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 | Program 3.3 | Continue to encourage and support development of senior housing | Ongoing | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 5.6 | Encourage home energy performance reports at time of sale | The City's transfer tax includes a rebate to property owners who make energy efficiency and water conservation improvements. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 3.4 | Participate in the biannual homeless census count | City staff participated in the count. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 3.6 | Implement reasonable accommodation procedures to provide a streamlined permit review process continue to. | The draft Hosuing Element update evaluated revised reasonable accomodation procedures. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 4.2 | Continue the City’s participation in the Contra Costa Urban County CDBG Consortium | Ongoing | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 5.3 | Continmue to encourage resident participation in energy and water efficiency programs | The City encourages participation in MCE's Deep Green program. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 4.1 | Continue to provide non-discrimination clauses in rental agreements and deed restrictions | Ongoing | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 5.4 | Apply for appropriate grants for marketing, outreach, and incentive programs dedicated to energy and water efficiency | Ongoing | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.10 | Use existing zoning regulations to allow innovative approaches to increasing affordable housing. | The San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan's Tier IV Design Review process can provide flexbility to projects to implement innovative approaches. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 5.2 | Continue to develop partnerships for energy and water efficiency technical assistance and incentives | The City adhers to the the CA Green, Energy and Plumning Codes. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.1 | Conduct an annual evaluation of the City's inventory of available sites | In 2018, the City received grant funding to update the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan including a Supplemental EIR and an analysis of opportunity sites. The SEIR was adopted by the City Council on December 6, 2022 providing development capacity for 2,500 new housing units. In 2022, the City continued work on the 6th Cycle Hosuing Element, including the site inventory analysis, and submitted the draft Hosuing Element to the Department of Hosuing and Community Development for review. The Element will be adopted in 2023. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.5 | Streamline the application process by continuing to offer interdepartmental team meetings for applicants | The City conducted several such meetings in the reporting period | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 1.3 | Continue to encourage the rehabilitation of existing housing units by providing program information | Information available to the public at the front counter | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 1.2 | Continue to investigate complaints and take action about rental housing code violations | The City continued investigations in 2022. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.7 | Look for opportunities with non-profits and other agencies to expand supply of affordable housing | The City continues to explore programs - with the County, CDFI's, non-profit developers, etc. - for preserving existing affordable units as well as purchasing existing multi-family building(s) and converting them to affordable units. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.2 | Promote development of mixed-use and high-density residential housing in development nodes of the city | Allowed for by San Pablo Ave Specific Plan | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 3.2 | Continue to fast track inspection processes for large family and special needs housing. | The City contracted with additional inspectors to provide needed inspections in a timely manner. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 1.1 | Continue to implement the Residential Rental Inspection Program | The Residential Rental Inspection Program (RRIP) continued in 2022. Staff operated the program at modified levels due to COVID-19. 103 initial RRIP inspections and 66 reinspections were conducted in 2022. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.11 | Pursue funding for infrastructure improvements to accommodate future transitoriented development | The City coodinated with the Stege Sanitary District to develop a fee program to fund sewer improvements necessary to support future development. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2.6 | Assist developers in obtaining state and federal funding available to develop affordable housing | In 2022, the City provided BRIDGE Housing $50K in pre-development funding to assist and support the development of 69 affordable units for the Mayfair Affordable project. In 2022, the project also received a funding award through the Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities Program ($27M) as part of a joint applicaiton between BRIDGE, the City and BART. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |