Housing policies and programs are the strategies and laws that cities and counties legally have at their disposal to produce more and preserve existing affordable housing, as well as protect existing residents from getting displaced from their homes and communities.
Local housing policies and programs, as part of a housing element, have significant impacts on a city or county reaching its affordable housing goals. Each additional housing policy has a significant impact on the residents who are most in need of affordable housing. However, the number of policies or programs that a jurisdiction includes in their housing element is not meant to imply how well a city or county is addressing local housing needs since the quality and impact of each will need to be determined as well. Policies and programs listed here from jurisdictions’ Housing Elements are intended to allow readers to review the text themselves and see if a city or county is doing all they can to reach their affordable housing goals.
To further policy innovation and local action, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) contacted all of the region's jurisdictions to track the adoption of key housing policies throughout the nine county Bay Area in four major categories Protect, Preserve, Produce, and Prevent. This data is from ABAG’s Policies and Program list and was last updated in 2018/2019.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development tracks all of the ongoing and completed programs from 2018 onward and can be seen in the table below.
YEAR | PROGRAM NAME | PROGRAM OBJECTIVE | STATUS | ACCOMPLISHED DATE | HOUSING CYCLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1i: Water Conservation Program | Promote the use of water conservation devices in existing structures. | The City continues to implement the City's Water Conservation Program, which promotes the use of water conservation devices in existing structures, including use of low-flow toilets and shower heads, and water-conserving landscaping. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1l: Condominium Conversion | Objective is to ensure that there is not a significant adverse impact associated with condominium conversions. | The City has not received any applications for condominium conversions, however, if an application is submitted, the City will continue to implement its adopted condominium conversion ordinance to regulate conversions of multi-family units and to mitigate tenant displacement and minimize displacement of seniors, disabled, and low- and moderate-income residents. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 2a: Compliance with Affordable Housing Ordinance | Annually track development of affordable housing units and adjust ordinance as needed. | In 2022, the City was successful in amending its affordable housing ordinance by increasing the percentage from 10% to 13% in order to create more affordable units as well as removal of the option to pay in-lieu fees for larger projects. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 2e: Partnership Program | Meet with developers and outside agencies when interest is expressed and follow up annually. | Although this situation did not present itself in 2022, the City will help facilitate partnerships when appropriate. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 3e: Meet with Potential Developers | Seek out potential developers on infill residential sites. | The City continues to provide a wide range of information and available resources related to affordable housing on the City’s website. The City will continue to encourage owners of residential sites to partner with developers and non-profit organizations. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 4b: Disseminate Fair Housing Information | Disseminate fair housing information widely in the community in multiple languages. | The City continues to provide information and other suggested resources on fair housing laws on the City’s website including links to ECHO which provides tenant/landlord education programs. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 4c: Foreclosure Prevention and Loan Modification Information | Continue to provide foreclosure prevention and loan modification information. | The City provides foreclosure prevention and loan modification information on its website, sponsors workshops for the community, and refers owners to non-profit counseling and service providers for legal, credit, foreclosure, and loan modificaiton counseling. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1b: Second Unit/Accessory Units | Continue to encourage the use of second units in single-family residential areas in meeting the City's low and moderate income housing objectives. On-going implementation anticipated to result in 25 new second units during planning period. | The City was successful in updating its accessory dwelling unit ordinance in order to be in conformance with new State regulations. This past year, the City has issued permits for an additional 12 units. It is anticipated that additional accessory dwelling units will be added throughout the planning period. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1j: Landscaping Water Efficiency | Objective is to achieve a 20% consumption reduction by 2020. | The City's has adopted and implements on an on-going basis a model water efficiency landscape ordinance in accordance with Assembly Bill 1881, and Water Conservation in Landscaping Act, to conserve water and reduce consumption by 20% by the year 2020. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1k: Energy Efficient Design | Objective is continued compliance with Cal Green. | The City continues to implement the California Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen), encouraging new development and substantial rehabilitation projects to achieve a greater reduction in efficiency and conservation where feasible. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 2j: Improve Certainty of Residential Development Standards | Maintain flexibility for the developer in providing affordable units. | The City has adopted development standards for all residential zoning designations. In order to maintain flexibility for the developer in providing affordable units, an applicant may elect to create their own development standards through the rezoning and planned development amendment processes. In addition, the City has initiated an update to its entire zoning ordinance, which is anticipated to include residential development standards for improved certainty. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 3g: Improve Participation in Existing Local Housing Assistance Programs. | Provide access to available housing assistance programs for Brentwood residents through improved marketing and outreach efforts. | The City has included information on its website regarding housing assistance programs. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 4e: Coordination with Agencies Serving the Homeless | Cooperate with public and private agencies to develop housing (including transitional housing), family counseling, and employment programs for the homeless. | The City will continues to cooperate with public and private agencies to develop housing programs to combat homelessness. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 3a: Affordable Housing Design and Distribution | Ensure affordable units are harmonious and comparable to market-rate units exterior design and are dispersed within the development to avoid concentration. | The City monitors development with affordable units to ensure that they blend in with the market rate units and are dispersed throughout the project. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 3f: Housing for Extremely Low, Very Low and Low Income Residents | Objective is to provide affordable housing units, in conjunction with other actions. | The City continues to provide information and other suggested resources on City, County CDBG and HOME Funds, Federal, and State housing development programs and funds on the City’s website to encourage development of housing projects for extremely low, very low and low income households. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1e: Community education regarding the availability of rehabilitation programs | Objective is rehabilitation of 30 units. | The City continues to encourage particpation in affordable housing programs through updates and information on a range of programs promoting affordable housing on the City's website. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1a: Biennial Evaluation | On-going biennial evaluation. The objective is to maintain adequate residential sites. | The City has had relatively few land use changes since the adoption of its Housing Element. All land use changes are evaluated at the time of processing to insure that adequate residential acreage remains available for all income levels in order to meet the City's RHNA. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 1g: Residential Design Guidelines | Objective is continued implementation of the Residential Design Guidelines. | The City continues to implement the adopted Residential Design Guidelines by evaluating all new residential projects for compliance with the Guidelines. Residential Design guidelines are due to be updated in 2023 as part of the Housing Element update implementation. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 2c: First Time Homebuyer Assistance Program | Provision of first time homebuyer assistance services. | The City was successful granting down payment assistance loans for three new loans for low-income homeowners totalling $32,000 in 2022. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | 2g: Streamline Application Process | Continue efforts to strealine and improve the development review process, as well as eliminate any unnecessary delays and restrictions in the processing of development applications. | The City has completed an update for all development applications, which clearly outlines submittal materials required and expected processing times, in order to expedite processing and minimize incomplete applications. | On-going | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |