Oakland City Council OKs Lake Merritt development

The Oakland City Council approved a motion Wednesday night to let UrbanCore Development move forward with a controversial proposal to build mostly market-rate housing on a city-owned parcel near Lake Merritt.

The motion came after a lengthy public comment period during tonight’s special meeting in which dozens of speakers asked the council not to approve the proposal.

As the motion passed and the meeting was adjourned, the crowd began chanting, “shame on Mayor Schaaf, Shame on UrbanCore.” The chanting protestors called the deal wrong, illegal, immoral and harmful to the Oakland community.