The Oakland City Council meets tomorrow at 1 p.m. Here are some of the items on the agenda:
Vax mandate: The city is ending its requirement for people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination before entering restaurants, bars, entertainment and recreational facilities, gyms, libraries, and other places. The proof-of-vaccine requirement went into effect on Feb. 1. A resolution before the council keeps the requirements for senior adult care facilities and city senior centers and adds a requirement for masking at large indoor events.
New shelter?: Councilmember Carroll Fife wants the city to study opening a homeless shelter at the North Gateway parcel at the former Oakland Army Base. Fife has asked staff to study a site that could house at least 1,000 residents. It would be the largest shelter in the area.
Park name change: Madison Park in Chinatown is going to be renamed Wilma Chan Park after the late District 3 Alameda County supervisor. Chan, a former Oakland school board member who represented downtown and East Oakland, was killed by a motorist while walking her dog last year.
City investigation: Following the termination of Oakland Violence Prevention Deputy Chief Sarai Crain, members of the council are calling for an independent investigation into allegations of pay inequities and mistreatment of women of color by the city administration.
Cleaner generators: Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Dan Kalb want the city to establish a policy on using cleaner generators for backup power at development on city properties. The use of generators has increased in recent years, the councilmember say in a report. In Oakland, for instance, the number of nonresidential generators increased from 229 in 2018 to 348 in 2020 and 90% of all generators used in the state were diesel-fueled.
The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting can be found here. And here’s a helpful guide to watching and speaking at council meetings.
