Present: Owusu Amoakohene, Urban Strategies Council; Eric Cone, SACDC; Don Davenport, SACDC; Catherine Firpo, CEDA; Sean Heron, EBHO; Lupe Guisa, EBALDC; Mariano Jauco, EBALDC; Jennie Mollica, LFCD.
NOTE: Next Housing Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24 at 3:30 p.m. at Urban Strategies Council.
The focus of the meeting was a presentation by Sean Heron, Director of East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO). Sean explained that EBHO aims to expand and preserve affordable housing in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties through advocacy, coalition-building and research on financing and policy. EBHO works to create the political spaces that will address affordable housing as a priority. Current issues of concern in Oakland include the proposed Commercial Linkage Fee to be paid into the Housing Fund, and the proposed Just Cause eviction ordinance.
A discussion followed on the purpose and possible strategies of the LSAC Housing Committee. Sean summarized three purposes the committee seems concerned with: to increase homeownership rates, to improve housing conditions in existing housing, and to develop new housing. In order to increase homeownership, the Program Development Committee is working on the Multilingual Homeownership Center. To improve housing conditions, Sean stressed the importance of encouraging tenant organizing. To develop new housing, Sean emphasized the need for a clear vision as well as a community campaign. A committee like this one should focus less on the technical details, he suggests, because that expertise exists. The visioning process that needs to occur might work with UCBerkeley IURD or Urban Ecology, or with an architect or a developer like EBALDC. What the committee may need to do is (1) identify a few "opportunity areas" for site assembly, (2) access the expertise to assemble data, analyze and assess the feasibility of these site assemblies, (3) organize a neighborhood campaign to enlist support, and solicit developers and/or community land trust participation to achieve the development.
It was agreed that the upcoming meeting – on April 24 at 3:30 at Urban Strategies – should present a map of the neighborhood showing vacant and blighted sites and zoning. Special invitations should be extended to representatives of OCHI (Robert Henry), EBALDC (Joshua Simon), AHA (Hyland Barron), RCD (Michael Rogers) and Community Economics (Alyssa Dennis). A discussion of the map should address the additional data needed to assemble possible sites and assess feasibility.