A resolution to establish an Uptown Arts District in Oakland goes before the city's Life Enrichment Committee meeting next month after a year-long campaign by local community members.

The proposed resolution, which was first drafted by the Uptown Arts Community last October, would designate the area bounded by Broadway, Telegraph, Grand avenues and 27th Street as the Uptown Arts District, making it the second cultural district in the city, after the Black Arts Movement Business District downtown.

“It’s been a long hard year of volunteer work, and we’re down to the final resolution,” said Lonnie Lee, owner of uptown Oakland’s Vessel Gallery and one of the main advocates of the resolution. "This is a tremendous amount of heart and soul and attention to keep Oakland and its artistic community alive."

The resolution seeks to not only designate a name to the specific area (which was first recognized in a survey by the California Arts Council), but also include the district into the city’s Downtown Specific Area Plan and ensure that new development in the area would not only respect the area's specific light industrial-commercial zoning, but also engage with all community members about new developments in the area.

“With all this development on the horizon, we wanted to make sure there’s placemaking for art to continue,” Lee said.