Good afternoon everyone.
The community economic development committee will start late today,
and I apologize for the inconvenience that this may cause.
Good afternoon and for online and in-person speakers.
Once again, the community economic development committee will start late today,
and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Good afternoon and welcome to the community economic committee meeting
for today's date, November 18th.
The time is now 1 30 PM and this meeting has come to order before taking roll.
I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker's cards for items on this
agenda. If you're here with us in chambers and you would like to submit a
speaker's card, please fill one out and turn into a clerk representative.
You're right.
My left before the item is read into record online speaker requests were due 24
hours prior to this meeting.
The meeting came to order at not one 30 PM speaker cards were no longer be
7 minutes after this meeting has began making it time 140 PM with that we would now proceed
to take roll councilmember five present councilmember Ramachandran present thank you councilmember
Unger here and chair Brown present we have four members present before we begin chair
Brown do you have any announcements for us excellent and we'll welcome everyone to the
community and economic development committee given the number of speakers
and all of our council committee starting now until the evening being
relatively impacted first for this committee we will limit public comment
to one minute thank you so much thank you for that chair Brown moving to item
one there are no minutes to be approved as this meeting is a special meeting
committee. Moving to item two, which is determination of schedule outstanding committee items, also
known as your pending list. And we're going to go back to council member council's announcements.
In addition, I also had one other announcement around the so calling your attention to the
agenda and the order. Given some requests, we are going to change the order. So we will
here item number three and then followed by item number five then seven four and
six excellent thank you so much thank you chair Brown noting the agenda
change items on the agenda that's changed moving to item to determination
and schedule outstanding committee items also known as your pending list and
and there are no speakers for this item.
Excellent, thank you.
To the city administration,
any changes on this, Administrator Lake?
Thank you, Chair, no changes at this time.
Okay, I'll make a motion to move this item.
Is there a second?
Thank you, we have a motion made by Chair Brown,
seconded by Council Member Unger
to accept determination of schedule
outstanding committee items as is on roll.
Council Member Fife?
Aye.
Councilmember Ramachandran? Aye. Councilmember Unger? Aye. And Chair Brown? Aye. This motion passes with
four ayes to accept the termination and schedule outstanding committee items as is. Moving to item
three adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator to enter into a memorandum of
agreement with the city of Piedmont establishing that the city of Piedmont will process planning
entitlements in the building permits for the 551 square foot addition and remodel of an existing
single-family dwelling at 30 Blair Place, a property located at both jurisdictions and
adopting appropriate California Environmental Quality Act findings, and you do have five
speakers for this.
Okay.
Two speakers for this item.
Excellent.
Thank you so much.
And so I believe for this item, we will be hearing from Heather Klein.
Yes.
Good afternoon, Chair Brown and committee members.
Heather Klein with the Bureau of Planning.
item as a request for the city administrator to enter into a memorandum of agreement or MOA with the city of Piedmont
Establishing that Piedmont would be the lead agency in processing both planning entitlements and building permits
For an addition as well as the interior remodel of a single-family dwelling located at 30 Blair Place
The property straddles the jurisdiction line at an angle
resulting in the majority of the lot being located
in Piedmont.
By long-standing arrangement in these instances,
if a city provides emergency, municipal waste,
school and voting services, that city generally takes
over the processing of development permits.
In this case, these services are provided by Piedmont
and the majority of the addition is in Piedmont.
In the past, for projects straddling a city border,
The Oakland City Council has adopted similar resolutions.
Based on the scope of the development
and who provides the city services to the site,
staff recommends that the CED committee
for this resolution to the full city council
in support of the city of Piedmont processing,
planning and building entitlements via an MOA.
I'm now available for questions
and so is the architect if you wish.
Thank you.
Excellent, thank you so much.
Relatively straightforward.
colleagues any questions before we go to public comment so we can hear from the
public speakers Oh councilmember Ramachandran thank you just a quick
comment this is in my district and we've been briefed by staff and this is all
good with us thank you okay thank you and we can hear from the public speakers
when I call your name please approach the podium state your name for the
record you do have one minute if you're participating via zoom please raise your
hand so you're easily identified and we do take in-person speakers than Zoom
speakers. Bradley Shekart and Laura Giercer and I apologize for
mispronouncing your your name. And I'm so sorry are you trying to comment on
item number three that we're currently? Okay so you would need to fill out a
the public comment card.
Okay, I think I'm hearing that you filled out your form
for item number seven and so did you mean three?
If yes, you can speak.
Okay, thank you.
So any of the public speakers whose name have been called,
please approach.
If not, we will move on.
That concludes your public speakers for item three.
Excellent, I will entertain a motion on this item.
So moved.
Second.
motion made by council member Unger seconded by council member five to
approve the recommendations of staff and to forward this item to the December
2nd City Council agenda and that is on consent. On roll council member five.
Aye. Thank you council member Ramachandran. Aye. Council member Houston.
Council member Unger. Aye. Thank you. And chair. Aye. Thank you this motion
passes with four ayes to approve the recommendations of staff and
for this item to the December 2nd,
2025 City Council Agenda on Consent.
Moving to item five,
adopt the following pieces of legislation.
One, a resolution establishing economic aviation zones
under the town alive program to support entertainment zones
and responsible artificial intelligence.
Activation zones in the city of Oakland
bringing innovative programming
to the public and community spaces.
Two, authorize a city administrator to award,
Negotiate and execute a grant agreement
with Oakland Fund and Public Innovation
in an amount not to exceed $1 million
to implement the Town Alive Program
for a two-year term from November 1st, 25
to October 31st, 27th.
Two, an ordinance, one, adding Chapter 954
and Title IX of the Oakland Municipal Code
to establish and regulate entertainment zones
pursuing SB 969, 2024 to promote economic aviation.
Two, making other conforming changes
to sections 908180 and 908190
and the Oakland Municipal Code.
Three, classifying and entertainment zone,
event in a tier two or tier three special event
pursuant to chapter 952 of the Oakland Municipal Code.
And four, adopt appropriate California's
Environmental Sequel Act findings
and you do have 12 speakers for this item.
excellent thank you so much we do have a presentation for this item and I will
try to keep my remarks to 15 minutes so if you want to set the timer and so
while we are pulling that up super grateful for everyone that has showed up
to speak on this item for many of you you may be aware that prior to me taking
this role I had the opportunity to serve at the state level when this initial
legislation around entertainment zones
was being brought by Assemblymember Matt Haney.
And so, knew really early on that Oaklanders
could benefit from this type of activation here in the city.
And so during the city council budget process,
it was a priority of mine along with my council colleagues
to place a million dollars in the budget
to really try to bring this to life.
And so, I'm super excited for all of the work
that we've I've myself my team have been able to put into this initiative and so
we're gonna roll through all of the attachments that you'll find in the
agenda packet packet that showcases what this initiative is planning to bring to
Oakland and so I did want to start first by just acknowledgement of just all the
amazing partnership on this initiative so economic and workforce development
the office of the city attorney, so Nari Chan, as well as Brian Mowry, super grateful for your
leadership in assisting with the ordinance, Oakland's Department of Transportation, planning
and building, Oakland Police Department, and the office of the city administrator, and then the
entertainment zone partners, a part of the pilot, Port of Oakland, Jack London Improvement District,
downtown arts and entertainment district,
Broadway Valdez, North Lake District,
as well as the Temescal bid,
and the responsible AI partners, Lainey College,
Mills at Northeastern, Unity Council,
Caper Foundation, and the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation.
And so what you see in your agenda packet
will be the following that we'll be voting on.
Establish four pilot entertainment zones,
create AI activation zones, as well as entertainment zone
implementation and requirement, award a $1 million grant
to Oakland Fund for Public Innovation
to facilitate the town alive initiative,
and it also requires an informational report
in October slash November of next year
to really measure the findings and help to potentially ensure
that this program is something that is sustained
within the city of Oakland.
And so this afternoon I'm gonna be walking through both
of the parameters for economic activation zones,
both entertainment zones and responsible AI activation zones.
And so starting first with entertainment zones,
this is quite exciting because the legislation brought
about by state legislation is meant to activate
commercial corridor, streets and plaza activations
to create family friendly programming a key component of the legislation is
enabled by S. B. nine six nine that has to do with supporting restaurants and
bars around to go alcohol sales as well as reoccurring events to increase foot
traffic and encourage ongoing support of our businesses in the various corridors
and so more specifically just for everyone's awareness the S. B. nine six
city of Oakland in order to
identify.
Section six nine legislation
requires a city to designate
locations types of alcohol zone
hours the city must also the
city in the entertainment zone
lead must also be able to
verify all everyone that is
entering that zone and part
taking an alcoholic beverages
have to be twenty one enough and
there are special regulatory
cups that need to be- purchased
must receive the approval and feedback from local law enforcement about any of
the above details and any potential health and safety impacts. And just
quickly I do want to go over the legislative landscape. It was I would
say at this point I'm kind of quite well versed in the various entertainment
zones that are happening in our region. So San Francisco was the first to launch
the pilot program about a year and a half ago,
started with four locations, and as of last week,
they are now up to 21 locations.
Some of those include the Chase Center, Valencia Street,
Front Street, as well as Fisherman's Wharf.
You'll find that in their detailed management plan,
they all are activating these entertainment zones
in various ways.
And then, as of 2025, San Jose, Santa Monica,
and Sacramento have all moved forward
with the establishment of entertainment zones,
which is very exciting.
And Oakland is next.
And so as far as for the pilot zone, entertainment zone
locations, some key things that were really important as we,
and as I've worked on this proposal since the summer,
following the budget into the fall.
And I think many of you know that there
are a handful of renditions, if you would,
of where we wanted these pilot locations to be,
but the list really got narrowed down
very quickly because for a few factors.
The SB 969 actually requires a specific ABC license
in order to activate an entertainment zone,
and so a key criteria of activating this legislation,
there has to be a concentration of bars and restaurants
that serve alcohol.
the other key factor that we took into consideration
was that the potential entertainment zone lead
has a strong track record of hosting similar events
in the neighborhood, as well as the geography as well,
a low impact to public transit and other traffic measures,
such as street closures, and another key component
also had to do with public safety
really getting that sign off from OPD around you know what kind of support
they would be able to lend and even if the said entertainment zone you know
we're already operating with private security for example and so a part of
the pilot zone locations you have Jack London district both including the
square and in the outside parameter to support those restaurants this this zone
If anyone is interested, Santa Monica also has their Santa Monica Pier and when you look
on their website, you'll see just how detailed they got for their entertainment zone and
I believe that Jack London could mirror that given its waterfront and so many of the businesses
have been really asking for support in and around the area.
time we moved into this area
in addition also the Broadway
Valdez North Lake area.
As many of you know in committee
we recently changed the zoning
in this area I'm trying to
ensure that more of the retail
space in this area- instead of
the vacant storefronts really
trying to activate that space
so this was a an amazing
candidate for the entertainment
zone- in addition- just the
proven track record of- the
And also outreach and interest in this initiative and wanting
to be a part of a pilot given that, you know,
when you're a part of a pilot you are the first
to do this thing and so there's so much really on your shoulders
as far as getting this up and running and being activated.
And then lastly, we were able to, the Uptown Downtown Arts
and Entertainment District as was mentioned very loudly,
was was amongst the first to be called an entertainment district and zone over a decade
ago and so it's only fitting that they are part of the pilot.
And so so many questions that I've received is hey we want to be an entertainment zone
and so one clear thing to note is that any neighborhood commercial corridor in the city
of Oakland can become an entertainment zone.
we're going to give you a
couple minutes to talk about
this.
As mentioned at the onset
San Francisco started about a
year and a half ago with only
four locations and as of last
week they are now up to twenty
one.
Which I think is just quite
beautiful.
And so in becoming an
entertainment zone once we pass
this legislation that will be
really key any said you know
stakeholder can contact their
council member economic
general plan that does require
approval by ordinance and then
the other most important thing
even with the passing of
today's of today's piece of
legislation all pilot locations
and all future entertainment
zones must work closely.
With the wd to develop a
comprehensive management plan
on that focus on a handful of
things I will go over on the
next slide and on and upon
completing the detailed
if you don't want to build
multiple stakeholders then at
that point you can apply for
entertainment zone funding
because you will have an entire
lay of the land of what it will
take to pilot this in your in
your area.
And so what is a management
plan this is a tailored plan for
each entertainment zone lead
that establishes location
specific requirements operations
public health public safety
during the events.
with EWD, OPD, OAKDOT, Oakland Public Works,
and any other relevant department.
So want to make clear that even with the pilot locations that
are listed today, they still need
to generate this detailed management plan in order
for the Entertainment Zone to take off.
And so once again, the Entertainment Zone lead
and the participating businesses will provide to EWD
they're the programing vision location hours noticing.
Health and safety measures age verification there are specific cup requirements and all
applicable permits.
Just wanted to note and this is open to the public that with all the entertainment zones
that have been established regionally you notice that there they're all different.
So front street for example their entertainment zone you know is listed as Wednesday through
Saturday but Front Street is known for their first Thursday event and that's
really kind of what they've been focusing and concentrating on. I did
think that an interesting outlier is the Valencia Street entertainment zone in
San Francisco. This is one that is noticed for seven days a week noon to
midnight, however not publicized and that is a group of merchant businesses
that put that one together and that is one of the 21 that is actually detailed
in that manner.
And then more frequent than not, most of the entertainment zones are mainly a couple days
a week between a limited time frame.
I would note that in our ordinance, we did not push any boundaries where we could have
said, you know, till midnight, but we kept everything in line with just being tilted.
And so once again, next steps, four pilot locations
to establish initial proof of concept,
additional commercial corridors added in 2026,
in partnership with lead organization, council member,
EWD, requires passing an ordinance
and development of a management plan.
And so that's the entertainment zone piece.
And now to just talk very high level
about the responsible AI zones, which is quite exciting.
And so ultimately, this will be one
of the first AI activation zones in the state of California.
So that's big.
This is set to energize our economic revitalization,
strengthening youth and workforce development,
transform city services, as well as change the narrative
for the city of Oakland.
We've also, in the agenda packet,
you will find the city's values
as it relates to responsible AI,
but this is what they are in short.
has everything to do with inclusive access, fairness
and accountability, community engagement, transparency,
and privacy, as well as workforce development.
And so the goal of the responsible AI activation zones
is about hosting the conversation,
whether it be by conferences.
So AI in supporting small business, AI in local government,
the list goes on, community education, civic tech,
internships, and business development.
And so a part of the initial launch
is Laney Community College,
being one of the first in the state of California
to have an applied AI program, which is absolutely amazing.
And for this zone, it already anchors
near the Oakland Museum,
who's already doing amazing programming,
as well as the newly reopened Henry J. Kaiser Center.
So there's a lot of activation there,
And so we look forward to piloting AI innovation days and community education programming.
And for anyone who attended, I think it was earlier in the year, the AI Hackathon, that
was an amazing showcase of youth talent and trying to solve a lot of the big issues impacting
the city of Oakland.
In addition, we're proud to partner with Mills at Northeastern that currently hosts a bridge
to AI program working closely with OUSD students as well as being a partner in the city's AI
working group to help develop those AI principles that I just showed shared on the slide and
also in your agenda packet and already doing transformational work with our business community
and supporting them. And so this ensures that all across the city of Oakland will have access
to this being that Mills at Northeastern is located in East Oakland.
And so they will be a key partner for professional conferences, civic tech pilots, as well as
community education programming.
And then lastly, for the last eight years, the Unity Tech Hub, located within Fruitville
Transit Village, has been leading out with a partnership with Google, helping teach our
young people, AI workforce development skills and overall tech skills and so
they have also joined in as a partner here to assist with workforce and
business development programming mid-2026. And so those are our program
partners for the responsible AI zones and you'll notice that those are
situated throughout the city of Oakland. And so lastly we are proud in addition
In addition to be partnering both with the K-PUR Foundation,
who is leading out in this tech space,
and then the physical sponsor of this work
and this programming will be the Oakland Fund
for Public Innovation, and they will also be leading out
in fundraising to ensure that the,
we can have a program that is sustainable.
And so the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation,
their mission and aim is to really ensure
that the new ideas that we have internally
within local government, that we can pilot these
and bring these new strategies to Oaklanders
and really bring the vision forward.
And so they will be the physical sponsor for city funding
for both entertainment zones, AI activation zones,
entertainment zone, event grant management,
AI activation zone, project management, program design,
development and evaluation, as well as fundraising.
And so lastly, this slide just really showcases,
just based on direct feedback,
I'll start with the first line.
So for entertainment zones, as mentioned,
we are starting off with four pilot locations.
And so what we're really focused on
is ensuring that the proof of concept
and that we can actually move forward effectively.
And so you'll notice that there is a small amount of funding
in the first year for entertainment zones
to ensure that economic and workforce development
can really take the needed time on those management plans
with the entertainment zones to bring this vision to life.
And then, kind of already mentioned,
I know that so many of you are interested
in becoming an entertainment zone,
then in year two, we'll have more funding
for that initiative.
We'll also be supporting our AI activation zones
in the first year, so that also in year two,
we will see that vision and that programming come to life.
And then all of this effort, as mentioned,
is gonna be led by the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation
who will bring on a project manager
to facilitate this work and then small administrative costs
to get those grants out the door
from Oakland Fund for Public Innovation.
So that's just really what's...
Try my best to summarize everything
that is in the agenda packet.
And so of course, if there's any questions or comments,
please do not hesitate to reach out to my office.
And we'll definitely open up for questions or comments,
but I would love to hear from the public speakers first.
Thank you, Chair.
Going to our public speakers,
when I call your name, please approach the podium
in no particular order.
State your name for the record.
And if you're participating via Zoom,
please raise your hand so you're easily identified.
We will take in-person speakers
before we take Zoom speakers.
Isaac Cozerie, excuse me, Sharon Lay,
David Boatwright, Kyla Munging, Kyra Mungi?
Mangia, Mangia, thank you.
Nikki Lawy, Tristan Bagulov.
Now I do apologize for mispronouncing your last name.
Daniel Swafford, Richard NG, Tuon Thang, Josephine Guzman,
Stephanie Tran, Nigel Jones, and Peter Nye.
And please state your name for the record.
Thank you.
You have one minute.
Isaac Cosfried, D2 resident and business owner,
also founder of Salsa by the Lake, an outdoor Lake Merit
dance activation that's been around for about 15 years.
And I rise in support of this legislation.
It's absolutely fantastic to see the city
making moves around economic development.
It's kind of the missing piece of the puzzle.
We're rebuilding, we're turning the corner,
and I think economic development is our path forward.
The entertainment zones will be great.
The four zones will really help activate
those parts of the city, and I candidly,
I hope help deactivate some of those part of the cities
that have been overrun by activity
that isn't as well coordinated.
And then also I think the AI zones,
the city needs to be on the cusp
of this amazing new technology that's changing the world.
And I think this will be a way to help
give that a sense of place, right?
Because right now AI is somewhere in the cloud.
Here we need to give it a place, a responsible place,
a place with deep social values like Oakland has.
And so I'm very excited to help manifest
and implement this going forward
in partnership with the city, thank you.
Good afternoon city council.
My name is Sharon Lai.
I am the chief strategy officer
at the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation.
I am here to speak in favor
of this really exciting program.
My actual former job, I was working in economic development
activating downtown San Francisco.
So really good to see this being expanded here.
Just want to encourage this council
to consider expanding it into areas
where you already have community partners,
like E-Baltzy, that are also planning on investing
in community and economic development.
One of our core pillars of work
of affordable housing is actual and economic development.
We do a lot of small business support,
including technical assistance, concessions,
to make sure that small businesses can thrive in Oakland.
We currently have about 100 commercial tenants
within our portfolio in the city,
and we would love to be partners in this.
We are already planning on investing in Chinatown
in Swans Market, which is one of our properties
as well as Preservation Park in downtown Oakland,
and we would love to see partnership and amplification
in this cross-sector partnership.
We can't do it alone.
Thank you for your comment.
David boat ride district for three questions
or clarifications.
I assume a hundred percent of this funding
comes from the city and it's not clear what happens
in these future developments the million dollars covers
for what does it cost for each additional entertainment zone
and what kind of entertainment is gonna be allowed
in these areas I didn't see any examples
in the presentation, thank you.
Good afternoon Council, Kira Manjia District Six resident.
I am here with the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation.
The Oakland Fund aims to be the city's
public sector innovation partner.
We pilot, evaluate, and de-risk new ideas
before ideally they transition back into the city
into permanent operations or policy.
We are here to help you all bring this vision to life,
to move this quickly, stand it up, manage grants,
Contract with partners and adjust operations without the usually longer lead time required by cities and by the city's administrative structure
Council council chair Brown you already talked about our role, but happy to answer any other questions you may have
We are excited to bring this vision to life and to support you all with your work. Thank you
Good afternoon chair and members of the committee. My name is Nikki Lowy
I'm the director of social impact at Northeastern University in Oakland on the historic home of Mills College
As Oakland's first R1 research university,
we are deeply honored to be designated
as one of the city's AI activation zones
along Laney College and the Unity Council's Unity Tech Hub.
This designation reflects our commitment
to equitable access to AI education
and economic opportunity.
The responsible AI activation zones
will allow every Oaklander to benefit
from the growth of the AI industry
through work equitable access to education,
workforce development, and small business resources.
Over the last year,
we've already demonstrated this commitment
through initiatives such as the Bridge to AI Program,
workshops, conferences, and support for the AI Working Group,
and are so excited to have this vision aligned
with this legislation.
Every Oakland student and every business owner
should have access to AI education.
Thank you so much for this initiative.
Afternoon, council.
As community action chair for the
Do the chair to the public speakers please state your name
for the record.
Sorry, Tristan Maguilla.
As community action chair for the Associated
Students of Northeastern Oakland,
I would like to endorse Council Members Brown's initiative
to support responsible artificial intelligence
activation zones.
Thousands of students nationwide attend Northeastern University
computer science programs today, often with concentrations
in artificial intelligence.
It has been nationally recognized
is one of our best, most growing programs.
Our university has been focused very strongly
on sustainability and ethics regarding AI,
holding grounding for future development.
In my time here, I've spoken with dozens
of computer science students.
They are some of the most hardworking people
I have ever met in my life,
with drive put into every opportunity
for learning about and working with AI in new ways.
Building a stronger relationship with the city
through public innovation and economic development
would not only enable new opportunities for students,
but a greater positive influence the campus can have
in Oakland.
Let's build greater cooperative measures
and let us help build sustainable economic growth
to the city.
Hello Richard and thank you members.
My name is Richard Ng
and I manage a program called Indigidao.
We work with indigenous communities
and look at how emerging technologies
can create community governed and owned systems.
My comment is regarding the AI economic zones
and to talk about the community's role
in the development design and governance of these zones
in the future models as well.
Specifically, what does data and digital sovereignty look like?
I think if there is the opportunity
to create more infrastructure around this,
the AI models that could be tied into this
could be tied into enterprise models.
So I want to encourage the committee
to explore what hyper-local language models look like.
What does local compute look like as well, too?
Tools such as data trust and other tools
that ensure the systems will be deployed and governed
and owned by the community.
We advise a lot on community visioning and engagement
that's going to be happening and to really have the community understand what the impact
of these zones will be, what does it mean for their economic opportunities, and also
their overall welfare. Thank you, committee.
Good afternoon. My name is Thuan Nguyen. I'm the department chair, AI department at Laney
College. I do support Council Lady Rowena-Browns on the economic zones. In particular, I really
like to call for more collaboration between the city and Lenny College. I'm thinking Lenny
College should be the center of AI because we are the Bay Area AI Center of Excellence.
I'm serving the interest of 28 colleges in the regions. Oakland is my home, Lenny College
is my home. I would like to think more of it. My long-term plan is to offer a bachelor
degree in applied AI and machine learning.
Currently, there are only three community colleges in the nation that offer the bachelor
degree in applied AI, and Lenny College would be one.
We are working hard.
We have to save in terms of financial saving and support.
I hope that Oakland City can support us too.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon.
My name is Nigel Jones and I am the owner of Calabas restaurant and I'm
definitely here a hundred percent in support of this initiative and so I like
to just you know provide a little context as a business person here in
Oakland and been grinding and out and so I'm happy to see the City Council and
the city in general leaders joining the businesses rolling up your sleeves and
trying to make it happen versus what we would hear is that resources are limited, we can
do so much. So you have to invest. And this is an investment. This city does not have
any sporting good teams. We don't have anchor stores. We don't have oil. And we don't have
tech here. But what we do have is robust culture and small businesses that are driving the
economic growth. So you know we've been doing it on our own out of our own
pockets with our friends and family and sometimes at great costs in terms of
trying to stand up. Good afternoon council members my name is Stephanie Tran
president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce we're here to
express our support for the economic entertainment and AI zone. This is an
important step towards revitalizing our commercial corridors supporting small
businesses and expanding equitable access to innovation and workforce opportunities
in Oakland. At the same time, I want to express our disappointment that Chinatown was not
included the initial pilot zones as Oakland's oldest and most culturally significant district,
Chinatown urgently needs these tools to increase foot traffic, support cultural programming,
and strengthen our small business community. That being said, Chinatown Chamber also represents
it's important to be able to
make sure that we don't use
businesses and partners across
multiple neighborhoods and we
understand the importance of
establishing these zones so
that we can scale it citywide
so we respectfully urge the
council members to move this
legislation forward we also
request that the city also work
for the China town chamber and
our community partners to
ensure that we would be
considered in future phases and
thank you council member brown
for your vision and leadership.
I'm here to express our full support for the Town of Live initiative, which offers a creative
strategy needed to reenergize our neighborhoods and economy.
We strongly support the city's commitment to start with targeted pilot programs, which
is critical to learn from early implementation and grow the program based on real world experiences,
especially in areas that need support the most, which allows the city to test what works
and make data and foreign adjustments
and expand their responsibility.
In our most recent chamber pool,
we learned that more than 90% of people
support small businesses to open new businesses
and more than 80% support
attracting technology companies to Oakland.
This said, this initiative aligns with what Oaklanders want,
what small businesses need,
and what the city must prioritize
to restore economic vitality,
activate public spaces, and strengthen community wellbeing.
I'm Peter Moody, I'm the founder of Fixit Clinic.
We hold repair events in all of the public libraries
in Oakland and maker spaces now.
Our work is becoming more and more around
digital literacy, digital equity, and digital inclusion.
Along those lines, I wanna present to you an X Chromebook.
These are school district Chromebooks
that have been converted away from being Google Chrome
specific to being now cloud devices,
I mean, devices that basically anyone can use
as a portal, perhaps, to AI.
So what I'm offering, for example,
was that we can offer every resident of Oakland one
of these devices as a teaching tool.
And we're set up right now to start distributing these.
I mean, and obviously, you have to make
both sides of the market.
If you tell me you need 20,000 tomorrow, I'll have trouble.
But they're available.
The school districts are e-wasting these
by the hundreds of thousands.
Oakland Unified School District e-wasted 28,000 Chromebooks
three years ago.
So let's figure out a way to keep these devices in place,
in service, in our communities building wealth,
and bridge the digital equity, digital inclusion,
digital literacy and digital sovereignty divide.
Thank you.
Hi, I'd like to respectfully request
that my comment be submitted to the public record.
I put my request over there
and I just wanna make sure that it's there.
State your name for the record.
Oh, sure, it's Candida Haynes.
Thank you.
So my name is Candida Haynes
and I've lived in Oakland for nine years
supporting small businesses
and holding the community in care.
My passion is workforce transformation
and opportunity for marginalized people.
As a registered sole proprietor,
I am also a very small business myself.
It is extremely important to support very small businesses
and I'm hoping that there will be opportunities
for very small businesses to benefit from activation zones
either through direct contracts or partnerships
with larger partners.
I'd also like clarity around what it means
for what activation zones mean for community centers,
as I live about a block away from one.
And they might not be for-profit businesses,
but they might also be activated
to support the bars and restaurants in our neighborhood.
I also want to raise a flag on the fact that,
thank you for your comment, Ms. Candida, thank you.
Good afternoon, Council Member Brown and committee members,
my name is Petra Brady.
I am the Director of Community Engagement and Membership
for the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.
I wanted to come today to show our support from the chamber
about the AI and entertainment initiatives
and I wanted to remind you that even though there are
five chambers and one Oakland African-American chamber
has done some of these things already.
We've already had an AI workshop at Northeastern University
and we have started doing a few activities
that are kind of like entertainment zones.
So I just wanted to keep our chamber at top of mind
and let you know that we are here to support you
and to advocate for our businesses.
Thank you.
Chair Brown, members of the committee,
my name is Daniel Swofford for the record.
I work in service to three
of Oakland's business improvement districts,
Laurel Montclair and Temescal,
and I'm here to speak in support of the item.
On behalf of Laurel and Montclair,
we're excited for the opportunity to apply
as soon as the window opens and understand the importance
of setting a solid foundation with a pilot program.
On behalf of the Temescal district,
We appreciate the opportunity to pilot.
The Temescale just was renewed for its third decade as a BID and has hosted hundreds of
events over those years.
My management team in particular produces about 50 public events each year, so we relish
the opportunity to create safe spaces for the arts and culture for the community, in
particular the entertainment zones we recognize how powerful that is in
transforming small businesses supporting their success and supporting the arts of
Oakland. Thank you. That concludes your public speakers for item 5. Okay
excellent and so just for my colleagues awareness I know that leadership from
planning and building are here in the room as well as director of economic and
the state of the state. And I
think that that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
And I think that's a good thing.
I will share that I'm a little disappointed.
I didn't see any of my big chairs.
Three out of the four activation zones that are mentioned in this legislation all fall
within District 3.
And unfortunately, I just got to see this legislation publicly when everyone else did.
So we didn't have to, we didn't get that deep community engagement where I could actively
answer questions about this legislation as I would have liked to.
I hope moving forward there is a reflection of my district's representation in this work
as you know I've been meeting now especially with the uptown downtown folks for several
years since I've been elected and some voices feel that they've been left out of this conversation.
I think it's important that we move forward with these entertainment zones.
I think there needs to be a lot more education on the AI space, because it's a little confusing
to people about what exactly that will do.
But I have very specific questions about public safety, especially with some of the incidents
that we've been experiencing in the uptown downtown area, and some of the other areas
that are mentioned in this legislation, but more so uptown downtown, because that's where
we're seeing an uptick in some violence that doesn't exist in some of these other spaces.
So that said, I do have very specific questions about how this funding will be allocated.
There is a table in the packet, but I want to get a better understanding of the ongoing
cost and when this pilot will be analyzed after we get through the next I don't know
if it's in the next budget year or the 2027 budget but I have to say that with the limited
amount of funds it this does raise questions about how they can be effectively used so
I have questions about how the funds that are set aside for the activation zones will
be distributed amongst all of the different groups that are listed and I can go through
all of my questions or I can go through them one by one. So yes, I want to understand how
the funds can be, will be allocated and what ways will they impact the businesses because
there's four pilot zones and I have questions about how additional zones will be added particularly
with the $350,000 not being used for programming.
So because off the top, there's $350,000 that goes to administrative costs to Oakland Fund
for Public Innovation for them to hire a program manager, I want to understand how the rest
of those funds will be used, and how specifically will they be allocated to these four pilot
zones.
And then what if one of the zones identified in the pilot, one or a few of them don't want
to participate in the pilot.
What do we do then?
How are we engaged with the Jack London bid?
If there's some tension in Jack London Square
around the major developer
and their prohibition on alcohol.
So I wanna understand that.
I also wanna understand what the plan is for extended,
well, who is the target?
Is it for families?
Because I'm hearing different things from different people.
Are we trying to activate space for multi-use for families
or will it be later into the evening with adult use?
Because if we're extending open to go alcohol opportunities,
I just want some more clarity about that.
And I'll end there.
I think that was quite a few questions.
Okay, thank you so much for the questions.
Hopefully I made note of all of them,
but I'd want to start first from the top
with your concerns around public safety
in some of the outlined areas.
And so in kind of direct conversation with OPD,
one of the things that was a part of determining
the criteria was whether or not, you know,
said entertainment zone, you know,
actually funded private security
or had ambassadors to kind of help support.
And so originally, I kind of went to OPD
with a long list of potential activations
as I was really wanting to spread this program
equitably across the entire city of Oakland.
And it just became really apparent that,
even in seeing some of our other partners regionally
as they piloted this program,
there was no precedent for pilots
being more than four locations.
So I had to really narrow that down.
And so, as I was kind of mentioning
in the detailed management plan
that is required for each entertainment zone lead,
the said entertainment zone will need to work closely
on that management plan with EWD to establish
what will be the programming.
And so, for example, when we think about
the uptown downtown arts and entertainment zone.
We're gonna be focused on the hours of like four to eight
to really support the restaurants and businesses
during that time and not really pressing the boundaries
of 10 or midnight where we see a lot of the,
between midnight and 4 a.m.
Where we see a lot of the negative activity occurring.
So we were really intentional around ensuring that
And so, you know, we're in
different states.
These events aren't going into
the late hours.
And then, to your point around,
you know, entertainment.
So, there's a component of the
state legislation, and it's
quite clear that this is
enabling to go alcohol sales
within a parameter of a
location.
So, not only are we encouraging
those who live in and out in
and around the area to frequent
restaurants and bars in the
and so it's going to be quite
broad to be honest right so let's just say and and and and you know the truth
of the matter and and director can and I would invite you to come up because even
in the passing of this ordinance and you'll notice that most of the funding
allocation is actually in year two because EWD still needs to program out
the city of Oakland's you know management plan template as well as the
questionnaire and other items and so and then but following this per this the
passing of this ordinance all of those named in the pilot will begin working
closely with EWD to plan the programming and so you know any of the the pilot
locations they could opt in to you know as I mentioned as an example second
Thursdays only between three and seven but that would be up to that specific
entertainment zone, but Director Cannon, did you want to offer some additional
insights? I know we we were engaging on this for some time and we still have
much work to do as far as bringing it to life. Thank you. Good afternoon. Ashley
Cannon, Director of Economic and Workforce Development. This is very much a
pilot. We're seeing the success of these entertainment zones in other cities
across California and wanting to take advantage of the legislation to the
extent possible so we're all learning as we go from a staff perspective as the
implementers of this legislation should it pass we know that our responsibility
will be to come up with a robust mechanism for interacting with the
applicants who are designated as the folks who can speak on behalf of the
entertainment zones will prepare a template and prepare a management plan
and that management plan while the legislation really sets the broad
parameters of what are allowed in the entertainment zone sets the boundaries
the management plan is where the details will be worked out and where the
requirements for private security will be identified the requirements for the
to-go cups and all of those deep the hours of operation the type of
entertainment all of that will be worked out in the management plan and we're
our intention is to develop a template so that it's a more straightforward and
equitable process for entertainment zones,
but that work is ahead of us.
We have not done that yet.
And so when we look at the allocation of funding,
it makes sense in my mind that more would be
in the second year so that we have time
to put together that programming
or the work to set up the management plans.
Excellent.
Thank you so much.
And I know that one of the questions
that Council Member 5 had was around
how we add additional zones.
I think you spoke a little bit to that,
because as was mentioned,
a lot of the outreach we've received is,
we wanna be an entertainment zone.
And so just really working through
that we're starting this pilot now.
But even in passing the ordinance,
local chambers, could they also begin
to be in conversation with their council member
and with the Office of EWD to figure out
what are these parameters that they should be making sure
that they have in an effort to kind of put them in line,
if you would, to be a part of the pilot.
I think so.
I'm eager to establish what those management plans
are going to look like so that collectively
we understand all the components of the plan.
I think that will be the best indicator
to future potential economic zones
of what will be required.
To be an entertainment zone,
not only does it need to be established,
the boundaries need to be established by legislation,
but we're also looking for capacity of organization.
We're looking to make sure we have the restaurants
and the bars, the assets there.
They'll be the ones with the ABC licenses, for example.
So the infrastructure really needs to be in place
in order for these to be successful.
So I think taking all of that into account
and then once we have the template for the management plan,
I think that will be really,
we'll start to have very clear communication
about what a successful entertainment zone can look like.
Excellent, sounds good.
And then one of the questions here is
who is the target audience?
And so it's, you know, folks who want to,
you know, upon publicizing said event,
you know, the target audience,
I think we see it all the time where you have families
that are coming out with their kids,
but also wanting to partake in alcoholic beverages,
or even just folks that are out and want to be on the scene
at the various restaurants, going here, going there.
And so what we're really doing is opening up a space
for that vibrant activity to occur.
And I think that just in my research,
especially a lot of the activation zones
that are in San Francisco, each one is different,
and each one brings their own kind of method
and their understanding of what they want
an entertainment zone to be.
As I mentioned in my remarks,
the Valencia Street example is actually one
that's 100% targeted on getting folks
into the restaurants that are on Valencia Street,
whereas the total opposite is true around Front Street.
That one is 100% engagement around the activity
that is happening on that day, right?
and so I imagine that everyone who's listening
to us activating these entertainment zones,
your vision and what you may want to bring to it,
that is a part of the work, the management plan,
that will be developed and so each entertainment zone
can be different in how it comes to life.
And I think maybe lastly, the question that you asked
was around the funding allocation.
I may be more specifically around just the role
of Oakland Fund for Public Innovation.
In our long conversations kind of working
to bring this program to life, it really became clear
that we needed to, we wanna make sure that this funding
gets into the hands of those who are doing
this event planning and trying to activate our spaces
in Oakland and we know that unfortunately sometimes
the funding going out of the door within the city
Oakland can be slow. And so that was one of the main reasons why we tapped the
Oakland Fund for Public Innovation to help support with getting those dollars
out to to the community and then the the reason why we have slated here a
program manager for a couple reasons because they're gonna be charged with
maintaining and getting the funding out of the door for the entertainment zones
zones both in year one and year two, and then for the programming relative to AI activation
zones, supporting mills at Northeastern when it comes to conferences, as well as their
bridge to AI program, supporting Laney Community College with their tech innovation fairs,
and as well as supporting the Unity Council with their Unity Tech Hub as well, and also
take note in the packet that in year two, the rest of the amount to support these initiatives
will all be fundraised for. So it's a small bucket in the first year. For a program that
as I was kind of talking to community members about, one of the biggest questions and takeaways
was hey, how do we sustain this program past the two year budget? And so that is really
one of the questions that we still need to address. But hopefully, Council Member Fife.
Yeah, I just I want to be clear that I'm not asking about the need to have a nonprofit provider to manage funds because I know they tend to be, you know, really slow when they come from the city of Oakland.
My concern is that there is a limited pot of money off the top.
it's $350,000 that will not be going to our businesses because we need someone to facilitate
these grants, right? So off the top, we're going to take $125,000 per year for the Oakland
Fund for Public Innovation to hire someone to manage this process for two years. And
then we have to pay a 10 percent, it's a typical fee for a nonprofit administration, but it's
It's $125,000 per year for the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation to hire someone, then
it's another $100,000 for them to administer the program.
So that's less money going to our businesses for these activations.
Then I wasn't, I didn't get a clear answer on how much do these four zones, is the rest
split amongst those zones?
And then do they have to pay for all of the, how many activations do you think can happen
out of that, what's left over?
Do the math for me, the math geniuses over here.
Yeah, so if any of you, and if I can just chime in,
and I think that that's really gonna be determined,
like how much money each entertainment zone receives
will be determined as a result
of them completing the management plan, right?
So one of the things is around the special cups
that each business actually has to purchase
in order to be a part of this program, right?
So there's a fee associated with that.
We also want to ensure that they are not paying out of pocket for the special event permitting,
right?
And so ultimately one of the things that the Oakland Fund for Public Innovation and that
program manager will be tasked, that's why it says specifically that upon completing
the management plan, they will know exactly how much it will cost to do this programming.
And so they will apply for event funding.
And so that was one thing that is still, you know, really TBD.
So we know that one event in the city of Oakland,
it could easily be at minimum $15,000, and it can go up.
And so to answer your question specifically,
each entertainment zone lead in that first year
has access to that $100,000 for the first year
to do said event and programming.
And then in year two, the rest of the funds
will be open to additional stakeholders
that are becoming entertainment zones.
So there's no specific answer,
but we know that in partnership with EWD,
they will help outline, hey, how much are these fees?
And so that's why the partnership will be so important
in between Oakland Fund for Public Innovation
as well as EWD to bring this program
this vision to life. Can't do it without one another. And I would just show I would also
just uplift one last thing that you know I got to have a lot of conversations with you
know some of the cities that have activated this program and within our city we have one
person who is managing a lot of these special permits and so in San Francisco who now has
21 entertainment zones they have two people working on entertainment zones within the
city. Um, and we just have one. And so I think that, um, you know, we're,
we're going to need some, some grace as far as like really getting this
program off the ground.
Okay. Well, I, because I don't want to spend the whole CED committee on this
one item. Um, this does illustrate for me that there are so many questions
because it sounds like if the four zones each get $100,000 in the first year
And activations run anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000.
They might be able to do maybe one or a couple activations.
And especially if they have to purchase private security
for one.
And I heard you say four to eight for the uptown downtown
location.
I want to articulate to the public
that out of the four zones, again, three
are in my district and district three.
two of them are in the same bid.
So we have the North Lake,
which is not necessarily a business improvement district,
that's inside of the uptown downtown district.
So that seems like it should be one effort.
And, but again, there are a lot of questions to be had.
The last thing I will just end with
is that I think this needs more conversation
with a lot of the businesses that have reached out to me
in my district that wanted to help inform this legislation
that they've been heard by the city of Oakland
for the entire time that I've been in office.
And many of these organizations are around the Paramount,
the Fox, and some of those areas.
And I wanna make sure that this is tailored
for the organizations who are there.
And what they have consistently articulated to me
over the last five years is that we desperately need help
just to hang on, and this feels like a very top-down approach where they in the
uptown downtown North Lake area, they need basic services like trash pickup,
graffiti removal. Um, and what they've been really banging on is an after hours
support because that's when a lot of the violence occurs. That's when there
doesn't seem to be police response for emergencies. And several, there have
been several incidents like it was the hottest summer and it's been a hot
winner that people just have not expected and I want to know that whatever dollar that
we put out, if it's one or one million, it goes to what the businesses are asking for
and that they feel like they're a part of the process and again, everybody wants entertainment
zones but the devil is in the details and we're not getting to those details quite yet.
I know there's a management plan but we're having to pay different sources to manage
these things and I don't want to seem like I'm pouring cold water on it but
again I've been listening to people you know come to the city with their
concerns that have to date not been addressed at all and when they are angry
they call me because I am their representative so when they're not
getting the services that they need or certain special groups get funded and
others don't they call me and I have not been able to weigh in on this I'm trying
to do that now, so I'm asking for their voices to be heard. I've been asked for small business
supports for struggling folks who are having trouble paying their rent. Coco Noir is one
of those, and it's just there are a lot of folks that are struggling, especially in the
Black Arts Business District, which wasn't mentioned here either. So I just have a lot
of questions and a lot of desires for my businesses who are often, they feel invisible, so that's
what I'm asking for.
I'm asking for a slowdown in the process to move entertainment zones.
They asked me to bifurcate AI from entertainment, so I'm lifting up what I've been hearing from
folks and they're also, I've also heard from residential residents that there's not a focus
enough on how we're going to keep these spaces safe because we haven't been able to do it
but they're not meeting yet.
So those are all things I'm just gonna leave on the table
and hopefully we can have more conversation
that includes these voices post this meeting.
Excellent, thank you Councilmember Fyfe.
I didn't wanna clarify one thing.
So at minimum, we know that a special event
could be $15,000 and then the other,
the up to maybe 45.
So it's not 100,000 per entertainment zone.
I know that in conversation with multiple business owners, there's a lot of excitement around the creation of the entertainment zones. Definitely hear you. My hope is that we can pass this today in CED and I welcome more conversations. Council Member Ramachandran, did you have some questions or Council Member Unger?
Thank you. First of all, thank you Councilmember Brown for bringing this
forward. I know that you and your team have put a lot of work into the
details. It's not easy trying to bring something forward that's innovative and
new and I did get the chance to speak to the nonprofit partner the Oakland Fund
for Innovation and you know initially I had my doubts. I'm like I don't know this
organization. I don't know why we're not using EWD's own capacity, but that's the
reality within the city, the way our staffing levels are right now. We don't
have the capacity to do all the innovative things that we can. And I
think I felt reassured talking to the implementation partners that are involved
with this project. You know, at the end of the day, our business community is not a
monolith. You're gonna have a lot, clearly as we heard today, very excited about
about this proposal and you're gonna have others that aren't.
But I think it's important to take risks.
And as co-chair of the Budget Committee,
the budget team, I think that we all,
six of us who voted for the budget,
made the choice to invest a million dollars
in the biennial budget into trying something different
that could potentially yield many more millions of dollars
back to the city and back to our residents,
back to job creation, back to having our streets
activated again.
So at the end of the day, things like this are experiments.
I hope it works.
I see in San Francisco it working.
The other day I thought, you know,
I should do a field trip just to one of these areas
in San Francisco.
In turn, I've already been to three of them.
I didn't realize this was an entertainment zone,
but I was thinking, are they doing this illegally?
The vibe is great.
This is really cool.
And I would love to see that in Oakland.
To be honest, every time I travel
to other cities that have bustling business corridors,
you know, not just downtowns, but all over their cities.
I'm like, we need to do a number of things.
Entertainment zones, I think, is one of the many things
that we can do to have that activation and excitement back.
And I know that there's gonna be hurdles in implementation
and that a lot of business districts wanna do it.
I certainly, hopefully in the next round,
hope to see some of those in my district implemented
as well, but I think that this is a great start.
I've heard nothing but enthusiasm
from business corridors across the city,
including those not selected for the pilot,
but who think that, hey, this is a great start,
we're using the state legislation,
we'll be one of the first five-ish cities
in the state to do this,
and I think we treat this as a creative experiment
and push forward as much as we can.
So my only question right now is about the future,
because we can't guarantee that we'll always have
this pocket of money for entertainment zones
and how the process for making sure
that we're able to continue this beyond two years.
Yes, and so we have been thinking very,
thinking a lot about that same question as well,
and so that's why we decided to put into the legislation
a one-year report back so that we can check in
and see how this program is going
and really with much intention working on seeing how
this is something that can be funded long-term,
I would note that the locations
that have taken off in San Francisco,
none of those were funded by the city.
And so I think that this is a,
hopefully I think my goal would be,
can we create something where it actually funds itself?
And so I would be interested in trying to work
to design something like that in the future.
The very near future.
Then just to follow up with that,
I know that in our budget we also did fund
an additional special activities permit coordinator in EWD.
So I hope that when the department is fully staffed
that they'd be able to continue on this work
past the two years and be able to leverage the staff
that is funded internally so that we're not always relying
on external partners, which I know as a pilot is helpful,
but long-term continuity.
I hope we develop that capacity in the next couple of years.
But thank you.
Excellent.
Thank you for reminding me about the position we added.
I forgot.
Council Member Unger, any questions or comments?
Excellent.
So I would entertain a motion to move this item forward
and Council Member Fife, if you're open to it,
would love to, I would love to set aside some time
to answer some additional questions that you may have
and really talk.
I had the opportunity to talk with a hand,
just literally two stakeholders that had concerns,
but very specific to the events
that are occurring during Oakland's first Friday.
That's what they were kind of upset about
and making sure that this pilot does not create
some of that same negative activity.
I thought the conversation went really well
when I explained the parameters of this,
but I 100% welcome if you're interested,
working with me on some of the locations
that we have here, talking with any of the stakeholders.
But as mentioned, I think there has been
a lot of positives to this initiative,
but of course, I wanna make sure that we are placing
all of the key parameters to make sure our community is safe.
I would make one last note, you know,
I had the opportunity when I was kind of proposing
this legislation to meet with our now interim chief beer.
He was the one that joined the cause
when I was bringing up this idea to him.
And so now for him to now be our police chief,
and he brought up a handful of really important points
that he would want to see implemented
in that management plan.
So I know that he's really laser focused on this pilot
and making sure that it is successful
and that everyone has the tools
that if you have the opportunity
to make sure that it's safe
and that it's safe that will be
attending that it is safe as
well so I just think that the
the the partnership in the
collaboration first from so many
of our city departments it's
there and so would love to the
opportunity to make sure that
you feel that support as well.
Council member.
Yes I definitely want to bring
the history of the work that's
been happening from the bottom
As I said, I haven't been included at this point, and I bring so much to the table.
Not because of me, but because of what I've heard.
And there are a lot of folks who feel left out and that certain organizations get favored.
And I was elected to bring balance to that perspective with so many of our stakeholders.
So yes, I definitely would like to participate in this process.
and I think it's important, Chief Beer, Interim Chief Beer,
is great, and I'm happy he's been made the interim,
and there are local officers who are a part
of managing this area every single day
that their information doesn't necessarily trickle up
in a way that impacts the businesses,
so you definitely need to sit down
with some of the folks that I've been in conversation with,
and I invite that conversation,
because that's what they wanted to come out of this today.
they wanted their voices to be heard.
So yes, and I will make the motion to move this forward
if the motion hasn't been made already.
Nope, don't think so.
So this would be not, is this a public hearing?
No, okay, okay.
To the December 2nd meeting on consent?
I would like us to meet with the stakeholders,
the businesses in these different locations
before this comes to the full city council meeting.
Okay, I think the motion that I would like
for this item to go ahead and move forward.
It requires two readings, and kind of as mentioned,
there is much work for EWD to do
in the management plan process,
and so really being able to, for any of this to take off,
we are literally looking at February, March.
So we have a lot of time to really get into the weeds
and really develop out a truly sustainable program
I'm going to turn it over to
the council to move forward
with some of these pilot
locations.
But I'm I'm supporting moving it
to the next because it's an
ordinance it needs to read I'm
supporting it moving forward to
the next full City Council
meeting.
What I'm asking you is before it
gets completely solidified at
the final City Council meeting
before even moves to February to
have come to have those
conversations.
Absolutely.
Okay.
Absolutely.
Is there a second second.
by council member Ramachandran to approve the recommendations of staff and to for both all
pieces of legislation to the December 2nd city council agenda on consent with note the ordinance
will be the first reading for December 2nd. On roll council member five. Aye. Thank you council
member Ramachandran. Aye. Council member Unger. Aye. And chair Brown. Aye. The motion passes with
with four ayes to approve the recommendations of staff
and to for all pieces of legislation
to the December 2nd city council agenda on consent.
Moving to item seven.
Receive an informational report
regarding the citywide permit reform fall 2025 update.
And you do have four speakers for this item.
Okay, excellent.
We will hear from planning and building.
Excellent.
Councilmembers, can you hear me?
Okay, great, hi.
Robin Abad with the City Administrator's Office,
and the Citywide Permit Ombuds,
here to update the committee on Citywide Permit Reform,
part of the Oak Permits Initiative.
So we do have a 10-minute presentation here.
The presentation is split into three parts.
We'll talk briefly about mission goals and governance,
how we're set up as an interagency team accomplishing
this huge volume of work.
I'll also talk about the four key action areas
that the work is divided in.
Then we'll dive into some of the specifics
of the specific action items themselves
that are sorted in those four key action items.
So I'm here representing a large group
of inter-agency collaborators and stakeholders
who have actually been executing
and carrying this work forward.
So we're joined in the chamber by representatives
from departments of planning and building,
transportation, economic and workforce development and others.
So if we get to questions later and there are, um, you know,
questions about specifics, uh, staff experts are in the room, um,
available to answer. And I also should have mentioned, uh,
information and technology. Sorry, Michelle. I know you're back there. Um,
so Oak permits, as I mentioned is a huge interagency effort involving many
disciplines, departments, and bureaus. You'll see here on this, uh, org chart,
how we are organized around Oke permits.
Governance is coordinated out of the city
administrator's office, which is, as I said,
is where I sit and involves these different departments
and the respective bureaus.
You know, our mission is really straightforward.
We are focused on efficiency for our customers
and our public, as well as internally
in terms of our systems and our administration.
We have been making continual strides
over the last couple years and even more
scoped and designed in queue for this upcoming year which which we'll talk
about. Who is our audience? Who are we really trying to impact? First and
foremost as I mentioned is our customers. We want to create an increasingly
efficient and easy to use experience for those transacting with the city of
Oakland on planning entitlements, building permits, and everything related
to acquiring approvals and permissions from the city. We want to make this
highly accessible, we want to create a diversity of options in person as well
as digital, and we also want to make sure that our guidance and our
assistance is clear and legible. Importantly, we also want to make sure
that internally we're operating with maximum efficiency, so you know we will
talk about some of the old systems and infrastructure that we're seeking to
replace and consolidate. That's really geared to making sure that our staff, our
our experts in departments are working in as optimal and ergonomic an environment as
possible in order to provide the best service and make the best use of time.
So there are four action areas, broadly speaking, that the permit reform activities address.
We'll go through some of those specifics and they're kind of grouped here by these four,
but it's important to note that action items actually can address many of these at the
same time.
So first and foremost, reform is looking at policy and legislation.
Where in city code, especially through code amendments, can we create more efficiencies
for both our public as well as our departments.
We also want to make sure that our customers, our clients are able to find information easily.
They're able to transact, submit applications, get information, learn about statuses and
so forth in the most optimal way as possible.
We're expanding digital options and, as I mentioned earlier,
we're also really focused on updating internal systems
and systems that the public interacts with.
So I'm gonna move quickly.
I know we only have about 10 minutes for this item.
I may skip over some slides,
but they're here for the record and for reference
in case there are detailed questions,
we wanna refer back to them.
You're aware that the Department of Planning building,
specifically the Planning Bureau
has recently brought code amendments
to commission and counsel in order to vastly streamline
what are principally permitted uses,
especially in downtown, the Broadway Valdez
and Lake Merritt.
So here's listed some of those specific provisions
and we are in process this fall,
seeing many of these provisions expanded
beyond those specific plan areas
and actually applicable to commercial corridors citywide.
So that's going to vastly reduce the amount of process
that our small businesses and other stakeholders
in these commercial corridors will have to move through
in order to open a business and to operate
and even to expand the vibrancy of their corridors.
We're also seeing how these code amendments
are impacting our ability to deliver more housing.
So some specific provisions here on streamlining
around residential review.
Both entertainment venues were recently
brought forward in terms of amendments.
And currently, the Office of Economic and Workforce
Development is working on crafting some specific code
amendments to make sure that we have sensible parameters
for cannabis dispensaries and cafes that are also efficient.
Moving on to bucket number two, which
has to do with customer service and experience.
The Department of Economic and Workforce Development
does currently have a neighborhood business assistance
program.
We are looking at expanding and doing deeper outreach
through this existing program in order
to provide better upfront technical advice and service
to small businesses and those seeking
to create small businesses in the city of Oakland.
There is an incredible facility just across the way here
at Building 250, Franco Gao Plaza,
which is our physical permit center.
Over the last year, the physical permit center
has slowly expanded the number of service hours and days
available to the public.
And we have also begun to consolidate permit departments
into a single facility, minimizing the amount of effort
and kind of running around that applicants may have
to do in order to speak to or interact
with multiple departments in order to get advice
and make submittals.
Critically, we've also, as part in conjunction
with those improvements and expansions
at the physical permit center, have created an integrated
single appointment scheduling platform.
In the past, you might, for your project,
need to speak to many different departments.
The planning bureau, the building bureau,
maybe the fire department.
And in order to get time with experts in those departments,
you might have had to call one department or email
another, maybe use a web portal to sign up.
So that's all been consolidated into a single platform
that you can now use to schedule an in-person appointment,
a virtual appointment, and other types of interactions.
We've also been experimenting with different ways
to get the word out about all of these improvements.
So we've been showing up at Fora
that our external stakeholders like the building owners
and Management's Association has been hosting
the Housing Action Coalition,
as well as developing proactive communications tools
and assets like our video PSA series,
which we launched last year.
So there's, if you look up on YouTube,
you can watch some of the great videos
from external stakeholders talking about
how to access city services through these new channels.
Our website's also, you know, our digital front door,
And in our digital world, people are expecting more and more
of us in terms of digital services
and what we're able to offer through asynchronous means.
So the communications office here
at the city administrator's office last year
just implemented a sweeping content rationalization
exercise on our website, reducing
a lot of redundancies and helping
with more efficient navigation.
They also transferred us into a new content management system
that will allow us to be more agile in terms of adjusting
our digital environment for better accessibility.
We're also scoped in this upcoming year, calendar year,
to look specifically at the family of web pages
having to do with permitting.
There's been a lot of incredible work
to consolidate and make those pages as legible as possible,
but there's still more work to be done.
And so we're excited to be doing that this year.
Moving on to kind of bucket number three, which
has to do with the expanding our digital options
so that patrons have both in-person
but increasingly digital options at their disposal.
One of the biggest innovations that departments
have been executing and implementing on
is creating a one-stop digital submittal.
So you can imagine in the olden days,
manual submittals, PDFs, in-person,
sometimes submittals to multiple different departments
and disciplines separate packets for the same project.
We're moving increasingly to consolidating
those types of intakes into, first of all,
a single permit application or project application
is the ideal, but critically, digitally.
So instead of submitting something in person
or manually emailing a PDF that then a permit tech
and a process coordinator has to review and enter,
create a record manually, these procedures allow us
to virtually create a record almost instantaneously
and speed the progress of a permit application
through departmental review.
One of my favorite examples of this
is the Digital Special Event Permit,
which the Office of Economic and Workforce Development
Special Events Group spun up last year
where the big topic of conversation so far in this hearing
has been about outdoor activation
and how vibrancy in economic development
is not just about small businesses
and building new buildings, but allowing and helping
our neighborhood partners create these ephemeral activations.
So there's a subset of digital applications, which is also
really exciting and important.
And that is our same day permits.
So not only are we expanding the ability of patrons
to be able to submit their materials digitally
immediately, but increasingly with many different types
permits to not only submit it but receive your permit in that same session, in that
same day.
So as you can imagine, this cuts out a lot of time and expense for our consultants, our
contractors, our GCs, our applicants, as well as for staff.
So the specific example shown here in the slide is building permits, specifically trade
permits.
These are mechanical engineering and plumbing permits that do not require structural review.
We've moved from a paradigm where it might take up to a week maybe to process something
manually to an applicant being able to submit their materials, pay, and get that permit
printed out from their home computer within the space of 20 minutes.
So the Department of Planning and Building has been really leading up our experiments
to try and create a digital same day permit.
Some statistics here from the great work that the team there has been doing.
We've been tracking volumes and we can clearly see that a greater and greater share of trade
permits, the kind that don't require structural review, are being handled and processed in
this manner.
Beyond just building permits and trade permits, however, we're also looking at other kinds
of permits that can be issued same day.
So in 2025, bollards on private property, some entertainment venues, and minor encroachments
like planner boxes in the public right-of-way are now available same day.
And in 2026 we have a number of other permits that we're hoping to incorporate, specifically
building alterations that do not require structural review, others, foundations, siting,
windows.
So some other exciting things that are on deck coming up.
How are we making it easier for folks?
Right now, to scope a project, as we mentioned earlier, you might need to talk to planning
to understand what entitlements you need.
You might need to talk to building.
You might need to talk to the fire department.
Sometimes those are emails.
Sometimes those are in-person interactions.
And it can be really challenging for a project
sponsor to understand, OK, for the project that I want to do,
which permits should I apply for in which sequence?
How much is that all going to cost?
And so there's maybe a lot of inefficient information
exchange that can happen simply in just helping the project
sponsor scope their project for permits.
So the digital project scoping tool
is bringing us into this century in terms
of a dynamic tool that can help project applicants begin
to understand which permits they're
going to need, in what order, and how much that's
all going to cost.
So the tool would ask questions like where is your project
located so that it can check land use controls and zoning
to see if what you want to do is even
allowed to help you understand what entitlements you have to pursue, and so forth.
This will allow us to eliminate some of our manual intake tools like the zoning worksheet.
We're currently in the process of trying to eliminate the building bureau's equivalent
of that, which is the building worksheet.
Finally, we're wrapping up soon just a few more slides on bucket number four, which has
to do with our internal systems.
There has been a huge lift over the last couple of years and still more work planned consolidating
all of the permitting departments, especially those that are handling development services
into a single database of record.
As you can imagine, like many cities, departments can be on different systems of record.
Consolidation is going to help us do a lot of things.
It's going to ensure that we can do comprehensive monitoring of progress across a single project
So the reporting advantages are manifold.
It helps us integrate around communication
and being able to work together also as a project team.
So we have some major departments,
such as planning and building,
which again being the pioneering group that they are,
got us started with Ocella, our current database.
We've integrated fire prevention,
economic and workforce development
is nearing their full integration as well.
and so are transportation and public works.
Another thing that will, item that will integrate
with Acela is an electronic plan review platform.
We are really trying to eliminate manual reviews,
having many different versions of project documents
floating out around there.
This will be a great advantage to us and our clients
because all departments, all disciplines
would be able to see the most current set of plans.
And for example, see each other's comments,
plan check comments.
Sometimes one discipline might give one kind of advice
that might not necessarily jive with another discipline.
So this will help with our internal coordination
and also the speed and rapidness
with which we're able to communicate back out to clients
about revisions they might need to make.
The city's also in the final stages
of implementing a single point of sale platform.
And so the advantages of this are pretty evident
in terms of us being able to collect fees
and revenue expeditiously.
It's important to note that one of the big goals
with this project was to make sure that we were meeting
sort of like safety standards and privacy standards
coming out of the ransomware issue from a couple years ago.
So I know that was a bit rapid fire,
but that concludes the formal presentation.
and as I mentioned, staff, department staff,
experts are here if there are questions
about sort of specific items within that presentation.
Excellent, thank you so much.
And how many public speakers do we have?
We'll go ahead and take the public speakers, thank you.
Thank you, Colin, and our public speakers for this item.
Please approach the podium.
State your name for the record.
You do have one minute.
If you're participating via Zoom,
please raise your hand so you're easily identified
and we will take in-person public speakers and then zoom.
Bradley Chucart, Tamika Garner,
Garner, Tony Carrefale, and Laura Gasser.
Hi there.
I'll be brief and I apologize for the earlier confusion.
My name is Brad Chucart.
I am the regional president for Freehield Communities.
We are the development manager as of the first of this year
for the Okanoa Project in the Oakland Hills.
And one, appreciate the support that we've gotten
from the city thus far in our new role.
The city administrator's office has been particularly
helpful in getting us up to speed on the city processes
and I just wanted to encourage the city to continue
to support the efforts of the city administrator
to create streamlined processes.
One of the biggest things we're hearing from our home builders
is certainty is very, very important to them.
And the lack of certainty with respect
to the timing of approvals and the like creates risk
and has the propensity to cause them to make investments
elsewhere.
So we'd encourage the city of Oakland
to continue to improve its processes.
Thank you.
Hello.
My name is Tony Caffarelli with Aida Z Media Group.
A senior event manager with them we work with the city of Oakland the Oakland permitting process
through the various events that we produce Oakland pride parade and festival the Unity Council's Dia de los Muertos and
We also agree that these streamlined processes have helped us tremendously
It's created this this one-stop shop like you said approach
One of our one of our things that we that we really appreciate are the interdepartmental meetings
Where we have you know all the various departments there it eliminates things from falling through the cracks, and so we appreciate that
And these improvements are really good because they increase in efficiency. They streamline communication and cut down on unnecessary delays
We think that the this permit process can also be very beneficial for newer event planners
As it creates a real step-by-step guide
Making the entire process much easier to navigate
So we're in support of it and anything you guys can do to continue to streamline the process
We appreciate
My name is Laura Geist, I'm the general manager of the Oakland Ballers baseball club
And as you can imagine over the course of the last two years, I have submitted for a lot of permits
As we have reimagined Romani Park, so we've done building we've done conditional use we've done special event
we have used the gamut of of all of the permits that
Oakland needs and offers and I just have to say that
This process has been you know, you hear about permits and you hear that
It's such an arduous horrible thing and I that has just absolutely not been our experience
The every department that we have worked with has been super helpful in walking us through the process and then once we've done
It once we've been able to go in and self-service which has been a huge shaving of time effort money on our part
And I will say that without the help and support that we have gotten from from the permits department
We would not have been able to open in 2024 as a result of of all of that help and partnership
The community has a new resource
The community not just for the ballers but also for little leagues and for partner communities. We've hosted over 200 community
Community groups into the park and we hire over 150 different seasonal employees. So really the damage
And our last public speaker, Tamiko Garner.
That concludes your public speakers' round of seven.
Excellent, thank you so much.
Any questions or comments?
Council Member Ramachandran.
Thank you.
Thank you for the very detailed presentation.
I just wanted to go back to item 3.7 on your PowerPoint,
where you talked about same-day digital permits.
I think you rushed through that one a little bit,
but I'm curious about the kinds of same-day digital permits
that could be executed.
Because I saw something bollards on private property
and entertainment venues, and private property
and entertainment venues are the kind of permits
that seem like they could be issued fast,
and there's also ones that we had a lot of complaints about.
What are those, and what else with this new streamline
process can be same-day digital?
Great, I'll take a first crack at that,
and then I can invite Cat Torio,
who is the Deputy Director of EWD
to speak specifically to the entertainment venues in 2025,
and this is slide 23, item 3.7.
In 2025, same day digital permits were extended beyond
just those trade building permits
to include bollards on private property,
minor encroachments like planter boxes
and some entertainment venues.
So in 2026, we are scoped to expand
Same day digital building per same day digital permits to building alteration permits that are non-structural
And and therefore don't require a plan check. So examples of this are kitchen and bath simple tenant improvements
also foundation window replacement and siding including stucco, so
Hello cat toy open special activities permitting division
So for our one-day permits, if you have all of your documents in order for an entertainment
venue, which would include like a fire inspection, it would include your business tax license,
it would include your insurance and a few other things, if all those items are in place,
then you're able to get your EV permit very quickly.
It could be same day, it could be a couple days, depending on if it lands on a Friday
at 4 o'clock or not.
So we have a lot of things that are set up that way.
As long as we get the materials from the applicant,
we can move forward very quickly.
Thank you.
This is very exciting.
Yeah, that's all.
Yeah, it's a very quick question.
So minor encroachment, that would include residential street
closures?
Specifically, I believe we're talking about planter boxes.
And assistant director of DOT Jamie Parks is here
and maybe could answer that with more specificity.
Hi, good afternoon.
Jamie Parks, assistant director
with Department of Transportation.
Yeah, there are a lot of different minor
encroachment permits that are out there.
This is specific to just the planter boxes,
which are very simple.
An actual street closure would have to go
through a longer process where we review
the details of what's being proposed.
Thank you.
Excellent.
And so I did have a couple questions.
Well, first off, amazing work.
appreciate seeing just the cross departmental collaboration to really
bring this to life. We know that out in community we get a lot of feedback on a
lot of these processes within the city, so really delighted to see this progress.
And so on that note, I am curious, do we have a method in place to gather before
and after performance data to basically evaluate the effectiveness of the
changes that are being made?
Yes, excellent question.
And we didn't present all of the statistics.
I think we probably could have in this presentation.
So departments are in various stages
of spinning up monitoring dashboards
so that we are really taking as much of a data-driven approach
as possible to addressing problems.
So I might invite Assistant Director of Planning and
Building, Al Merid, up to talk about planning
in buildings, you know, sort of monitoring dashboards
and the ways that we're looking at data and performance.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Alvin Merid, Planning and Building.
Before we start, I just wanna make one correction.
The hours that were projected earlier,
it said walk-in hours are 8.30 to noon Monday through Friday
and it's actually Monday through Thursday
And Fridays will be appointments all day.
And that will start December 1st.
Going back to the data, we have invested a lot of time
and resources in developing dashboards to help us manage
our internal operation.
We are tracking how well we're doing all the way
to the individual level.
And any time we make changes, we do have the capacity
to compare the before and after and make additional tweaks
in order to maximize our efficiency.
Excellent.
And so do we currently have a system in place
to keep us updated on this progress?
So we initially concentrated on our internal dashboard.
Currently, we're working on our external dashboard.
And that will be coming up in the first quarter of 2026,
calendar 2026.
And we're actively working on it.
So we're really excited.
And we'll be bringing that back up here.
Excellent.
Thank you.
All right.
Director Gilchrist.
Yeah, just want to thank that.
And thank you.
Assistant Director has been instrumental
in bringing this on board.
But I also heard in your question
how we're using this on a regular basis.
And that was the whole intention when
we started this a couple of years ago
was to really look at data and see how we can drive our decisions with them, test the
before and after, and see where we were finding problems, where we were finding the impaction.
We convened regularly to check those, and to your point earlier, Council Member Chair,
we want to use these as a way to really test what's working and what's not.
I mean, are we seeing improvements?
Can we identify different impactions in the process that need to be focused on?
you know once you improve one part of a process then you may find there's something downstream
that's holding you up so then you can concentrate on that.
So we are taking a very systems oriented approach toward this and the data information dashboards
we've been putting together over the last couple of years have proven very very helpful.
Excellent.
Thank you.
And then my next question not quite sure who maybe it's directed towards IT but just wanted
to uplift during the council budget process,
we did allocate, well, we added an additional three million
to help assist with Acela.
And so I think I'm just curious how that,
I guess, investment has impacted like the process of this.
Yes, thanks Chair Brown.
I'll invite Assistant Director of Information Technology,
Michelle Neuring-Eisen to speak to the ASELLA budget
as well as work program.
Thank you.
Hi, good afternoon.
Thanks, Michelle Neuring-Eisen.
So yes, we're really grateful for the investment.
And the first thing that we've done
is undertake a business process review
with one of our contractors to have an independent look
inside the system, because we know
that while we're focused on external improvements
for our users and residents across the city,
we also are mindful that there's a lot
we can do systems wide internally within our system
to create efficiencies and build things
like customized reports that have been talked about earlier
on some of these other items.
So we're looking at that.
We've also created a three tier staffing plan
and we're working on the first tier of that staffing
because we are mindful that that's what that funding
was really intended for as well.
So in addition to looking at resources
that we can use to drive efficiencies in the system
across the departments, we are looking at a selective
certification recruitment for a business analyst position
that has experience or multiple that have experience
in land use and permitting issues, whether it's with
a cell or related system that we could train on.
So we're doing that, we're also looking for, you know,
to get some very specific project management support in
that can help.
And then another idea that we're working with
is also trying to create resources
that can be staffed or lent out to other departments
that are either short on staff
or require additional training or resources
to use new permits or get ramped up
and to try and be that resource to facilitate
providing additional resources to departments.
And that's what we're currently working on.
Excellent.
Yeah.
Thank you, Michelle, for that update.
We're really grateful for all of the time and energy
that has been put into this effort.
Colleagues, any additional questions?
I think maybe lastly, definitely thank you,
Council Member Unger, for submitting
the supplemental questions,
because a lot of the questions that I had were in there too,
so really appreciative for staff
for engaging those questions
and answering them so efficiently.
But if we do not have any, Council Member Fyfe.
Yes, through the Chair, thank you for the presentation.
Can you just say really quickly how these changes to ours and the upgrades to the process
are communicated to the public?
How do we let people know?
Thank you so much for asking about that.
We have a kind of multi-pronged approach, and I think we're seeking to increase that
even more.
One of the ways that we've done that is through these PSAs, these video PSAs increasingly,
you know, the public is consuming information
and news through social media.
So we've been partnering with our incredible team at K-Top
to produce how-tos,
and our lead producers sitting right in the room
next to us.
And so that's one way that we're seeking to sort of expand
and make more accessible and just legible
kind of these changes.
Some of them can be kind of abstract
and people are like, how does this help me?
We've also been attending somewhat aggressively
external fora that are hosted.
I mentioned earlier the Housing Action Coalition
hosted us, the building owners and managers association,
excuse me, alphabet soup, also hosted us recently
to learn about these and also to provide feedback.
The city administrator also convenes a group
called the Development Services Advisory Group.
These are mostly development related stakeholders
where we're listening, getting some deep and honest feedback,
but also sharing out.
Finally, I'd say I think we're really excited
to be before you here today because we know
that you're hearing from your constituents day in, day out,
and we've wanted to come before committees
so that we can help equip you all with information
that you can take back to constituents
about the positive improvements that are happening.
There are little improvements and there are big improvements.
Some are very technical, some are more outward facing.
So the portfolio is really diverse
and we hope that our briefing today
has helped you understand kind of the breadth of that.
Excellent, thank you so much.
I'll entertain a motion.
I will move to receive and file.
I'll second that.
Perfect, thank you.
Thank you, we have a motion made
by Council Member Ramachandran.
Seconded by Council Member Unger
to receive and file this
in the Community Economic Development Committee.
On roll, Council Member Fyfe.
Aye.
Thank you, Council Member Ramachandran.
Aye.
Thank you, and Council Member Munger.
Aye.
And Chair Brown.
Aye.
This motion passes with four ayes
to receive and file this in the CED committee.
Moving to item four.
Adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator
to forgive $3 million in outstanding principle
in all accrued and unpaid interest owed
by the East Bay Highland Psalms, the second LP,
For the Highland Psalm's property, five million,
an outstanding principal and all accrued
an unpaid interest owed by the East Bay Capital Fund
to LP for the East Lake property to preserve
long-term affordability until 2073
and facilitate the property's sale to a new owner.
And you do have four speakers for this item.
Okay, excellent.
And so given the sake of time,
I'd kindly ask five minutes for the presentation.
have to do it speedy sorry thank you good afternoon chair person Brown
members of counsel my name is twine early manager of asset management
services with the housing and community development department may have my
slides please thank you today I am presenting the recommendation to
authorize loan forgiveness for the Eastlake apartments and Highland and
of homes, properties to affordable housing communities
in district two, represented by council members,
Charlene Wang, and in approval with,
and approval will preserve long-term affordability
through 2073 and allow for a new qualified owner
to stabilize these properties.
The presentation will cover the staff recommendation,
background in legislative history and analysis and policy alternatives, physical and equity
impacts, implementation of the timeline, and closing remarks.
The staff recommends council authorize forgiveness of 3 million in outstanding principle and
all occurred in unpaid interest for the Highland and Palm properties, and 5 million in outstanding
principal and all occurred in unpaid interest for the Eastlake apartments. To ground this
recommendation is important to explain the city's loan structure. City loans are structured
as long term residual receipt, low interest loans that are subordinate to conventional
senior debt. In this case loans from Chase Bank. The city loans are not expected to be
repaid as approved in the project's financing plans.
We make these loans which function very much like grants
as a way to secure long-term affordability confidence
that run with the property.
Repayment on these loans only happen
when the properties generate surplus cash flow.
These properties have never generated surplus cash flow
and repayment or refinancing is not permitted
under the affordability restrictions.
In this case, these properties,
in the case of these properties,
the affordability covenants will remain in place
even after forgiveness and after the sale to new buyers.
It's also important to note that this action
does not involve new city spending.
No new funds are being dispersed.
This solely removes uncollectible debt
from our books to facilitate a preservation transaction.
Both properties were part of the ACAA, Acquisition and Conversion to Affordable Housing Program,
and the awards were funded by Measure KK.
Voters approved Measure KK with the explicit intent to protect existing affordable housing
and prevent displacement.
These two properties were among the earliest preservation acquisition funded, excuse me,
properties were among the earliest preservation acquisition funding directly through this
bond.
The ACAA program was created to prevent displacement by enabling nonprofit developers to acquire
and preserve rental housing for low-income families.
Both properties were part of the—in 2017, excuse me, both properties were a part of
the ACWA program. And the awards were funded by Measure KK. Excuse me, I think I skipped
over a little bit. Read that slide. I'm on slide five, excuse me. East Lake Apartments,
which shows on the screen, is 35 units. It was built in 1957. And Highland and Palms,
is also 23 units was built in 1964. Both require significant investment. Ibalzi put in over
4.4 million combined for seismic upgrades, fire restoration, and deferred maintenance.
They serve working families, seniors, and households earning up to 80% of the AMI. The
The total income of these families is approximately $45,000 a year.
Income streams vary in comparison wages, Social Security, SSI, and pension benefits, and housing
choice vouchers, which account for about 5% of the tenants.
Both properties continue to experience high operating costs, vacancies, and infrastructure
needs.
The financial condition.
Both properties are currently operating at a loss.
Negative cash flow, zero operating and replacement reserves, any bossy is advancing or making
advances or keeping up the properties and keeping the properties afloat.
Under the rent restricted model, revenue was never sufficient to build adequate reserves.
The operating deficit forced the bossy to advance funds to keep the building solvent.
intervention, these conditions increase the risk of deterioration and potential foreclosure.
The properties are being sold at prices consistent with their broker's opinion value.
The senior lender is Chase Bank.
Sale proceeds do not repay the senior loan in full.
Chase Bank is taking a significant reduction of approximately 1.5 million on one property
and 900,000 respectively.
As the subordinate lender, the city would receive no repayment under any scenario.
Chase's willingness to write down 2.4 million, respectively, underscores the severity of
the financial distress and their commitment to the preservation outcome of these properties.
All parties are absorbing losses to preserve long-term affordability.
Why full forgiveness is the only viable option?
Full forgiveness will preserve 58 units of affordable housing in District 2.
It will prevent displacement of long-term residents that are currently there.
It ensures a responsible transfer to a fully vetted affordable housing owner and it maintains
the affordability on these properties through 2073.
The incoming owner must demonstrate strong experience
operating affordable housing, show financial and operational
capacity, present a stabilization plan for these
properties, and commit to property improvements.
The new owner must also sign a full assumption agreement
legally binding into all affordability restrictions,
all monitoring reporting and compliance obligations,
enhanced performance covenants,
requiring timely reserve deposits, capital planning,
and quarterly reporting until fully stabilized.
If forgiveness is not approved,
foreclosure can become a risk.
In the event of foreclosure,
affordability covenants are wiped out completely.
The city loans are extinguished.
Rents instantly can convert to market rate.
The current residents, whom I will say is 71%
of whom are African American, face immediate displacement.
A private investor typically acquires the building
with no affordability requirements.
Foreclosure would eliminate all affordability
and cause resident displacement
at these properties in East Oakland.
Long restructuring is not an option
because the properties do not generate sufficient
net operating income to support any new debt, as rents are capped at affordability restrictions
and cannot rise to market levels, and if we reduce the interest, which we looked at, the
rates will provide minimal relief. And right now, that loan is at 3 percent, and we could
go down to 0 percent, but it wouldn't help the situation.
If not approved, we're risking foreclosure, 58 families losing their homes, the city loses
the affordability protections and financial oversight.
If it is approved, the properties can stabilize
under a new qualified owner.
The new owner will assume the property has zero legacy debt.
Reserves will then be able to be restored
given the property a buffer for operations and repairs.
Cash flow will no longer be a burden by historic debt.
The property will finally have a clear pathway
to long-term sustainability and long-term affordability
remains intact for 55 more years. Deferred maintenance can be addressed and
vacancies can be reduced. East Oakland residents predominantly black
households earning 45,000 or less can remain housed. The city protects this
measure KK preservation goals. This is a unique corrective action plan, not a
precedent for future loan forgiveness request. The equity impacts prevents
This displacement again in East Logan and aligns with our city's racial equity and
anti-displacement goals.
To speed this up, the timeline upon council approval, we would execute the city loan forgiveness,
formally releasing the city's lien on the property, meaning that the controller's office
will complete an internal account entry to officially remove the city loan's balances
and accrued interest from the city's financial records.
15 days, a bossy will go through with the purchase of a sale, which they already have
someone lined up.
We will initiate the new owners to sign the assumption agreements and the transition of
operations will begin.
In January, we will record the updated regulatory agreement and our asset management services
department will start enhanced oversight over these properties.
Some of the enhancements are just monitoring the key performance indicators, their occupancy,
their reserves, their NOI or net operating income, their rent in the rears conducting
biannual inspections, and intervention triggers if performance starts to decline.
From approval forward, the property begins to stabilize under the new owner, no legacy
debt allow no legacy debt allows a sustainable path forward and reserves
will be rebuilt to support long-term operations. Again in closing staff
recommends this is a highly unusual I admit this is a highly unusual
circumstance two distressed properties negative NOI no reserves significant
senior lender write write-offs or write downs and a viable preservation buyer
ready to step in. This will not be applied broadly across our portfolios. I
want to iterate that but will preserve 58 deeply needed affordable homes in
District 2, prevents foreclosure and displacement, ensures a vetted new owner
has the tools and financial structure to stabilize these properties, restores
reserves and creates a path to long-term sustainability. It keeps the
affordability governance again in place through 2073. This preservation action it
protects housing, protects families, protects our city investment and without
this intervention we risk losing both the affordability and residents in the
neighborhood deeply impacted by displacement. I'm available as well as
staff from a ball seat to answer any questions you may have. Excellent thank
you so much we'll hear from the public speakers. Thank you want to call your
name please approach the podium state your name for the record in no
particular order if you're participating via zoom please raise your hand so
you're easily identified. We will take in-person speakers and then zoom. Isaac
Cause read Emily Bush Sharon lie and then David boat right good afternoon
council members I'm Sharon line the chief strategy officer both Emily brush
as well as Isaac cost read will be ceding their time to me may I have their
time as well great thank you so hello again I am the chief strategy officer at
the East Bay Asian local development corporation we are here as the
or requesters of this action before you today.
First of all, I wanna really thank staff
for your hard work in bringing this item forward
as well as to the council members for your time
and attention in this request,
which the staff has already very thoroughly stated
will help us secure the long-term affordability
of 58 units of housing in Oakland.
As the staff report noted, at Baltzy,
we are the largest non-profit
affordable housing partner in Oakland
and we continue to be very committed
to meeting the affordable housing needs of Oaklanders.
The reason that this request is before you today
is that E-Baldsee was the city's biggest partner
back in 2015 when we were piloting this program
to protect naturally occurring affordable housing
away from real estate speculation
and then to convert them
to long-term rent-restricted affordability.
The specific properties that were acquired
in this portfolio, including the market downturn,
pandemic impacts, and other factors,
has contributed to the current dynamic
where these two properties before you
are no longer sustainable, financially sustainable
for a balltee to hold onto.
In short, the current debt and cost to operate
far exceeds the market value and the revenue
that's generated from these properties,
and they are at risk for loan defaults.
Defaulting on the loans would mean
that the long-term affordability restrictions
would be jeopardized, as well as impending displacement
for the population that's currently there.
To guarantee the long-term affordability of these properties
for the next 47 years for the remaining term of this loan,
the best option really is to sell to a new owner
who will be owning at a lower value,
which then in turn means that their operating costs
will also be lower.
Fortunately, was able to secure a contract for sale
with the affordability requirements intact.
The sale, however, requires the bank, the city,
Andy Bolte to all share in some of these losses.
In sum, this request will not impact
the city's general fund,
will preserve long-term affordability goals,
represent the best option for all parties,
and must be acted on promptly
to avoid significantly worse outcomes.
My colleague Emily Bush,
who is the Director of Asset Management,
is also here today,
and we are more than happy to answer any questions.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
David Boatwright, District 4.
Whoever was responsible for following this project
from day one needs to come forward
and explain all the learnings that we've had from this
because it looks like it was a plan
that was destined to fail from the beginning.
It's so far off what was expected
that something had to go wrong
and I didn't hear any of those reasons today
and I think somebody needs to look into that
and find out why.
Thank you.
That concludes your public speakers.
Okay, excellent.
Council Member Unger.
Yeah, thank you.
I've got some questions for HCD
and some questions for Ibalzi.
So you said that this loan was essentially uncollectable
and that you never really expected to be able to collect on it
and that is typical for these sorts of loans?
Well, it's how the loans are structured.
Technically, you only receive repayment
if the properties are cash producing
and the property has not been cash producing.
Some of the loans that, I mean,
not all of the loans are not, you know,
all of the loans that we give
are not always non-cash producing.
If that answers your question, we do expect to come.
It does, I mean, I think in general,
we'd be able to do more projects
if we were getting paid back
for the projects that we're loaning on,
because they cease to be loans and become gifts.
Well, that is true.
I can say a lot of the Abazi properties,
they are paying back some of the loans that they have,
but we did do a deferment agreement with them
because they had some properties that were failing.
So in order to prompt those properties,
we deferred our payments or the repayments
on loans of properties that were in the black
to uphold the properties that are in the red.
So it was imperative that we do a disposition
of some of the properties that are not cash producing
to reverse that effect.
Okay, and I appreciate you saying that this is a one-off,
but I don't know how we know that.
I mean, we have another 40-something million
in the ACAH portfolio and other millions of dollars
in outstanding bonds.
What's to prevent the sort of moral hazard
of other recipients coming to us
and asking for the same thing?
What's to prevent us from being back here six months
when everybody knows that we'll just forgive their loans?
I can say that the asset management services department
is a new form department that was created
about a year and a half ago when I started
with the city's HCD.
So I can't speak to necessarily what was happening prior to,
but I know there weren't a lot of hands on deck
to ensure that all of these loans were being monitored.
Since I've started in the department,
we've created procedures,
monitoring procedures to ensure that we are monitoring
they're actively monitoring the 150 properties
that are actively in our portfolio
and the ones that are coming down the pipeline.
So I have three staff members.
We're out doing the inspections.
We're collecting the financial audits
and the budgets and all of the information
from the properties.
And if we see that properties are in trouble,
we are holding kind of stabilization calls.
So I've actually been meeting with Emily Bush from Iwasi
for the last year and a half
to stabilize this half portfolio.
So any properties that are struggling,
we do meet with them and try to come up
with alternative suggestions of how to help them
meet their goals, and that's up until possibly
deferment agreements, reducing their interest rates
on their loans, things like that to make this more palatable.
We have not received a lot of requests for loan forgiveness.
Some properties that have asked for forgiveness,
They were in the process of trying to refinance
or take more money out on their properties,
and why would we reduce the loan
for you to take out more debt?
So those were all rejected.
The reason this one was considered
is because Ebalzi is selling these properties.
That would take away the debt for a new owner to come in
and be able to stabilize the properties.
And thank you for that.
I appreciate it. Thank you.
And a question for Ebalzi's rep.
Thank you.
So I understand why we're in this pickle.
You bought at the peak of the market.
There was more work than you were expecting.
The pandemic, all of these sort of unforeseen events.
And I also really appreciate that e-baltzy
is a huge part of our affordable housing in Oakland,
kind of too big to fail.
You've been here for 50 years.
We need you to be here for another 150 years.
And so that's all really important.
I would love to know more about the deal you have lined up.
We're essentially being asked as a council
to give our blessing and our financial resources
to a real estate deal that we don't know anything about.
And we're gonna end up with a new landlord,
a new nonprofit partner, a building that's deed restricted.
And as a city, we're gonna be judged by the outcome of this.
And I don't wanna read about who the buyer is in the papers.
I feel like, I mean I don't wanna intervene in this deal,
but I also feel like we are, like us saying yes today
means that this deal is going through.
So we need, I would like to know more about
who we're partnering with here.
Thank you for that, Council Member Unger.
Absolutely understand and you know our,
we are here as partners and respect the city's process.
Tawima has actually laid out a very detailed approach
where the city staff still has to run their vetting
and approval process of the buyer after this point.
So that's not our process,
that's actually the city's protocol.
So there is a very well laid out set of procedures for that.
Within the contractual obligations of the sale,
we are not in a position where we can disclose the buyer.
That's just part of the terms of the agreement.
And so what I can say is that we understand this buyer
has experience, the kind of experience that would qualify them to be a buyer in this case.
And just for everyone's knowledge, these units would remain deed restricted at their
affordable levels.
That isn't going to change with a new buyer.
Absolutely.
That is the whole point of this and why we are willing to even sell at this point.
OK.
And are you worried about the rest of your portfolio?
is actually the it's a very unique part of our portfolio. We have done a lot of
affordable housing work as you have named over the past five decades and we
were really good at that. This was a special frankly an innovative approach
that we were trying to step in for the city during the height of the market
when we were seeing a lot of speculation and a lot of displacement and you know
We have learned from that but the rest of our portfolio
Without these properties will be at a much more stable place and that's really what's important here. Okay. I'm done. Thank you
Excellent, so a lot of my questions were similar to councilmember Unger. I think I did hear staff lay out
So I had a question around
Ensuring that this doesn't like set a precedent of other developers coming and requesting the same thing
and so I think I heard a little bit around the process depending on, you know, why they
are requesting this thing and there seems to be some parameters that are in place, but
I think I would be interested in there being maybe a more structured pathway to ensuring
that this isn't a precedent. So that was the first thing that I wanted to uplift. And then,
You know the report does mention that you know the East Lake property has kind of had
some initial like poor construction issues and so I guess I'm curious like with the new
owner like how can how are we ensuring that they they are able to kind of overcome some
of those issues and then I'm mostly asking that question because how are we ensuring
that we are actually protecting the tenants from this new owner and ensuring that they
They can, you know, these units actually stay affordable
as what was stated.
Let's start.
Let's start.
My name is Emily Bush.
I'm the director of asset management at E-Baltzy.
We inherited extensive deferred maintenance
at these properties.
We invested millions of dollars over the course
of the period that we held to try and address issues
as they arose, health and safety issues.
Part of this debt forgiveness enables the buyer
to purchase the property at a lower price
and have then additional resources available,
which they are laying out through a capital plan
to be able to reinvest in the property
in the way that we have identified it needs
without our organization having the funds
to be able to make this type of investment.
I see, and without displacement?
Without displacement.
I think another key part of this,
which Twima mentioned is that with the regulatory agreement
in place, remaining in place,
that enables the city of Oakland to retain all of its rights
to monitor compliance with the regulatory agreement,
which includes enforcing health and safety standards.
Okay.
Thank you.
Does council member Ramachandran have her hand up?
Nope.
Any questions or comments?
Council member Fife?
Okay.
that we can entertain a motion
to move this item to.
December 1st council meeting.
December 2nd I keep saying that
December 2nd on consent.
Council member younger yes I
will make that motion.
Second.
We have a motion made by
councilmember younger seconded
by councilmember five to
approve the recommendations of
staff and the for this item to
before this item to the December 2nd 2025 City Council agenda and that is on
consent on roll councilmember five I thank you councilmember Ramachandran I
thank you councilmember Onger I and chair Brown I the motion passes with
four ayes to approve the recommendations of staff and to forward this item to the
December 2nd 2025 City Council agenda that is on consent moving to item six
Adopt an ordinance as recommended by the City Planning Commission to one,
amending Title 17 for the Oakland Municipal Code to a,
adjust regulations for permitted and conditionally permitted activities and
facilities for the purposes of providing greater opportunities for
the ground floor activities and ease the permitting burden for commercial,
civic and low impact industrial activities and b,
make related miscellaneous and administrative changes and two,
making appropriate California environmental quality act findings and you do have four speakers
Okay, and so I know we are now getting into almost time for LEC. And so I would
Kindly ask for this presentation to be swift maybe highlighting some of the key changes that are being made
And then we can take questions and comments from council members and then the public speakers. Thank you my best. Thank you
Hi, I'm Timothy Green, I'm a Planner 3 in the Strategic Planning Division.
Staff are proposing a Planning Code Amendment package to streamline the conditional use
permit or CUP requirements.
CUPs are an important tool to address accommodation of uses with special site or design requirements,
operating characteristics or potential adverse effects on surroundings through review and
where necessary the imposition of special conditions of approval.
However, the CUP approval process is often lengthy and expensive and affords a high level
of uncertainty.
This can inhibit the opening of small and neighborhood serving businesses, which results
in less vibrant commercial districts and reduced tax revenues.
Additionally, it hampers the implementation of parks improvements and maintenance by the
city.
Mayor Lee has established a permit reform initiative included as part of her 10-point
plan for Oakland, from which the proposal was initiated.
The primary focus of these amendments is to reduce the number of activities subject to
the CUP procedure, thus allowing these uses to be permitted outright.
The zoning amendments in the Broadway Valdez district adopted in May served as a pilot
for this project which expands the effort citywide.
The proposed package amends the chapters of the Planning Code showed on this slide as
well as this slide.
The bulk of proposed amendments reduced the regulatory barriers to permitting commercial
and civic activity in commercial zones.
One of the key triggers for a CUP for these activities is the square footage of a proposal.
Therefore, the proposed amendments would raise many of these thresholds by 20 to 50 percent,
depending on the activity in the zone.
Group assembly includes a variety of businesses that facilitate public gathering, generally
having a floor area of at least 5,000 square feet.
Such activities can serve as anchor destinations, attracting patrons to a commercial district
from throughout the city and region.
The activity generated from these venues can support other businesses such as restaurants,
bolster the reputation of a commercial district, and promote the city as a center for arts
and culture.
However, they also have the potential to generate elevated noise levels that can disturb neighboring
residents.
Currently, the Planning Code regulates this issue by requiring most of group assembly
activities to receive a CUP.
The proposal aims to create more predictable permitting process by increasing the square
footage allowed before a CUP is required and instead establishing performance standards
in certain zones.
So it increases the threshold and now for projects that don't trigger a CUP but propose
to use amplified sound, an operational noise plan would be required.
This would document the potential noise generation of the project and describe any mitigation
are required to meet existing noise performance standards.
Traditionally, one of the reasons to require a CUP
would be to require this noise study
and add conditions as a result.
By requiring this with the permitted use
as a performance standard allows retention
of these requirements without the need
for a more lengthy CUP process.
Artisan production was newly added
to the Planning Code in 2023,
which will be added to most commercial zoning districts
as well as certain industrial and residential districts
as appropriate.
Regulation of mechanical or electronic games
such as arcades vary significantly
throughout the city zoning districts
and would be newly permitted in many commercial districts
as well as certain industrial
and residential districts as appropriate.
Medical service and animal care are neighborhood serving uses
that can generate activity on a commercial corridor,
but that contain sensitive operations
that should be screened from public view.
Ground floor transparency requirements were developed
first for the downtown zoning districts
then refined for Broadway Valdez.
In those districts, the relevant business must provide
street fronting windows for reception, lobby, waiting areas,
while treatment rooms may not face the street.
The current proposal expands these requirements
to include other pedestrian oriented commercial districts.
The Lake Merritt station zones have been amended
to maintain the highest possible consistency
with the surrounding downtown zones.
This will ensure clear and consistent regulations
throughout Oakland's downtown.
The open space chapter of the planning code
only regulates physical changes proposed or implemented
by the city or other public agencies such as East Bay Parks.
Within the scope of the planning code
our current permitting framework aims to maintain
thoughtful stewardship of Parkland
by requiring rigorous public review process
for proposed projects.
However, this results in a trade-off
that results in high costs and lengthy approval timelines,
which has become a significant concern
of the Parks and Rec public works departments,
as well as many Oaklanders.
The proposed amendments aim to balance these competing goals
by reducing costs and delays,
while maintaining public review commensurate
with the impacts of a given project.
A couple activities are proposed to be directly shifted
from prohibited to permitted, meaning the uses
would only go through the parks and rec approval process
and not be reviewed by planning.
Namely, food service and other concessions
would be newly permitted in active mini parks
and linear parks.
This activity only includes fixed structures
and does not include mobile carts or trucks.
We have drafted an amendment to clarify this,
which which you all have received just now these limited changes would add a
footnote to table seventeen point eleven point oh six oh noting that food service
and other connect concessions does not include any temporary structures or
movable carts or trucks these limited changes would allow for activation of
parks by providing concession booths in any type of City Park meanwhile basic
park amenities would be changed from minor CUP to permitted.
Examples include permitting pathways,
basic utility infrastructure, and kiosks in all park types.
It would also streamline permitting of restrooms
in all parks, with the exception
of resource conservation areas.
Some activities would be shifted from prohibited to minor CUP.
This would mean that, instead of being banned,
planning approval could be granted by planning staff.
These changes would allow for installation
of low impact recreational amenities,
particularly in athletic field parks.
However, requiring a minor CUP
would maintain thoughtful analysis of proposals,
particularly in regard to limiting expansion
of impervious surfaces and parks.
Additionally, cafes would be conditionally permitted
in most parks, which would help to activate those spaces
and provide revenue for their maintenance.
Restrooms and maintenance sheds
and resource conservation areas
would be shifted from major CUP to minor CUP,
allowing for these basic facilities
to go through just one public hearing
by the Parks and Rec Advisory Commission or PRAC,
instead of the two currently required
with the Planning Commission also reviewing.
This could shorten approval timelines by months.
Many activity types would be changed
from prohibited to major CUP.
These changes would allow for installations
of more impactful park amenities,
such as water play features,
full-service restaurants and alcohol sales while maintaining a high level of
public review to ensure they don't cause negative impacts. Other key changes in
the open space zone include clarifying that maintenance, in-kind replacement, and
small projects adding less than 100 square feet of new impervious surface is
not a change in use. Permitting small stormwater facilities and public art
installations of less than a thousand square feet in all parks, large facilities
would require a CUP or be prohibited depending on the facility and park type, and prohibiting
athletic fences in many parks, linear parks, and resource conservation areas.
More limited amendments are proposed to residential and industrial zones to allow for a wider
variety of uses as appropriate, and miscellaneous amendments would be made to certain use classifications
as shown on this slide.
Other miscellaneous cleanup and administrative amendments would be made to the chapters shown
here.
So there was a clerical error where staff inadvertently struck out the L4 limitation
for administrative civic activities.
Staff is proposing to retain this existing limitation that does not allow the expansion
of a non-residential structure in an otherwise residential zone.
This is a correction after the Planning Commission meeting and the language is shown on the slide
and included in your CED package.
Here's our tentative timeline, hoping for implementation early next year.
So staff requests that the City Council conduct a public hearing and upon conclusion adopt
an ordinance as recommended by the Planning Commission, one amending Title 17 of the Oakland
municipal code, the planning code to, A, adjust regulations for permitted and conditionally
permitted activities and facilities, for purposes of providing greater opportunities for ground
floor activities, and ease the permitting burden for commercial, civic, and low-impact
industrial activities, and B, make related miscellaneous cleanup and administrative changes,
and two, making appropriate California Environmental Quality Act findings with the following revisions.
One, retain L4 for administrative civic activities in all zones in table 17.1701.
And two, add footnote to table 17.11.060 stating that food service and other concessions does
not include any temporary structures or movable carts or trucks, COMC chapters 5.51 and 12.64.
And that concludes my presentation.
Thank you so much and for uplifting those important amendments.
Councilmember Ramachandran.
Yes thank you.
I am in strong support of the amendments and appreciate the clarification and also I have
received you know as I know the department has as well a number of concerns about basically
on the open space requirements whether or not food vendors that private food
vendors would be able to not go through the the regular permitting process and
that to my understanding the clarity will including the amendment is that no
that the process is unchanged for private food and concession vendors
that's correct how it works and we continue to work is is parks and rec or
Or a similar department would submit an application to us
that they want to build some sort of concession stand.
We would review that, but then that department
would go through an RFP or other concession agreement
process to find a concessionaire for that facility.
Excellent, thank you.
Council Member Fife?
We can get this going, because we're a little behind.
But I do have to ask, I see some of my constituents
in the chamber regarding this item.
There's a lot of challenges around Lake Merritt.
I saw a discussion happening over on the side,
so I don't know if it was addressed.
But I am concerned about something similar
to what Council Member Ramachandran just stated,
and want to know this is what happens
with the existing vendors that are not regulated
or will there be any type of enforcement
to require permitting or how are we addressing
some of the abuses that we're seeing right now.
Yeah, so I guess I want,
this is Laura Kaminski, strategic planning manager.
So I just wanted to clarify,
so what is in the planning code is actually dealing
with structures, so essentially what we're talking about
is that if you're building a new kiosk
that would allow for a that the Parks and Rec Department
or Public Works wanted to build a new kiosk
that potentially could then in the future house somebody
through an RFP process of a food vendor
that would maybe want to be in that kiosk.
But it's only if it's something that the city wanted to do.
That's what our proposal is talking about.
What I think the concern is that we're hearing
from the public is these mobile food trucks
that are not permanent, that are not fixed,
and that the planning code does not actually speak
to those at all.
That is a separate process in the municipal code,
and that is done through the Parks and Rec Department
as a process of people applying
for a mobile food permit process.
And so that actually, what we're changing right now
does not change that other process at all.
So that is a separate issue as far as the enforcement
of these existing vendors that are doing this illegally
and that is done through, I believe,
the Economic Development and Public Works.
When this comes back because we're bleeding over
into my committee and this needs a lot more conversation.
I wanna figure out how we do address it.
I know what you're amending doesn't address
the previous issue you just mentioned that I mentioned
that the public is mentioning,
but I wanna understand if there is something
that can be added to this language
to deal with these concerns.
It's primarily enforcement
that doesn't have anything to do with you,
so I do wanna put that out there,
but I just wanna find out if there's more that can be done.
We just don't have the time to have the discussion today.
So I wanna revisit it between now and the time
that this comes back to committee, council, sorry.
as a public hearing.
Yeah, so I'll make that motion.
I think we have other questions, okay.
And I'll also second it, but council member Unger.
I know we don't have much time,
but I think it's really important
that we not let this go by
without heaping a lot of praise on planning
and building for this item and the previous item.
I think it's really amazing
the kind of streamlining work you've done.
This is one of the major problems we hear about
from our constituents.
The fact that we're making these permits easier to get
at all types of levels is a lot of work for you all.
and I just wanna say how much I appreciate it.
I agree, and I wanted to also uplift that,
I guess any of the detailed questions that we have,
maybe that members of the public have offered,
we can send those over and we can also potentially produce
that in a supplemental where we're actually answering
those questions as far as where the questions
around these mobile food vendors,
where that lies as it relates to this item.
But Director Gilchrist?
I just wanted to, the chair to the committee,
I just wanted to thank you for your acknowledgement
and appreciation for the work the staff's been doing
to improve operations overall.
What I would ask also, and I work through the CAO's office
for any of these items that are relating operationally,
we need to get the other parties in the conversation as well.
Because I think what Ms. Kaminski is impressing
is that within the rubric that we have delegation
of authority over, some of the issues you will erase,
it would not fall within the planning code.
So I understand that it's all working together
real world but if we're going to affect you know changes that are falling into
these various categories we're going to make sure we have everyone at the table
we need okay thank you sounds good and we can hear from the public speakers
thank you thank you want to call your name please approach your podium state
your name for the record if you're participating via zoo please raise your
hands here easily identified we would take in person and then zoom Isaac
Kostarit, Kate Steele, Christine Bergagliano and Leanne Alameda.
Hi, I'm Kate Steele with the Lake Merritt Community Alliance.
Thank you for allowing me to speak.
Thank you Planning Commission for your good work and most of your work we agree with.
But this is not ready for prime time.
We will receive this amendment today.
I don't think it answers some of the questions we have.
Right now under the conditional use permit,
we have a rigorous review process.
And what the proposal will do is remove the planning department
from that review process.
And that will leave it in the current process we have now is
with Prac and the park department itself.
And those processes do not allow the public a meaning
opportunity to participate in the process. We don't get the PRAC agenda, you
know, if there was a proposal before then we don't get the PRAC agenda until one
day, it's supposed to be longer than that, before the meeting and the conditional
use permit notice requirement. Thank you for your comment. Thank you. Okay if we
called your name please approach. I think you called Isaac next but I don't see
him in the room. You can go, yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm Christine
Brangelviano. I am here on behalf of Lake Merritt Institute and it's an
unclear to me whether the things that we're worried about are actually
pertinent to the Planning Commission's suggested changes now that they've done
the amendments, but we are very concerned about any permitting process for food
vending and vending in any of the parks, particularly Lakeside Park, that would
not include an environmental impact review. Our parks are precious assets and
we are worried that any outdoor space lost or space lost in the parks that
would be given away for commercial purposes will never be recaptured. So we
We urge the City Council to limit the use of the parks for enjoyment.
We totally support the suggestions for improvement, rest.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you.
And any more public speakers?
Excellent.
Moving to our Zoom speakers, LeAnn Alameda, please unmute yourself and begin your one-minute
comment.
Hi, thank you for this opportunity to speak.
I'm Leanne Alameda, chair of the Lake Merritt Community Alliance.
I urge the committee to remove the permitting changes for food servicing concessions in
our parks.
I am confused about this amendment and how this changes anything around the concerns
myself and other park leaders have.
I met with the city planning staff, and they did not make this point at any point about
it being for city structures, and they knew what our concerns were around bending in our
parks.
This fundamentally in your packet shows that they are changing minor cups which involves
the planning committee to permitted which means it goes to parks and rec and prac to
approve these.
It does not allow for the more rigorous review that the planning committee would do which
includes public review, public hearings and mail notices to residents within 300 feet.
needs to be removed until there is more clarity. Please remove this portion of the permit.
Thank you for your comment that concludes your public speakers for item six. Okay. Thank
you so much. Just want to share out that the section within the code within our code eight
point six two zero nine zero is the one that specifically relates to the mobile food vendors.
So just wanted to share that out. It does sound like maybe there's some additional questions
and concerns but I know that each of our offices
could reach out to Planning and Building
to ask some of those specific questions.
But currently on the floor we have a motion and a second
and we know that there were two amendments
that were read into record and so accepting the motion
with those two amendments.
And to be on the December 2nd agenda as a public hearing.
Thank you have a motion made by council member five seconded by council member brown to approve
the recommendations of staff and afford this item to the December 2nd city council agenda
as a public hearing on roll council member five I thank you council member Sandra I council
member under I and chair Brown I motion passes with four eyes to approve the recommendations
of staff and this is to be forwarded to December 2nd 2025 city council agenda as a public hearing
Moving to open forum, you have two speakers.
Please approach the podium.
State your name for the record.
If you are participating via Zoom,
raise your hands so you're easily identified.
David Boatwright and Jennifer Finley.
That concludes your public speakers for open forum.
Excellent, thank you all so much.
This meeting is adjourned.