Bay Area

City Council Saves Oakland from Largest Annual Rent Increase in City’s History

“With gas prices nearing $7/gallon, the increased costs of food and everyday expenses, I could not, in good conscience, allow this exorbitant spike to take effect,” said Councilmember Carroll Fife in an email newsletter. “Thousands of Oakland residents will rest a little easier knowing their housing is secure,” she continued. “I’m grateful for my policy staff as well as city staff and attorneys who moved with urgency to bring this ordinance forward before it was able to do serious and irreparable harm.”

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2022

Oakland Post

Oakland apartment buildings

Councilmember Carroll Fife’s ordinance reduces inflated 6.7% allowable increase to a maximum of 3%, passes with six votes

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland City Council took a bold action this week to protect tenants from a huge increase in rents this year, which without council action was set to be one of the largest annual rent increases in city history.

Under the new ordinance, passed Tuesday, a proposed 6.7% allowable rent increase was reduced to a maximum of 3%.

The ordinance, introduced by Councilmember Carroll Fife, passed the Council Tuesday with six votes. Councilmember Noel Gallo voted no, and Councilmember Loren Taylor, a candidate for mayor, abstained.

“With gas prices nearing $7/gallon, the increased costs of food and everyday expenses, I could not, in good conscience, allow this exorbitant spike to take effect,” said Fife in an email newsletter.

“Thousands of Oakland residents will rest a little easier knowing their housing is secure,” she continued. “I’m grateful for my policy staff as well as city staff and attorneys who moved with urgency to bring this ordinance forward before it was able to do serious and irreparable harm.”

During hours of public testimony, tenants spoke about how the proposed increase would impact their lives. At a typical rent of $2050, a 6.7% increase would cost a renter $137.35 a month.

Several landlords who spoke at the meeting said they needed a larger than 3% rent increase to recoup COVID and utility losses. City staff responded that lost costs can be recovered in different ways despite the legislation.

Councilmember Fife has been pushing for increased tenant protections and low-rent housing as Oakland’s homelessness crisis continues to skyrocket — growing by 21% during the pandemic.

About 60% of Oakland residents are renters, and 51% of tenants are classified as very low-income, according to Fife.

Under Oakland’s rent control law, property owners can increase rents by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) each year, generally between 1% and 3%.

But inflation this year has meant a CPI of 6.7% this year, set to go into effect on July 1.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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May 30, 2025

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.