Oakland official threatens to seize house
OAKLAND >> The owner of a vacant West Oakland house must negotiate with the homeless women who moved in without permission last month, or the city may consider seizing the property, a councilwoman’s staffer said Tuesday.
Councilwoman Nikki Fortunato Bas, as well as representatives from the offices of Council President Rebecca Kaplan and Councilman Dan Kalb, called on the owner — real estate investment company Wedgewood — to work out a deal that would allow the women and their allies to buy the house and continue living there.
If Wedgewood refuses, the city will “look at all viable opportunities, including seizure of property,” said Kaplan’s policy director, Bobbi Lopez.
A Wedgewood spokesman said the threat shows “reckless disregard for the law.”
“That would be a level of lawlessness that no one would expect out of an elected official in Oakland, or any other American city,” said Sam Singer, who is handling public relations for Wedgewood.
The property at stake is a three-bedroom house on Magnolia Street. A group of homeless women and their children moved in without permission last month. About three weeks later, Wedgewood served the women, who have formed an organization called Moms 4 Housing, with an eviction notice.
The women challenged the eviction in Alameda County Superior Court. In a tentative ruling, Judge Patrick McKinney found that “the claims do not appear to provide a basis for a valid claim of right to possession, and instead contend only that the claimants have a right to occupy the subject premise.” But the judge invited the women to provide evidence that they have a right to occupy the house at a hearing to be held Thursday.
Wedgewood said Monday that once the women move out, it intends to sell the house to a firsttime buyer and share the proceeds with Los Angeles-based nonprofit Shelter 37. Wedgewood CEO Greg Geiser sits on the board of Shelter 37.
On Tuesday, Moms 4 Housing, Fortunato Bas and the city staffers held a news conference in the living room of the house. In front of a Christmas tree the women had adorned with lights, silver balls and red bows, the city officials pledged their support.
“I see you. I hear you,” Fortunato Bas said. “And I’m here in solidarity with you and Moms 4 Housing because every family deserves a safe and affordable home.”
She urged Wedgewood to negotiate a deal with Moms 4 Housing and the Oakland Community Land Trust, a nonprofit that buys property and converts it to affordable housing. It’s a mission backed by city dollars — the City Council this year set aside $12 million to fund land trusts.
When asked what legal grounds the city would have to seize the property, Lopez didn’t offer specifics. She said the first step would be to facilitate mediation between Wedgewood and Moms 4 Housing.
“This is really sort of a lastditch effort,” Lopez said of the possibility of seizing the house. “But it has a long history, and it’s been used by other cities.”
Governments have the power to take private property and convert it to public use through eminent domain, as long as they provide just compensation to the property owner.
But such cases typically involve a government agency taking property that sits in the way of a planned infrastructure project, and it’s unclear if Oakland would have success invoking the rule on behalf of Moms 4 Housing.
If Oakland succeeds in seizing the Magnolia Street property, it would set a dangerous precedent that could allow city officials to take anyone’s house, Singer said.
“If that’s the case,” he said, “then the entire city of Oakland should be deeply concerned with their elected officials seizing their personal and private property.”