Project: Oakland Housing and Community Benefits
Date: July 16, 2015
EASTLAKE UNITED FOR JUSTICE
PUBLIC ADVOCATES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2015
Contact: Isabel Alegria, (415) 431-7434 ialegria@publicadvocates.org or Amy Vanderwarker, (510) 504-8413; amyvander@gmail.com
Bowing to Community Pressure, Oakland Invites Proposals for Affordable Housing on Lake Merritt’s E. 12th Parcel
San Francisco, CA – In a quietly issued memo dated July 14th, Oakland city officials have invited new proposals for the development of a publicly owned parcel on E. 12th St. which has been the subject of a 6-month controversy involving residents, a commercial developer and city officials over the use of public land to build a luxury apartment tower overlooking Lake Merritt. The memo makes clear that the city is heeding multiple warnings, including one from its own city attorney last February, that the process it followed to develop the parcel was in violation of the Surplus Lands Act, a state law governing the sale of publicly-owned land.
“We are very excited about the city’s decision to comply with the law and address community concerns by re-opening the process,” said Monica Garcia, who lives just two blocks from the site, and is a member of Eastlake United for Justice, a neighborhood group advocating for affordable housing in Oakland. “As we move forward we urge the city to work with the community to ensure that affordable housing is built on the E. 12th parcel, and remain true to the idea that public land should be used for the public good.”
The memo invites anyone to submit a development proposal. However, under the Surplus Lands Act the city is required to give priority to any buyers interested in building affordable housing on the site, as community groups had pointed out.
“The council has stepped up to do the right thing and we’ll be watching to make sure that they comply fully with the law this time around,” said David Zisser, staff attorney with Public Advocates. “The community made this happen through unrelenting pressure and with the law behind it.”
Zisser added that proposals for development of the site do not have to conform to the previous tower design and densities described in the city memo, especially if a different design or development type would be needed to make an affordable housing development possible.
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Eastlake United for Justice is a group of residents working for social justice who live in Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood.
Public Advocates Inc. is a non-profit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing and transit equity. For more information, see www.publicadvocates.org.
