May 2022
Dear friends, family, and constituents,
Last week was a big week in legislation, some of which included authorizing a study to assess the feasibility of housing one thousand people at the North Gateway Parcel as well as scheduling a vote to lower the record high allowable rent increase currently being proposed by the City of Oakland.
On Tuesday, I introduced a resolution that the City Council approved to study the feasibility of housing one thousand individuals at the publicly-owned North Gateway Parcel located at the former Oakland Army Base. This parcel has been vacant for over a decade and I am astonished that during a declared crisis of homelessness, the City Administration has continued to say there is nothing we can do, there is nowhere to house unhoused people, and yet this site has been a possibility, and even mandated for a homelessness intervention since 2020. It leads me to wonder, what other solutions are possible that we are not aware of?
While I recognize there are concerns regarding pollution at the site as well as concerns regarding the planned development of the two recyclers, the study that was approved is meant to survey these environmental issues and development logistics so we can make informed decisions that allow us to move with urgency on issues of great need.
In Service and Solidarity,
Councilmember Carroll Fife
Items In This Newsletter
Resolution Approved To Study The Feasibility Of Housing 1000 Individuals At The North Gateway Parcel
Scheduled A Vote On The Record High Allowable Rent Increase Being Considered By Oakland
Pablo’s Alley at Frank Ogawa Plaza - Tuesdays and Thursdays
Legislation
Resolution Approved To Study The Feasibility Of Housing 1000 Individuals At The North Gateway Parcel
At the May 3rd special meeting of the Oakland City Council, the body approved a resolution I introduced directing the City Administrator to study the feasibility of establishing an emergency homeless intervention site to house one thousand individuals at the North Gateway Parcel located at the former Oakland Army Base, returning the findings to Council no later than the first Council meeting of June.
Thank you to the nearly 100+ people who emailed the City Council in support of the resolution. Many shared being appalled at the state of homelessness in the City overall, and in District 3 specifically, and urged the City Administrator to treat it as the emergency crisis that it is. And thank you to all those who called into the City Council meeting including residents currently living near Custom Alloy Scrap Sales (CASS) and California Waste Solutions (CWS) who support the temporary use of the North Gateway Parcel until CASS and CWS are ready to begin development.
The City Administration went on record for the first time saying that it has been reviewing CWS’s development plans and expects permits to be approved by the beginning of 2023. The City Administration has previously suggested an estimate of two to four years before development could realistically begin. It adds insult to injury that this parcel has been vacant for over a decade and now that the District representative is pushing to use this public land for an emergency housing intervention, is when the public is being told that CWS will soon begin development. I look forward to reviewing the findings of the report and hope it will resolve some of the discrepancies that have been shared and that it makes an honest attempt at addressing how the site could still accommodate temporary housing ahead of and concurrent to this development.
The June report is expected to be returned before the mid-cycle budget allocation which will be indicative of the City of Oakland’s commitment to finding effective solutions to the homelessness crisis.
You can read more about this issue in the press coverage by SF Chronicle, Mercury News and Fox 2.
2. Scheduled A Vote On The Record High Allowable Rent Increase Being Considered By Oakland
Ever since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase was announced, many residents and organizations have reached out to me and spoken up at City Council meetings about the hardships they will face if this allowable rent increase is not changed. We are still in a pandemic and know that many renters who applied to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) have been waitlisted and the confusing messaging around ERAP has particularly left Spanish speaking residents without financial support. We can not see this happening and continue to think that tenants can endure this record high allowable rent increase.
What is an allowable rent increase?
The City of Oakland's Rent Adjustment Ordinance allows a yearly rent increase based on the current Consumer Price Index (CPI). These annual rent increases are known as CPI increases. If you live in a rent controlled unit, your landlord may (although they can choose not to) raise your rent by this amount each year. Over the past 20 years, the average allowable rent increase was 2.4% and has never exceeded 3.6%. The 2021–22 allowable rent increase was 1.9%.
Why is it all of a sudden 6.7%?
The current rate of inflation is the highest we’ve seen since the 1980s, approximately 8.5% nationwide. This is due to the rising costs of goods, rooted somewhat in limited resources. Prices have also risen as a means of recovering losses during the pandemic and housing costs are driven by stock, but also by investors. The CPI is based on the average cost of goods in a fiscal year and assumes rising costs match equally rising wages.
Why is this increase a problem?
60% of Oakland residents are renters and 51% of renter households make less than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), reflecting an alarming condition where many renters are already rent burdened, partly due to record high costs of living and stagnating wages. A 6.7% rent increase would compound the difficult conditions that many tenants are already struggling under. Many advocates and tenants attended the May 3rd special City Council meeting to voice their concerns during Open Forum.
What can you do?
On May 31st, City Council will vote on legislation I introduced to make the annual allowable rent increase Oakland landlords can levy on tenants to be 60% of the percentage increase in the (CPI) or 3%, whichever is lower, instead of the 100% that is currently the case in Oakland.
If you support this legislation I introduced, let all of the City Council know at council@oaklandca.gov and share your point of view during Open Forum at the May 31st City Council meeting. Stay tuned for more information.
Events
3. Pablo’s Alley at Frank Ogawa Plaza - Tuesdays and Thursdays
Many more markets will be popping in District 3 over the spring and summer months!
The Market at Pablo’s Alley in Frank Ogawa Plaza began last week with Oakland Central in partnership with The Rotunda Building located at 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. The series will happen weekly in the plaza in front of the Rotunda Building on Tuesdays and Thursdays from May to August of 2022.
Tuesdays Lunch & Listen from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The lunchtime market will include live performance by AMP Oakland performers from noon to 1:00 pm. Visit the local restaurants on the plaza with seating areas to chill. On Thursdays, it’s happy hour time from 4:00 pm - 8: 00 pm. Enjoy a beer or a glass of wine from Oakland's own Howden Market as well as a live concert by AMP Oakland performers and DJ each week.
If you would like to know more about the multiple outdoor vending opportunities in District 3, please fill out the Mozaik inquiry form here.
