A not-exhaustive preview of important issues that will be adjudicated the Oakland City Council on Tuesday. As usual, Oakland Observer will also be live reporting the meeting.
Non-Consent
Report on Transient Occupancy Tax Sharing Agreement with Oakland Roots
In late 2025, Council approved a revenue sharing agreement with Oakland Roots soccer team designed to offset the million dollar cost of hosting the Australian team in their Alameda facility during World Cup games and events in 2026. The sharing was meant to encourage Roots to offer the hosting and make it financially viable, with a secondary goal of increasing Oakland’s attraction as a sports and culture destination during Oakland World Cup events. The agreement was structured around a baseline trigger of $1.35 MM in the month of July 2026—Roots would get up to $300K above that if the TOT provided. The final figures are pretty exact, TOT was about 16% higher in 2026 than in the same period in 2025, about $1.7 MM, covering the baseline and about $300K above it, the latter of which will go to the Roots team.
Ordinance to Increase Potential Fines for Unabated Private Property Nuisances to $2,500 and Up to $10,000 per Day
Legislation from Zac Unger would increase the potential fines for ongoing unabated public nuisances after initial fines are levied without curing the nuisance. The legislation would draw on charter changes created in Dan Kalb’s Measure RR, which eliminated the $1,000 dollar cap on the City's fines structure. The initial fine would remain at $1,000 per day for an ongoing previously cited nuisance, but could be increased first to $2,500 and then to $10,000 for an egregious scofflaw behavior.
Audit of Capital Improvement Plan
Oaklandside had very good reporting on this report that came out in September.
Eli Wolfe
Quan Faces Challenges as Police Commission Appointee
Another controversial Oakland Police Commission appointment deliberation may be on the way Tuesday. The Selection Panel has submitted their proposed appointment of Jean Quan and Nicholas O’Brien-Kovari to the Police Commission. The decision to appoint Quan by the Selection Panel drew attention from at least one Council member months ago as it was being finalized at the body—CM Ken Houston told reporters he objected to Quan’s appointment. He’s returned to his complaints about Quan, which include his accusation that she “let” Occupy happen and that she was oppositional to the OPD. At the Rules Committee meeting in which the proposal was scheduled to Tuesday’s meeting, Houston a non-member of the Committee, addressed the body to say he did not support Quan’s appointment.
The Rules Committee has been the site of improper control of Selection Panel appointments in the past. Last year, CM Kevin Jenkins removed the scheduling requests for the appointments of Omar Farmer and Ricardo Garcia-Acosta of his own accord and with no vote, despite having no power under the Charter to do so. Since then, the City Administrator’s office, which is responsible for ensuring the appointments are submitted for scheduling, has included a note on such appointments, delineating the Council’s role and powers over appointments, which is to schedule the appointments which are charter-mandated to be heard by full Council. Thus, in this case, Houston’s statements had no bearing on the scheduling.
— The Oakland Observer (@Oak_Observer) October 8, 2026
Quan and O’Brien-Kovari, were selected by the Panel several months ago, along with a previously appointed slate of two appointees that was reviewed and seated last month by City Council. During the Selection Panel process the panelists discussed their concern that the Council would reject all four submissions if any single candidate was controversial—they thus split the candidacies into two slates to be presented at separate meetings. Regardless, the charter requires that the slate be considered as a legislative item, and there is no way to separate the appointments via vote.
Quan would not be the first former elected official to serve on the Commission—the late Commissioner Wilson Riles was a former Council Person—but she would be the highest level elected to do so, and the only one with administrative experience with OPD in her resume. But Quan’s tenure as the actual boss of the OPD as Mayor was rocky, with significant police scandals throughout her tenure. During the Occupy protests under Quan, the OPD and officers under their collective leadership seriously assaulted least two protesters, Scott Olsen and Kayvan Sabehgi, leaving them with injuries that required life-saving treatment. The victims sued Oakland for a combined total of $5 MM in settlement payments. During Quan’s tenure as well, officers killed several Oakland residents in the course of policing, including a teen, Alan Blueford.
There were other scandals. Quan’s “100 Block” public safety program was meant as a response to criticisms of her handling of crime in Oakland, and was based on Quan’s claim that the police would target areas of East Oakland where the majority of Oakland’s crime occurred. But the "100 block" areas were not responsible for a majority of crime in Oakland, it was later confirmed. During Quan’s administration as well, it was revealed that state redevelopment dollars meant for economic stimulus and housing construction, were used to fund nearly 20 police officer salaries at a cost of over $3 MM. And as Quan faced re-election she purchased nearly one hundred of the now-ubiquitous SUV black and white patrol cars for OPD, an action she referred to as a reward to the OPD for good work. Quan is responsible, however, for starting the Ceasefire program, although during a period when it was not effectively managed by OPD.
Planning Commission Appointee Smith Alone Will Face Scrutiny on Non Consent Agenda
Last week during Rules was a study in contrasting Planning Commission appointments. One appointment, David Newton, received praise and adulation, while another, Harold Peter Smith, was met with skepticism by CM Fife, and silence from the other committee members. Fife had questions for both candidates, but responses from Smith did not seem to move Fife, and she abstained from the vote to forward his appointment to full Council. The lack of unanimity, according to Council Rules of Procedure, sends the item to the non consent calendar. Although committees ultimately have discretion on which portion of the agenda an item under their purview will be scheduled to, no such action was taken. That means Newton's appointment will be on Consent and Smith's on Non Consent, which could be an odd look for Smith.
Consent
Previous Owners of Radisson Must Pay Wage Theft Settlement
The previous owners of the Radisson Hotel on the Hegenberger corridor have settled with the City on a dispute over wage theft from hotel employees during the years when the business operated as a commercial hotel–a $600K payout. The Radisson became an emergency housing site during Covid as the company, an actual lifeline, since the company was already failing. In 2025, the company was put into receivership, and bought by Cardera health, the company that shied away from purchasing another hotel downtown for a housing site focused focused on medically frail and vulnerable homeless residents after CM Charlene Wang railed against it.
SAVE Grant to Facilitate Seizure and Disposal of Estuary Vessels Deemed Unseaworthy
The City is getting another SAVE grant to carry out basically what are for all intents evictions on the water. The grant will pay for the inspection process, and then for the seizure and destruction of anchor out boats on the Oakland Estuary. This will be the third consecutive year of receiving the grants, in conjunction with city ordinances that allow OPD’s aquatic unit to inspect boats and ultimately seize them if they are not seaworthy. The goal of the program is focused on pushing residents off of the estuary as a solution to their housing status, but the city now argues that it must race to seize boats due to impending El Nino conditions.
Parking Citation System Contract Extension Flagged for Atypical Collections Agreement
The City has relied on a parking citation management system from Modaxo, which manages citation payments for Oakland’s parking tickets, since 2019. The Modaxo contract expired in April, around the time when parking enforcement paymen processes migrated to the Finance Department and it must be extended. The catch here is that the contract itself has a suspect provision. Modaxo is allowed to pursue scofflaw citation payments, and keep 30% of the outcome for any ticket thus paid through collections. Finance committee members balked at the extraordinary feature of the agreement, and the Finance Department agreed it’s not typical of such an arrangement. The City is asking for the extension in order to put in a new request for bids. The Committee suggests shortening that period.
Procurement for Ready Mix Concrete Requires Waiving of Ban on Deportation Profiteering
While this would not normally be a controversial decision, committee members were informed that the only way the City can contract with a company that can meet the City’s needs is to waive all of its immigration-focused requirements, such as the border wall participation and contracts with ICE. This is at least the second waiver during the Lee administration for immigration enforcement related ordinances. Regardless, there is not likely to be a discussion of this as it's non-consent.
San Leandro Creek Extension from Columbia Gardens Park Will Connect Deep East Oakland to MLK Shoreline Park
A series of agreements with Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation, will revitalize the San Leandro creek trail that runs from Columbia Gardens to Hegenberger Rd along a concrete spillway and keep it permanently open to the public. The trail already exists, but lack of infrastructure, care and surface street connection prevent it from being used easily and it is currently in a quasi-shutdown with required parallel crosswalk infrastructure on 98th Avenue deactivated. The new greenway would bridge an isolated area of East Oakland to, ultimately, the gateway of the MLK Regional Shoreline Park at Hegenberger.
Also on Consent:
—Oakland Redevelopment Successor Agency Termination Plan
The plan before Council will liquidate, retain and manage assets and debts from the former redevelopment agency for its ultimate closure in 2040.
—Measure U Allocation of Previously Budgeted Funds
The legislation would approve the allocation of $50 MM from Tranche 3 of Measure U bond revenue, which has already been budgeted for 2026-27.
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