AGENDA REPORT
TO: Elizabeth Lake
Interim City Administrator
FROM: Myka Hammock
Director, OPRYD
SUBJECT: Sale of Garfield Park to Oakland Unified
School District
DATE: October 14, 2026
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt An Ordinance (1) Authorizing The City Administrator To Negotiate And Execute (a) A Purchase and Sale Agreement With Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) For The Sale Of The 0.6-Acre City-Owned portion of Garfield Park Located at 2201-2299 east 17th Street For Renovation Of The Garfield Elementary School Campus For Five Hundred Ninety-Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($597,500) Less Related Closing Costs; And (b) A Memorandum Of Understanding Between OUSD And The City To Provide For The City And Community’s Use Of The Athletic Field On The Renovated Garfield Elementary School Campus; (2) Declaring The Property Exempt Surplus Land; And (3) Adopting CEQA Findings
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Garfield Park is an approximately 1.5-acre City park located at 2201-2299 E 17th St, Oakland, CA 94606, and contains a single baseball diamond adjacent to Garfield Elementary School (GES). The City only owns about half of the park, with the rest owned by the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). OUSD has proposed purchasing the City-owned portion of the park for $597,500 to support a major school rebuild funded with $104.5 million in available bond funds. The recommended action would authorize the sale at this price as well as authorize a memorandum of understanding between OUSD and the City to provide for the City and community’s use of the new athletic field that OUSD will construct on the new GES campus. Consistent with the City’s Consolidated Fiscal Policy, the net sale proceeds would be deposited into the General Fund.
City staff recommend proceeding with the proposed sale at this price as it would result in a superior turf field within the school campus that would be accessible to the City and community. The alternative would reduce Garfield Park by half, rendering it unusable as an athletic field, without compensation to the City.
Life Enrichment Committee
October 27, 2026
Elizabeth Lake (Oct 15, 2026 09:47:09 PDT) Oct 15, 2026 Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Sale of Garfield Park to Oakland Unified School District Date: October 14, 2026 Page 2
Life Enrichment Committee
October 27, 2026
BACKGROUND/LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
As of the 2025 – 2026 school year, GES has a total enrollment of 445 students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. As part of its capital plan, instead of modernizing the existing building, the District will construct a larger, brand-new school building, including new play areas, landscaping, a play field, and the demolition of the existing school building. Through partnerships and collaboration, the field next to the school will be used, expanding the school's presence in the neighborhood and enhancing the community's safety and security. The total cost of the OUSD project is $104.5 million.
On March 11, 2026, the OUSD Board of Education approved a major update to the Garfield Elementary School Measure Y Bond project (Capital Project). Instead of modernizing the existing building, the District will move forward with constructing a larger, brand-new school building, including new play areas, landscaping, a play field, and the demolition of the existing school building.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with an anticipated timeline for students and staff moving into the new building by late 2028. After the move, the City will demolish the existing campus and complete site improvements in 2029.
Garfield Park
Garfield Park is one of 13 athletic fields in the City’s park system. It contains a single baseball diamond in poor condition. Public access is by fee-based reservation only; it is not available for dropin use by the neighborhood or public at large. The park was historically used for girls’ softball and Babe Ruth baseball in spring and summer, and for OPRYD programs in the fall. However, actual use today is very limited. Only one user (Bay Tech School) has reserved the field, and only for a single three-month period, during all of the last two years.
As depicted in Attachment A, the City only owns a portion of Garfield Park, which has Assessor Parcel Number 20-202-1-1 (City Property). OUSD owns the remainder of the park, which is located on a larger parcel that includes GES.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
On May 4, 2026, OUSD sent a letter to the City proposing to acquire the City Property for use in its Capital Project. City staff subsequently negotiated the following terms of sale with OUSD, subject to City Council approval:
• Sale price: The City would sell the City Property to OUSD for $597,500, the midpoint between the City and OUSD’s appraised values.
• Field reservations: To mitigate the loss of public parkland resulting from the sale, OUSD and the City shall enter into a Memorandum of Understanding through which the City and qualified community organizations shall be able to reserve the new turf athletic field on the renovated Garfield Elementary School campus for a minimum of 8-10 hours per week, with the field maintained and operated exclusively by OUSD, scheduled through OUSD's reservation system, and subject to OUSD's ordinary fee schedule.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Sale of Garfield Park to Oakland Unified School District Date: October 14, 2026 Page 3
Life Enrichment Committee
October 27, 2026
• Exempt Surplus Land: Under the California Surplus Land Act (Government Code Section 54220 et seq.) (the “Surplus Land Act”), surplus property is defined as land owned by any local agency no longer necessary for the agency’s use. Exempt surplus land includes “Surplus land that a local agency is transferring to another local, state, or federal agency, or to a third-party intermediary for future dedication for the receiving agency’s use,” pursuant to Government Code Section 54221(f)(1)(D) of the Surplus Land Act.
City staff recommend selling the City Property for several reasons. It would replace a lowerquality athletic field with a new, higher-quality turf field on the redesigned school campus. The new field would be accessible to the City and community through OUSD’s reservation system, similar to how Garfield Park is currently made available through the City’s reservation system.
OUSD would prioritize access outside of school-use hours to groups referred by the City.
Alternatively, the City could choose not to sell the property to OUSD. In that case, however, OUSD is expected to build its Capital Project up to the existing OUSD property line, cutting the park in half and rendering it unusable as an athletic field. This would result in a loss to the City park system without compensation. OPRYD has had only one user group reserve Garfield Park in recent years.
City staff can work with OUSD to accommodate that group’s use of the turf field.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially over the past few years, the number of user groups using Garfield Park has declined significantly. Use has been limited, with just a few charter schools and local baseball teams renting it sporadically for practice. Overall, this location has had few field rentals. City staff will periodically meet with OUSD to obtain updates on construction progress.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact to the City is positive. The City would receive $597,500 in one-time sale proceeds less related closing costs which are not expected to exceed a few thousand dollars. Consistent with the City’s Consolidate Fiscal Policy, the net sale proceeds would be deposited into General Purpose Fund (1010); To be determined by the Finance Department; Sale of Land (48111); Project to be determined; Recreation, Cultural Civic (NB03).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
OUSD has engaged with the GES community and surrounding neighborhood about the proposed Capital Project, as described on the website: Garfield Elementary School - Oakland Unified School District. OPRYD staff will create an online survey for neighborhood residents around GES.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the City’s Real Estate Division along with the City Attorney’s Office, and the Budget Bureau. OPRYD has communicated with the City Council District 2 office, and OUSD. The District 2 City Councilmember, Charlene Wang, is a co-sponsor of this ordinance.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Sale of Garfield Park to Oakland Unified School District Date: October 14, 2026 Page 4
Life Enrichment Committee
October 27, 2026
The Open Space, Conservation and Recreation element (“OSCAR Element”) of the City’s General Plan, adopted by the City Council in 1996, established a policy of no “net loss” in open space. The City’s Planning & Building Department has confirmed that closure of Garfield Park would not trigger a “net loss” of Open Space due to sufficient additions to the City’s open space inventory since adoption of the OSCAR Element.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
The proposed sale of the Property is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) under the following Sections of the State CEQA Guidelines: Section 15302 (replacement or reconstruction of existing school), Section 15314 (minor additions to existing schools), and Section 15330 (minor cleanup actions)
RACE AND EQUITY
Because of the limited timeframe for processing this agreement, staff could not complete a formal equity analysis. However, OPRYD staff has issued an online survey to identify race and equity concerns. OUSD conducted three community engagement sessions around the Capital Project in both English and Spanish in 2024. In 2024, OUSD facilitated three community engagement meetings with neighborhood residents about this project in English and Spanish.
The proposed action would further authorize a Memorandum of Understanding with OUSD whereby the City and historic user groups shall be able to reserve the new turf athletic field on the renovated Garfield Elementary School campus for a minimum of 8-10 hours per week to mitigate the loss of public parkland.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Sale of Garfield Park to Oakland Unified School District Date: October 14, 2026 Page 5
Life Enrichment Committee
October 27, 2026
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) A Purchase and Sale Agreement With Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) For The Sale Of The 0.6-Acre City-Owned portion of Garfield Park Located at 2201-2299 east 17th Street For Renovation Of The Garfield Elementary School Campus For Five Hundred Ninety-Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($597,500) Less Related Closing Costs; And (b) A Memorandum Of Understanding Between OUSD And The City To Provide For The City And Community’s Use Of The Athletic Field On The Renovated Garfield Elementary School Campus; (2) Declaring The Property Exempt Surplus Land; And (3) Adopting CEQA Findings
For questions regarding this report, please contact Quincy Williams, Assistant Capital Improvement Project Coordinator, 510-424-3371.
Respectfully submitted,
Myka Hammock
Myka Hammock
Director, OPRYD
Reviewed by:
Brendan Moriarty, Director of Real Estate & Special
Projects
Prepared by:
QuincyWilliams, Assistant Capital
Improvement Project Coordinator, OPRYD
Attachments (1)
A: Map of City Property
Signature:
Email: [email protected]
Myka Hammock (Oct 15, 2026 08:30:18 PDT)