City Government

Assemblymember Wicks’ Bill to Allow Faith Communities to Help Alleviate the Housing Crisis

Published

5 years ago

January 23, 2020

Courtesy of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ Office

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) introduced a bill last week that would allow communities of faith to help alleviate the housing crisis. The bill, AB 1851, would pave the way for affordable housing by eliminating minimum parking requirements for units built on underused church parking lots.

“Faith-based communities have long been expressing interest in redeveloping portions of their property to assist with the state’s housing crisis,” said Assemblymember Wicks. “This bill would remove roadblocks for them to do so.”

This new initiative is called “Yes in God’s Backyard,” or YIGBY — a play on the “YIMBY” or “yes in my backyard” movement. Cities across the East Bay, including Oakland, are convening meetings to discuss turning underused church property into housing.

Originating in San Diego, this idea became popular when a local tax collector compiled a list of more than 1,100 properties zoned for religious use that could potentially be developed into new units. The San Diego City Council made the move in December to allow faith-based communities to build affordable housing in their parking lots. The action lifted the city code to maintain a number of parking spaces for the purpose of assembly and cleared the way for housing.

Courtesy of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ Office

Posts by Courtesy of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ Office

Related Topics:Buffy Wicks housing crisis

Up Next

Lynette McElhaney to Serve as New President of Black Elected Officials of the East Bay

Don't Miss

Oakland Community Builds Small Homes With Unhoused Residents

Courtesy of Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ Office

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

7 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.