Advisory committee objects to Oakland A’s ballpark at Howard Terminal

A committee to protect San Francisco Bay recommended Wednesday that the Port of Oakland keep Charles P. Howard Terminal for maritime use rather than allowing the Oakland A’s to build a new ballpark there.

The Seaport Planning Advisory Committee voted 5-4-1 to recommend to the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission that Howard Terminal be maintained for Port use.

The commission is expected to vote June 2 on the same question, a vote that is necessary by law and could derail the plan to keep the A’s in Oakland.

Wednesday’s vote by the Seaport Planning Advisory Committee, whose main aim is to prevent San Francisco Bay fill, is not binding. It’s merely a recommendation.

Jim McGrath, who chaired the meeting and worked for 16 years at the Port of Oakland, said the possibility of saving 40 acres of San Francisco Bay from being filled in was important to his vote to keep Howard Terminal for maritime use.