Oakland Community & Economic Development Committee Meeting - September 22, 2026

The Oakland City Council Community and Economic Development Committee met on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, in the City Council Chamber at Oakland City Hall. Although the agenda listed a 1:30 p.m. start, the meeting convened at 1:56 p.m., with Chairperson Rowena Brown presiding. Councilmembers Janani Ramachandran and Zac Unger were present; Councilmember Carroll Fife was excused. Because Councilmember Houston (District 7, not a committee member) was present, a quorum of the full City Council was noted; the committee adjourned at 2:16 p.m. and reconvened as a Special Meeting of the Full Council. No final City Council action could be taken at this noticed special meeting. The meeting adjourned at 2:52 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• Item 1 (Draft Minutes, July 14, 2026): Approved unanimously on a motion by Councilmember Unger, seconded by Councilmember Ramachandran. Vote: 3 ayes (Ramachandran, Unger, Brown); 1 excused (Fife).
• Item 2 (Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items): Accepted as presented, with no changes to the pending list. Motion by Councilmember Unger, seconded by Councilmember Ramachandran. Vote: 3 ayes; 1 excused (Fife).

Public Comments & Testimony

• On Item 2, Sado Olabala said unemployment for foundational Black individuals in Oakland has been at 10% and in double digits for quite some time. She requested that workforce-related items include racial demographic representation, and that data separately identify foundational Black Americans (descendants of enslaved people) from Black people from the Caribbean, Africa, and Central and South America.
• On Item 3, Sado Olabala argued the city reacted to SB 79 after its passage instead of shaping the bill to serve the city. She said the bill's purpose of increasing affordable housing near BART and AC Transit is a good idea, but noted some communities do not want high density, and criticized what she called a lack of consistency in the city addressing gentrification.
• On Item 4, Sado Olabala disputed the director's statement that Oakland has a diverse economic base, saying the city does not support foundational Black Americans in employment. She cited unemployment statistics (as transcribed): 5.1% for African Americans in California, 7.5% unemployment, and 9% in Oakland; 15.9% for Black men in California without a high school diploma; and unemployment for Black women in California with college degrees tripling from 2.7% to 8.5%. She referenced a Budget Advisory Commission document stating crime and economic development are intertwined, and that Oakland residents spend roughly $1.5 billion annually in other cities due to crime concerns. She recommended focused job training and support for people re-entering from prison.
• Open Forum: David Boltwright (also transcribed as 'David Botroye,' District 4) requested a housing presentation documenting housing funded with city and other sources over the last five years, including units completed, persons housed, total amount spent, average time from conception to occupation, and percentage by construction type. He cited a modular housing project on EDS Avenue (as transcribed) that took about 1.5 years to construct and six months to fully occupy, at roughly $350,000 per unit. Sado Olabala repeated concerns about gentrification and what she called continual redlining affecting foundational Black Americans.

Discussion Items

• Item 3 (S-8 Ordinance Amendments / SB 79): Kelly Cha of the Planning and Building Department presented amendments to Planning Code Chapter 17.86, the S-8 Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit combining zone (Senate Bill 79), with Laura Kaminsky, Strategic Planning Manager, also available. SB 79 was enacted in October 2025 with an effective date of July 1, 2026. Oakland adopted its local S-8 regulations in March 2026, then received comments from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) on June 10, 2026, and from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on June 12, 2026. HCD determined that Oakland's open space and industrial zones that allow commercial uses are mixed-use zones subject to SB 79. The proposed amendments would: remove the 20th Avenue AC Transit stop (map 28); remove open space and industrial zones from the ineligibility list; add parcels without Oakland permitting authority; redesignate all industrial parcels within TOD zones, including areas around the Coliseum BART Station and the 14th Avenue AC Transit stop, from ineligible to excluded; align TOD zones with MTC's final regional map; and add four additional transit stops, with analysis confirming all four are eligible for exclusion. The Planning Commission gave a unanimous recommendation in September 2026 without modifications. Councilmember Unger asked for clarification on the industrial zone changes; staff explained that industrial uses remain allowed under local zoning, and the changes only prevent SB 79 from mandating housing on those parcels at this time. Councilmember Houston requested that staff (Kelly Cha and Mr. Gilcrest) come to the East Oakland Gateway meeting before the October 6 or October 20 council dates to explain the maps, saying the many colors and outlines were confusing for constituents.
• Item 4 (Economic Development Action Plan Implementation Status Update): Ashley Canett, Director of Economic and Workforce Development, presented the first annual implementation update for the 2025-2029 Economic Development Action Plan (EDAP) for fiscal year 2025/26, organized around five goals: attracting and growing key sectors; supporting existing businesses; connecting Oaklanders to jobs; investing in places; and arts, culture, and social activity. Key statistics included: more than 24,300 employers in 2025 (a peak, per EDD data); nearly 185,000 jobs in 2025, still below 193,000 jobs in 2023 and below the peak of nearly 200,000 in 2020; healthcare and social assistance as the largest employment sector with more than 46,000 jobs; information employment up 66% from 2010 to 2025, healthcare and social assistance up 54%, and public administration up 39%; more than 90% of businesses with fewer than 10 employees and most with annual revenues below $250,000; 21 neighborhood business corridors; $1 million dispersed for community-led safety initiatives and 47 city-funded positions on the street; 329 Neighborhood Business Assistance appointments across every council district; unemployment of about 9% for Black Oaklanders compared with 6% for Latino and Asian Oaklanders and 5% for white Oaklanders; the $240 million Samuel Merritt University project and the 4,000-square-foot Native American Health Center, both on city-owned land; five affordable housing projects (295 units) in the pipeline or under construction on city-owned property; 26 arts organizations supported through operating grants; 52 public art projects in development or completed; roughly 200 leases and licenses managed; reported crime down year over year and versus the five-year average in all six police areas in 2025; office rents beginning to stabilize in 2025 while downtown vacancy remains elevated and retail vacancy increased. Chair Brown asked about commercial rents and a decline in businesses from 2023 to 2025 (4,749 businesses in 2023, reduced by almost 700 by 2025, as she cited from the report), noted the county may place a $30 minimum wage measure on the ballot, and asked about collaboration with California GoBiz. Director Canett responded that GoBiz issues requests for information on behalf of companies seeking locations (the city is currently negotiating with a business that came through that process) and oversees state-level fiscal incentives such as tax abatements and waivers.

Key Outcomes

• Item 1: Draft minutes accepted unanimously (3-0; Fife excused).
• Item 2: Outstanding committee items schedule accepted unanimously (3-0; Fife excused).
• Item 3: Approved the staff recommendation on a motion by Chair Brown, seconded by Councilmember Ramachandran, and forwarded the ordinance to the October 6, 2026 Concurrent Meeting of the Oakland Redevelopment Successor Agency and the City Council as a public hearing, with a request that staff include the letters from state HCD and MTC in a supplemental report. Vote: 3-0 (Fife excused).
• Item 4: Received and filed in committee (informational report) on a motion by Councilmember Unger, seconded by Chair Brown. Vote: 3-0 (Fife excused).