CITY OF OAKLAND
MEMORANDUM
DATE: February 24, 2022TO: City Council and Members of the PublicFROM: Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, District2SUBJECT: 12th Street Remainder Sixth DDA Amendment Dear City Council Colleagues and Members of the Public, Irespectfully submit this additional informationabout the broader context surrounding the 12thStreet Remainder/LakeHouse Commons Project. I believe that Council’s decision whether or not toamend the DDA for a 6th time should take into account policy changes since the agreement wasfirst approved in 2016 and housing needs in the neighborhood and Oakland.
Public Lands Policies
● This project sparked intense debate about the use of public land in 2015 and 2016 and ledto a Council resolution on public land. On December 11, 2018,City Council adopted aPublic Lands Resolutionwhich takes steps to codifyand affirm the City’s preferredpolicy tolease, rather than sell, city property–and in cases where leasing a parcel isnot feasible, requires staff to submit written justification to Council with an analysis andexplanation of why sale is recommended over lease (Resolution No. 85324 C.M.S.).Further, our Public Lands Resolution specifies that use of City-owned parcels / propertymust prioritize addressing our housing and shelter inequities, with a focus on:○ permanently affordable projects;○ projects providing the deepest levels and highest percentages of affordability; aswell as○ 100 percent affordable projects in cases where a site is suitable for less than 300housing units. ● In 2019,California updated its Surplus Lands Act(AB 1486) to strengthenprovisions promoting the use of public land for affordable housing projects.Importantly, the updated bill, in clarifying the meaning of granting “priority” to affordablehousing proposals, requires agencies to negotiate exclusively with the entity proposing themost units at the deepest affordability. Additionally, the updated bill establishes apresumption in Housing Element law that allows residential uses on all developablepublic land where feasible, for housing in which 100% of the units qualify as affordablehousing to lower-income households; it also establishes new requirements for jurisdictionsto include public land in their Housing Element land inventory, as well as report annuallyon the development of affordable housing on surplus land. These considerations areespecially timely as Oakland currently undergoes the process ofupdating our Housing 1 Elementin the General Plan, with staff seeking feedback from Council on housing sitesand strategies to meet our RHNA goals.
Housing Requirements
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) identifies the totalnumber of homes for which each region in California must plan in order to meet the housing needsof people at all income levels. This is called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).
Source:https://oakland.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=9454543&GUID=789C3651-6DAF-4478-BC88-D724F2AECAF2 During the 2015 - 2023 RHNA period, Oakland must accommodate 14,765 new housing unitsbetween January 2015 and June 2023. We are extremely behind on our RHNA goals forlower-income housing, yet have far surpassed our goals for above moderate income housing.According toOakland’s 2020 Housing Element AnnualProgress Report:
● We’ve met nearlyDOUBLE – 174% – our RHNA allocationfor above-moderate incomehousing.● On the other hand, we have met less thanONE-QUARTER— 22% — of our goal foraffordable units.● In addition, we have already surpassed our total RHNA unit requirements (we’ve achieved15,122 of the required 14,765 units). 2 Source:https://abag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021-12/Final_RHNA_Allocation_Report_2023-2031-approved_0.pdf The new RHNA goals for 2023 - 2031, above, are even more ambitious given the great need foraffordable housing. For example, Oakland’s Very Low Income allocation is 24% of the total, versus14% for 2015-2023.
Clearly, Oakland needs to prioritize producing affordable housing, especially at very lowincome levels.
Neighborhood Demographics
● Census data- Below is census data for zipcode 94606.Source:2019: ACS 5-YearEstimates.■ Race/Ethnicity- The vast majority of residents inthe surrounding neighborhoodare people of color (73.8%).■ 17.4% Black■ 36.2% Asian■ 20.2% Hispanic or Latino■ Educational Attainment- 57.3% of residents have lessthan an associate’s orbachelor’s. 3 ■ English Proficiency/Immigration Status -■ 47.1% are not US citizens.■ 31.4% speak English less than “very well”■ Economic Characteristics -■ 21.8% in service occupations■ 43.9% of households make less than $50,000 (income in 2019 inflationadjusted dollars)■ Median household income: $56,129■ 18.5% income in the past 12 months was below FPL■ Housing Characteristics- Majority (79.6%) are renters,with nearly half (49%)rent-burdened.■ 79.6% of occupied housing units are renters■ 49% paid 1/3 or more of household income on rent. ● Displacement data■ According to theOakland Residential Instability Dashboardbuilt by StanfordUniversity’s Changing Cities Research Lab in partnership with the City ofOakland Housing and Community Development Department and the FederalReserve Bank of San Francisco,from 2000-2018, theE. 12th neighborhoodcensus tract experienced the highest level (“Intense”) of gentrification, definedby an aggregate increase in a set of socioeconomic indicators (i.e. medianhousehold income, median rent increase, median home values, andcollege-educated residents) greater than 75% of the subregion’s aggregateincrease.
Forquestionsregardingthismemo,pleasecontactCinthyaMunozRamos,ChiefofStaff,OfficeofCouncil President Nikki Fortunato Bas, at [email protected].
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________Nikki Fortunato BasCouncil President, District 2 4