Oakland CED Committee Meeting – July 14, 2026: Loan Forgiveness, Code Enforcement, and Street Vending
Oakland Community and Economic Development Committee Meeting – July 14, 2026
The Oakland City Council's Community and Economic Development (CED) Committee met on July 14, 2026, at 1:30 PM. The meeting covered seven agenda items, including routine approvals, two loan forgiveness proposals for affordable housing and a retail center, a code enforcement report, a signage contract, and workforce funding. Public comment focused heavily on street vendor enforcement, leading to a pledge by the chair to engage vendors. All items passed except one signage contract, which had a dissenting vote.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 – Approval of Draft Minutes (June 23, 2026): Approved unanimously (4–0) after a motion by Councilmember Fife.
- Item 2 – Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items: Approved as presented (4–0) after public comment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- On Street Vending (Items 2 and Open Forum): Numerous speakers (Margaret Grimsley, Nita B., Lisa Zebrack, Joyus Morelli, Shinobi, Sarah Amir, Aaron Fenias, Deshaun Toller, Lawrence Cox, Marco Duncan) called for the city to shift from punitive enforcement to partnership with street vendors. They alleged confiscation of property without due process, lack of receipts, exclusion from decision-making, and requested simpler permit systems, subsidized fees, and inclusion of longtime informal vendors. Some cited a lawsuit filed under the California Public Records Act. Several speakers emphasized that street vending is cultural and economic survival for Black, Latino, Asian, and immigrant communities. The chair acknowledged the comments and committed to meeting with vendor advocates.
- On Item S4 (Seminary Point Loan Forgiveness): Speaker Nita B. (and others in open forum) supported the action but urged the city to extend similar consideration to street vendors.
Discussion Items
- Item S3 – Code Enforcement Liens Removal for Chapter 8 Tax Sale (Affordable Housing): Caleb Smith (HCD) presented a proposal to remove up to $10 million in delinquent city liens over four years on tax‑defaulted properties, allowing Alameda County’s tax collector to sell them to affordable housing nonprofits at a lower price. The county had identified 14 initial properties, all zoned residential. The city would receive a prorated share of sale proceeds. Councilmember Fife expressed elation after years of work. A $1.5 million EPA brownfield grant was noted. The committee approved forwarding to the July 21 City Council.
- Item S4 – Loan Forgiveness for Seminary Point Retail Project: Teresa Lopez (EWD) explained that the city’s $2 million loan, $1.5 million line of credit, and $40,000 in back rent would be forgiven contingent on a qualified buyer acquiring the leasehold. The property, developed on city-owned land, lost its anchor tenant (Walgreens) and faces foreclosure. Council President Jenkins supported the action as vital for East Oakland amenities. Councilmember Unger raised concerns about the cumulative loan forgiveness amount ($16 million this year) and requested a broader analysis of the city’s subordinate loan position. The committee approved (4–0) to forward to city council.
- Item 5 – Code Enforcement Biannual Report (FY2025‑26, Q1‑Q2): Mariana Rojo presented: the department opened 3,905 cases and closed 4,709 (net reduction in backlog); conducted nearly 11,000 inspections; blight response time improved ~35%; and fee collections increased. Use of a field inspector app and cross‑departmental collaboration were highlighted. Chair requested future reports include year‑over‑year data. The committee received and filed.
- Item 6 – Signage and Wayfinding Contract for 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza: Rose Ruppel proposed a $300,000 one‑year contract (with one‑year extension) with Barreto Co. (Oakland SLBE) for graphic design and fabrication of signage, including rebuilding specifications lost in the 2023 ransomware attack. Councilmember Unger questioned the cost and necessity; staff noted the funds are from fee revenue, not general fund. Councilmember Ramachandran requested wider outreach to more small businesses. The committee approved (3–1, Councilmember Unger dissenting) to forward on non‑consent.
- Item 7 – Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and California Volunteers Funding: Lindsay Honorado requested acceptance of $4.8 million in federal WIOA funds and $1.99 million from California Volunteers (total ~$6.8 million) for FY2026‑2027. The funds serve approximately 900 residents (adults, dislocated workers, youth) and 45 youth in public service positions. Also authorized the city administrator to accept future grants up to $250,000 with Workforce Board approval. The committee approved (4–0) to forward on consent.
Key Outcomes
- All agenda items passed with the following votes:
- Items 1, 2, S4, 5, 7: Unanimous (4–0)
- Item S3: Unanimous (4–0) on urgency finding and substantive vote
- Item 6: Approved 3–1 (Councilmember Unger dissenting); forwarded to city council on non‑consent
- Urgency findings were approved for Items S3 and S4 (added within three days).
- Forwarded to City Council (July 21, 2026): Items S3, S4, 6, and 7. Items 1, 2, 5 were finalized at committee.
- Chair’s commitment: To meet with street vendor advocates to discuss partnership and inclusion.
Meeting Transcript
To the community and economic development committee meeting of Tuesday, July 14th, 2026. The time is now one thirty PM, and this meeting may come to order. Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chamber, would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into myself or a clerk representative no later than ten minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record, whichever occurs first. Registering to speak via Zoom is now due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting, and this meeting came to order at one thirty PM, and speaker cards will no longer be accepted ten minutes after, making that time one forty p.m. We'll now proceed with taking roll. Oh, this is Ramachandran. Oh, sorry, Ramachandran. Excuse. Ramachandran excused and chair Um. Thank you. We have three members present, one excuse Ramachandran. And Chair, before we begin, do you have any announcements at this time? Yes, um, so first off, um, just want to make the announcement that this will be uh one of our last uh CED meetings until September of the twenty-first. I just want to thank all of the departments uh that have presented over the course of the last couple of months, HCD, EWD, planning and building, and thank you all for all of your hard work. Um, I also did want to take a moment of uh personal um privilege to shout out um two uh interns in my office, um, Sana, as well as Mariana, who also served on this the school board as a school board representative, and it will be heading off to college in the fall. Um, but we're so proud to have you in the office during the summer. Um so everyone, uh please um feel free to go introduce yourself and learn all about uh some of the things that they're working on. Um, and then also um, I would make the announcement uh just to ensure that we are staying on time with the amount of um agenda items that we have. I will limit public comment to one minute. Thank you so much. Thank you, Chair. Noting the presence of Councilmember Ramachandran at 1 32 p.m. Reading in item one, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting of June twenty-third, two thousand twenty-six. We have no speakers on this item. Just need a motion. Excellent. Thank you so much. Colleagues. Councilmember Fife. So moved. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. We have a motion made by council member Fife, seconded by Council Member Ramachandran. To accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting of June 23rd, 2026. On roll council members Five. Aye. Rama Chandran. I and Chair Brown. Aye. Thank you. Item one passes with four eyes to accept the draft minutes from the committee meeting of June 23rd, 2026. Item two, determination of schedule of outstanding committee items. And we do have a number of speakers that signed up to speak on this item. Okay. Thank you so much. So to the administration, any changes? No changes at this time.
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