While the plans for a seven-story Oakland development with 225 apartments over 23,000 square feet of retail space at 2400 Valdez Street were granted a key neighborhood plan-based exemption from having to complete a project specific environmental review in March, an appeal of the exemption has been filed.

Leading the charge is an unincorporated association of individuals and labor organizations dubbed “Oakland Residents for Responsible Development.” The group claims to have “identified several flaws in the Project analysis as well as new information regarding new or more severe impacts than previously analyzed” in Oakland’s Broadway Valdez District Specific Plan, an approved plan which allows the City to grant projects an exemption from having to complete an individual Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

And while the appeal was likely filed as leverage for labor negotiations, versus out of concern for enforcing the State’s environmental laws, if successful, it could result in significant delays and added expense, not only for the 2400 Valdez project but for others developments within Oakland’s Broadway Valdez District as well.

The Hanover Company had been planning to break ground for the two-year project as early as July.