top
Health/Housing
Health/Housing
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Commission Delays Condo-Conversion De-Regulation

by Lynda Carson (lyndacarson [at] excite.com)
De-Regulation Of Oaklands Condo-Conversion Ordinance Is On Hold For Now, While Activists Urge The Community To Organize Against Any Further Attempts To Displace Oaklands Renters!
Commission Delays Condo-Conversion De-Regulation
by Lynda Carson 01/21/03

With a 12 foot long banner stating "Don't Condo Oakland" stretched out across the front window of Hearing Rm#1 in Oakland City Hall, on January 7 2004, voters, renters and activists successfuly united in opposition to delay Councilwoman Desley Brooks efforts to take back renter protections in Oakland.

The scheme before the Planning Commission to vote on an amendment to de-regulate Oaklands 20 year old condo-conversion laws that would have made Measure EE (eviction protections) and rent control impossible to enforce in rental units being targeted for condo-conversions ran into a stiff wall of opposition as all seven Planning Commissioners unanimously sent the staff recomendations back to the Special Projects Committee for reconsideration.

Oaklands condo-conversion laws have been around for over 20 years, and restrict rental units from being converted into condominiums unless their replaced by new rental units. The ordinance has protected Oaklands rental housing supply and has protected renters from mass expulsion from their rental housing units.

Condominiums are exempt from rent control, and the rush to de-regulate Oaklands condo-conversion laws would result in the loss of renter protections in all rental units being targeted for condo-conversions.

According to a source close to the process that wishes to remain anonymous, he states that the major change being proposed to the existing ordinance is the elimination of the requirement for the landlords to have conversion rights before the condo-conversions are allowed to take place. Since the early 80's, conversions were restricted until the landlords could obtain conversion rights for the rental units being converted into condominiums.

The amendment to de-regulate the condo-conversion ordinance seeks to end limitations on conversions in the designated impact areas, and to end the requirement to replace the rental units being converted into condominiums with new rental units.

The results would be to create a giant loophole for the landlords to get around rent control and the voter approved initiative known as Measure EE (eviction protections), and would reduce the rental housing supply and drive up the costs of rental units even further.

Even more disturbing to the critics are the lack of requirements in the proposed amendment to clearly define when a conversion actually takes place or how long the conversion process exists before the landlord decides to pull out of the conversion process or completes it. The staff report defines a conversion as occuring when the tenants are served notice by the landlords of their intent to convert the rental unit into a condominium, stock cooperative project, or a community apartment project, regardless of whethor substantial improvements have been made at the properties or whethor the building was removed from the rental market pursuant to the Ellis Act Ordinance.

During a January 21 call to Jackie Campbell of CEDA, in contrast to what is written in the staff report/amendment, she stated, "we have had discussions about what would define a conversion, and I believe that it (conversion) occurs at the end of the whole process being defined by the City of Oakland", Campbell said. That is not what is written in the staff report, I replied. When I asked Ms. Campbell what the time limit was for the conversions to take place from start to finish, she stated, "there is no limit on the conversion process from start to finish and from what I have been told some conversions may take years before they are completed", Campbell said.

In addition to the lack of requirements to define when a conversion actually occurs or how long a conversion process may actually take place before a landlord finishes the project or decides to drop it, the landlords do not have to prove to the renters that the conversions taking place are actually consistant with the conversion requirements as stated by state or local laws. The whole process being promoted is wide open to abuse by any or all unscrupulous landlords that may want to use the conversion process as a means to harass the renters out of their rental units whethor a conversion occurs or not.

Critics argue that this whole new process being set up by the City of Oakland is merely an attempt to force the renters into subsidizing the condo-conversions for the landlords while the conversion process takes place.

Under existing state law, in general the landlords evict whole buildings at a time with the Ellis Act Ordinance before conversions take place, and the landlords lose the income from those properties while the conversion process takes place as they up grade the properties being converted. The profiteers have convinced Oakland City Officials to come up with this new scheme to make the renters pay for the conversions while their taking place so that the landlords can actually make money during the conversion process whethor they actually reach completion or not.

The condo-conversion scheme was already in full swing by the January 7 Planning Commission meeting, and was next scheduled for a vote by the Community and Economic Development Agency as early as January 13 2004 before heading to a vote by the full City Council in the very near future.

The January 7 staff report and amendment before the Planning Commission to de-regulate Oaklands condo-conversion ordinance, reads like a political statement by the City of Oakland, advising the renters that they are at risk of losing their rental housing if they refuse to cooperate in the scheme being used to coerce them into buying the rental units that they have been residing in and that they will be used to subsidize the landlords while the conversion process take place if they choose to remain in the affected properties.

Oakland is notorious for having old run down rental housing units that are full of lead paint, asbestos, and mold that have not been brought up to code, and through the years the papers have been full of horror stories about at risk renters living in slumlike conditions across the city.

The amendment being proposed offers few requirements or incentives for the landlords to clean up or up grade the buildings before they are to be pushed onto the renters and offered as condo-conversions and this has alarmed the community at large.

The resistance group of voters, tenants and organizations opposed to the de-regulation of Oaklands condo-conversion laws was organized by the Oakland Tenants Union (OTU) and Just Cause Oakland (JCO). At least 30 speakers were signed up and passionately spoke out in opposition to the de-regulation scheme in order to save the protections being offered to the community by rent control and Measure EE.

Steve Edrington a lobbyist for the landlords of the Rental Housing Association of Northern Alameda County (RHANAC) was the lone speaker being in favor of the amendment for unlimited condo-conversions that may result in the eviction of thousands if it ever reached final passage by the full City Council. Bielle Moore a lobyist for the Oakland Association of Realtors could be seen lurking about with a watchful eye on the proceedings as the Planning Commission meeting took place, but she did not arise to the occaision to be a public speaker that evening.

The critics of the proposed ordinance were surprised that so few realtors or landlords were present to speak up in favor of the amendment and could only assume that the profiteers believed it's passage was a slam dunk and were caught off guard by how many people that appeared to oppose the de-regulation amendment.

THE PROPOSAL
Request to amend Chapter 16.36 of the Subdivision Ordinance (condo-conversions) of the Oakland Municipal Code to End Limitations, but retain; (1) the requirement to provide lifetime leases to tenants sixty-two years or older. (2) provide first right of refusal to existing tenants to contract for the purchase of their unit, and (3) codify the requirements for health and safety code upgrades and noise insulation standards.

By the time all the speakers made their cause for or against the proposal that would take back so many protections from the renters of Oakland, it was apparent that many questions were raised which were not addressed by the staff report being presented to the commissioners and the community.

The commissioners were not even certain as to why the vote was about to take place to de-regulate Oaklands 20 year old condo-conversion laws that have successfuly protected Oaklands rental housing supply and thousands of renters from the eviction for profit system.

What was clear was that the landlords favored de-regulation and the greater community opposed it, but there was little to no evidence being presented to show that a real problem actually exists with the existing ordinance thats already in place.

The staff report before the commissioners stated that landlords and tenants alike were frustrated with Oaklands present laws restricting condo-conversions, and in reality not even one renter appeared that evening before the commissioners to request that the de-regulation of the existing ordinance should take place.

In response to community concerns and the lack of information provided by the staff report and Roy Schweyer, Oakland's director of Housing and Community Development, Vice Chair Commissioner Michael Lighty stated, "the problem has not been defined, and it is not clear what the problem is or what the solution is", Lighty said. Commissioner Mark McClure quickly followed suit with a motion to bring the staff report back to a Special Projects Committee for revisions and clarification.

Jackie Campbell, the Housing & Community Development Program Manager, prepared the staff report for the proposal, and on January 9 she stated that it may not be until around Febuary 9 or later before it reaches the Special Projects Committee. And according to Campbell, it's not to return until sometime in March before the proposed amendment and new staff report is re-sent back to the full Planning Commission so that a vote takes place again.

Despite the fact that Steve Edrington of the Rental Housing Association was the only public speaker appearing at the January 7 Planning Commission meeting to support the amendment that landlords would use as a loophole to get around rent control and Measure EE, Jackie Campbell stated, "I am not aware of any involvement by the landlords to push for the de-regulation of Oaklands condo-conversion ordinance as a means to get around existing renter protections," Campbell said. Interestingly, Campbell had a front row seat at the January 7 Planning Commission meeting that evening while Edrington on behalf of the landlords urged the commissioners to pass the amendment brought before them.

In addition, it is very clear that the proposal is one sided with all the power being handed over to the landlords. There is no provision stating that it should be voluntary between landlords and the tenants, or that no conversion may be allowed to take place without the consent of the renters that are about to lose their rights and rental housing in the process. During a number of debates taking place shortly before the voters ushered in Measure EE, the landlords threatened to convert the rental housing units into condominiums if the voters dared to pass Measure EE into law.

Measure EE was passed by the voters, but the landlords ran into the condo-conversion restrictions which are now on the verge of being de-regulated.

The Sales Pitch
Mayor Jerry Brown is already trying to sell this turkey to the voters by claiming that the city is actually promoting home ownership and that its as american as apple pie. In reality, the harder the city tries to force thousands of renters out of their housing in the name of promoting home ownership, the more preposterous this wicked scheme becomes.

Only the most corrupt officials are dumb enough to pretend that the renters cannot see whats happening to them. No matter how much deceit or lies they rely upon to convince the renters that this is not an assault upon rent control or Measure EE, the fact remains that this attempt to usurp the rights of the renters is being totally backed by the realtors and landlords that stand to profit by final passage of the proposal.

This was not a movement of renters at the Planning Commission meeting on January 7 to demand that they have their renters protections stripped from them so that the profiteers can convert their rental housing units into expensive condos that they cannot afford to buy.

Among the many groups and speakers that denounced the plan to de-regulate Oaklands condo-conversion laws, James Vann of the OTU stated that a recent survey reveals that the average cost of a condo below Mac Arthur Blvd goes for around $294,000, and that most renters cannot afford to buy them. Vann went on to say that 25% of Oaklands condominiums were being rented out to tenants that have lost access to the rent control program and eviction protections as a result. Roy Schweyer later countered by stating that he has not seen any evidence of this.

Phillip Neville of the Oakland Housing Authority was at the Planning Commission for a different agenda item in regards to the reconfiguration of plans to build 283 residential units at the Coliseum Gardens Park, and stated that the Housing Authority has a number of Section 8 tenants that are already renting condominiums in the lower hills of Oakland.

Recent statistics show that on average the minimum cost to rent a condo is much more expensive than it is to rent an apartment in Oakland. Minimum rental costs for a studio apartment are around $625.00 per month compared to around $850.00 per month to rent a studio condo, and one bedroom minimum costs for an apartment may go for around $650.00 per month compared to around $850.00 per month minimum to rent a 1 bedroom condo. Renters end up paying much more when renting condos while similtaneously losing eviction protections and access to the rent control program to oppose unfair rent increases.

Life Safety Standards
Try to imagine a scheme so tempting as to invite every sleazy slumlord of Oakland into trying to lure in a sucker from out of town or out of state to pay $300,000 for a dump (apartment) in the ghetto that was converted into a condo, but not required to have had seismic upgrades or retrofitting done for safety reasons before the buyer invested their life savings to purchase the rat trap!

Thats exactly what is being proposed! The only life safety standard requirements listed in the proposed amendment brought before the Planning Commission are as follows; that smoke alarm detector systems be must be installed at the properties being sold, an approved out door key box for the Fire Department to gain entry into the buildings, some illuminated exit signs in the hallways, and unit and identification postings. There was nothing in the proposal to require the landlords to upgrade for seismic safety conditions even though the Hayward Fault runs directly through Oakland and this did not escape the attention of the commissioners expressing alarm by what they perceived to be going on with this proposal.

Also, newly built condominiums have many more amenities than the older rental units do that may end up being converted, and the staff report failed to address the cost differentials or the impact that condo-conversions may have upon the developers or construction of new projects in the future.

Grim Statistics
Since 1991 only around 3,900 new residential units have been built in Oakland. As a result, Oakland has had a chronic housing shortage and now has the fourth highest rents in the nation, while the average Oakland household income in the flatlands is $29,000 to $33,000, and a third of the renters spend more than half of their income on rent.

Grim times forced Oakland renters to take action with the initiative Measure EE which was passed by the voters in November of 2002 to defend themselves from high rents and unfair evictions occurring across the city.

Rent increases rose 8 percent from 1996 through 1997, and more than 30 percent from 1998 through 1999. The landlords then followed through with total war on the renters by instituting the eviction for profit system which displaced thousands of low-income renters in the process during their search for higher income renters.

From September 98 through December 1999, 30 day no-cause evictions rose by 300 percent, with 56 percent of evictions being families with children, and 75 percent of the evictees were people of color. At that point most renters being evicted earned less than $25,000 per year and payed between $600.00 to $700.00 in rent per month in Oakland.

The effects of the mass expulsions are still seen today in recent homeless statistics reporting more than 6,000 homeless adults and children in Alameda County, with more than 60 percent staying in Oakland and Berkeley. On any given night, theres another 4,000 people fluctuating in and out of homelessness in Alameda County.

Anti-eviction activists urge the voters and renters to call their Oakland City Council Members to demand that Measure EE must remain enforced and that the plan to de-regulate Oaklands condo-conversion laws needs to be buried 6 feet under.

For updates & more info, contact Just Cause Oakland: 510/763-5877
Add Your Comments
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network