TO
:
AGENDA REPORT
S
UBJECT:
City Administrator Approval
Jestin Johnson (Mar 13, 2026 06:28:23 PDT)
Date: Mar 13, 2026
RE
COMMENDATION
S
taff Recommends That The City Council Adopt An Ordinance (1) Authorizing The City Administrator To Negotiate And Execute A License Agreement With The Nonprofit Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation For The Tyrone Carney Park At 10501 Acalanes Dr, Oakland, For A License Fee Of Zero Dollars ($0.00) For A Term Of Two Years With Five One-Year Options To Extend For Maintenance And Workforce Training; (2) Making Findings That The Below Market License Fee Is In The City's Best Interest; And (3) Making California Environmental Quality Act Findings.
EXEC
UTIVE SUMMARY
As part of the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program administered through the City Administrator’s Office, this proposed Ordinance would authorize the City of Oakland (City) to execute a license agreement (Agreement) with Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation (OPRF), a trusted and long-time City non-profit partner, to maintain and oversee programing at the TCC - funded and newly-renovated Tyrone Carney Park in East Oakland. Tyrone Carney Park has been shuttered since 2002. Grassroots organizing in the East Oakland community, alongside funding from the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Strategic Growth Council via the TCC program, allowed the City to rebuild the park. OPW expects construction to conclude in April 2026. The Agreement would: reduce maintenance costs for the City; provide ongoing, community- led stewardship of a beloved neighborhood gathering space; and provide OPRF with the certainty needed to continue fundraising and building partnerships to make further investments in the park.
Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Shayna Hirshfield-Gold
City Administrator Acting Sustainability
Director, SRD
Myka Hammock
Director, OPRYD
License of Tyrone Carney Park to
Oakland Parks and Recreation
Foundation
DATE: February 27, 2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 2
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Tyrone Carney Park is a half -acre park and playground located at 10501 Acalanes Drive in the Sobrante Park neighborhood of East Oakland. Originally constructed in 1968, the park was named in honor of Tyrone Carney, a local resident and Vietnam War veteran. The park was closed in 2002. In 2017, community members from the East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative (EONI) collaborated to create a vision for improving quality of life in East Oakland. One of the top priorities identified was the reopening and revitalization of neighborhood parks.
The EONI planning process paved the way for the Better Neighborhoods, Same Neighbors (BNSN) Program, funded through the California Strategic Growth Council’s TCC program, through the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation by the Budget Act of 2019 (AB 74; Section 2). The project area is in deep East Oakland (Zip Codes 94603 and 94621). The original $28.2 million BNSN Agreement launched in 2020 with Resolution No. 88352 C.M.S..
The BNSN project is to rebuild, reopen, and establish a novel approach for community stewardship of Tyrone Carney Park. TCC funding complements a $2.5 million grant from the California Natural Resources Agency for park renovation, which the City accepted pursuant to Resolution No. 87823 C.M.S..
TCC funding will support the Sobrante Park Resident Action Council (SPRAC), EONI, and OPRF to develop a Community Stewardship Program for Tyrone Carney Park. OPRF accepted $400,000 from the BNSN project for that purpose through a separate contract.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The City Administrator’s Office (CAO), in partnership with Oakland Parks, Recreation, and Youth Development (OPRYD), the Real Estate Division of Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD), and Oakland Public Works (OPW), has negotiated the attached term sheet (Attachment 1) for the proposed no-cost License Agreement with OPRF for an initial term of two (2) years with five (5) one-year options to extend. The proposed License Agreement would meet the citywide priorities of vibrant, sustainable infrastructure because it would allow immediate management of the newly reconstructed park in accordance with the community plan.
Under the proposed License Agreement, OPRF would assume daily management and maintenance responsibilities, and programming oversight of Tyrone Carney Park as soon as construction is completed by the City (see maps in Attachment 2 ), currently projected to be April/May 2026. OPRF’s programing goals include hands-on, onsite training for landscaping and parks maintenance at the park, as well as routine maintenance and repairs, installation of a tool shed, and at least one annual public meeting. OPRF has established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with EONI and SPRAC for day -to-day onsite activities and planning, so those groups and the area residents who lead them will continue to be in the driver’s seat for this important community asset. OPRYD will meet with OPRF on a regular basis to ensure park maintenance meets or exceeds the minimal standards set forth in Oakland’s adopted Measure Q, to address any urgent needs as they arise, and to anticipate any issues that may affect the continued utility of the License Agreement. By the end of calendar year 2026, the parties will also develop evaluation metrics to assist the City in assessing the merit of the partnership.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 3
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
On February 11, 2026, Oakland’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC) reviewed the Term Sheet and adopted a recommendation that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinance.
FISCAL IMPACT
The recommended action is expected to reduce costs to the City by transferring maintenance, repair, some security and related responsibilities to OPRF. No funds will be required of the City for this action.
OPRF will use the initial BNSN funding of $400,000 to purchase needed tools and signage; conduct planning activities, maintenance, and community workforce training; and establish systems for the initial term of oversight. OPRF will continue seeking external grant and other funding as needed to support their activities at Tyrone Carney Park as well as at other sites in the city that they manage and support.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
This item reflects more than seven years of extensive community engagement via the EONI and ongoing BNSN implementation.
COORDINATION
This item has been coordinated with the Office of the City Attorney, EWDD Real Estate Division, OPW, OPRYD, and the Sustainability and Resilience Division (SRD) of the City Administrator’s Office. Employee Relations will notice Service Employee International Union 1021 regarding the community workforce training program.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: OPRF, EONI, and SPRAC intend to use their stewardship of Tyrone Carney Park as the basis of a workforce development and training program for community residents who are either unattached to the workforce or underemployed. This project will therefore provide important economic and wealth- building opportunities for a community that experiences higher rates of poverty than the rest of the city.
Environmental: The renovation of Tyrone Carney Park enabled by the BNSN project is a critical environmental effort. The park will mitigate stormwater and air pollution by maximizing vegetation; provide access to nature for a community that currently has far less vegetation and tree canopy than the rest of the city and experiences disproportionate negative health outcomes that are associated with that fact; and increase biodiversity. Moreover, the stewardship and workforce training components of the project will maximize opportunities for community members to expand those benefits at this park and other nature spaces into the future.
Race & Equity: The community surrounding Tyrone Carney Park is a frontline community. Per the EONI Community Plan, the BNSN project area is in the “top five to 20 percent of environmental Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 4
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
Myka Hammock (Mar 12, 2026 14:17:54 PDT)
health risks statewide. Among the noted risks are diesel particulate matter and hazardous waste sites. Additionally, population characteristics of high concern are asthma, heart-related diseases, educational attainment, poverty, and high housing costs.” These risks are emblematic of structural racism due to the area’s redlining history and current demographic makeup, with the majority of the population being Latina/o (largest group) and African American (second- largest). The economic and health benefits springing from this project will therefore serve all Oakland residents, including the communities that need them the most.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
Approval of this proposed legislation will not result in any major changes to the space and therefore this Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 (existing facilities), Section 15303 (small structures), Section 15304 (minor alterations of land; temporary uses), Section 15308 (protection of the environment), and 15183 (projects consistent with General Plan and Zoning).
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt An Ordinance (1) authorizing the City Administrator to negotiate and execute a license agreement with the nonprofit Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation for the Tyrone Carney Park at 10501 Acalanes Dr, Oakland, for a license fee of Zero Dollars ($0.00) for a term of two years with five one -year options to extend for maintenance and workforce training; (2) making findings that the below market license fee is in the City's best interest; and (3) making California Environmental Quality Act Findings.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Shayna Hirshfield-Gold, Acting Sustainability Director, at 238-6954; or Quincy Williams, Assistant Capital Improvement Project Coordinator.
Respectfully submitted,
Myka Hammock
Director, OPRYD
Shayna Hirshfield-Gold
Acting Sustainability Director, CAO
Reviewed by:
Brendan Moriarty
Director of Real Estate & Special Projects,
EWDD
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 5
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
Reviewed by:
Kristin Hathaway
Assistant Director, OPW
Reviewed by:
Brendan Moriarty
Director of Real Estate & Special Projects,
EWDD
Attachments (2):
Attachment 1: Draft Term Sheet
Attachment 2: Maps of Tyrone Carney Park
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 6
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
Attachment 1: Draft Tyrone Carney Park Term Sheet
Form of agreement License Agreement for Park Maintenance Parties City of Oakland
Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation (OPRF)
Premises Entirety of Tyrone Carney Park depicted in Attachment 2.
Term Two (2) years upon issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy upon completion of park construction by City. Option to extend by one year, up to five (5) times, with mutual
approval by OPRF and City.
Consideration None. OPRF’s rights to have privileged use of and control access to the premises are in exchange for OPRF’s in-kind services of maintaining the premises, described below.
These services are at OPRF’s sole cost and expense.
Security OPRF to lock gates at night and unlock gates in the morning to provide for public access according to agreed-upon
schedule of Open Hours for the premises.
City and OPRF to each have keys, specifically IC74.
OPRF responsible for monitoring the premises with security patrols only during special events.
City to issue a standing no trespass order and remove
encampments as soon as practicable when they arise.
Repairs & maintenance OPRF to provide routine maintenance and repair to sustain the premises in good condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted (i.e., expenditures to maintain the premises in normal operating condition). OPRF to consult with Oakland Public Works (OPW) to ensure compliance with relevant City requirements, and to review maintenance activities.
City to provide for extraordinary repairs and capital
improvements (i.e., capital expenditures that extend the useful life of the premises, increase its capacity or restore it from major deterioration).
OPRF to provide landscaping services including mulching, planting flowers and shrubs, and mature tree pruning.
City to collect trash from receptacles.
OPRF to provide graffiti abatement and painting, as needed.
OPRF to report vandalism to City where repairs exceed
OPRF’s capability to remedy within a reasonable amount of time.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 7
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
Utilities City responsible for the cost of utilities.
Use Public access to the premises during Open Hours, except during limited exclusive use events (below).
OPRF to have priority scheduling throughout the year at no cost, including for workforce development and training
activities up to 20 hours per month.
OPRF and OPRYD staff meet at least 2x annually to
coordinate the calendar.
OPRF exempt from park permit fees in the Master Fee
Schedule.
Public users subject to park permit fees as applicable.
OPRF subject to all park rules and regulations except as provided herein.
Minor Improvements OPRF to construct one tool shed onsite. OPRF to consult with OPW and PBD to ensure compliance with relevant City requirements.
Any other improvements must be reviewed and approved by the City prior to construction, which may include review by the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC).
Community relations OPRF to convene at least one public meeting annually to report on its activities and collect stakeholder input to inform practices and facilitate positive community relations.
OPRF to prominently post contact information and address public concerns in a commercially reasonable manner.
Reporting City and OPRF to conduct joint annual inspection.
OPRF to deliver to the City an annual report on its activities, identify deficiencies or issues, and share recommendations and plans for the next year.
Indemnification Mutual indemnification except for cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Insurance OPRF to have insurance coverage in conformance with Attachment B (Schedule Q).
City policies Living wage per Oakland Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter
2.28 Prevailing wage per California Labor Code 1720, et. Seq. and Council Resolution No. 57103
Local/Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) per OMC
Ch. 2.04
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: License of Tyrone Carney Park to Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation Date: March 10, 2026 Page 8
Community and Economic Development Committee
March 10, 2026
Attachment 2: Maps of Tyrone Carney Park