Glenview Neighbors Meeting — July 15, 2026
Topic: City Update, GNA Board Business, Ice Cream Social
Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Format: In-person + Zoom
Part 1 — City / Councilmember's Office Updates
City budget (Council amendments to the Mayor's proposed budget)
$250K for community safety ambassadors — security-guard-like roles that also build community with business owners in commercial districts.
$500K for graffiti abatement citywide.
3 additional electricians budgeted to speed up street light repairs (the city previously had only 2 for all of Oakland; lights in the Laurel were out ~6 months). Repeated copper wire theft keeps knocking repaired lights back out — being addressed.
$300K wildfire risk assessment pilot (championed by Councilmember Ramachandran) — a workforce development program with the Fire Department, likely youth-targeted entry-level roles doing home wildfire-safety assessments. This is in addition to the special hills-zone tax (Measure NN-area, passed 2024), which mostly funds vegetation management.
Ballot measure compliance: in recent budget-crisis years the Council redirected voter-designated funds (library, etc.) to plug general fund holes. This budget brings three measures back into compliance, including the library fund. The soda tax is still out of compliance (should fund healthy-options initiatives).
Senior centers get more funding — now open 4 days/week (up from very limited hours).
Tree division received additional funding, but hiring is the bottleneck (positions approved in 2023 still unfilled). Budget includes funding for an HR vacancy strike force to figure out why positions go unfilled and speed hiring.
On "where the money comes from": amendments are offset by cuts elsewhere (e.g., trimming the self-insurance liability fund or reserves). The city is in a better financial position than the past two years.
Coliseum deal
First reading passed at a special meeting Monday; second reading goes to Council the following Tuesday. Deal expected to close by January 2027.
The city is selling its 50% share for ~$110M: $50M cash up front (used partly to pay down city liabilities), remainder in installments over 5–7 years. The county keeps its half.
Buyer group: Oakview Group + AASEG (African American Sports Entertainment Group) plus at least one other partner; AEG involved but not primary; Loop Capital mentioned as helping with development. Arena and stadium are both part of the deal.
Oakland will receive 6% of future sales revenue at the Coliseum.
The main investor may bring back free summer concerts. At-large Councilmember Brown is working on community benefits agreements for the surrounding neighborhood.
Charter reform
The Mayor's strong-mayor charter proposal passed Council for the November ballot — ironically, a majority of councilmembers didn't support it, but no council-manager alternative was drafted in time (~July ballot deadline).
A working group (with SPUR involvement) had recommended picking one model, with strong mayor as the preferred option among its recommendations; the charter reform group preferred council-manager but felt voters should have some option — "some change is better than no change" vs. the current hybrid model.
Illegal dumping
The Mayor announced a $9M grant to the city to expand illegal dumping cameras: stationary pole-mounted cameras at hot spots that capture license plates for review, with coordination between OPD and the DA's office, plus new aerial imaging to identify hotspots.
Council passed an ordinance (spearheaded by Councilmember Unger) requiring steeper fines for dumpers.
City supported SB 1218 (Sen. Arreguín) — would block DMV registration renewal for people with unpaid dumping fines (bill may have been weakened; final version unclear).
Attendee note: reportedly 300+ businesses have no waste-hauling account, and those are often the dumpers.
Part 2 — GNA Board Business
Park Blvd shopping area beautification
Funds so far: $750 grant + roughly a few hundred more raised from merchants — well short of the goal; a designated fundraiser may be needed.
Goal: make the little shopping area more pleasant and more of a destination.
Bellanico parklet (dining structure in parking spaces)
The parklet is not permitted — the city has sent violations (there's a parklet division within OakDOT). City staff previously told them how to come into compliance (setting it back 20 ft from the crosswalk for visibility), which apparently never happened. Issue goes back to ~August 2024.
Neighboring businesses' complaints: it reduces parking, completely blocks Blackberry Bistro's awning signageheading up the hill, and sits in an already-chaotic stretch (road diet, DoorDash/Uber drop-offs, school pickups) — a real safety concern.
It doubles Bellanico's seating but sits empty much of the time (they're only open 5 days/week). Ideas floated: share the structure between businesses, or extend sidewalk tables instead.
Councilmember's office will check current status with OakDOT's parklet division.
Business association (none exists for the corridor)
The area has no business association; one would help coordinate things like a merchant stroll (à la Albany). Past attempts (incl. by neighboring associations) have fizzled — merchants lack time/interest.
One local owner says he's in contact with a possible association effort — follow up; if real, make it a joint effort.
RV encampment on Park Blvd (near the synagogue / bus stop)
An RV plus an associated car, apparently lived-in (possible hoarding; no waste observed). Multiple 311 reports already filed.
Process: reported as abandoned vehicle → OPD → if occupied, it moves to the Encampment Management Team(slower process; ~a month in a similar prior case). OPD can still act on nuisance/illegal activity.
Councilmember's office meets with the Encampment Division monthly and will raise it at the next meeting.
Lions Pool (Dimond Park) — limited kids' swim hours
Recreational kids' swim is only 1h15m, 5 days/week (plus ~2 hrs Saturday); the rest is lap swim, lessons, and teams.
Board member is gathering data on how well-utilized lap swim actually is before pushing for changes; also a lifeguard shortage question.
Contact suggested: Alana Melian, Dimond Park Rec Director (email offered).
Special-needs/inclusion swim classes have been cut for ~3 years (budget); the lift exists but no classes. Alternatives (deFremery, the 85th Ave center) have waiting lists / aren't practical; Emma Hood in Alameda closed for construction. Real gap for families.
Altenheim (senior living facility) partnership
Their activities director wants to connect the facility with the neighborhood. Residents are largely active/independent, and it's a long-time Glenview institution (German community heritage; they host a Christmas market).
Idea: since Hollywood Triangle is hard for residents to reach, bring an event to them — e.g., a root beer float social in October, tied into Oktoberfest, run by volunteers (not necessarily the board), possibly open to the whole neighborhood.
Open questions: hosting/security logistics — board member will talk to the activities director. Could Altenheim host future GNA events?
National Night Out — Tuesday, August 4
Many streets already do their own events; GNA doesn't need its own, but could publish the city's list of registered block events on the GNA website and promote it.
Related idea from last year: recruit block captains / point people to plug blocks into GNA.
Also discussed: a one-pager promoting Glenview businesses ("everything you need is here" — hardware store, lock & key, etc.).
Truck route / access study (with Dimond Improvement Association)
Joint Dimond + Glenview request made to have Jasmine (OakDOT) — named by Josh Rowan as the right contact — present a neutral status update to both groups (explicitly not a confrontational "no big rigs" style meeting). No response yet.
May be more effective to route the request through the Councilmember's office, which is used to constituent communication. Will get in touch with the office to help arrange it.
Side note: Public Works/OakDOT responsiveness has been poor generally (tree-removal saga took months and many emails).
Unpermitted "No Parking" signs on Wellington St (Donna)
~5 months ago someone placed heavy, concrete-based no-parking signs in the gutters at corners where kids cross to school. No permit; the school principal confirmed it's not the school or PTA (confirmed also by the incoming Glenview PTA president).
Likely connected to the state's/city's 20-ft daylighting parking rule near crosswalks — possibly a private traffic-calming group enforcing it DIY-style since the city hasn't painted curbs yet.
Possibly related: a resident group ("Cyrus's group" — the one that did the crossing flags) is working with OakDOT on bulb-outs at Hampel & La Cresta.
Donna moved the signs onto the curb for safety; next steps: contact the city traffic department (and possibly the Councilmember's office) to find out who's doing this and push for communication/a more permanent solution.
Ice Cream Social — Sunday, September 20, Hollywood Triangle
Last year: ~450 bowls of ice cream, face painting, library bunnies — big success. Expect bigger this year.
Planning: needs a dedicated (likely online) planning meeting in the next couple of weeks — the regular meeting didn't leave enough time.
Volunteers: recruit day-of volunteers in ~1-hour shifts (scooping, setup, answering questions) plus a core team. Plan: sign-up form on the website + email blast linking to it (capture emails; last year's sign-ups "went into a black hole").
Businesses: start outreach for raffle donations/sponsorships (donor names displayed at the event); Oakland Better Beer(?) camp expected to donate again. Ask about ice cream storage help.
Ideas discussed (not decided): kids' store-visit passport/scavenger route to drive foot traffic; something more adult-oriented (block-party-style); closing Park Blvd deemed impractical for now (many thousands of $, ambulance rerouting) but worth keeping on the radar.
Block parties
Hollywood-area streets run a large, decades-old September block party (bounce house, fire truck, blues band, donations cover costs).
Idea: list known block parties on the GNA website with planning-committee contacts, and tap those organizers to get their streets more invested in GNA. Officially registered block parties historically got invited to a city organizer party.
Safety fair
Confirmed: planned for 2027, likely October — can be publicized at the 2026 Ice Cream Social.
Prior fair (emergency preparedness + public safety) had ~30 booths — firefighters, lock & key company, PG&E/private energy-efficiency vendors — held in the gym space. Looking for archived notes from that event.
An Alameda County office in Emeryville that ran a safety fair is happy to share learnings and contacts.
Other items
Glenview Edible Gardens flyer (Tanya Pham, 2026) circulating about edible gardens at the schools — nobody on the board knows the group; a member will ask a gardener friend and share the flyer. Recurring theme: groups doing things in the neighborhood without connecting to GNA.
Guest introduction: a candidate for Oakland School Board, District 4 shared campaign info — event on the 25th at Montclair Park. Platform includes special-needs advocacy (family navigator background), pushing OUSD on communication/sign-language instruction for non-verbal students, and community partnerships.
Action items
[ ] Check parklet violation status with OakDOT parklet division (Councilmember's office)
[ ] Raise Park Blvd RV at next monthly Encampment Division meeting (Councilmember's office)
[ ] Contact Alana Melian (Dimond Rec Director) re: Lions Pool hours, lap-swim utilization, and inclusion classes
[ ] Talk to Altenheim activities director about an October root beer float event (logistics, security, open-to-neighborhood)
[ ] Get the city's National Night Out block-event list and publish on GNA website
[ ] Follow up (via Councilmember's office) on getting OakDOT/Jasmine to present the truck access study to Dimond + Glenview
[ ] Donna: contact city traffic dept re: unpermitted Wellington St signs; PTA president to flag anything she learns
[ ] Schedule a separate Ice Cream Social planning meeting (online OK) within ~2 weeks
[ ] Build website volunteer sign-up form + send email blast for Ice Cream Social volunteers
[ ] Begin business outreach for raffle/sponsorships (incl. ice cream storage ask)
[ ] Ask about the Glenview Edible Gardens group; share flyer with the board
[ ] Look for archived notes from the previous safety fair