Oakland Life Enrichment Committee Meeting: Disability Commission, Recycling Relocation, and OFCY Contracts - May 26, 2026

The Life Enrichment Committee of the Oakland City Council met on May 26, 2026, at approximately 12:00 PM. The committee considered four substantive items: an informational report from the Mayor's Commission on Persons with Disabilities, contract extensions for youth program database and grant management, a resolution to begin relocating industrial recycling facilities from West Oakland, and an amendment to an OFCY grant. All votes were 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 4:59 PM.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of draft minutes of May 12, 2026.
• Determination and schedule of outstanding committee items.
• Item 4: Resolution amending Resolution 90819 to extend the agreement with City Span Technologies for 12 months (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) for client services and contract database, grants management, licensing, user support, project management, and custom programming for Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) funded programs, in an amount not to exceed $200,000, and waiving competitive solicitation and local/small business requirements. Approved and forwarded to the June 2 City Council agenda on consent.
• Item 6: Resolution amending Resolution 90310 to replace the lead agency for the Healthy Wealthy Wise program from Children and Youth Outreach to Youth Employment Partnership (YEP) without changing the grant award of $225,000. Approved and forwarded to the June 2 City Council agenda on consent.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Multiple speakers from the Safe Passages Baby Learning Communities Collaborative (Laura Cabran, Yasmin, Brianna Gomez, Rosa Hiron, Pamela Lopez) urged the committee to dedicate OFCY reserve funds to early childhood and elementary after-school programs, emphasizing the long-term community benefits.
• Jeffrey Cal spoke about the mental health crisis, noting that one in five community members are affected and over 50% cannot find help. He urged prioritization of preventative mental health care and stable funding for school-based health centers.
• Anthony Del Toro, owner of B&M Collision on Pippin Street, stated that the city of Oakland owns a property adjacent to his body shop and allegedly issued an illegal permit for a portable building on his lot, hindering his business expansion. He requested assistance from the city administrator's office.
• David Boatwright suggested that all city measures and grants to outside entities should require at least semi-annual periodic reports to relevant committees for better oversight.

Discussion Items

Item 3: Informational Report from the Chair of the Mayor's Commission on Persons with Disabilities

• Anwar Perudi, Commission Chair, presented the third annual update. He reported that new commissioners have made this the most active commission in his tenure. Community needs identified include housing, transportation, and a critical lack of information on how to access existing city resources.
• Challenges highlighted: understaffing in the ADA Programs Division (currently 2 staff, missing at least 3 positions promised by council but not delivered), emergency preparedness gaps (no emergency wheelchairs in fire department, insufficient staff training), and construction compliance barriers (a quarter of wheelchair trips are abandoned due to environmental obstructions).
• Asks: (1) support distribution of the next annual community survey, (2) support HCD and OakDOT on proactive housing accessibility and the current Smith litigation settlement, and (3) most critically, fund the ADA division positions, particularly an architectural associate, through an internal service funding model rather than solely from the OakDOT budget. Perudi noted that settlements cost the city $3–18 million per year, and one mitigated settlement could pay for the associate's salary for 1–20 years.
• Councilmember Gallo asked about the definition of disability (includes both physical and mental) and the age ranges served. Councilmember Wong discussed the intersection of housing and disabilities, noting that older housing stock (pre-1990) is not covered by ADA and the challenge of state law (Costa Hawkins). They also discussed the elevator ordinance enforcement difficulties.
• Committee voted 4-0 to forward the item to the June 2 City Council agenda on non-consent for further budget discussions.

Item 5: Resolution to Direct the City Administrator to Develop an Amortization Program for California Waste Solutions (CWS) and CAS, Inc. Recycling Facilities in West Oakland

• Chair Fife introduced the resolution, explaining that industrial recyclers in West Oakland have long been a pollution burden. The 2012 redevelopment plan for the Oakland Army base included relocation, but contracts with both companies have lapsed (CAS in December 2022, CWS in May 2025). This resolution directs the city administrator to develop amortization legislation (a process to phase out non-conforming land uses) include a timeline, findings, specific timeframe, and a list of alternative sites for relocation, and to proceed to the Planning Commission by December 31, 2026.
• Councilmember Gallo expressed support but concern about relocating to his district. Councilmember Houston noted CWS lost its Army base contract.
• Brendan Moriarty, Director of Real Estate, confirmed the resolution does not restrict alternative sites to Oakland only.
• Committee voted 4-0 to approve staff recommendations and forward to the June 2 City Council agenda on non-consent.

Key Outcomes

• All four agenda items (Items 3, 4, 5, and 6) were approved and forwarded to the June 2, 2026, City Council meeting. Items 3 (Disability Commission report) and 5 (Amortization resolution) were forwarded on non-consent; Items 4 and 6 on consent.
• The city administrator's office agreed to follow up with business owner Anthony Del Toro regarding his property permit issue.
• Public speakers requested future OFCY reserve funds be dedicated to early childhood and elementary after-school programs; no formal action was taken on this request as it was not on the agenda.