Community Benefits

The equity-centered Howard Terminal proposal Community Benefits process is an opportunity to set a national precedent. It will be the first of its kind to use existing conditions of racial disparities data from the Oakland Race and Equity Baseline Indicators Report that was published in 2019 to establish race and equity baselines from which community benefits recommendations will be developed. It will also be the first to be developed through a collaborative multi-stakeholder Steering Committee and developed from a grassroots level through seven working groups that have been identified as Topic Cohorts: Community Health & Safety, Culture Keeping & History, Economic Development & Jobs, Education, Environment, Housing, and Transportation.

Steering Committee Members

Culture & History

David Peters, West Oakland resident
Eric Arnold, Black Arts Movement District

Community Health and Safety

Marj Wolf, West Oakland resident
Angie Tam, Communities for a Better Environment

Economic Development / Jobs

Derrick Muhammad, West Oakland resident
Saabir Lockett, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy

Education

Phyllis Hall, West Oakland resident
Denisha DeLane, Civic Corps and West Oakland Community Collaborative

Environment

Victoria Harris, West Oakland resident
Alvina Wong, Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Housing

Jabari Herbert, West Oakland resident
Elaine Brown, Affordable Housing Developer and Activist

Transportation

Mercedes Rodriguez, West Oakland resident
Steve Lowe, Old Oakland resident

Chinatown At-Large

Mike Lok, Asian Health Services

Jack London Square At-Large

Savlan Hauser, Jack London Square Improvement District

Old Oakland At-Large

Michael Schaefer, Resident

West Oakland At-Large

Stefanie Parrott, Resident

City of Oakland

Molly Maybrun, Project Manager

Port of Oakland

Amy Tharpe, Director – Social Responsibility Division

Oakland Athletics

Colette Lucas-Conwell

Meetings

There are currently no scheduled meetings.

All public virtual community benefits process meetings were recorded on Zoom and the videos are archived.

Please monitor this webpage for updates.

Resources

Materials to inform the development of the Howard Terminal community benefits can be viewed in the Resources Folder.

Please click on the following links for short video presentations related to Housing:

Documents

Partners

Port of Oakland logo Visit the Port of Oakland's website for additional information on the Howard Terminal proposal Community Benefits.

Oakland A's logo Visit the Oakland A's website for additional information about A's in the Community.

The West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project is one of two community partners that are co-designing the Howard Terminal community benefits process with the City of Oakland, the Port of Oakland, and the Oakland Athletics. Visit the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project's website at www.woeip.org for additional information and to stay updated.

The Oakland Asian Cultural Center, located in the heart of Oakland's vibrant Chinatown, is one of two community partners that are co-designing the Howard Terminal community benefits process with the City of Oakland, the Port of Oakland, and the Oakland Athletics. Visit oacc.cc for more information about the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

About

The Howard Terminal proposal Community Benefits process is an opportunity to set a national precedent. It is the first to use existing conditions of racial disparities data from the Oakland Race and Equity Baseline Indicators Report that was published in 2019 to establish race and equity baselines from which community benefits will be developed.

Equity-Centered

The Howard Terminal community benefits process is equity-centered and community-focused. The City of Oakland is leading the process, working closely with community members and other stakeholders such as community advocates, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, health-care providers, public agencies, and partners from the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, the Port of Oakland, and the Oakland Athletics.

Community Driven

The Howard Terminal community benefits process is community-driven and developed from a grassroots level through working groups that have been identified as Topic Cohorts. There are seven Topic Cohorts: Community Health & Safety, Culture Keeping & History, Economic Development & Jobs, Education, Environment, Housing, and Transportation. Topic Cohorts met between 2-4 times per month from March-August 2020, and membership was open to any Oakland resident or stakeholder.

A multi-stakeholder Howard Terminal Community Benefits Steering Committee is responsible for finalizing community recommendations that unites the Topic Cohort content. The Steering Committee was formed by the following: 1) Each Topic Cohort selected two members to the Howard Terminal Community Benefits Steering Committee. 2) In addition to the Topic Cohort representatives, the Steering Committee has four At-Large seats that represent the high Impact Areas (Chinatown, Jack London Square, Old Oakland, and West Oakland). 3) Lastly, the City of Oakland, the Port of Oakland, and the Oakland Athletics each has one seat on the Steering Committee.

Community First

Community involvement, particularly from those who are typically marginalized in public processes, is integral to identifying the appropriate steering committee, equitable metrics and terms, and a holistic and inclusive set of recommendations to be considered in the community benefits process. The Howard Terminal community benefits process focuses on participation from Oakland's community members who are most impacted by racial, economic, and health disparities. Residential community members from the geographic areas that may experience higher impact levels (Chinatown, Jack London Square, Old Oakland, and West Oakland) are especially sought to get involved with the development of the Howard Terminal CBA.

Guiding Principles

The Howard Terminal community benefits process adopted the following guiding principles:

To be inclusive: Developing alternative methods for public engagement for racial/ethnic communities; establishing rapport and trust with racial and ethnic groups and individuals who are traditionally not involved in decision-making processes.
To be transparent: Sharing with community the pros and cons of options, and informing the community about steps actions, changes to or new services.
To be collaborative: Develop a comprehensive and exhaustive set of recommendations based on extensive engagement by community members and stakeholders who: 1) offer previous community benefits development experience, 2) whose lived experience can inform the development of the Howard Terminal community benefits process, and, 3) stakeholders who have policy and other technical expertise through their professions.
To have integrity: Have open discussions and garner consensus by respecting what stakeholder peers support or oppose. There will be no "backroom deals".
To seek solutions: Identify feasible solutions to problems that may be long-standing, or unique to the Howard Terminal ballpark development.