OAKLAND FACES A BOTH AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS and a historic opportunity to make change. In January 2007, Ronald V. Dellums became Mayor of Oakland after pledging to create a model city that’s committed to affordable housing. As part of his transition in the fall of 2006, he created 50 citizen task forces which nearly 800 Oakland residents joined.The Housing Task Force was one of the Mayor’s largest, with members representing private and non-profit housing developers, advocates, service providers and Oakland residents, including more than a dozen EBHO members and allies. Together, the group developed a proactive and aggressive affordable housing policy agenda that builds upon long-time grassroots campaigns goals, including just cause rent protections; community benefits agreements; limits on condo conversions and displacement; and inclusionary zoning, a policy that requires private developers to include a percentage of affordable units in their developments.
The Final Report included the recommendations of EBHO’s members and community allies. It provides a road map for Oakland and other Bay Area cities working to preserve and expand affordable housing.
The Housing Task Force developed a proactive and aggressive affordable housing policy agenda that builds upon long-time grassroots campaigns goals
Recommendation Highlights:
Expand resources for affordable housing: Oak- land should harness additional funding to build more affordable, subsidized units. It should also earmark these resources to house those with the greatest needs. To generate additional resources for low- to moderate-income housing, the City should, for example, increase the portion of redevelopment funds dedicated to affordable housing development.
Use Zoning Tools: Oakland should create land use laws that promote the production of affordable housing, such as inclusionary zoning. Industrial land should be protected to create good jobs. However, if land is converted from industrial to residential uses, it should create affordable housing.
Preserve existing rental housing: Oakland should use tools such as rent control and condominium conversion protections to protect and maintain the existing rental housing stock for lower-income tenants, and to prevent displacement.
Promote collaboration: Oakland should strengthen partnerships among city and county agencies, the Oakland Housing Authority, and non-profit and private developers to build affordable housing and end homelessness.
EBHO is continuing its work with coalition allies, the Dellums Administration and the City Council to generate and implement solutions to Oakland’s housing crisis. For more information on EBHO’s efforts and the policy tools discussed above, con- tact Amie Fishman at amie@ebho.org.
Thank you to Margaret Salazar, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for her contributions to this article.