Author: wendyp

East Bay Housing Organizations is asking for help to build inclusive communities in Oakland. Here’s what you can do…

Can you attend the Community and Economic Development Committee

at 1 PM on Tuesday January 26th?

Hear the City Administration’s staff report on the impact fee and let Oakland elected leaders know that we need a strong housing fee now, and before it’s too late. If you are willing to speak, contact Matt@ebho.org and sign up here.

Speak Out for a Housing Fee Now in Oakland!
Tuesday, January 26th, 2015
1 PM to 4 PM
Community and Economic Development Committee
Oakland City Hall

 

Can you call or email your Council Person and Council Member At-Large Rebecca Kaplan? Sample email and council person contact information below:

Sample Email to your Councilperson and Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan:

Dear Councilmember X,

We are in a housing crisis of epic proportions, and Oakland cannot wait any longer to invest in affordable homes. In order to Oakland to benefit from the current wave of new development, the City needs a strong housing impact fee that starts at $20,000 and begins no later than July 2016. 

A strong housing impact fee will help Oakland grow inclusively and will not kill development. Of the 7,400 market homes that are in the active Oakland development pipeline, we know that over 4,100 of them will not be touched by the impact fee because they already have building permits or because they are legally exempt due to vested development rights. This makes it clear that the impact fee will not KILL development, while helping to build much-needed affordable homes. 

Additionally, there should not be a reduced impact fee for areas that have already received developer incentives. For example, there are market-rate development incentives in the Specific Plans such as Coliseum Area and West Oakland, as well as the BRT International Avenue Corridor. Will you ensure additional incentives for market-rate development (such as a reduced impact fee) only apply to areas that don’t already have developer incentives, and will you advocate for Zone 3 to be more appropriately redrawn to begin between High Street and the San Leandro Border and between 580 and 880?

We applaud Councilmember Kaplan for taking a stand and calling for a $25,000 housing impact fee. Will you join her in this call?

While a housing impact fee is not the silver bullet, it will help build an additional 400 to 600 new affordable homes over the next 5 years, and is a critical part of the solution.

Thanks for your time,
[Your name]

Councilmember Contact information:

District 1 – Councilmember Dan Kalb
Phone: (510) 238-7001
Email: dkalb@oaklandnet.com

District 2 – Councilmember Abel Guillen
Ph: (510) 238-7002
Email: aguillen@oaklandnet.com

District 3 – Councilmember Lynette McElhaney
Ph: (510) 238-7003
E-Mail: lmcelhaney@oaklandnet

District 4 – Councilmember Annie Campbell Washington
Ph: (510) 238-7004
Email: acampbellwashington@oaklandnet.com

District 5 – Councilmember Noel Gallo
Ph: (510) 238-7005
Email: ngallo@oaklandnet.com

District 6 – Councilmember Desley Brooks
Ph: (510) 238-7006 (office)
Email: dbrooks@oaklandnet.com

District 7 – Councilmember Larry Reid
Ph: (510) 238-7007
E-mail: lreid@oaklandnet.com

Councilmember – At-Large Rebecca Kaplan
Be sure to thank her for calling to set the impact fee at $25,000!
Ph: (510) 238-7008
E-mail: rkaplan@oaklandnet.com

June 17, 2015 – Sudden and significant growth in the number of Oakland seniors needing meals on wheels is putting these frail home-bound seniors’ lives at risk.

Oakland’s meals on wheels program is provided by SOS Meals On Wheels. SOS is a nonprofit that has been providing meals on wheels services in the county for 49 years, and in July 2014 began providing full service meals on wheels for Oakland seniors under contract with the Alameda County Area Agency on Aging. The contract funds a set number of meals, and the reimbursement does not cover the full cost of the service. Like all meals on wheels providers, SOS makes up the gap by maximizing the use of volunteers, by requesting a per-meal donation from recipients, and through fundraising.

However, the number of Oakland seniors requesting and qualifying for meals on wheels has grown significantly in the last nine months. SOS’s case load has grown from 650 to 1200. SOS cannot address this huge increase alone; even county augmentation funding falls short of addressing the crisis. Seniors in need are being waitlisted.

Concerned CBOs have asked the City to provide funding to mitigate this emergency. Oakland City Council has responded to advocate’s requests with a $50,000 one-time-only allocation in their proposed budget. The City hasn’t funded senior serving CBOs since it eliminated its Senior Set-aside grant program in 2009. The allocation is a step in the right direction, but the city needs to do more.

What you can do: People who care about Oakland seniors have an opportunity to voice their support for more funding. Attend the City Council Budget Hearing on Monday June 22 at 5:00pm at Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and speak during public comment.

Return to the Senior Services in Alameda County page by clicking here.