hardware. Don Kinkead and other community member were instrumental in bringing this wonderful addition to the neighborhood.)
2022: Defeating a Proposed Home Depot at 51st/Broadway
In partnership with two other local organizations, RCPC opposed the Home Depot project and advocated for housing at the long-vacant and often blighted site. More than 100 residents and Councilmember Dan Kalb held a rally with signs that read, “No to Home Depot. Yes to Housing.”
2023: RCPC Supports Upzoning
The Board advocated for increased housing density along College Avenue and urged the City to include several neighborhood sites in its Housing Element Site List — such as the Claremont and College “vacant triangle,” the lot at 51st and Broadway, the BART parking lot, and the old Red Cross building on Claremont Avenue.
2024: Public Art Commissioned
RCPC used proceeds from the Kitchen Tour to hire longtime Rockridge resident Eileen Fitz-Faulkner to create mosaic tile artwork on three city-owned trash cans — two on College and one at Frog Park. We plan to expand this project to the trash cans at both BART entrances, in collaboration with local students. Contact chair@rockridge.org.
2025: Community Vision Plan
In early 2025, RCPC led a number of engagement meetings to solicit feedback about how residents wanted the neighborhood to grow and change. Ideas were collected around five main areas: Sustainability/Resilience, Housing, Transportation, Commercial/Community, and Green/Open Space. Residents are encouraged to weigh in on the draft plan this fall prior to its adoption. Thank you to the hundreds of residents who have engaged thus far.