Bay Area

Three Lawsuits Challenge City of Oakland, A’s Over Proposed Real Estate Project at Port of Oakland

The second lawsuit was filed by Union Pacific Railroad, raising concerns about environmental and public safety risks. In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, Robynn Tysver, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said the company has “serious safety concerns” about the project because, if built, it would be near “two busy railyards and a busy passenger rail station.”

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2022

Ken Epstein

Rail line at the Port of Oakland. Photo courtesy of the Port of Oakland.

By Ken Epstein

So far, three lawsuits have already been filed challenging efforts by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and John Fisher of the Oakland A’s to move full-steam ahead to win final approval for building a massive $12 billion private real estate project on public land at Howard Terminal at the Port of Oakland.

Two lawsuits were filed on Friday, April 1. Observers say more lawsuits may be forthcoming as those who are opposed to the project or have concerns about how the giveaway of public property and public funding are unfolding as Schaaf and the A’s corporation move forward while ignoring or marginalizing the concerns of port-related businesses and longshore workers, city residents and environmentalists.

Ignoring hundreds of written concerns and many public comments, the Oakland Planning Commissioners — all appointed by Schaaf — unanimously passed the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the project. The project has also been approved by Port Commissioners who were also appointed by the mayor.

One lawsuit, which says the EIR does not meet legal environmental requirements, was filed on behalf of the East Oakland Stadium Alliance; Schnitzer Steel, a metal shredding facility; Pacific Merchant Shipping Association; the Harbor Trucking Association; California Trucking Association; and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents dockworkers. Several of these organizations have criticized city officials and the Oakland A’s corporation for refusing to meet with them to negotiate or even inform them about the project proposal.

A spokesperson for the East Oakland Stadium Alliance said the A’s and the City have failed to disclose the negative impacts that the project will have on businesses at the Port and surrounding communities.

“The A’s proposal to build a stadium and luxury condominiums, office and retail development will cause major disruptions and impacts to both the surrounding community and the operations of the Port, yet the EIR did not fully address these concerns or mitigate these well-known issues,” said Mike Jacob, speaking for the Stadium Alliance to KRON4.

“It is simply not proper to ignore or defer analysis or mitigation of so many of the significant impacts identified in the more than 400 comments submitted by community and supply chain stakeholders, and as a result our only alternative is to pursue legal recourse,” Jacob said.

The second lawsuit was filed by Union Pacific Railroad, raising concerns about environmental and public safety risks.

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, Robynn Tysver, a spokesperson for Union Pacific, said the company has “serious safety concerns” about the project because, if built, it would be near “two busy railyards and a busy passenger rail station.”

“Union Pacific believes developing the Howard Terminal without removing rail, vehicle and pedestrian conflicts will exacerbate roadway congestion and create significant safety risks for the public and our employees,” said Tysver. “We are asking that the Oakland A’s and City of Oakland go back and diligently study a grade-separated access plan to properly mitigate the risks.”

A third lawsuit against the EIR was filed on April 4 by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority. The Capitol Corridor runs 30 weekday and 22 weekend passenger trains weekly on Union Pacific tracks. Union Pacific runs 15 freight trains per day and Amtrak passenger trains.

Responding to the lawsuits, Dave Kaval, president of the A’s, said, “This is just absolutely crazy that these lawsuits are even possible. We are going to prosecute this and defend it and do what we can to demonstrate our project is going to be a huge net benefit,” he said in an interview with the Chronicle.

Kaval was dismissive of the Union Pacific lawsuit, saying the current railway situation at the Port is “completely untenable.”

“One of the key parts of this project is maintaining railroad safety,” Kaval said. “Our project is going to do so much to make Jack London Square safer.”

Of the first lawsuit filed against the EIR, Kaval said, “We think they should drop the lawsuit. It’s an odd way to use an environmental law to prevent the environmental review from being completed.” He said he and city staff were both concerned about the lawsuit.

“We are disappointed collectively about this,” he said.

Kaval said the project is looking at building two bridges, one for pedestrians and another for vehicles, to allow traffic to move safely over multiple train tracks. Other unnamed safety and infrastructure improvements are also being considered.

“We will be very forceful to have this rescinded. We’re at the bottom of the ninth inning, and we need to get the Howard Terminal ballpark approved.”

The A’s project has the support of Democratic political leaders in California who passed a state law that says that lawsuits related to the project must be resolved in less than 270 days.

Schaaf also opposed the lawsuits, defending the Planning Commission approval of the EIR. Justin Berton, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, gave a statement to KRON, saying:

“The city stands by the integrity of its process and analysis culminating in the certification of the EIR… This particular EIR is exceedingly rigorous, thorough, transparent, and ensures a waterfront ballpark district will be built with only the highest environmental standards.”

Ken Epstein

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.