APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCILM
EMBER CARROLL FIFE
RESOLUT
ION 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 RENEWAL,
AND GENTRIFICATION ON THE BLACK COMMUNITY IN OAKLAND
AND TO ASSESS WAYS TO REDRESS THE HARMS CAUSED
THROUGH A “BLACK NEW DEAL”; WAIVING THE COMPETITIVE
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL/QUALIFICATIONS (RFP/Q) PROCESS
PURSUANT TO OAKLAND MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 2.04.051.B;
AND WAIVING THE LOCAL/SMALL LO CAL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
(L/SLBE) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
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; ar e the largest group repr esented in the unhoused community; have the lowest perc entage of business ownership compared to other groups; are faced with loss of community schools due to closures;2 and 1 2018 Oakland Equity Indicators Report
2 Ibid; Housing Vulnerability in Oakland, CA ; Oakland 2022 Point In Time Count Unsheltered & Sheltered Report; In Oakland, Closing Schools Opens Questions About a City’s Soul
2 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
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 inform ational report from the City Administration on the impact of financing relationshi ps and housing and zoning and related municipal policies that created the Cypre ss Freeway, the 7th Street Post Office, the West Oakland BART Station and all redlined areas of Council District 3, incl uding 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 a nd 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 neig hborhoods 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 res ources to predominantly white neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, projects such as the West Oakland BART station, along with other developments, and urban renewa l led to the demolition of t housands 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 framewo rks for Black Oaklanders, it was staff’s recommendation that the City contract outside se rvices for additional research and development of impactful policies; and
WHEREAS, in February 2022, the District 3 O ffice 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
3 https://oakland.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5554637&GUID=A9D503D4-B522-4BEF- 9AA4-3E635E8CB945&Options=&Search=
3 WHEREAS, the BND seeks to improve conditi ons for Black Oakl and residents by creating targeted programs, services, and rein vestment in the follow ing six areas: housing, economics, education, arts and culture, environment, and public safety; and
WHEREAS, in response to staff recomme ndation as well as the community conversations the District 3 office has hel d, 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, ow ner and principal of BluSummers, LLC, is an Associate Professor in the UC Be rkeley Geography Department and Dr. Summers’ work focuses on Black geographies; urban ge ography; race and urban aesthetics; design, planning, and architecture; and cultural politics of difference; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Summers is a resident of Oakl and and has done extensive research on Black communities and urban spaces, race, st ructural conditions, change over time and the negative impact of racist public policies; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Summers has also been engage d in the community conversations related to the creation of a Black New Deal an d 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 negati vely 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 an y amount upon a finding that it is in the best interests of the City to do so; and
WHEREAS, the Local/Small Local Business Enterp rise (L/SLBE) Program, Ordinance No. 13647 C.M.S., requires a minim um fifty-percent (50%) partic ipation 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 th an 20% if at least one L/SLBE is certified and available; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Summers, owner and principal of BluSummers, LLC, is an Oakland resident with a home-based office in Oakland; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Summers has initiated the process of becoming a certified Local or Small Local Business Enterprise by, among other things, registering her business, BluSummers, LLC, with the City and obtaining a valid business tax certificate, and registering with iSupplier, the City’s centralized vendor database, and has not yet been certified as a Local or Small Local Business Enterprise under Oakland’s L/SLBE Program guidelines, but expects that she will become certified after she has remained fully operational and maintained a valid business tax certificate for twelve consecutive months; and
4 WHEREAS, the City Council finds and determin es, for the reasons set forth above, including Dr. Summers’s specific and extensive professional experience and prior engagement in community conversations related to the creation of a Black New Deal and Oakland-specific work on race and belonging in Oakland, that waiver of the competitive RFP/Q process and the L/SLBE Program requirements is in the City’s best interests; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that this contra ct is for services of a professional, scientific or technical nature; and that services under the contract will be temporary in nature shall not result in the loss of employment or sa lary by any person having permanent status in the competitive services; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the City Council awards a pr ofessional services contract to BluSummers, LLC for an amount not to ex ceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000) utilizing the funds designated in th e 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 co mmunity in Oakland and to asse ss 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 and L/SLBE program requirem ents, pursuant to OMC section 2.04.051(B) and Part I of Oakland’s Local and Small Local Bu siness Enterprise Progra m guidelines adopted by Ordinance No. 13647 C.M.S. and so waives the requirements; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Administrator or their designee is authorized to complete all required negotiations, execute the ag reement and take any ot her action consistent with this Resolution and its basic purpose; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the above agreement sha ll, prior to execution, be reviewed and approved by the Offi ce of the City Attorn ey 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:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
3220257v2 / SW