The Oakland Citywide Anti-Displacement Network, represented by East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO), Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), Causa Justa :: Just Cause, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), the East 12th Coalition, and Public Advocates, is working with the City of Oakland to develop and implement a community-driven process that would lead to a policy that prioritizes public land for public good.
Starting in Fall 2015, in response to a framework outlined in the Roadmap Toward Equity and with recommendations from the Oakland Housing Cabinet, the City of Oakland began considering revisions to its public land policy. In May 2016, the City began to codify these policy recommendations. After important community responses, including a letter on behalf of 25 community-based organizations, raised questions about both the suggested policy changes and the process by which they were created, the City agreed to work with community leaders in the Citywide Network.
The goal now is to take a step back and more thoroughly engage in a process of co-listening and co-creating a policy for Oakland’s City Council by the end of Summer 2017. One part of that process entailed a Community Forum on April 1st that was hosted by the Citywide Network in East Oakland, engaging dozens of community members in identifying their priorities for public land. The community forum built on the Oakland United platform for community benefits in the redevelopment of the Coliseum area and on a community forum held on March 5th, 2016, to envision public land at the Coliseum.
Other parts of the process and resources to inform it can be found below. If you have further questions, please contact David Zisser at dzisser@publicadvocates.org.
Photo left: John Jones III, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice; Tracey Corder, Oakland Rising
Photo top right: Jahmese Myres, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy; Ty Hudson, UNITE HERE! Local 2850
Project Planning:
- Timeline for Oakland Public Land Policy
- Project management roles
- Oakland Public Land for Public Good Survey
Documents:
- Surplus Land Act checklist by Public Advocates
- Oakland Public Lands Policy Sign On Letter from Public Advocates
- Oakland Public Lands Letter to the City from EBHO
- May 31, 2016 Special CED Comm Public Lands Policy Staff Report
- The Oakland Municipal Code on Disposition of Real Property by City (Chapter 2.42)
- The City of Oakland’s map and considerations about public land
Helpful resources:
- Oakland Maps
- Roadmap Toward Equity (Page 30 is about public land)
- Oakland At Home – Housing Cabinet recommendations (Page 31 is about public land)
- Select best practices:
- San Francisco: Link to Draft Principles used to consider the City’s plus select other public land in the city
- Pittsburgh: A public process now underway for handling the city’s unproductive land
- Seattle: Seattle Housing and Livablilty Agenda (public land on page 19)
