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 1: Work with Lower Income Housing Developers and Prioritize Funding | Create new housing for seniors, people with disabilities | Staff worked with Eden Housing on a development application (Design Review, Rezoning, and General Plan Amendment) for the "Timber Street Senior Housing" project, which is a 79-unit, 100% senior housing development. The entitlements for the project were approved in 10/28/2021 and is expected to be constructed in 2022-2023.
Staff worked with Adobe Services on a Homekey project to convert an existing hotel to supportive housing, which consist of a total of 125 units (1 unit for the on-site manager and 124 units for rent permanent affordable housing). The breakdown of the 124 units for rent permanent affordable housing is 60 units for chronically homeless households and 64 units for households at risk of homelessness; all of which would be for extremely low-income households. On 9/22/2022, the City Council approved a Resolution (Resolution No. 11408) Project Homekey Standard Agreement which includes $38.2 milllion Homekey grant funds and $6 million City funds. A building permit for the tenant improvement for the project has been issued on 12/22/2022.
Consistent with the City Council-approved Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Affordable Housing Work Plan, in June 2022, the City of Newark invited developers of affordable rental housing to submit applications for funding assistance under a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). A total of approximately $12 million was made available from the Citys Affordable Housing Impact Fee Fund. The City received one response from Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) requesting $12,000,000 of local gap financing to construct a 57-unit multifamily apartment building at 6347-6375 Thornton Avenue that would meet the need for family-sized units. On January 19, 2023, the Community Development Advisory Committee on January 19, 2023 reviewed the proposal against the NOFA selection criteria and recommended approval. On March 23, 2023, the City Council reviewed and approved the proposed funding decision as well as authorized the City Manager to execute the Affordable Housing Loan Agreement and all related loan documents to effectuate the approval of the funding award. SAHA will complete the acquisition of the subject properties in April. After conducting community outreach, SAHA expects to submit their formal entitlement application in Summer 2023. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 5 Old Town Development Strategy | Incorporate housing into future projects | The City adopted the Old Town Newark Specific Plan in 2021. The Plan includes various policies and strategies that are targeted at reducing barriers to housing in the area. For example, Policy LU-1 focuses on zoning amendments that strategically increase density in certain areas. Policy LU-16 revises zoning regulations to revise parking design standards and reducing the parking demands per unit, thus making units more affordable. Policy INF-1 & INF-2 recommend infrastructure improvements which increase water and sewer capacity which are needed to increase residential density in the area. Additional recommendations included as part of the plan recommend reducing or eliminating development impact fees and requiring inclusionary affordable housing. Overall, the Plan recommendations and actions will add up to 400 residential units to the planned area. The city will work to further the recommendations of the Old Town Newark Specific Plan within the next few years. | 2016-17 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 9 Reasonable Accommodation | Adopt Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance | Newark Zoning Ordinance was revised in 2018 and included reduced parking for seniors housing (parking shall be at 0.5 spaces per unit, inclusive of guest parking) | 2016 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 6 Fair Housing Programs | Implement Fair Housing Ordinance | City of Newark signed an Inter-Governmental Collaboration Agreement for the Completion of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) on March 14,2019, Resolution No. 10,904. The AI was completed in January 2020. AI Activity 1.c states, Participating jurisdictions will advocate for local federal/state laws that would improve fair housing protections for those experiencing barriers to accessing housing. City of Newarks Community Development Department is responsible for achieving the stated Metric and Milestone for Activity 1.c by developing and adopting a fair housing ordinance that will clarify and publicize the prohibition against discrimination in housing. This is to be completed by Fiscal Year 2023. | 2016 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 3 Continue Repair and Rehab Program | Reduce Substandard Housing | The Alameda County Housing staff stated that they expect the Minor Home Repair program to continue through Fiscal Years 22/23. Newark will continue to participate in the programs and will increase community awareness of the program through various city communications tools. In the current 5th cycle the City of Newark has funded projects is 12. | Yearly Each CDBG funding cycle | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 8 Seek Funds for Affordable Housing | Evaluate Funding Options | City applied for Alameda County Measure A-1 Bond Competetive grant for $6.5M. An investment of the funds will go to the Timber Street Senior Housing mentioned in Program 1.
On 7/25/2022, the City received notification of a Homekey grant award in the amount of $38.2 million for the conversion of an existing hotel to supportive housing Homekey Project. On 9/22/2022, the City Council approved a Resolution (Resolution No. 11408) Project Homekey Standard Agreement which includes $38.2 million Homekey grant funds and $6 million City funds. | Annually | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 10 Rezone Dumbarton TOD | Rezone Parcels Consistent with Specific Plan | Rezoned 17.4-acre site from Business and Technology Park (BTP) to Residential Medium Density with Form Based Overlay District (RM-FBC) to allow 192 residential units in Dumbarton TOD/Bayside TOD Area. In February 2021, staff provided City Council with an overview the rezoning activities within the Dumbarton TOD, now known as Bayside TOD.
Rezoned 22.1 acre sites from Business and Technology Park (BTP) to Medium Density Residential with Form Based Code (RM-FBC), Commercial Mixed Use with Form Based Code (CMU-FBC), Transit Station (TS), Public Facilities (PF), and Park (PK) to allow for the FMC Willow project in the Dumbarton TOD/Bayside TOD Area. The FMC Willow project includes 279 residential units, 3,600 square feet of retail, 91 affordable housing units, and a 1,485 square foot community building. On 9/22/2022, the City Council approved a Resolution (Resolution 11407) for the FMC Willow project. | 2019 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | Program 2: Support Regional Homeless Initiatives | Reduce Homeless Population |
City adopted a resolution declaring a shelter crisis in the City of Newark and authorized the City of Newark's participation in the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP); and further authorized the City Manager or his designee to execute all applications and agreements related to HEAP and other State and County funding sources for homeless populations. Resolution No. 10867 on December 13, 2018.
The City Council approved a Resolution (Resolution No. 11408) Project Homekey Standard Agreement which includes $38.2 million Homekey grant funds and $6 million City funds on 9/22/2022 for the conversion of an existing hotel to supportive housing Homekey project.
On 5/12/2022, City Council adopted a Resolution (Resolution No. 11,341) for Home Together, a county-wide initiative (Home Together 2026) to address homelessness. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2018 | Program 4 Potential Civic Center Mixed Use Project | Feasibility Study to incorporate various uses | Complete | 2018 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2018 | Program 7 Encourage Accessible Housing | Develop Criteria | projects evaluated through available CDBG program | 2018 | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |