Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting – May 26, 2026
Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting Summary – May 26, 2026
The Community and Economic Development Committee of the Oakland City Council met on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 1:50 PM in the Council Chambers. Chaired by Councilmember Brown, the committee considered four agenda items, including workforce development grants, informational reports from the Oakland Housing Authority and the Housing and Community Development Department, and a shoreline adaptation plan proposal. All items were either received and filed or forwarded to the full City Council for action on June 2, 2026.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the draft minutes from the committee meeting of May 12, 2026 (3 ayes, 1 excused).
- Accepted the determination of scheduled standing committee items as presented (3 ayes, 1 excused).
Public Comments & Testimony
Item 6 (WIOA workforce grants): Multiple speakers expressed support for the Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC) and the proposed contracts. Raymond Langford (OPIC CEO), Dr. Jeffrey Watson, Richard Dehauriggy (COO, OPIC), Yawo Tekpa, Mayra Ramirez, Joyce Guy (West Oakland Job Resource Center), and Tony Trin (Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council) praised OPIC’s services and urged timely approval to avoid service interruptions. One public commenter (Asada Olabala) criticized the award to Unity Council and Lau Family Community Development, citing past fraud allegations and stating that nonprofits have not reduced African American unemployment (9.9% in Oakland).
Item 5 (Oakland Housing Authority report): Public speakers included Buffalo Sojourn (questioned OHA transparency and demographic shifts), Lynette Zhang Lee (OHA Commissioner, praised OHA's partnerships), Samuel Ramey (argued for ending homelessness via federal programs), and Asada Olabala (called for accountability and questioned OHA’s oversight). Jeff Levin (East Bay Housing Organizations) thanked OHA for the comprehensive report.
Item 4 (Housing development programs): David Boltwright raised concerns about delays in occupancy at Brookfield Senior Gardens and questioned cost-effectiveness of funded projects. Asada Olabala noted a contractor dispute at Phoenix Apartments. Samuel Ramey claimed to have $5.8 billion in available funds. Jeff Levin praised HCD’s equity-driven approach and noted that over 50% of residents in the city’s portfolio are Black.
Item 3 (Shoreline adaptation plan): Asada Olabala expressed concern about inter-city partnerships based on past experiences, but stated support for relationships with other cities.
Open Forum: Asada Olabala cited recent HUD takeovers of other housing authorities and questioned OHA’s performance scores. David Boltwright urged faster housing production over reports.
Discussion Items
Item 6 – Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Program Services: Staff (Honorada Lindsay, Economic and Workforce Development) presented a revised recommendation for new three-year grant agreements (FY 2026–2029) totaling $2,650,000 for FY 2026–2027, plus amendments to existing agreements increasing funding by $584,109, and two contingency set‑aside partnerships ($124,999.99 to Oakland Private Industry Council/Unity Council and $125,000 to Lau Family Community Development/Roots Community Health Center). The committee voted 4–0 to forward the item to the June 2 City Council agenda on consent.
Item 5 – Oakland Housing Authority Informational Report: Executive Director Patricia Wells presented OHA’s programs, serving 18,400 families through over 15,000 Housing Choice Vouchers, 1,300 public housing units, and 2,000 nontraditional subsidized units. She highlighted partnerships with the city (Oakland PATH, Building Bridges, Digital Offer Initiative) and OHA’s police department responding to 8,100 calls. The committee received and filed the report (4 ayes).
Item 4 – Housing Development Programs Informational Report: Deputy Director Fay Darmaui reported on HCD’s fiscal year 2025–2026 programs. Key stats: 1,400 units under construction (591 for homeless), 700 units completed (238 for homeless), and 42% of all affordable housing permits in Alameda County. HCD has allocated all Measure U Tranche 1 and 2 funds, with only $16 million remaining. The committee voted to forward the report to the June 2 City Council consent agenda (4 ayes).
Item 3 – Shoreline Adaptation Plan Resolutions: Laura Kaminsky (Strategic Planning) presented two resolutions: (1) accepting $144,900 SB1 grant for phase one of the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan and authorizing application for $1,355,100 for phase two; (2) authorizing a cooperative agreement with CMG Landscape Architecture (via City of Alameda’s contract) to complete phase two. The committee voted 4–0 to forward both resolutions to the June 2 City Council agenda on consent.
Key Outcomes
- Item 6: Approved staff recommendations and forwarded to June 2 City Council (4 ayes).
- Item 5: Received and filed the informational report (4 ayes).
- Item 4: Forwarded informational report to June 2 City Council consent agenda (4 ayes).
- Item 3: Forwarded both shoreline adaptation resolutions to June 2 City Council consent agenda (4 ayes).
- All votes were unanimous with Councilmember Ramachandran present for items 3–6 and excused for items 1–2.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to the community and economic development committee meeting of Tuesday, May 26, 2026. The time is now 150 p.m. and this meeting may come to order. Before taking role, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into myself or clerk representative no later than 10 minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record, whichever occurs first. Online speaker requests were due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting. This meeting came to order at 1 50 p.m. and speaker cards will no longer be accepted 10 minutes after, making that time 2 p.m. We'll now proceed with taking roll. Council members five. Present. Thank you. Councilmember Ramachandran is. Excuse. Excuse. Councilmember Unger. Still here. And Chair Brown. Present. Thank you, Chair. Before we begin, do you have any announcements at this time? Yes. Um, good afternoon, everyone. Um, before we begin, uh, just a few announcements. Um, public comment will be limited to one minute and thirty seconds. And in addition, please note the updated order of the items that we will be considering today. We will hear item six first, um, item five, item four, and then item three. Thank you so much. Thank you. Noting the change of the agenda to take items six, five, four, and three after items one and two. Starting off with item one approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting of May twelfth, two thousand twenty-six, and we do not have any speakers on this item. Excellent. Thank you so much. So moved. Second. Thank you. We have a motion made by a motion made by Council Member Unger, seconded by council member five to ex to accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting of May twelfth, two thousand twenty-six. On roll council members five. Aye. Ramachandran is excused, Unger. Aye. And Chair Brown. Aye. Thank you. Item number one passes with four eyes to accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting of May twelfth, two thousand twenty-six. Oh, sorry, it passes with three eyes and one excused Ramachandran. Reading in item two, determination of scheduled about standing committee items, and we have no speakers on this item. Excellent. Thank you so much. Um, to the administration, any changes.
openpublica.com