Originally posted on Facebook, drafted by Amy Vanderwarker, E. 12th Coalition.
On March 15th, literally behind a closed door in the Mayor’s conference room, Oakland City Council voted 6-1 to approve moving forward with the luxury tower proposal from UrbanCore/EBALDC for the E 12th parcel, over the community-driven proposal from Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA), or “A People’s Proposal.” The City had a clear choice between prioritizing more affordable housing for families in crisis and standing with the constituents of Oakland. Unfortunately, they chose more luxury housing and private development on public land. We commend Council Member Gallo for opposing the resolution and his strong support for truly prioritizing affordable housing on public lands at the meeting.
While the City Council has voted once again to enter into negotiations with UrbanCore to build a luxury tower on public land, this project is still a long way from gaining final approval.
In his remarks after the vote, Council Member Guillen, who represents District 2 where the E 12th parcel is located, said we must “use our hearts in policy matters, but we must also use our heads.” This condescending rhetoric – that community residents and organizers have not “looked at the facts” – dismisses the very real issues, derived from personal experiences and data that politicians conveniently do not want to look at, as ancillary to the decision at hand. In reality, the concerns community residents outside of the political machinery raise are the real-world manifestations of policies passed and ignored and back room deals being cut. Our analysis is not invalid just because it is outside City Hall’s framework or desired outcome. Council Members would do well to remember that community concerns are in fact critical pieces of information in any policy decision when they come looking for votes in November, or in 2018.
But since you mention it, we do have some data to share…
Continue reading the entire article here, on Daily Kos.
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