At least 36 people were killed in a death trap that the City of Oakland knew about for at least two years—and did nothing. This was a facility for the “arts”, the homeless, the druggies and those running from the law. No sanitation, garbage everywhere, flammable material left in every nook and cranny of the place. The only surprise is that the fire did not happen sooner.
Instead of fixing the problem, the city of Oakland wants to use tax dollars to create a safe space for the arts. Seriously. Government wants to subsidize druggies and the lazy, along with the talented.
“Artists and musicians lived in an unpermitted warehouse because it was the best housing option they could afford. It offered an amount of open space unavailable in a standard apartment, with the ability to play music without angering neighbors.
Oakland can offer financial and tax incentives to owners to maintain safe and healthy warehouse housing for artists. Adding sprinklers is less costly than other upgrades, and opens up an entirely new set of opportunities for the Oakland arts community.
Now is the time to turn fear of eviction into plans for a more stable artist future. Oakland can do this, and the fire victims deserve no less.
Why should a poor family just getting by be forced to finance the lifestyle of a self-proclaimed artist? Is it the role of society to create and finance an industry based on personal taste? Is the painting ugly or a masterpiece? Why should someone unable to feed their children be forced to make that decision? Is there any common sense left in the Bay Area?
Junipero Serra and the Legacies of the California Missions. Virginia Steele Scott Galleries, Erburu Wing. Aug. 17, 2013-Jan. 6, 2014. Copy of the portrait of Father Junipero Serra from Santa Cruz convent, Queretaro, by Father Jose Mosqueda, n.d. Oil on canvas, 32 x 26 1/2 in. Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
To Honor Oakland’s Fire Victims, Save Artist Housing
by Randy Shaw, Beyond Chron, 12/6/16
The tragic Oakland warehouse fire was an emotional gut-punch for many in the Bay Area. The victims included a brother of one of my Tenderloin Housing Clinic employees, and other THC employees lost very close friends.
So what is to be done in response to the horrific deaths of creative young people who represented the best of the Bay Area? I hope one approach is to honor their legacy by saving and expanding artist housing in Oakland.
Saving Artist Housing
I have worked with tenants living in non-residential spaces for decades. In my very first jury trial I represented a tenant who faced eviction for living in his Tenderloin fix-it shop. We prevailed.The jury found that since the landlord never barred the tenant from living there, there was no “just cause” to evict.
To be clear, having spent decades working to improve code enforcement for tenants I am outraged by the lack of sprinklers and legal stairs at the Ghost Ship warehouse. Oakland has long done a poor job of basic housing code enforcement, and this failure appears to extend to fire code monitoring as well.
The fire must cause the immediate inspection of all Oakland warehouses where people are living and/or holding public events. But allowing these inspections to provoke widespread evictions and a sharp reduction in artist live-work and music venues would only dishonor those who perished last weekend.
Evictions are unavoidable in structures that cannot ever meet fire or habitability codes. But most buildings can either be legally converted to residential use, or residential use can continue without jeopardizing tenant safety. The most common issue is whether the residential use offers two means of egress and has adequate ventilation and bathroom facilities. If the buildings do, then tenant displacement can and should be avoided.
Artist Warehouse Bond
My experience is primarily with tenants living in office space, not warehouses. I realize that the many Oakland warehouses where artists live and/or perform are costier to convert to legal residential use, but the city can help.
San Francisco passed bonds to assist owners in seismic retrofits, and Oakland could do the same for preserving warehouses as live-work housing and/or performance space. This would be a fitting tribute to those who perished in the Oakland fire.
Foundations and wealthy arts supporters could fill the gap until a bond can reach the ballot. The Ghost Ship fire has touched millions. There seems to be a consensus that the deaths should not be followed by the destruction of the Oakland arts community by a code enforcement crackdown that lacks a future upside.
Artists and musicians lived in an unpermitted warehouse because it was the best housing option they could afford. It offered an amount of open space unavailable in a standard apartment, with the ability to play music without angering neighbors.
Oakland can offer financial and tax incentives to owners to maintain safe and healthy warehouse housing for artists. Adding sprinklers is less costly than other upgrades, and opens up an entirely new set of opportunities for the Oakland arts community.
Now is the time to turn fear of eviction into plans for a more stable artist future. Oakland can do this, and the fire victims deserve no less.
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