2023 MAY -4 PM 3: 27
O'TJ .... flLE D t . .t. OF HiE CITY CLERK
O!i.IH.ANO
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. 8 9 7 4 4 C.M.S.
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INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER CARROLL FIFE
RESOLUTION AWARDING A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT
TO BLUSUMMERS, LLC TO CONDUCT A RACIAL IMPACT
ANALYSIS FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $150,000 UTILIZING
THE FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR THAT PURPOSE IN THE FISCAL
YEAR 2022-23 MID-CYCLE BUDGET, PURSUANT TO RESOLUTION
NO. 89283 C.M.S., TO STUDY THE ON-GOING EFFECTS OF PUBLIC
POLICY DECISIONS AND ACTIONS SUCH AS REDLINING,
DISPLACEMENT THROUGH EMINENT DOMAIN, URBAN RENEW AL,
AND GENTRIFICATION ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN OAKLAND
AND TO ASSESS WAYS TO REDRESS THE HARMS CAUSED
THROUGH A "BLACK NEW DEAL"; AND WAIVING THE
COMPETITIVE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL/QUALIFICATIONS
(RFP/Q) PROCESS PURSUANT TO OAKLAND MUNICIPAL CODE
SECTION 2.04.051.B
WHEREAS, Black Oakland residents are facing a myriad of issues that negatively impact their quality of life in the City; and
WHEREAS, the median income for Black households in Oakland is nearly three times lower than that of white households; 1 and
WHEREAS, Black residents in Oakland are the most rent burdened group; are less likely to receive loans than other race groups; are the largest group represented in the unhoused community ; have the lowest percentage of business ownership compared to other groups ; .are faced with loss of community schools .due to closures ;2 and WHEREAS, displacement and gentrification have contributed to the loss of Black cultural and community spaces and have led to a steady decline of the Black population in our City ; and
1 2018 Oakland Equity Indicator s Report
2 Ibid ; Hou sing Vuln erability in Oakland , CA ; Oakland 2022 Point In Time Count Unsheltered & Sheltered Report ; In Oakland , Closin g School s Open s Que stions About a City' s Soul WHEREAS, these difficult conditions are tied to decades of racist and discriminatory policies and actions; and
WHEREAS, in May 2022, the District 3 office requested an informational report from the City Administration on the impact of financing relationships and housing and zoning and related municipal policies that created the Cypress Freeway, the 7th Street Post Office, the West Oakland BART Station and all redlined areas of Council District 3, including an analysis of displacement through eminent domain, lost wealth due to segregation, depreciated property value and gentrification; and
WHEREAS, at the June 28, 2022 Community and Economic Development Committee meeting staff presented a report that made clear that there has been an extraordinary level of extraction and dispossession from Black communities in our City and that West Oakland, as the area where Black migrants from Southern states first settled, is the epicenter of harm; 3 and WHEREAS, the report found that the redlined maps created by Home Owners Loan Corporation in the 1930s that designated neighborhoods inhabited by Black people and other minorities as "high risk" were used by the Federal Housing Administration and private lending institutions to deny mortgages and loans, directing more resources to predominantly white neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, projects such as the West Oakland BART station, along with other developments, and urban renewal led to the demolition of thousands of homes, displaced residents, and destroyed the cultural and commercial center on 7th Street and many West Oakland residents who were displaced moved to East Oakland; and WHEREAS, the industrial zoning allowed in West Oakland and the buildout of freeways in the area and the resulting toxic emissions have had a disproportionate impact on the health of the community; and
WHEREAS, while the report raised the above issues and many more and offered information on potential reparations frameworks for Black Oaklanders, it was staffs recommendation that the City contract outside services for additional research and development of impactful policies; and
WHEREAS, in February 2022, the District 3 Office hosted a Black New Deal (BND) Symposium that brought together community members, scholars, business-owners, and more in a conversation that sought to discuss the on-going impacts of structural racism on Black Oaklanders and what resourcing and creating opportunities for Black people to thrive in our City could look like; and
WHEREAS, the BND seeks to improve conditions for Black Oakland residents by creating targeted programs, services, and reinvestment in the following six areas: housing, economics, education, arts and culture, environment, and public safety; and https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5554637&GUID=A9D503D4-B522-4BEF- 9AA4-3E635E8CB945&0ptions=&Search=
2 WHEREAS, in response to staff recommendation as well as the community conversations the District 3 office has held, the Council set aside $150,000 in the FY 2022-23 mid-cycle budget, pursuant to Resolution No. 89283 C.M.S., to contract outside consulting services to build on the City's racial impact analysis work and chart a path forward by providing a framework for reparative policies, within the six areas identified in the BND; and WHEREAS, Dr. Brandi Thompson Summers, owner and principal of BluSummers, LLC, is an Associate Professor in the UC Berkeley Geography Department and Dr. Summers' work focuses on Black geographies; urban geography; race and urban aesthetics; design, planning, and architecture; and cultural politics of difference; and WHEREAS, Dr. Summers is a resident of Oakland and has done extensive research on Black communities and urban spaces, race, structural conditions, change over time and the negative impact of racist public policies; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Summers has also been engaged in the community conversations related to the creation of a Black New Deal and her current research project around race and belonging in Oakland make her uniquely qualified to conduct a study regarding the impacts of public policies and practices that have negatively impacted the Black community and ways to ameliorate the harms caused through the BND; and
WHEREAS, OMC section 2.04.040.B.4 requires the City Administrator to conduct a Formal Request for Proposals/Qualifications (RFP/Q) process for professional services contracts over $50,000, and OMC section 2.04.051.B permits the City Council or its designee to waive the RFP/Q process for contracts in any amount upon a finding that it is in the best interests of the City to do so; and
WHEREAS, the Local/Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) Program, Ordinance No. 13647 C.M.S., requires a minimum fifty-percent (50%) participation for all professional service contracts valued at or over fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) when there are at least three certified businesses listed in the industry, trade, or profession that constitutes a major category of work; and if at least three L/SLBEs are not certified, then the requirement is either waived, or the 50% requirement may be set at a percentage from 50 % to 0%, but not less than 20% if at least one L/SLBE is certified and available; and
WHEREAS, Mason Tillman Associates (MTA), a registered SLBE with the City, has agreed to be a subcontractor for the primary contract with BluSummers, LLC with 50% participation such that the L/SLBE Program requirement is met; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determines in consideration of Dr. Summers's specific and extensive professional experience, prior engagement in community conversations related to the creation of a Black New Deal, Oakland-specific work on race and belonging, and the partnership with MT A, a firm that has conducted and is currently conducting disparities related studies for the City, that waiver of the competitive RFP/Q process is in the City's best interests; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that this contract is for services of a professional, scientific or technical nature; and that services under the contract will be temporary in nature 3 shall not result in the loss of employment or salary by any person having permanent status in the competitive services; now , therefore , be it
RESOLVED: That the City Council awards a professional services contract to BluSummers , LLC for an amount not to exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000) utilizing the funds designated in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 mid-cycle budget for that purpose , pursuant to Resolution No. 89283 C.M.S., to study on-going effects of public policy decisions and actions such as redlining , displacement through eminent domain , urban renewal , and gentrification on the Black community in Oakland and to assess ways to redress the harms caused through a Black New Deal ; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That for the reasons set forth above and in the report that accompanies this Resolution ; the City Council finds that it is in the best interests of the City to waive the RFP/Q process pursuant to OMC section 2.04 .051 (B) and so waives the requirement ; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Administrator or their designee is authorized to complete all required negotiations , execute the agreement and take any other action consistent with this Resolution and its basic purpose; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the above agreement shall , prior to execution, be reviewed and approved by the Office of the City Attorney as to form and legality and, after execution , be placed on file in the Office of the City Clerk.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND , CALIFORNIA ,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE :
MAY 16 2023
A YES - FIFE , ~ KALB , KAPLAN , REID , TAYLOR , THAO AND PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS ·- -:J.-,
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4 City Clerk and Clerk o -the Council of the
City of Oakland , California