Equitable Development Watch: October 21, 2002

Equitable Development Watch is an effort to provide concise information regarding recent and upcoming events related to economic development in Oakland. Items in this update include:

On October 8, the City Council approved a four month Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with Camden Development, Inc. to explore the development of approximately 480 new housing units on the City Center T-10 site (bounded by 13th Street, 14th Street, Jefferson Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way ). Camden 's initial design calls for a 36-story tower, 4-story townhouses, 10,000 square feet of retail and 700 parking spaces. It would be entirely financed by Camden with a projected cost of $120 million. The Camden proposal was rated first by Planning and Redevelopment staff out of six received by August 23, 2002. Only one project submitted included affordable housing units. The proposal, submitted by BayRock Residential LLC, called for at least 300 units, with 30 units affordable at 30% of area median income and 90 units affordable at 60% or area median income. Financing for the BayRock proposed a bond/tax credit.

On October 15, the City Council voted to enter an Owner Participation Agreement (OPA) with Telegraph Gateway II, LLC to development a market rate housing project at 24th and Telegraph. The proposed project includes 100 market rate units, 6,500 square feet or retail and on-site parking. The developer is asking for assistance in acquiring six parcels needed to assemble the site. Under the OPA, the Oakland Redevelopment Agency could elect to help the developer acquire the sites by purchasing the properties, using various methods up to and including eminent domain. According to the proposed resolution, the project is expected to "contribute approximately $16 million in new construction; generate $182,400 per year in tax increment revenue... remove a blighted structure... and support and catalyze further development in the Central District."

LAND TRUST TO BE DISCUSSED OCTOBER 22

On October 22, the City Council is expected to take up implementation of the Oakland Community Land Trust program. Community Land Trust (CLTs) typically partner with non-profit developers to build affordable housing. People who buy homes on CLT land purchase the structure, not the land, thereby lowering cost and maintaining affordability for the future. In the past few months, a number of area CLTs and stakeholders have come together to form the Oakland City-wide Community Land Trust (OCCLT). In August, an interim nine-person board was selected. The permanent board is to be comprised of 1/3 community members, 1/3 residents and 1/3 technical assistance providers. Under the current proposal, the OCCLT will be eligible to receive developments loans of up to $100,000 per unit from the $5,000,000 Community Land Trust program fund.

The Planning Commission is expected to vote on approval of the Leona Quarry development on October 23, enabling a possible Council vote sometime in November. The Commission held a public hearing on October 2 to seek input on the proposed 477 unit development for the former 128-acre Leona Quarry just east of the Edwards Avenue exit off I-580. The market rate project includes 19 single family lots with access from Campus Drive, 423 multiple family townhomes in the lower portion of the site with access from Edwards Avenue and a 54-unit senior housing project in a single building at the base of Edwards Avenue. The project has faced community opposition and may be put in limbo due to fear of downstream flooding. To control flooding, the project developer, DeSilva Group of Dublin, intends to build a 14-acre-foot pond as well as regrade and replant other areas. The Oakland Tribune speculates that DeSilva Group is attempting to fast track the project because it currently has enough votes for City Council approval, but may not when new council members take office next year.

On October 22, the Community and Economic Development Committee will be reviewing the preliminary designs offered by Forest City Residential West, Inc. for the Uptown Site. The City Council is expected to review the plans on November 12. The latest proposal calls for approximately 1,000 residential units, 27,500 square feet of retail, a 25,000 square foot park and 1,140 off-street parking spaces at the “Uptown Site,” an area bounded by 19th Street, 20th Street, Telegraph and San Pablo Avenue, as well as a 2-acre area behind the Fox Theater. On August 7, the City and Forest City entered into a third one-year exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) for developing the site, seen by many as a potential catalyst for the Uptown area. The site had also been seen as a possible location for a downtown baseball park.

In its October meeting, the West Oakland Project Area Committee (PAC) heard a presentation from City staff on the relationship between Oakland 's General Plan and redevelopment. In November, the PAC will address affordable housing and other housing issues. The full PAC will meet again at 6:30 PM, November 13, at the West Oakland Senior Center - 1724 Adeline St. For further information, please contact David Ralston at the Community and Economic Development Agency, (510) 238-2970.

At its October meeting, the Central City East Project Area Committee (PAC) elected Sheryl Walton as its Chair and Carol Urzi as Vice-Chair. It continued work on a community outreach plan, which will be particularly active in October and November (see below). The PAC also decided that tax increment funds raised in the redevelopment area should be pooled together, rather than remaining within subdistricts or divided on other criteria. In November, Urban Strategies Council will be making a presentation to the PAC regarding the potential community benefits of equitable redevelopment. The Central City East redevelopment area will be Oakland 's largest, including over 90,000 residents and stretching from just east of Lake Merritt to 106th Ave in East Oakland. The next full PAC meeting will be November 4, from 7:00-8:30 PM in the Patten College activity room, 2443 Coolidge Ave. PAC community outreach meetings will be from 6:30-8:30. Those addressing housing and use of eminent domain will meet October 24 (Patten College), 28 (City Hall Hearing Room 2), 29 (Horace Mann Elementary) and 30 ( Elmhurst Middle School ). Meetings addressing redevelopment programs will be held November 13 (Horace Mann Elementary), 14 ( Elmhurst Middle School ), 20 (City Hall Hearing Room 4) and 21 ( Hawthorne Elementary School ). Contact Theresa Navarro at the Community and Economic Development Agency, (510) 238-6250, for agenda and other public information or visit our website at www.urbanstrategies.org.

In September, the City Council authorized the negotiation and sale of property on Martin Luther King Jr. Way to Paul Wang Enterprises for the development of a manufactured home that would be affordable to a low-income household. The home is to be part of a demonstration of affordable housing options during the upcoming strategies conference hosted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development in December (see Upcoming Events and Conferences below). In exchange for receiving the property at no cost, Paul Wang Enterprises agreed to sell the property to a household whose income does not exceed eighty percent of the area median income ($53,850 for a family of four).

A number of the state and city measures on the November 5 ballot could lead to funds and policies addressing equitable development concerns. State Proposition 46, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2002, permits the state to sell $2.1 billion in general obligation bonds to support various housing programs. Oakland Measure DD, the Oakland Trust for Clean Water, Safe Parks, calls for the City of Oakland to issue $198,250,000 in bonds for a variety of projects, including a clean up of Lake Merritt, preservation and acquisition of open space and renovation of parks. Oakland Measure EE, “ Just Cause" Eviction, provides an ordinance that landlords may evict a tenant only for specified reasons. For more information about these and other ballot measures, see http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/elections_viguide.htm or http://www.calvoter.org/2002/.

November 17-19,Promoting Regional Equity: A National Summit on Equitable Development, Social Justice and Smart Growth, held in Los Angeles, will feature leading practioners and national experts who are building more equitable and inclusive neighborhoods and regions. For an agenda, list of workshops and speakers, and registration information, visit the PolicyLink wesbite at www.policylink.org/Events/Summit2002/.

December 9-10,Strategic Development: Unleashing the Power of People and Places, held at the Oakland Marriott Center Hotel, hosted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development and California Housing Finance Agency. Topics include California 's housing market, strategies for housing supply and affordability, project profiles, transit-oriented, mixed use, infill and sustainable development. The first day features tours of Oakland and other Bay area neighborhoods. For more information, visit www.rce.csus.edu/cts/ca_housing/index.htm.

Editor: Jeff Abramson
Urban Strategies Council
672 Thirteenth Street
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 893-2404 * Fax (510) 893-6657

We welcome your comments and contributions. If you have an item of interest, please send it to the editor (email, mail or fax).

EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT WATCH

October 21, 2002
Volume 1, issue 3

EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT WATCH

October 21, 2002 Volume 1, issue 3

October 21, 2002
Volume 1, issue 3