Quote:
Originally Posted by Wave
The whole process has been dysfunctional, arbitrary, and counterproductive in promoting current and future economic development in Oakland. These sorts of things create uncertainty and hamper development. Oakland is one of the few areas anywhere that are short on office space, so this project is definitely needed.
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I mean, the thing that always dumbfounds me though is...who are these people that they have so much pull?
I can understand NIMBY power in say Squirrel Hill or Shadyside. Lots of single-family homes worth over a million dollars. Lots of rich homeowners with free time. It's where you'd expect NIMBYism.
Oakland isn't like this, outside of Schenley Farms. Something like 80% of people are renters, and most of them are transient students. Many of the homeowners are in condo towers in North Oakland. There are some "homeowner streets" left like Coltart, but they are distinctly in the minority. I just don't see how their voices are elevated so much.
I have heard it claimed - but I don't know for sure - that the community organizations are actually dominated by slumlord renters, who pose as living in one of their properties even if they really live somewhere out in the suburbs. That their anti-density hardline is because they know that the transformation of Oakland means that the rental prices they can charge for decrepit homes are steadily depreciating. But I don't know anything concrete - and you'd think the city could suss this out.