City Government

Councilmember Abel Guillén Proposes Regulations to Block Downtown A’s Stadium

Published

8 years ago

November 17, 2017

Speaking at Tuesday’s Community and Economic Development(CED) Committee meeting, Councilmember Abel Guillén urged his colleagues to pass stronger regulations that would restrict development in the area surrounding the proposed Oakland A’s ballpark. Photo by Sarah Carpenter.

By Sarah Carpenter

Councilmember Abel Guillén is urging City Council members to pass temporary regulations that would restrict or block development near the proposed site of the Oakland A’s new ballpark – to protect residents and businesses from displacement.
Although members of the City Council’s Community and Economic Development (CED) Committee expressed sympathy for Guillén’s proposal at this week’s meeting, they decided to hold the resolution in committee, requesting that more information be gathered.
The proposal will be discussed again on Dec. 5, the final committee meeting of the year.

But Guillén–whose district includes the site of the proposed stadium–requested that the proposals be treated with urgency, saying that “the mere announcement of this preferred ballpark location by the team has the potential for immediate impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods.”

The Peralta Board of Trustees is set to make a decision regarding the ballpark on Dec. 12.
The city has labeled the area surrounding the potential stadium site, Chinatown and Eastlake, as the “S-5 Zone.”

Guillén’s proposal would place limitations on development in the S-5 Zone, such as prohibiting new parking facilities, increasing standards for demolition notifications and adding special regulations for hotels and large-scale developments.

Guillén said he has heard concerns from his constituents that speculative development alone could drive them from the area. He held office hours in both Chinatown and Eastlake, hosted three community meetings with community stakeholder groups and organizations and conducted an informal online community survey, which yielded 275 responses.

The proposal was first heard Nov. 1 by the City Planning Commission in a public hearing. The commission recommended amendments that should be added before it could be approved, including a “pro/con analysis” of the proposed controls and that buildings with at least 15 percent affordable housing be exempted from the controls.

The pro/con analysis was not completed by the Nov. 14 meeting but was promised by the Dec. 5 meeting.

Jeff Levin of East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO) argued that the 15 percent minimum of affordable housing was too small an exemption and recommended that only buildings that are “primarily affordable housing” be exempt from the interim controls.
Other speakers also wanted to strengthen the resolution. A representative from the Fifth Avenue Community requested that the S-5 Zone be re-drawn to include their neighborhood.

There were also concerns that the meetings held by Guillén did not include enough community outreach.

Opposing the proposed regulations was Aly Bonde, public policy manager of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

“These actions will actually hurt the very community that they are intended to protect,” because they would block small businesses in the area from developing, Bonde said.
The proposed actions would “send a message to the market that there is a moratorium on building and investment in this entire area,” added Bonde.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

1 week ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

1 week ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.