Big news! We’ve added new housing program data - check them out under “Housing Programs” on each city page.
Housing programs are the strategies 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 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 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.
Use the below data to explore this jurisdiction’s approaches to affirmatively furthering fair housing for the 6th element cycle, and review the actions, deliverables, and deadlines committed to for each program.
PROGRAM NUMBER | ACTIONS | DELIVERABLE | DELIVERABLE DATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| H-1.b | The City shall continue to facilitate the development of high-density residential and mixed-use development within the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan Area by providing objective standards, streamlining the approval process, and providing CEQA streamlining opportunities for projects consistent with the Specific Plan. The City shall invest in infrastructure improvements, bicycle and pedestrian amenities, community facilities, and recreational amenities in and around the Specific Plan Area to transform San Pablo Avenue into an area of opportunity. | Facilitate the development of 2,586 housing units at a variety of income levels within the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan Area to create a mixed-income, amenity rich neighborhood with access to opportunity | Ongoing |
| H-1.C | The City shall promote the development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) through the following actions: • Annually reviewing legislative changes to ADU regulations and updating the City’s Zoning Ordinance (Sections 19.20.190 and 19.20.195), as necessary, to maintain compliance with State law. • Partnering with housing counseling agencies to provide homeowners with loan programs for ADU construction. • Distributing informational handouts and holding community workshops to promote ADU tools and resources to homeowners throughout the city, particularly in high resource areas, to promote mixed-income neighborhoods. | Facilitate 144 ADUs (75 percent in moderate or higher resource areas) as a way to diversify high resource single family neighborhoods considered racially concentrated areas of affluence | Review legislative changes annually; Initiate regional coordination in 2023 and ongoing; and Distribute information to homeowners and hold community workshops in 2024 and bi-annually thereafter |
| H-1.E | The City shall evaluate current zoning standards and adopt zoning modifications and/or incentives to allow development of innovative housing types, including tiny homes, efficiency units, and missing middle housing types. The City shall evaluate ways to mitigate fire risk considerations in the hillside area to facilitate by-right ministerial lot splits and duplexes as well as ADUs in the city’s existing single-family neighborhoods as a way to expand housing opportunity in high resource areas and racially concentrated areas of affluence. The City shall engage the public in this process, including targeted outreach to lower-income households and stakeholder interviews. Once fire risk mitigations have been developed and zoning standards modified, the City shall prepare educational materials and conduct workshops in high resource neighborhoods to educate homeowners on opportunities for infill missing middle housing. The City shall conduct a mid-term evaluation to determine the effectiveness of this program. If the City is not on target to meet the objective, the City will consider alternative approaches to expand housing choices in high resource neighborhoods/racially concentrated areas of affluence. Alternatives approaches may include working with property owners on upzoning, identifying higher density housing opportunities on institutional or quasiinstitutional lands, adaptive reuse, and/or acquiring and adding affordability to existing structures. | Encourage the development of at least 25 innovative housing types (e.g., SB 9 lot splits or duplexes, tiny homes) as a way to diversify high resource single-family neighborhoods considered racially concentrated areas of affluence | Conduct fire risk evaluation and development mitigation in conjunction with the Safety Element Update in 2024/25 Evaluate zoning standards and implement zoning modifications to facilitate more housing variety in single family neighborhoods by 2026 Distribute educational materials and conduct two educational workshops in high resource neighborhoods by 2027 Conduct a mid-term evaluation in April 2028 and consider alternatives approaches within 6 months |
| H-1.F | The City shall work with applicants of pipeline projects counted in the Housing Element sites inventory to facilitate development. The City shall coordinate with applicants to expedite remaining entitlements and support funding applications. The City shall monitor the progress made on these sites in the inventory and if entitlements expire, the City shall remove them from the approved project list, reclassify them as vacant/non-vacant opportunity sites, unless conditions are found that will preclude development in the planning period, and recalculate the capacity on the sites according to the methodology used in the sites inventory chapter. If determined that the City no longer has sufficient capacity to meet the RHNA, the City will take action to identify additional sites, which may require rezoning another parcel to allow for increased density | Facilitate the development of 1,712 units including 79 very low- 415 low-, 611 moderate-, and 607 above moderate income units by facilitating the development of pipeline projects included in the Housing Element sites inventory | Throughout the planning period |
| H-2.A | The City shall monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance in providing affordable housing. Consider potential changes to the Ordinance, as financial feasibility allows, to increase the effectiveness, including increases in the percentage of affordable units or deeper affordability of the required units. Balance the goal of increasing the amount of affordable housing built in the City while ensuring the requirements do not pose a constraint to overall housing production. The City shall seek public input on the potential modifications to the ordinance, including targeted outreach to lower-income households and stakeholder interviews. | Facilitate the development of 110 lower income units and 60 moderate-income units intermixed with market-rate developments to create mixed-income neighborhoods through the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance | Conduct evaluation and consider potential modifications to the ordinance by 2024 |
| H-2.B | The City shall continue to allocate funds from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund toward the development and preservation of affordable housing for low-, very low-, and extremely low-income households. The City shall establish priorities for the distribution of Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies, which may include criteria such as income targeting, housing for special needs including seniors and persons with disabilities, number of bedrooms, amenities and support services, and target geographies that serve to affirmatively further fair housing, such as high opportunity areas and neighborhoods underserved by existing affordable housing. The City shall seek public input on these priorities, including targeted outreach to lower-income households and stakeholder interviews. | Establish priorities for the allocation of Affordable Housing Trust Funds by 2024 and provide funding to support 130 low-, 125 very low-, and 25 extremely low income units | Establish priorities by 2024; allocate funds on an ongoing basis |
| H-3.E | The Planning Commission and City Council shall, on an annual basis, review the City Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to determine what special priorities are needed for capital improvement projects required to maintain the community’s older residential neighborhoods. The City shall prioritize CIP projects that provide amenities and neighborhood improvements in low and moderate resource areas identified by the Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) Opportunity Area Maps. Annual review of the CIP shall also include verification that needed improvements are scheduled for funding | Annually direct City investments in ways that serve to maintain older residential neighborhoods and transform low and moderate resource areas into areas of opportunity | Annually |
| H-3.A | The City shall continue to implement the Residential Rental Inspection Program (Section 16.30.040 of the El Cerrito Municipal Code) to ensure that rental housing units are maintained in a safe and habitable condition and comply with all codes and standards applicable to rental housing. If the property is in compliance with applicable codes and standards, a certificate of compliance shall be issued to the property owner. | Review data collected through the Rent Registry annually | Annually |
| H-3.B | The City shall continue to encourage the rehabilitation of existing housing units by providing information on programs available to assist in housing rehabilitation, such as the Contra Costa County Housing Authority Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program and the Contra Costa County Neighborhood Preservation Program. Informational material on these programs will be available through the City’s website, at City Hall, and in conjunction with the City’s code enforcement program. | Connect at least 10 homeowners with resources for housing rehabilitation, targeting areas with increased Code Enforcement activity | Ongoing |
| H-4.B | To accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities and provide a streamlined permit review process, the City shall update reasonable accommodation procedures in Chapter 19.37 of the City’s Municipal Code to ensure persons with disabilities have a streamlined and objective process for requesting modification to any policy, rule, or procedure that presents a barrier to obtaining and retaining equal housing opportunity. The City shall post information on reasonable accommodation procedures prominently on the City website and at the public counter | Review and update the Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance in 2025 | Review and update Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance in 2025; review information on City’s website in 2026; and make information available at the public counter on an ongoing basis |
| H-3.C | Review and update Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance in 2025; review information on City’s website in 2026; and make information available at the public counter on an ongoing basis | Conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of tenant protections in 2024 and consider additional tenant protections by 2029 | Review Rent Registry data and report to the City Council annually; Conduct evaluation in 2024; and Implement additional tenant protections as needed by 2029 prior to sunset of the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 |
| H-4.C | The City shall collaborate with the Housing Authority on an educational campaign to educate landlords about their obligation to accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers under fair housing laws and to encourage landlords in high resource, single family neighborhoods to actively participate in the HCV Program as a way to affirmatively further fair housing | Maintain at least the 140 HCVs used in El Cerrito as of 2022, and Increase HCVs in high resource single family neighborhoods identified as racially concentrated areas of affluence by 5 percent | Initiate collaboration with Housing Authority in 2023 with the goal of implementing a landlord education campaign by 2024 |
| H-4.D | The City shall research best practices related to Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) programs in California, and based on the findings of the research, consider establishing a COPA ordinance or similar policy that would give tenants priority to purchase a building when a landlord sells their property. The City shall seek public input on potential adoption of a COPA ordinance, including targeted outreach to lower-income households and stakeholder interviews | Consider adopting a COPA ordinance or policy by July 2026 | Initiate study in 2025 and consider adopting an ordinance or policy by July 2026 |
| H-4.E | The City shall participate in the Home Match Contra Costa County program to match homeowners and home seekers to create long-term shared living arrangements. The City shall publicize the program throughout the city with a concerted effort to increase participation in high resource single-family neighborhoods as a way to increase housing mobility in concentrated areas of affluence. | Launch Home Match program by 2027. Ensure that 100 percent of residents requesting information about the Home Match program are connected with relevant materials and resources | Launch Home Match program by 2027. Ensure that 100 percent of residents requesting information about the Home Match program are connected with relevant materials and resources |
| H-4.F | The City shall work to increase awareness and build capacity within the community by targeting public outreach and community engagement efforts to reach residents with the greatest need. The City shall look for opportunities to expand its outreach and public education on available housing services and programs to reach vulnerable and at-risk households by offering information in other languages, conducting targeted social media and e-blast efforts, combining information on resources, getting feedback from residents, and partnering with local service providers and religious facilities to disseminate information | Develop outreach strategies on available housing services and programs to reach vulnerable and at-risk households by 2025 | Develop outreach strategies in 2025 |