Released Emails Call into Question Proposed Wood Street RV Site

Game Changer’s land and Wood Street on Aug 12, 2020. Cam Mckeel’s bus sits front center. Mavin Carter-Griffin’s home sits in the center behind the bus with tires stacked in front of it. RVs and selfmade homes sit to the right, along Wood Street. Photo by Zack Haber

In the summer of 2019 Mayor Libby Schaaf announced plans to construct a safe RV parking site for unhoused residents living along Wood Street in West Oakland but recently released emails call those plans, and the intentions of those plans, into question.

The proposed site, if constructed, would be available for some people living on and just west of Wood Street and between 18th and 26th Streets in West Oakland. That area is densely populated with around 100 people living in vehicles, self-made homes, and tents. The site would allow them to have electrical hookups, fresh water, regular trash and bathroom services but would only be available for those who live in RVs. It is unclear how long RV dwellers could live on the site.

City administration drafted lease terms in August and September 2019 to rent a 1.5 acre tract of land covered mostly in dirt, stone and grass just west of Wood Street and between 24th-26th streets from Game Changer LLC, a San Francisco based company owned by a billionaire named Fred Craves. At the time, Game Changer had left the land unused for years and many people already lived there. While no rent was to be charged, the 18 month draft of the lease stipulated that city would agree to pay about 33,000$ per year in property taxes for Game Changer.