Oakland Tenants Win Settlement
September 28, 2007
OAKLAND — A four-and-a-half year battle over affordable housing in Chinatown ended last Tuesday after the city council voted to approve a legal settlement involving a developer, housing advocates and tenants who had received eviction notices.The centerpiece of the agreement is the sale and preservation of 50 affordable housing units, whose proceeds will go towards building 50 additional rental units for low-income seniors, said Patricia Kernighan, the city councilmember whose district includes Chinatown.
“By working together, we’ve been able to craft a win-win resolution … in a community that has been heavily impacted by the affordable housing crisis,” Kernighan said.
The Pacific Renaissance Plaza, located in the heart of Chinatown, was built in 1993 as a redevelopment project. Along with 50 rental units, there are 200 condominiums and a commercial plaza that includes a branch library and cultural center.
Of the tenants of the 50 rental units who received eviction notices from the Pacific Renaissance Plaza in April 2003, only one still remains. H.K. Chang, 98, will receive a lifetime lease, while the remaining rental units will be sold.
“I told him the good news and saw the tears in his eyes,” Francis Chang, 60, said of his father who stayed up late to watch the city council meeting live on television. Francis’ mother was one of five tenants who have passed away since the ordeal began.
Another was Yen-Ho Hom, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit who never left the Pacific Renaissance Plaza.
“She broke all the usual social norms. Asians don’t tend to stand up,” said her son, Art Hom, 60.
The attorney representing developer Larry Chan lauded the settlement. “We’re getting affordable housing, which hugely benefits Chinatown,” Stephen Kaus said. “Everybody is happy about it.”
Perhaps not everyone. The owners of the 200 condominiums in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza came out in larger numbers than advocates to oppose the settlement at the city council meeting. Their concern is that property values will decrease once the affordable housing units go on the market.
“There are major concerns about the fluctuation in property value,” said Ann Fok, president of the homeowners association. “There are homeowners who have units for sale now and are having problems selling it.” If the rentals were kept as affordable housing rentals, it would not be an issue, she said.
The first step under the settlement is that nonprofit developer East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation will purchase the 50 units for $4 million, and then be responsible for selling all but one of them to households who make at or below the area median income ($75,400 for a three-person household).
“We’ve already done housing in Chinatown. We’re used to taking a calculated risk,” said Lynette Jung Lee, executive director of the Chinatown-based East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation.
Lee said the units would be ready for sale by next spring at the earliest. Priority will be given to residents who currently occupy the 50 rental units at Pacific Renaissance Plaza, then to those who were evicted.
The case of Pacific Renaissance Plaza “shows gentrification isn’t a racial issue but a class issue,” said Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. “The issue isn’t between different races but between capitalism and the working class.”
Roger Kim, associate director with Chinatown-based nonprofit Asian Pacific Environmental Network, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, called the settlement a victory that will retain the current makeup of the neighborhood. “Chinatown will continue to be a place where immigrants, working class folks come to live,” Kim said.
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Nice quote from the commie. Who cares that market-rate homeowners will have to compete with subsidized units when they want to sell - they must be capitalists!
[…] from BeyondChron to Chinatown condo-owners complain about Inclusionary […]
Congrats to CJWP, APEN, Just Cause, and the grassroots forces that won this major victory for Chinatown, seniors, tenants and our social justice movements everywhere.
My colleague Russel Jeung from Asian American Studies at SF State hits the PAC REN Plaza campaign’s main contradiction right on its head - “The issue isn’t between different races but between capitalism and the working class.”
[…] more conflicts with neighbors over density, further delaying projects and increasing housing costs. Neighbors may also resent having to compete with subsidized units when reselling their own homes. Also, because the “affordable” units can be available to people making over $90k/year (more […]