Bay Area

Schaaf Administration Proposes Rezoning Former Mills College Campus to Allow Condos, Retail Development

“Meanwhile, Mills students have seen a drastic reduction in programs and workers are concerned that Northeastern has a history of union busting, and the community is concerned this will lead to their displacement,” said City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Sheng Thao, who attended Mills College.

Published

2 years ago

October 29, 2022

Ken Epstein

Mills College at Northeastern University in East Oakland at 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Photo courtesy of Forbes.

By Ken Epstein | Post News Group

Buried in a draft plan for future housing in Oakland, submitted to City Council by Mayor Libby Schaaf’s Administration, is a map of zoning changes that would rezone the beautiful park-like 135-acre campus at what is now known as Mills College at Northeastern University to allow for private real estate development, including condominiums and retail, the Oakland Post has learned.

(Mills College officially merged with Northeastern University on June 30, 2022.)

The map is part of a presentation supplementing a 54-page draft Housing Element that was submitted for discussion to the City Council last week. The draft will be discussed and modified and scheduled for a vote in January. The City is required by the state to update its Housing Element every eight years as part of the City’s General Plan.

The map shows the entire Mills campus in East Oakland as changed from zoning designation “RM-4 Mixed Housing Type Residential – 4 Zone.”

According to the City’s definition, “The intent of the RM-4 Zone is to create, maintain, and enhance residential areas typically located on or near the City’s major arterials and characterized by a mix of single-family homes, townhouses, small multi-unit buildings at somewhat higher densities than RM-3, and neighborhood businesses where appropriate.”

City Council staff indicate that the RM-4 Zone would permit the development of the entire site with condominiums, townhouses and retail businesses.

The current zoning of the Mills property, RM-3 Zone, has been in place for at least the past 20 years, according to a staff member in the City’s zoning division. These changes are now in the works after Northeastern University in Boston recently took over the Mills campus, with pledges of a merger of many of the best aspects of both institutions.

At present, it is not clear what agencies or individuals requested the proposed zoning change, nor are there indications so far of how the property would be developed. In general, zoning changes are proposed by Council members in their districts.

Councilmember and mayoral candidate Loren Taylor, who represents District 6 where the campus is located, has been outspoken in support of the takeover of Mills by Northeastern.

Schaff has also been spoken forcefully in favor of the takeover of Mills by Northeastern.

According to an article in the Northeastern University (NU) newsletter, Taylor has been deeply involved in the merger discussions between the university and Mills.

“Taylor says he was involved in talks with the college and university as the merger evolved from idea to reality. ‘When I’ve had conversations with leadership at Mills and Northeastern,’ Taylor says, ‘I’ve always come away reassured. I hear, feel, and sense that there’s a true commitment to ensuring the legacy of what Mills had. I look forward to seeing that happen,’” the NU newsletter said.

By the Post’s deadline, neither Schaff nor Taylor had responded to questions about what the rezoning proposal means for the future of university education on the campus.

Although the proposal is to rezone the entire 135 acres of the campus, City staff told the Post that only part of the campus was being considered for development.

“The undeveloped western edge of the Mills College campus adjacent to MacArthur Blvd. was identified as a potential location for the addition of infill housing. Any rezoning of that portion of the campus would only occur if the community and decisionmakers support such a change and only for the purpose of facilitating the addition of housing along this undeveloped campus edge,” according to the City’s zoning staff.

Said City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Sheng Thao, “Recent changes in our zoning laws have raised alarm bells that this deal is nothing more than an attempt to turn Mills College into a plot of land for luxury condos. Developers stand to make enormous profits off that land.”

She continued: “Mills College is a 170-year-old institution and one of only two women’s colleges left in California. The shady backroom deals that led to its closure need to be investigated.”

“I do not know why some of my colleagues rushed to embrace this deal, but I do know we need a fair and transparent process and an investigation from the state like I requested in July. The community deserves to know what is happening,” she said.

Rebecca Kaplan, Vice Mayor, and candidate for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, told the Post she was also deeply concerned about what is happening to Mills. “The merger is suspicious and warrants an independent investigation,” she said.

The Council unanimously passed a resolution in July, introduced by Kaplan and Thao, calling for an “independent investigation into the circumstances of the merger between Mills College and Northeastern University.”

Mills College, a women’s institution, “is reflective of the region’s diversity,” according to the council resolution. “Within the 2021-2022 Mills student population, about 44% are first-generation undergraduate students and about 66% of undergraduate students are students of color.”

This investigation must be conducted because of “allegations of misconduct and misinformation (on the part of the Mills administration) ….to ensure that community needs are respected, truth is pursued, and that the important work of Mills in serving vital needs can be continued,” the Council resolution said.

Ken Epstein

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Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024

Published

17 hours ago

October 13, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Homelessness Committee and Advocates Urge City to Stop Confiscating Unhoused People’s Belongings

Encampment sweeps are not a new method of action to evict people from living and sleeping on the streets in San Francisco. However, recent reports indicate that city staff are not following proper policy, exacerbating the problems for unhoused people. Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

"By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness," Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

By Magaly Muñoz

Homeless advocates and allies held a press conference on Thursday at City Hall, condemning staff workers for destroying people’s property during encampment evictions and asking officials to ensure that important documents and medication are not being stripped from these individuals.

“By destroying the very items that could help people regain stability, the city is not just punishing people for being poor, but actively making it harder for them to escape homelessness,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, said.

Friedenbach criticized the city for not fixing their housing problem or finding new ways to shelter people, instead they are further adding to the harm of the “humanitarian crisis that San Francisco is facing.”

The press conference was held before the monthly Homelessness Oversight Commission (HOC) meeting, where commissioners discussed a draft resolution to submit to city staff highlighting the importance of not separating people from their items as this might cause further distress.

The resolution lists ssential items that workers should be cautious of not destroying or throwing away including medical documents and medication, work permits, identification, and survival gear, such as blankets or tents.

City policy instructs workers to “bag and tag” items left behind after an encampment sweep. These items are labeled by Public Works and kept at their operations yard for 90 days before being discarded.

But according to several reports and videos of the sweeps, the city has not always followed this policy and has on numerous occasions thrown away people’s medications or tents, leaving individuals without their essentials.

During the meeting, commissioners suggested adding school records and family related support items, such as diapers, to the resolution because of the increasing number of families living on the streets.

Virginia Taylor, senior policy advisor for Safe & Sound, said 531 families are waiting for housing in San Francisco. Many of these families are living out of their cars or in RVs, yet the city has limited safe parking spots where people can situate themselves.

Along with not throwing out people’s belongings, advocates are also continuing to ask the city to stop the encampment sweeps because all they are accomplishing is moving unhoused folks block to block without solving the root problem of lack of consistent housing.

“We need urgent action, more family shelter beds, a stop to vehicle sweeps, expanded safe parking programs and housing solutions that keep our multi-generational families together. Our children’s futures depend on it. Let’s build a San Francisco where no family falls through the crack and every child has the opportunity to thrive,” Taylor said.

Speakers referenced the RV sweep conducted in early August on Zoo Road, where dozens of people, many of them non-English speaking immigrants, were asked to leave the parking lot or else their vehicles would be towed and they would be cited.

While people were offered shelter beds or housing vouchers, some worried about where they would stay while the city processed their applications. This drew criticism of San Francisco’s method of not always having immediate options for people yet continuing to sweep unhoused folks with nowhere to go.

Commissioners of HOC agreed that the city is not trying to exacerbate the issue and the resolution is one of many steps to ensure that there are no setbacks in the progress to ending homelessness in San Francisco.

The HOC will approve the resolution at a later meeting once amendments and changes are made.

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Bay Area

Former Mayor Willie L. Brown Endorses Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island. Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions. Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation. At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”

Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.

With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.

During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART. She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.