A coalition of Oakland residents and environmentalists trying to stop the expansion of the Oakland airport had their hopes dashed yesterday in court. The groups sued in December 2024, alleging the port hadn’t fully addressed all of the environmental impacts a bigger, busier airport would have on the East Bay.

In a 47-page decision, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael Markman ruled on Monday that the port had supplied “substantial evidence” to support its decision to approve an environmental impact report.

The airport plans to modernize aging facilities, add a new terminal, and increase the number of gates for more flights. Airport officials argue that this is necessary to accommodate more passengers; according to public records, the existing terminals were designed to accommodate 8-10 million annual travelers, but in 2019, that number surpassed 13 million.

Environmental groups, including Communities for a Better Environment and the Sierra Club, argued that expanding the airport will cause more air pollution and disproportionately impact Oakland neighborhoods that have long struggled with environmental problems. Some activists have also questioned the practical need to expand the airport, pointing out that passenger traffic plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to decline.

The lawsuits hinged on the claim that port officials failed to adhere to the California Environmental Quality Act. This state law requires government agencies to consider the environmental impacts of development projects. According to the plaintiffs, the port didn’t conduct an adequate health assessment to gauge how the airport project might affect the health of nearby residents.

The court disagreed.

“Petitioners’ arguments attack the Port’s decision-making and methodology as to topics that are open to reasonable debate,” Markman wrote in his decision. “The Port points to substantial evidence supporting its decision to approve the EIR.”

Opponents of the airport expansion say they aren’t done.

“We believe the project still violates the law, which is why we are likely to appeal to the higher court,” David Foecke, a member of the Stop OAK Expansion Coalition, told The Oaklandside.

Craig Simon, director of aviation at the port, said in a statement that officials are pleased that the court ruled “clearly and unequivocally” that the port fulfilled all of its legal and public health requirements with the environmental impact report.

“We look forward to continuing forward with our project development goals and ensuring that the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport will serve the needs of the Bay Area traveling public in a modern, safe and efficient manner for decades to come,” Simon said.

In March 2025, the port resolved a related dispute with the city of Alameda and a separate group of residents who were concerned about the expansion project. Officials agreed to take some steps to minimize noise and air pollution over Bay Farm Island, which is next to the airport.

Some neighbors want a more review of how expansion would impact health

Activists have argued that the port should have conducted what’s known as a health impact assessment, a type of study typically performed by a government public health department. The port conducted a different type of health study known as a human health risk assessment, which found that impacts from the project did not exceed health risk/hazard significance thresholds set by air regulators for local residents.

At a Port Commission meeting in November 2024, port staff noted that two other airports — Santa Monica and San Jose — conducted health impact assessments that showed either inconclusive results or no impacts.

Students from Skyline High School decided to fact-check port officials by filing public records requests to obtain the assessments in each of these cities. At a meeting in May, a group of those students who are affiliated with the group Youth Vs. Apocalypse showed up at a Port Commission meeting to confront staff with alleged discrepancies.

According to the students, the port did not share accurate information about the Santa Monica study.

That report found “elevated levels of ultrafine particles” and other pollutants, which are associated with lung inflammation and cancer risk. The assessment recommended eliminating or significantly decreasing the number of jets using the airport “to reduce exposure to both the byproducts of jet fuel exhaust and the loud ‘single event’ noise of jet takeoff.” It also noted that closing the airport would eliminate all health risks.

August Balquist, a Skyline student and president of the school’s Youth Vs. Apocalypse club, shared some of these findings with the commissioners at the May 14 meeting and accused port staff of lying to the port’s leaders and the public.

“Students across the bay are asking you to consider the health of the people of Oakland, and you seem to have decided that our voices and lives don’t matter,” Balquist said.

Port officials told The Oaklandside that the reference to inconclusive results or no impacts at the November 2024 meeting was about San Jose, which published a health impact assessment as part of the airport’s master plan in 2019.

“This was not a statement made regarding the Santa Monica,” said port spokesperson Kaley Skantz. “The Santa Monica HIA was not project-related; it reviewed current conditions based on airport operations/activity at the time the HIA was prepared.”