Oakland’s real estate boom pads city budget but doesn’t silence critics

After two years of trying to get neighbors’ and city officials’ blessing for Oakland’s first highrise since 2008, UrbanCore Development’s proposed Lake Merritt tower has caught some late-breaking flack.

The stand against the market-rate project has fired up advocates, who want the city to sell the publicly owned property where the developer plans to build only if it can extract affordable housing from the deal.

The Planning Commission and City Council will decide on the 298-unit, 24-story…