So annoyed, I have to post.

OK, it's not really news: developer gives big bucks to mayor, reaps rewards. But this case is just so obvious and petty, and the developer is so noxious:

It took nine months for residents of Oakland's North Neville Street to get a few new parking spaces from the city. It took politically connected developer Walnut Capital a week to take some of those spaces away.

[...]

When residents parked in front of The Metropolitan, they found warnings on building letterhead on their windshields saying they had "parked in a reserved parking area. Your license has been recorded. The next violation will result in vehicle tow and impoundment at your expense."

Private landowners can't reserve city streets, said city Public Works Director Guy Costa. "They had no right to do that," he said of the warnings.

[...]

Mr. Costa said state law bars parking within three feet of a driveway, but the city is allowed to increase that distance as needed. He visited the site, and his department created a 42-foot no-parking zone next to the driveway. He said he would have made such an inspection and change for any property owner.

Of course he would. Why, in a city of 300,000, everyone gets that kind of personalized service, especially after they've pulled illegal BS.

Walnut Capital, which was started by a couple of trust fund babies, has been a bad-faith developer for a decade. Their M.O. is to make false promises to current residents (like telling tenants that they can come back after renovations), flout legal requirements (like preservation laws), screw around with important structures, and then pat themselves on the back for investing in the city.