Travelers on Orinda Way in Orinda Village have probably noticed protesters at the intersection with Irwin Way. This dispute came before the Orinda City Council on Nov. 18, because the organization behind the construction of the approved new senior housing project, Vista Verde, asked the council to hold a hearing on their application for a $15 million bond issue. 

    After hearing many speakers in support of the project, as well as a number of union members who oppose the project if it employs non-union workers, the council voted to approve the measure, with only Mayor Latika Malkani voting no. In casting her vote against, Malkani said that it was the most difficult decision she had to make in her three years on the council.

    The council was required to hold the public hearing and to decide whether or not to adopt a resolution approving the issuance of the bonds by the California Public Finance Authority under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA). The bond issue was requested by Urban Core Development on behalf of the Orinda Senior Housing Foundation. 

    According to Assistant City Manager Doug Alessio, the council was not required to make specific findings but only to consider public input and determine whether issuance of the bonds would provide a public benefit.

    There was no disagreement that there is a general need for housing, particularly housing for senior citizens at an affordable rent. The only controversy centered on whether or not the developers would be using only union labor and paying the prevailing rate.

    Vista Verde, which has been seven years in the works and was approved unanimously by the City Council, will be a 53-unit affordable senior housing facility at 15 Irwin Way, located on the property of the Orinda Community Church. The project was approved by the city council in August 2022.

    Former mayor Victoria Smith, president of the Orinda Senior Housing Foundation, spoke in support of the proposal, citing the critical need for the fully affordable senior housing project. She requested the council approve the tax-exempt bond issuance, stating that the city will bear no financial or legal liability. Without the bond issuance, she added, the project could not be built at all.
 
    The dispute seems to have arisen when Oliver and Company, a long-established Orinda-based general contracting firm was replaced on the project by Brown Construction, a company that has been in business over 60 years and is focused on affordable housing. 

    Daniel Bergman, project executive for Brown, explained to the council that whether prevailing wages are paid depends on the project and its financing and that the Vista Verde development does not require the payment of prevailing wages. He added that Brown bids projects with both union and non-union contractors. Bergman also stated that the company is transparent and willing to address any concerns from the council or unions, and he asserted that there is no factual basis for the allegations against the company.

    In response to a question from Mayor Malkani, Ken Jones of Urban Core Development explained that in the previous bid cycle, Oliver and Company, which employs union members and pays prevailing wages, bid $43 million while Brown Construction bid $28 million, and uses non-union labor and pays lower labor rates. The nearly $15 million difference is largely attributable to the cost of union versus non-union labor. He added that the fact that an expected $10 million donation fell through meant that the non-union bid was necessary to make the project feasible.

    Although many speakers stated that they support unions, the overwhelming number of commenters agreed that the need for senior housing was paramount in a choice between guaranteeing union wages or having no project at all. Speakers in favor of the project include the administration and members of Orinda Community Church, upon whose land the project will be built, along with the two existing senior housing projects already in existence. Other proponents included former Orinda mayors, a representative of the Orinda Chamber of Commerce, Orinda residents and a retired affordable housing developer.