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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | AE - Fair Housing Law Education | Add 50 new subscribers to the Notify me subscriber list | New program not yet complete | Resources posted by end of January 2023 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AM - Santa Clara County Fair Housing Consortium | Zero displacement | Ongoing effort | Ongoing and annual effort | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AA - Reduce Parking Standards | Zoning Code amendment to reduce parking standards | Not yet complete | Complete study by January 2025 and implement Town Code changes by June 2025 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AK - Solar Energy | Increase solar energy use through ministerial building permits | Ongoing effort | Ongoing and annual effort | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AQ - Zoning Code Amendments | Amend the Zoning Code consistent with the Housing Element timing | Initial requried rezonings have been completed, other work ongoing. | Complete rezonings by January 31, 2024, and monitoring and evaluation of the HEOZ developments standards by December 2026. | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AS - Provide Adequate Sites for Housing, RHNA Rezoning, and Lower Income Households on Nonvacant and Vacant Sites Previously Identified | The number of housing units entitled per year on these sites | Rezoning complete | Rezone all sites in the Sites Inventory to increase housing on nonvacant and vacant sites previously identified by January 31, 2023. | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AW - Story Poles and Netting Policy | Reduce cost of development by modifying the story pole requirements for affordable housing projects. | in progress | Implement by March 2024, and evaluate effectiveness of reduced requirements every year beginning in 2025; and identify additional incentives and/or site capacity, if needed, within six months of need identification. | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | E - Affordable Development on Town Owned Property | The Town owns two properties that could be suitable for affordable housing up to 20 units. | Ongoing effort | Ongoing effort | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | H - Coordination with Water and Sewer Providers | Deliver Housing Element | Not yet adopted | Upon adoption of the housing element | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | M - Establish a Commercial Linkage Fee | Complete a nexus study to determine if linkage fees are appropriate | Not yet complete | Complete study by June 2024 and implement recommended actions by December 2024 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | V - Housing Opportunities for Persons Living with Disabilities | Zoning Code amendment to increase the number of disabled persons housed by 90 units. | Not yet complete | December 2024 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AD - Low Barrier Navigation Centers | Zoning Code amendment to include the definition for “Low Barrier Navigation Center” consistent with State law | Not yet complete | December 2023 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AF - Transit Oriented Development | Zoning Code amendment to establish development standards for transit-oriented development | Not yet complete | Implement Municipal Code changes by June 2025 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AP - Special Needs Housing | Amend the Zoning Code to remove barriers to building special needs housing | in progress | Amend Zoning Code by January 2024
Establish prioritize processing of special needs housing by January 2028 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AR - General Plan Amendment | Adopt General Plan amendments consistent with the Housing Element timing. | General Plan updates complete. | Complete General Plan amendments by January 31, 2024 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | AV - Senate Bill 9 Monitoring | Prepare Annual Progress Report and issue 96 SB 9 units over the eight-year period | Ongoing effort | Evaluate effectiveness of SB 9 approvals every year beginning in 2023; and identify additional incentives and/or site capacity, if needed by 2027 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | B - Large Site Program | Facilitate four land divisions and/or lot line adjustments | New program not yet complete | Annually provide focus group or Town Hall meeting opportunities | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | D - Additional Housing Capacity for the North Forty Specific Plan | Facilitate the construction of 45 new homes for lower-income households | in progress | January 2025 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | G - Study Detached Single-Family Condominium Option | Increase the floor area ratio to promote higher density housing development | Not yet complete | December 2024 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | I - Senior Housing Resources | Maintain the existing housing stock by funding three home repairs to lower income seniors annually | Ongoing effort | Ongoing and annual effort
Update materials annually | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |