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East 12th Street Surplus Land Campaign

About the Campaign

In Oakland, Public Advocates worked with the resident-led East 12th Street Coalition to ensure that a City-owned site along the shores of Lake Merritt is used for affordable housing, as required by the Surplus Land Act. The campaign began in 2015 and, after sustained advocacy, achieved victory when the Oakland City Council committed once and for all to creating affordable housing on this piece of public land. Co-developed by Satellite Affordable Housing Associates and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation for a total of 185 units of affordable housing, including at least 23 units reserved for formerly homeless residents.

Over the course of a decade, multiple plans for a development at this site have been tried. In 2015, the Oakland City Council agreed to sell the land to a private developer who planned to build a high-end luxury apartment complex over the objections of the community. Public Advocates assisted the East 12th Street Coalition by reminding the city that this was in violation of the Surplus Land Act, which prompted the City to open up a bidding process resulting in a promise that low-income units would be included in the development. However, those plans never came to fruition. After missing deadline after deadline and due to continued advocacy by the community, the City eventually canceled the contract and instead approved a 100% affordable project.

This victory underscores that low-income communities of color deserve the power to say how land is used and what development happens in their neighborhoods and that public resources must be used to benefit those most in need.

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