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Oaklanders,
Oakland faces a challenge - how do we maintain the inclusive diversity and unique Oaklandishness we treasure while accommodating this wave of new residents who are increasingly discovering what a great place Oakland is to live, work and play? Does it surprise you that Oakland is now the fourth most expensive place to rent a new apartment - after only San Francisco, New York and Boston? While we can celebrate Oakland's new celebrity and increasing value, we cannot allow it to displace our longtime or vulnerable residents from their beloved hometown.
Tackling the affordability crisis in Oakland requires we come at it from two sides: managing the cost of living, particularly housing; as well as helping to raise the incomes and financial security of Oaklanders so they can afford to stay here. Since taking office this has been one of my highest priorities: equitable jobs and housing. Currently, 22.% of Oakland residents are
housing insecure -- meaning they spend more than 50% of their income on housing, they live in overcrowded or unsafe conditions or they are at risk of eviction or homelessness. And nearly 50% of Oaklanders are asset insecure - meaning they don't have enough savings to live above the poverty line for even three months in the event they lose their income.
Shortly after taking office, I convened a Housing Cabinet, which oversaw 110 diverse stakeholders and experts in nine working groups to
identify and
implement the actions that would most quickly fix the housing part of this crisis, building on the analysis and recommendations of the Oakland Housing Equity Roadmap. Just two weeks ago, we issued Oakland's Housing Action Plan -- with more than forty of the most achievable and impactful actions to address this urgent crisis.
There is no silver bullet. But the combined actions of this comprehensive plan will, over the next eight years, protect 17,000 Oakland households from displacement and create 17,000 new units of housing at all income levels to accommodate a diversity of new and existing residents.
We work daily to urgently implement the remaining strategies.
In the meantime, we have already:
As an Oakland native, I remain passionately committed to protecting long-term and vulnerable Oaklanders from displacement while accommodating new residents attracted to our great city -- all while preserving Oakland's soul.
The impacts of displacement have already been real and devastating. Understandably, they've led many to call for sweeping measures. But as attractive as ideas like blanket moratoriums on rent increases and evictions may sound to many - two ideas that are being discussed and may be presented at the April 5th City Council meeting - such sweeping controls are legally dubious under present law.
Many state and federal laws govern what Oakland can and cannot do. For example:
- Case law requires that in a rent control system housing providers have the opportunity to make a fair return on their rental properties
- Just cause eviction laws in Oakland may only be amended by the voters at an election
- California's Costa-Hawkins law prohibits Oakland from applying its rent control laws to single-family homes or rental units already under existing new construction exemptions, which in Oakland means units built after 1983
That said, there are some places where we can and should increase renter protections as quickly as possible - like protecting the tenants currently living in the 29,000 units in 2-4 unit buildings from unregulated condo conversion, and placing owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes back under rent controls. This is a particularly important strategy, as the Housing Cabinet's research showed that a disproportionate percentage of African-American families are at risk of displacement, and live in this housing type.
As we chart the best path forward, we must remember that if we don't want new-comers displacing existing residents, we must build more housing. We cannot build a wall around Oakland! People are moving here; it is a
regional phenomenon. We must build more housing at every income level to accommodate them and ensure they don't displace the folks who are living here now. While the Housing Action Plan identifies several new funding sources to build subsidized affordable housing for low and very low income residents, we must ensure our policies and practices also encourage market-rate construction of new housing as quickly as possible. It is only with aggressive construction of BOTH subsidized affordable AND market-rate that we can reach our 17,000 unit goal to impact affordability pressures.
Preserving another key part of the diversity Oaklanders treasure requires policies that promote the preservation and creation of mixed-income communities, instead of development that leads to the de facto segregation of residents based on what they can afford. Study after study, including the
2015 Equality of Opportunity Project led by Harvard economists, shows that regardless of family income,
children who grow up in communities where there are residents with higher incomes too, fare better. Pushing forward policies that encourage - renters and owners of different backgrounds and means - to live side-by-side better supports the inclusive diversity we are fighting hard to preserve.
One step we have already taken toward this end is the relaxation of secondary unit requirements in areas near good transit. This is a win-win for Oakland because it provides a path for quickly expanding the short-supply of rental housing stock in already established neighborhoods, and offers cash-strapped homeowners a chance to generate much-needed income. To find out about adding a secondary unit to your home, call the Zoning Hotline at (510) 238-3911.
But again, housing is only one side of the equation. We must also continue to make sure that Oaklanders from all backgrounds have the ability to compete economically. I will talk to you more about all the efforts we're making to help Oaklanders better afford to stay here in the next issue.
In the meantime, I call on you to stay engaged and open-minded as we work to maintain the inclusive diversity that makes Oakland - Oakland. It won't always be easy, but I know with you support we can make the most of the challenges and opportunities ahead.
With Oakland-Love,
Libby
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