Russell City Reparative Justice Project Town Hall Meeting Recordings & Info
The town hall-style meetings take place online on Zoom on five Wednesday evenings in July, August and September with each followed by a 16-day public comment period for community members to share additional feedback on the proposals. There will be Spanish interpretation available at all town halls.
Update: August 20, 2024
Thank you to everyone who attended our town hall meetings on July 24 and July 31. Your feedback was invaluable in helping us draft the following proposals:
- Stakeholding Grants ("General Basic Income")
- Fair Compensation
- Property Restoration
- Inclusionary Housing Preference for Affordable Housing
Links to the public comment portals are provided above. You can review the full proposals and access past meeting materials, including recordings in both English and Spanish below.
Public comment for the first four proposals will be from Aug. 20 - Sept. 18.
Our next town hall meeting is Wednesday, Aug. 21, from 5:30 - 8:30 PM. Details can be found here.
VIEW OUR CALENDAR OF UPCOMING TOWN HALL MEETINGS
Town Hall #4:
Meeting Materials:
Town Hall #3:
Meeting Materials:
Proposals: — Coming Soon
Town Hall #2
Meeting Materials:
Proposals:
1. Descriptive Title: Land Restoration for Russell City Property Owners. Full proposal text can be found below.
2. Descriptive Title: Russell City Displacement Preference in the City of Hayward Affordable Housing Ordinance. Full proposal tex can be found below.
Town Hall #1
Meeting Materials:
Proposals:
1. Descriptive Title: Stake Holding Grants for Former Residents of Russell City and Descendants who are Seniors (65+). Full proposal text can be found below.
2. Descriptive Title: Fair Compensation for Russell City Resident Homeowners, Resident Businessowners, and Tenants. Full proposal text can be found below.
Review Full Proposals Below
Proposal:
Descriptive Title: Stake Holding Grants for Former Residents of Russell City and Descendants who are Seniors (65+)
Summary of the Reparative Justice Recommendation: Give out one-time stake holding grants to former residents of Russell City. After that, use a lottery to give one-time stake holding grants to as many senior descendants (people aged 65 and older) as possible. The grants for former residents could potentially be between $3,250 and $13,333, and the grants for senior descendants could be between $500 and $4,000. The exact amount depends on how many people qualify and how much money is available from the City of Hayward. Also, hire staff and consultants to make a list of former residents and their descendants. This list will help check who is eligible for the grants.
Reparative Justice Description and Justification: Basic income means giving regular, unconditional cash payments from the government to everyone in a community. One type of basic income is called a stake holding grant, where people get a large, one-time payment. i In the United States ii and California, there are successful basic or guaranteed income programs that provide monthly payments of $500 to $1,200. iii
People in the community, through surveys, public meetings, and a town hall, said that paying former Russell City residents and elders should be a top priority. Those who supported the proposal suggested the payments should be given as a single large amount. The Russell City Reparative Justice Project suggests giving up to 500 stake holding grants to former Russell City residents and senior descendants, depending on how much money is available. If there is money left after paying former residents, additional grants will be issued to senior descendants of Russell City through a lottery. “Seniors” means people who are 65 years old and older.
The 1960 Census showed that about 1,549 people lived in Russell City before it was destroyed, and the City of Hayward has found more than 350 different property records. Because of this, it’s important to first use available resources to pay former residents. It’s also necessary to make a list of who is eligible to get these payments. The amount of the stake holding grants should be as large as possible based on the City of Hayward’s budget and the number of people who qualify.
Eligibility Criteria:
To qualify for the stake holding grants from the Russell City Reparative Justice Project, beneficiaries must:
- Be a former resident of Russell City who can proved they lived there between 1960 and 1967 with valid documentation iv, or
- Be a senior descendant (65 years old or older by December 31, 2024) who has at least one ancestor who lived in Russell City between 1960 and 1967. You must provide proof of your ancestor’s residency and show that you are related to them. v
Reparative Justice Objectives
- Objective 1: Make a list of living Russell City former residents using City of Hayward records, County of Alameda documents, and research with the Russell City community.
- Objective 2: Hire professional genealogists to create family trees of Russell City former residents and descendants. They will also help find the public records needed to make the list of former residents and descendants.
- Objective 3: Initiate partnerships with academic departments at California State University, East Bay and Chabot College to get student support with researching relevant public records held by the County of Alameda, Hayward Unified School District, and City of Hayward (e.g. Birth certificates, school records, marriage records, tax documents, etc).
- Objective 4: Start giving out the first group of stake holding grants to former Russell City residents during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
- Objective 5: Over four fiscal years, give out four more batches of stake holding grants to former Russell City residents and descendants aged 65 and older, from the 2026-2027 fiscal year to the 2029-2030 fiscal year.
- Objective 6: Look for and apply for additional grants to provide stake holding grants to more Russell City descendants.
Public Comment Period: August 20 - September 18, 2024
ii The American Guaranteed Income Studies, Research — Center for Guaranteed Income Research (penncgir.org)
iii California Launches First State Funded Guaranteed Income Pilot Programs, https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/11/03/launch-of-first-state-funded-guaranteed-income-pilot-programs/
iv Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents.
v Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents. Birth certificates will be required to verify familial connections.
Proposal:
Descriptive Title: Fair Compensation for Russell City Resident Homeowners, Resident Businessowners, and Tenants
Summary of the Reparative Justice Recommendation: Issue one-time payments to homeowners, business owners, and tenants who used to live in Russell City to compensate for the forced relocation caused by the Russell City Redevelopment Project (1963-1968). The proposed amount of money given will be based on current home and business prices in Hayward. Give fair compensation based on the total number of properties, not the number of people who lived there. If a former homeowner or business owner has passed away, their family members can still get the payment. Former residents who were tenants will receive compensation based on a relocation formula from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Track and account for past payments when determining fair compensation amounts. Create a list of former residents and descendants that can be used to verify eligibility.
Reparative Justice Description and Justification: Russell City was an unincorporated area in Alameda County, with a thriving and self-sustaining community of homeowners, business owners, and tenants. The Russell City Redevelopment Project destroyed this community, which affected the people who lived there in various ways. Additional research estimates that the average payment to property owners was $2,133.33. Some owners got as little as $250, while others, like the Santucci Hog Farm, received $510,000, and Jose Mateos’s farm property was bought for $100,000. Tenants who had to move were not given any money, even though they lost their homes. i
Community input from surveys, public meetings, and a town hall identified the fair compensation of Russell City former residents and business owners as a top priority, with emphasis on payment being issued via a lump sum. The Russell City Reparative Justice Project proposes that a base amount of "fair” compensation be established for resident homeowners, resident business owners, and tenants based on current market rates and/or formulas. Fair compensation for owners will be based on the total number of properties, not the number of people who lived there. Fair compensation for tenants will be based on the total number of rental units, not the number of tenants who lived within a given unit.
The exact amount depends on how many people qualify and how much money is available from the City of Hayward. Additionally, it will be critical to seek partnership with the County of Alameda to identify an adequate amount of resources for fair compensation.
- Fair compensation for former resident homeowners could potentially be between $300,000 and $ 1 million.
- Fair compensation for business owners could potentially be between $300,000 and $ 1 million.
- Fair compensation for tenant could potentially be between $5,000 and $10,000.
Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for fair compensation, beneficiaries must be:
- A former property owner (residential or business) who lived in Russell City between 1960 and 1967 and can show documentation ii of their residency, or
- A descendant and/or family member of a deceased, former property owner. You must provide proof of your ancestor’s residency between 1960 and 1967 and show that you are related to them iii
- A former tenant who lived in Russell City between 1960 and 1967 and can show documentation iv of their residency.
Reparative Justice Objectives
- Objective 1: Make a list of living Russell City former residents using City of Hayward records, County of Alameda documents, and research with the Russell City community.
- Objective 2: Initiate requests for County of Alameda partnership on fair compensation for Russell City resident homeowners, resident businessowners, and tenants.
- Objective 3: Hire professional genealogists to create family trees of Russell City former residents and descendants. They will also help find the public records needed to make the list of former residents and descendants.
- Objective 4: Research past payment amounts and current, median sales prices for homes in Hayward to confirm the compensation amounts for each resident property owner and resident business owner.
- Objective 5: Initiate partnerships with academic departments at California State University, East Bay and Chabot College to get student support with researching relevant public records held by the County of Alameda, Hayward Unified School District, and City of Hayward (e.g. Birth certificates, school records, marriage records, tax documents, etc).
- Objective 6: Issue fair compensation to the first group of qualifying property owners during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
- Objective 7: Over four fiscal years, give out four more rounds of fair compensation payments to qualifying property, from the 2026-2027 fiscal year to the 2029-2030 fiscal year.
- Objective 8: Look for and apply for additional grants to provide fair compensation to more Russell City resident property owners and former residents that were tenants.
Public Comment Period: August 20 - September 18, 2024
ii Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents.
iii Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents. Birth certificates will be required to verify familial connections.
iv Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents.
Proposal:
Descriptive Title: Land Restoration for Russell City Property Owners
Summary of the Reparative Justice Recommendation: Identify City of Hayward-owned land that could be disposed of to restore land to property owners who lived in Russell City between 1960 and 1967. Go through legal and approval processes needed to dispose of surplus, City of Hayward-owned land in accordance with local, state, and federal laws. Land restoration for owners will be based on the total number of parcels that were in Russell City, not the total number of people who lived there.
Research the relative proportions of property owned by former Russell City residents to establish a formula for allocating disposed land. Create a list of former residents and descendants that can be used to verify eligibility to decide how surplus land can be divided and allocated. Give land to property owners who lived in Russell City to compensate for the forced relocation caused by the Russell City Redevelopment Project (1963-1968). If a former homeowner or business owner has passed away, their family members are eligible to received returned land.
Reparative Justice Description and Justification: In the State of California, land owned by a local agency is considered "surplus" if the agency's governing board officially decides in a public meeting that the land is no longer needed for the agency's purposes. i Russell City was an unincorporated area in Alameda County, with a thriving and self-sustaining community of homeowners, business owners, and tenants. The Russell City Redevelopment Project (1963-1968) destroyed this community, and disrupted generational wealth-building for a series of Black, Latinx, Asian, and White families who lost their land.
The 1960 Census showed that about 1,549 people lived in Russell City before it was destroyed, and the City of Hayward has found more than 350 different property records. Research estimates that the average payment to property owners was $2,133.33. Some owners got as little as $250, while others, like the Santucci Hog Farm, received $510,000, and Jose Mateos’s farm property was bought for $100,000. ii Given these businesses were allocated a disproportionately large payment for their property relative to other homeowners and businesses owners, former residents, business owners, and descendants who received more than $5,000 will not be eligible for property restoration.
Community input from surveys, public meetings, and a town hall identified that former residents and their descendants want land restored. The Russell City Reparative Justice Project suggests that land owned by the City of Hayward be identified, divided into new parcels, and given to eligible former residents or their descendants based on the size of their original parcels between 1960 and 1967. Suggestions for such land include the former Skywest Golf Course, undeveloped land that the City of Hayward may be planning for future use, parking lots, parks, and recreation facilities.
To return the land, it’s important to make a list of who is eligible to get surplus land and see if they are interested in receiving land. The amount of land that can be returned will depend on how much was taken and how much surplus land is available. There may be legal and approval processes needed to confirm if the land can be used for homes. For instance, developing or using the Skywest Golf Course would require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for property restoration, beneficiaries must be:
- A former property owner (residential or business) who lived in Russell City between 1960 and 1967 AND did not get compensated more than $5,000 associated with the Russell City Redevelopment Project. You must provide documentation iii of residency, or
- A descendant and/or next of kin family member of a deceased, former property owner who did not get compensated more than $5,000 associated with the Russell City Redevelopment Project. You must provide proof of your ancestor’s residency between 1960 and 1967 and show that you are related to them iv
Reparative Justice Objectives
- Objective 1: Make a list of living Russell City former residents using City of Hayward records, County of Alameda documents, and research with the Russell City community.
- Objective 2: Identify and confirm surplus, City of Hayward-owned land that could be disposed of for residential, business, or mixed use and development.
- Objective 3: Complete legal and approval processes required to dispose of publicly owned land for residential, commercial, and mixed use development in coordination with the Development Services, Public Works, and Finance Departments as well as City Attorney’s Office.
- Objective 4: Hire professional genealogists to create family trees of Russell City former residents, descendants, and the next of kin for former residents. They will also help find the public records needed to make the list of former residents and descendants.
- Objective 5: Initiate requests for County of Alameda partnership on property restoration for Russell City resident homeowners and resident businessowners, including support with finding missing records to verify residency.
- Objective 6: Research the relative proportions of property owned by residents to establish a formula for allocating disposed, surplus land.
- Objective 7: Initiate partnerships with academic departments at California State University, East Bay and Chabot College to get student support with researching relevant public records held by the County of Alameda, Hayward Unified School District, and City of Hayward (e.g. Deeds, tax documents, birth certificates, school records, marriage records, etc).
- Objective 8: Confirm if eligible beneficiaries want land restoration to inform how surplus land can be divided, developed, and allocated.
- Objective 9: Establish mechanism for administering surplus land to former residents, if not their descendants or next of kin.
- Objective 10Develop new parcels that can be allocated to eligible former residents or descendants.
- Objective 11: Over four fiscal years, give out four batches of parcels using a lottery system to determine the order in which former residents (or their next of kin) can choose from the available parcels.
Public Comment Period: August 20 - September 18, 2024
ii Brown, E. & Barganier, G. (2023). Redeveloping Russell City: Alameda County, the City of Hayward, and industrialization. Hayward, California.
iii Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents.
iv Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents. Birth certificates will be required to verify familial connections.
Proposal:
Descriptive Title: Russell City Displacement Preference in the City of Hayward Affordable Housing Ordinance
Summary of the Reparative Justice Recommendation: Pursue legislative change needed to update the City of Hayward Affordable Housing Ordinance to include a displacement preference for former residents of Russell City, and their descendants born by or before December 31, 2024.
Reparative Justice Description and Justification: Hayward’s Inclusionary Housing Program says that if a new housing project has two or more new homes, it has to follow certain rules to create affordable housing. These rules are part of the Affordable Housing Ordinance 17-20, which is found in Chapter 10, Article 17 of the Hayward Municipal Code. Developers can meet these requirements in a few different ways:
- Paying an affordable housing in-lieu fee so that the City can fund the development of affordable housing.
- Including on-site affordable units.
- Constructing off-site affordable units with approval.
- Proposing alternative solutions accepted by the Decision-Making Body.
Currently, the Affordable Housing Ordinance establishes priority preference first to persons displaced by Hayward Housing Authority, Hayward Redevelopment Agency, the City, second to persons who live or work in the City of Haward and third to all other applicants.
The Russell City Reparative Justice Project recommends that the City modify the Affordable Housing Ordinance to include a priority displacement preference for displaced residents and their descendants (born through December 31, 2024). This requires legislative change. If approved, the modification would provide priority access to affordable housing opportunities upon initial sale or lease-up. These opportunities typically include:
- Low-income and very-low rental housing units, and
- Moderate-income and low-income ownership units.
Although there might not be many new homes compared to the number of people who qualify for this priority, this policy change could help former residents and descendants when affordable housing becomes available.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the proposed Russell City displacement preference, beneficiaries must apply to be included on the preference list by establishing that they are:
- A former resident of Russell City who can proved they lived there between 1960 and 1967 with valid documentationi AND have a qualifying income limit for Affordable Units in a Residential Development Project, or
- A descendant of a former resident of Russell City AND have a qualifying income limit for Affordable Units in a Residential Development Project born by December 31, 2024. You must have a qualifying income limit for Affordable Units in a Residential Development Project. You must provide proof of your ancestor’s residency between 1960 and 1967 and show that you are related to them. ii
Reparative Justice Objectives
- Objective 1: Staff review and analysis of recommendation for displace preference and list generation proposal for City of Hayward Affordable Housing Ordinance to include a displace preference for Russell City former residents and their descendants in rental and ownership programs.
- Objective 2: Request Authorization of City Council to approve modifications to the City's Affordable Housings Ordinance, including related to eligible beneficiaries. This is required and needs to be approved by decision-making bodies to create a displacement preference.
- Objective 3: Approve and adopt the addition of a Russell City displacement preference to the City of Hayward Affordable Housing Ordinance.
- Objective 4: Educate Russell City former residents and their descendants on Affordable Housing Ordinance policies and procedures related to displacement preference and eligibility requirements.
- Objective 5: Make a preference list of qualifying Russell City former residents using City of Hayward records, County of Alameda documents, and outreach with the Russell City community.
- Objective 6: Notify Russell City former residents and their descendants on established lists regarding upcoming housing opportunities.
Public Comment Period: August 20 - September 18, 2024
ii Documentation to verify eligibility may include, but is not limited to, deeds, leases, rental agreements, tax documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates, school records, utility bills, bank statements, and/or insurance documents. Birth certificates will be required to verify familial connections.
