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 | H2.A - Adequate Sites for Multifamily Use | Completion of Sites study for futher Housing Element | Underway | 2020-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H2.C - New Ownership Units | 15 ownership housing units | The City continues to explore ownership opportunites with afforable housing developers. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.M - Parks & Recreation Element Update | Assure adequate parks to serve higher density areas | Completed in General Plan Update (2022) | 2016-18 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H4.B - Permanent Supportive/Transitional Housing | Rehabilitate 8 bedroom home for new transitional housing for homeless families | See Program H3.O - In 2021, the City reserved $2.7M in CDBG Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for Heritage House/Valle Verde, an affordable housing project currently under construction which includes the reuse an abandoned assisted living facility. The project includes 33 permanent supportive housing units for chronically homeless persons. The City also reserved $387K in CDBG-DR funding for Valley Lodge Apartments, a motel conversion which is creating 54 units of permanent housing for formerly homeless, including transitional aged foster youth. Both loan agreements have been entered into and each project is expecting occupancy in 2023. The City also jointly applied with Burbank Housing for Project Homekey funding for the Valley Lodge Apartments project. | 2015 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H4.H - Coordination with Napa County and Other Actions to address Farmworker Housing | Promote access to new permanent housing in the City by distributing bilingual information when new affordable rental opportunities are available, implementing related programs, and coordinante with and assist County and non-profit agencies and developers. Facilitate development of 25 units (accomplished as part of programs H2.B, H4.F or other programs providing new lower income housing) for farmworaks and equivalent income households during planning period | As described in H.4.B, in 2022 the City provided CDBG-DR funding for an affordable housing project, Heritage House/Valle Verde, that includes the conversion of an abandoned assisted living facility into a 66-unit afordable housing project. Sixty of these units will be SROs. | Ongoing; 2015-23 or as specifically noted in program | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.D - Affordable Housing Fees | Retain ability to defer fees | On-going. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H2.B - New Residential Units | 220 Units | In 2022, 142 additional rental affordable units started construction (65 substantial rehabilitation at Heritage House, 23 new construction at Valle Verde, 54 change of use rehabilitation at Valley Lodge). In addition, 30 affordable rental units that started construction in 2022 remain under construction (19 at Caritas & 1 at SoCo). Also, 8 affordable rental units that started construction in 2019 completed construction (Napa Creek Village). | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.D - New Second Units | 36 units/ 14 very low income; 13 low income; 9 moderate income | 49 ADUs approved in 2022, including one deed-restricted unit through the City Junior Unit initiative program. The program provides financing and technical assistance to homeowners to create junior accessory dwelling units which are rented to low-income tenants. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.J - Historic Area Process | Provide information to public on appropriate historic remodel techniques; Cultural Heritage Commission Certificates of Appropriateness; Historic Survey update | Ongoing | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.K - Transportation Element Amendments | General Plan Amendment | Updated VMT Policies in 2021; Completed General Plan Update in 2022 | Address as part of overall General Plan Update | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.A - Universal Design | Add Universal Design provisions to zoning ordinance | Under Review | 2016 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.J - Community Outreach Efforts | Outreach and education | Continue to provide Notice of Application to property owners within 500 feet for all project applications. | Ongoing and as Specific Plans are developed | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.N - Water and Sewer Service Provider Coordination | Ensure that water and sewer providers are aware of the City's plans for residential development throughout the City | Distributed June 18, 2015 | By January 31, 2016 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.N - Retain Federal, State, and Locally Subsidized Affordable Units | None at present; no units are at risk | No units threatened in 2022 | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.L - Maximize Rental Subsidies | Maintain existing allocation of up to 1,378 Section 8 Rental Vouchers Countywide (including Program 4.D special needs vouchers | Utilized 97% of Section 8 allocation in 2022. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.M - Public/Private Partnerships | Use of private resources to achieve housing element goals | Continued to encourage private resources for affordable housing - especially through use of Housing Density Bonus program. Continued to partner with the County through an MOU for the homeless system. Continued work with Napa Valley Community Foundation on the Napa Sonoma ADU Center. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.C - Housing Mix | Monitor and potentially increase mix of housing throughout the City of Napa | Analyzed in General Plan Update - being considered as part of comprehensive zoning ordinance update | Incorporate such research as review as part of next overal General Plan Update | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.G - Rental and Owner Rehabilitation Programs | Rehabilitate 40 substandard rental units for extremely low, very low, and low income renters. Assist rehabilitation of 168 units of substandard owner-occupied housing for very low and low income households | 15 owner occupied units (14 very low and one low income) were rehabilitated under the housing rehabilitation program. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H4.D - Rental Assistance for Special Needs | Maintain 10 shelter Plus Care vouchers/year, 30 Mainstream vouchers for disabled/year and 100 non-elderly Disabled (NED) Vouchers | SPC vouchers were maintained in 2022. The now 75 Mainstram vouchers and 100 NED vouchers were maintained. The Housing Authority continues to be awarded additional Emergency Housing Vouchers (currently has 56) for special needs populations including homeless and survivors of domestic violence. The Housing Authority continued its Landlord Mitigation and Incentive Program, launched in 2017, to help house homeless and at-risk of homeless persons. In 2022, the Housing Authority entered into AHAPs for 38 project-based vouchers at both Heritage House/Valle Verde and Valley Lodge (for a total of 72 project based voucher reservations). All PBV units at Valley Lodge are reserved for homeless and 32 of the units at Heritage House are reserved for homeless. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H4.G - Rehabilitate Existing Facilities for SROs | Rehabilitate 20 units of housing to SRO units | As described in H.4.B, in 2022 the City provided CDBG-DR funding for an affordable housing project, Heritage House/Valle Verde, that includes the conversion of an abandoned assisted living facility into a 66-unit afordable housing project. Sixty of these units will be SROs. | Ongoing; 2015-23 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |