OAKLAND — A developer’s 12-year-effort to build more than 900 townhomes and houses at the former Oak Knoll Naval Hospital is proceeding despite opposition from local labor unions.

The plans for SunCal’s development, which will also include 72,000 square feet of retail space, 67 acres of open space, bike and walking trails, and a restored creek, goes before the City Council in November. The Oakland Planning Commission on Oct. 18 approved the final plans for the development; SunCal officials earlier this year said they hope to get the project started in the first quarter of 2018.

Representatives from several labor unions spoke out against the development during the Oct. 18 meeting, saying more union workers should be included. Several neighbors spoke in favor of the project, saying it will benefit them.

SunCal agreed in June to hire workers from Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 304 for demolition, soil removal, land grading and similar jobs. Representatives of other labor organizations said SunCal needs to partner with unions of other trades.

“If Suncal can give the men and women working for Laborers’ 304 the respect for an agreement, they can do the same for the other crafts,” said Alameda County Building and Construction Trades Council Secretary-Treasurer Andreas Cluver. “They can respect us all and do the right thing.”

SunCal Senior Vice President David Soyka, in a statement to the Oakland Tribune, said the company has no objection to trade unions entering project labor agreements with the builders that will construct the homes at Oak Knoll.

“As a privately-held company engaging in land development, we are under no obligation but still chose to enter into a project labor agreement with a labor union that will prepare the site for vertical development,” Soyka said.

Other speakers criticized SunCal for forgoing either a development agreement or a community benefits agreement.

“Such agreements are crucial to determining the benefits and mitigations developers like SunCal can provide our community in exchange for both the additional resources the project may require and the possible negative impact the project will bring to our neighborhoods,” said Josie Camacho, executive secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council.

Yunus Marshid, who lives across from the development, said despite there not being a community benefits agreement, SunCal representatives have been in contact with members of the community and responded to their concerns.

“My feelings about this development have evolved over time as we continue conversations with SunCal,” Marshid said. “I had concerns about the traffic congestion and concerns about other things, and SunCal has been very responsive in addressing those concerns.

Neighbor Vince Nacido said the retail part of the development is much needed in that part of town.

“We live in this sort of black hole area where there’s no retail, no grocery shopping near us. We have to drive to either Montclair or San Leandro to do any kind of shopping,” Nacido said. “This development will provide all of that right across the street.”

An ongoing criticism of the project has been its lack of affordable housing. Redevelopment projects like Oak Knoll are required to set aside 15 percent of housing that’s affordable to low-income households, or pay impact fees that’ll help finance future affordable housing projects. Rather than building the affordable housing units, SunCal chose to pay $20 million in such impact fees over several years.

“It’s not often that a city gets a chance to convert almost 200 acres of idle land into a vibrant, new neighborhood,” said Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Aly Bonde. “This is an opportunity to change the game in a place that’s untapped potential we’ve been talking about for years.”