Oakland Community Economic Development Committee Meeting - September 30, 2025

The committee convened to discuss several key initiatives to spur affordable housing production and economic development. Major items included the creation of new funding programs for affordable housing pre-development and middle-income housing acquisition, the appropriation of Measure U bond funds for affordable housing, the sale of a blighted city-owned property, and the presentation of a five-year Economic Development Action Plan.

Public Comments & Testimony

• On Permit Ready Express Program (Item 3): Speakers from Eden Housing and East Bay Housing Organizations expressed strong support, stating the program would help close financing gaps and expedite affordable housing delivery.
• On Middle-Income JPA Program (Item 4): Project sponsors for 4400 MLK Way supported the program but requested flexibility in parameters (e.g., appraisal value, AMI caps) to allow their distressed project to move forward. A community member questioned the focus on middle-income housing and raised concerns about gentrification and impacts on citizens from Oakland's sanctuary city status.
• On Affordable Housing Fund Appropriation (Item 5): Multiple nonprofit affordable housing developers (Unity Council, RCD, EAH Housing, SAHA, St. Mary's Center, Eden Housing) expressed strong support for releasing Measure U funds, emphasizing the critical need to close project financing gaps, build supportive housing, and rehabilitate existing affordable stock. A community member criticized perceived inequities in the distribution of funded projects and homeless units across council districts.
• On Sale of City Property (Item 6): A community member criticized the city for failing to maintain the property, acting as "slum landlords," and allowing assets designated for homeless and low-income communities to deteriorate.
• On Economic Development Plan (Item 7): A community member criticized the department's analysis of racial disparities, arguing it improperly grouped all people of color together instead of addressing specific, severe unemployment in the Black community. They also requested data on the impact of Oakland's sanctuary city status on housing and jobs for African American citizens.
• Open Forum: A speaker congratulated former Oakland staff on new roles, reiterated criticism of the economic department's racial equity analysis, and again requested data on the impact of sanctuary city policies.

Discussion Items

• Permit Ready Express Program (Item 3): Staff proposed using a $5.2M federal grant to create a revolving loan fund. One pool would help affordable housing developers pay building permit fees to accelerate construction timelines. A second pool, with a set-aside for emerging developers, would provide pre-development loans for feasibility studies and early design work.
• Middle-Income Housing JPA Bond Program (Item 4): Staff proposed a new program allowing the use of Joint Powers Authorities to acquire existing market-rate buildings and place long-term affordability covenants on them, targeting households at or below 80% of Area Median Income. The program is designed with conservative underwriting to avoid past pitfalls seen in other cities. The city's role is as an approver with no liability for the bonds. A key trade-off is the forgone property tax revenue, which is weighed against tenant rent savings in a cost-benefit analysis.
• Affordable Housing Fund Appropriation (Item 5): Staff sought authorization to appropriate and deploy up to $66 million from Measure U and other sources to fund new construction, rapid response homeless housing, acquisition/conversion, and rehabilitation of affordable housing. The annual re-appropriation of funds is intended to streamline and expedite awards to ready projects.
• Sale of City-Owned Property at 1226 73rd Ave (Item 6): Staff recommended declaring the fire-damaged, blighted triplex as surplus and selling it to the highest bidder on the open market. The property, acquired for right-of-way in 1970 and later used for low-income housing, requires significant capital to repair. Proceeds would go to the General Fund.
• 2025-2029 Economic Development Action Plan (Item 7): Staff presented the draft five-year plan centered on five goals: attracting/growing key industries, supporting existing businesses, workforce development, strategic place-based investment, and supporting arts/culture. The plan was developed with extensive community input and includes an implementation matrix. Priorities include activating corridors, filling vacancies, advancing public-private development projects, and supporting sector-specific workforce strategies.

Key Outcomes

• Item 2 (Schedule): Motion passed (4-0) to accept the schedule of outstanding items. An informational report on permitting hurdles was requested for a future date (tentatively November).
• Item 3 (Permit Ready Express): Motion passed (4-0) to approve the resolution and forward it to the October 7 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 4 (Middle-Income JPA): Motion passed (4-0) to approve the ordinance (first reading) and forward it to the October 7 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 5 (Housing Fund Appropriation): Motion passed (3-0-1, Ramachandran excused during vote) to approve the resolution as amended (changing $60M to $66M in the text) and forward it to the October 7 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 6 (Property Sale): Motion passed (4-0) to approve the ordinance and forward it to the October 7 City Council consent agenda.
• Item 7 (Economic Development Plan): Motion passed (4-0) to receive the informational report and forward it to the October 7 City Council consent agenda.