July 2017 Volume 17, Issue 5
Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker 
News from the Oakland City Attorney's Office
In This Issue
Connect
About Us
Resources
Join Our Mailing List
        portrait
In this issue: an abandoned sausage factory in North Oakland will be rehabilitated as a new commercial space under a settlement the Neighborhood Law Corps negotiated, and an update on the challenges to the federal administration's threat to withhold money from sanctuary cities.

As always, I look forward to your questions and comments about the work we are doing on behalf of the people of Oakland.

 
  Barbara J. Parker
 Oakland City Attorney
 
Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our videos on YouTube
City Attorney's Neighborhood Law Corps Secures Settlement to Redevelop Former Sausage Factory 

The owners of an abandoned sausage factory and two adjacent vacant lots will pay the City $65,000 and immediately rehabilitate the properties under a settlement the City Attorney's Neighborhood Law Corps ("NLC") secured this month.
 
In March 2015, the NLC sued the owners of the properties on Adeline and 28th streets after the City issued at least 26 citations for graffiti, illegal dumping, overgrown vegetation and other public nuisances associated with the properties.
 
The owners purchased the abandoned Sausage Co. building and the adjacent lots in 2002. On their watch the properties fell into disrepair and became a magnet for blight and crime in the neighborhood.
 
In addition to the 26 citations the City issued for violations of its blight ordinance, the City's Public Works Agency also issued no less than 167 work orders to clean up graffiti and illegal dumping associated with the property. The owners' failure to maintain the property and provide security measures allowed homeless encampments, squatters and crime including burglaries, shootings, car break-ins and vandalism.
 
Under the settlement which was executed on July 1, the owners will immediately repair holes in the fence surrounding the property, remove all trash and debris and secure the building. The owners also must move forward on redevelopment of a commercial property on the site, and must hire an independent monitor to oversee compliance.
 
This is a positive outcome for the City and the neighborhood. The settlement recovers enforcement costs that the City has expended over the years, and more importantly guarantees redevelopment of a property that has been vacant and blighted for decades in this neighborhood.
 
Thank you to NLC Attorney Melosa Granda for her leadership on this case, which was a collaboration among the Planning Department, City Administrator's Office, Councilmember Lynette McElhaney's Office and my Office.


Federal Court Denies Trump Administration's Motion to Dismiss Lawsuits Challenging Sanctuary City Executive Order 
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case Numbers: 17-cv-00574-WHO and 17-cv-00485-WHO

I am pleased to provide a positive update on the status of San Francisco's and Santa Clara County's lawsuits asking that the court block the Trump administration's executive order which threatened to withhold millions of dollars of federal funding from sanctuary cities and counties.
 
The goal of the executive order is to punish local governments that have policies protecting immigrant families by withholding many millions of dollars for child care, housing and other programs.
 
On July 20th, U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick denied the Trump Administration's motion to reconsider the Court's April 25 order granting a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the executive order and dismiss the lawsuits.
 
 
At a July 12th hearing, Judge Orrick said he was "very much inclined" to maintain a court order that blocks the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities like Oakland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and others.
 
The Court's July 20th order upholds the court's nationwide preliminary injunction blocking Trump's order in City and County of San Francisco v. Donald J. Trump, et al. and County of Santa Clara v. Donald J. Trump, et al.
 
Oakland and a broad coalition of cities, counties and other local jurisdictions filed amicus briefs asking the court to block Trump's sanctuary city executive order and asking the court to deny the federal government's motions to reconsider its order and dismiss the lawsuits.

At issue at the July 12th hearing was Attorney General Jeff Sessions' "new" interpretation of the executive order that claimed the government only intended to withhold money from certain law enforcement programs.
 
During the hearing, Judge Orrick pointed out that regardless of whether Sessions' interpretation has any credibility whatsoever, his interpretation is essentially meaningless because the Attorney General could change his opinion at any time.
 
It bears repeating that not only is Trump's threat to strip federal funding from Oakland and other sanctuary jurisdictions unconstitutional, it undermines public health and safety and evidences callous disregard for the lives and welfare of our communities, our children and our families.
 
We will continue to fight these assaults on our constitutional rights, and I will continue to update you as this case progresses.

Phone: (510) 238-3601

Email: info@oaklandcityattorney.org

 

Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterView our videos on YouTube