Housing Key Concern for Oakland Mayor

San Franciscans priced out of the city's housing market have increasingly turned to Oakland in search of cheaper abodes.

Yet the influx of house hunters and apartment seekers has resulted in pushing up rents and home prices in the East Bay city. That in turn has raised concern amid longtime Oakland residents, who worry they may need to move in search of cheaper housing.

The debate over building affordable versus market-rate housing that is roiling San Francisco City Hall is also rocking Oakland's corridors of power. Housing activists in recent months have voiced opposition to several projects planned near Oakland's Lake Merritt for their lack of below-market-rate units.

"The issue I see that is really huge is so many LGBT people are getting driven out of San Francisco because of the housing costs. A lot of them are trying to move to Oakland," said Michael Colbruno, a gay political consultant and former Oakland planning commissioner who now serves on the city's Port Commission. "I have talked to a number of people who are going to Vallejo and Martinez because Oakland is even getting too pricey. I think dealing with the cost of housing, particularly for people with limited means, is really, really critical."

The issue is a major concern for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, 49, a former city councilwoman who ousted the city's previous mayor, Jean Quan, in the November election. Her solution, which she is unapologetic about, is to pursue more market-rate housing development for her city.

"I am more focused on market-rate housing because I want San Franciscans to have places to move in to," Schaaf told the Bay Area Reporter in July during a wide-ranging interview about her first seven months in office.

"The affordability crisis in this city is real," added Schaaf. "We have got to act quickly or we will destabilize the fantastic neighborhoods that have made Oakland Oakland."

One challenge in convincing developers to build in Oakland, said Schaaf, is that construction costs are similar to San Francisco but the housing is priced less.

"While our rents are rising faster than any city in America, they are still not as high as in San Francisco, so projects remain more profitable in San Francisco," said Schaaf.

She pointed to the rezoning city leaders have undertaken for different districts in Oakland - five of the area specific plans have been completed - as "fantastic tools" for developers interested in her city.

"It really drives development and the type of development you have planned for," she said. "It gives those developers certainty about what the community will support where."

At the same time, Schaaf continues to push for the creation of more affordable housing, pointing to her allocating general fund dollars to do so in her first budget that was passed last month by the City Council.

"I absolutely believe in building more affordable housing," said Schaaf. "It is hard because we have fewer resources to do it since the end of redevelopment."

She is also looking at how to protect housing for Oakland's middle class.

"It is the people in the middle that are getting left out. And there are a lot of them living in Oakland right now," said Schaaf. "I want to bring affordable protections to them now where they are living."

One idea she is exploring is creating an acquisition fund in order for the city to lease buildings where a majority of residents are earning between 60 and 120 percent of the median area income.

"There is a provision in the tax code that allows the owner of property like this to lease the property for a minimum of 35 years to an affordable housing management company, and in exchange, get a break on property taxes," explained Schaaf.

Another initiative is to form a task force to look at artist housing in the city.

"We are gathering some great minds together to really tackle all these problems," said Schaaf. "I am particularly interested in this issue of preserving Oakland families that have been here all along that are really feeling the pressure."

That includes LGBT households, noted Schaaf, as Oakland has long been home to a large LGBT community, especially lesbian households. There were 1,547 lesbian couples and 1,187 gay couples living in the city, according to 2008-2012 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census.

"I don't want to see the LGBT community that's been living here all along, in part because Oakland has been an affordable alternative, I don't want to see them priced out because the San Franciscans who find Oakland affordable can pay more than the Oaklanders who are already here," said Schaaf. "You see that pressure. So I am anxious to build more housing. I want new people to come to Oakland; I love the energy that is flowing into this city. But I want that energy to complement what is already here."

More LGBT Outreach Needed

Schaaf has yet to turn to LGBT specific issues during her first year in office, as hiring for key posts to her administration and passing her first budget have monopolized much of her time. As noted in this week's Political Notebook, five of the people Schaaf has hired to key staffing positions are out lesbians, several of whom worked for previous Oakland mayors. (See story, page 5.)

A few months after being sworn into office in January, Schaaf did meet with executives from a number of Oakland agencies focused on HIV services and prevention. Even though the health funding largely comes from Alameda County and not the city of Oakland, Schaaf said it is an important issue she wants to champion as mayor.

"A mayor can do a lot of things, whether it is kicking off the AIDS Walk around Lake Merritt or promoting it through my social media," said Schaaf. "Being able to talk about it, I can be a visible advocate for that issue."

She also supports clean needle exchange programs and has pledged to continue to declare the issue to be a local emergency in order for them to continue. And should a legalization of recreational marijuana use go before voters in 2016, as expected, Schaaf has pledged to campaign for it.

"Because, I think there is a critical mass of Californians that support it," she said in regards to her stance. "It makes so much more sense for health and safety to regulate this."

She took part in San Francisco's Pride parade in June, accompanied by a local artist and his husband whom the mayor had married two days prior, and is looking forward to participating in Oakland's Pride parade in September.

"We are very excited about Oakland Pride," she said. "I think we are going to be expanding it this year. The parade is going to be much bigger."

Several LGBT community leaders contacted by the B.A.R. about Schaaf's leadership to date spoke favorably about the steps she has taken so far. Moving forward, though, they said they would like to see more direct attention on the LGBT community.

The city's LGBT community continues to "get to know" Schaaf, said Brendalynn Goodall, president of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, an LGBT political group that remained neutral in the mayor's race last year.

"Now is the time to engage the community," said Goodall. "I believe they may be doing a lot of positive things, but I think it is time to share with the community all those great things she has done. Maybe it is a town hall."

Asked about holding such an event, Peggy Moore, an out lesbian who is a senior adviser to the mayor and Schaaf's de facto liaison to the LGBT community, did not dismiss the idea of organizing a meeting between the mayor and LGBT residents.

"Whether it is a town hall or we just bring LGBT folks to the table, we are looking forward to sharing the mayor's vision to everybody," said Moore, adding that the issues City Hall is confronting affect all Oaklanders, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. "Everything we are doing here in the mayor's office affects LGBT folks."

From housing and jobs to infrastructure and youth programs, said Moore, it all impacts the city's LGBT community.

"Everything we do is not separate from our community. It includes our voice as well," she said. "Our aim is to lift up Oaklanders and that includes the LGBT community as well."

Colbruno, who co-chaired Quan's re-election campaign last year, compared Schaaf to former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a straight politician considered a strong ally to the LGBT community due to his early support for same-sex marriage.

"I can say this, I can't anticipate any major issues ever developing with this mayor. She is a longtime ally of the community, just like our last mayor," said Colbruno. "I think if she can be there for us, she will always stand with us."

One area where LGBT community leaders expect to see their needs be addressed is through the city's new Department of Race and Equity. It is in addition to Schaaf's own director of equity and strategic partnerships, for which she hired Jose Corona last month. He is tasked with increasing philanthropic funding of city programs.

"When you look at the intersection of gender and race and sexual identity, we want to ensure LGBT folks are included," said Goodall.

Asked if the work the equity office would be focused on would include the needs of the LGBT community, Schaaf said its focus would be multifaceted.

"Equity does mean more than race. It means economic status, it means sexual orientation status, gender status, all of those things," she said. "As a city we really have to examine how this government is either helping equity or hurting equity."