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.The policies that follow are ones adopted by this jurisdiction from the full list that ABAG has tracked. This city’s data has been updated for 2023 because it is one of the Partnership for the Bay’s Future partner jurisdictions.
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 | H1.1.1 Program | Continue to provide services which promote rehabilitation of substandard housing. | Ongoing program. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.1.13 Program | To protect those affordable developments deemed a high risk to converting to market rate | This program is partially complete. The City is in discussions with property owners of projects at risk of conversion in the next ten years, including Lytton Gardens, Terman Apartments, and Webster Wood Apartments. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.1.8 Program | Preserve the 120 mobile home units in the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park as a low and moderate income housing resource. | Complete.This program preserved 117 at‐risk mobile home park units in September of 2017 in the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. The City of Palo Alto and SCCHA purchased the site to preserve it as an affordable living community. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.3.5 Program | Complete study on impact of revised standards, and consider Zoning Code Amendments | This program is partially complete. In September 2022, the PTC recommended Council adopt an updated Zoning Chapter 18.09 to establishing rules for affordable units and incorporating the 2022 State ADU legislation. December 2022 Council is scheduled to adopt the updated ordinance | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.4.1 Program | Allocate CDBG funding to acquire and rehabilitate housing for very low-, low-, and moderate income households. | This is an ongoing program. This program has led to the acquisition of one new housing site. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.5.1 Program | Continue City staff participation as members of the Collaborative’s CDBG and Home Program Coordinators Group. | Continued participation in regional CDBG/housing collaborative efforts. This program is part of the normal function of the City’s existing Homeless Prevention Program. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H2.1.6 Program | Provide opportunities for 100% affordable housing developments. | Complete. The Zoning Code was amended January 2019 to provide a local density bonus program, the Housing Incentive Program (HIP), as an alternative to State Density Bonus Law. The HIP allows Director‐level approval of additional FAR (more than can be achieved under SDBL in most cases) and flexibility in development standards. The portion of the program was completed ias part of the Phase 1 Housing Element implementation plan for 2018.
In 2022, the City modified the Affordable Housing Overlay district into the Affordable Housing Incentive Program to streamline the approval process for projects with 100% affordable units. The new Incentive Program only requires review and approval by the ARB. If a project meets the affordability and location standards indicated here, it automatically qualifies for modified development standards, including increased FAR and height, reduced open space requirements, and reduced parking (0.75 space/unit by right, or as low as 0.3 space/unit with a parking study). This portion of the program was completed in June 2022 as part of the Objective Standards project. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H1.2.1 Program | Provide 10 additional affordable housing units on sites where rental housing will be lost. | Partially Complete. There have not been any projects subject to this program to date. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H2.1.5 Program | Increase connectivity and walkability in new development. | This program is partially complete. The North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan is underway, which will support this program objective. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H2.3.1 Program | Perform outreach on affordable housing. | This is an ongoing program. Efforts are underway to enhance outreach regarding affordable housing. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.2.1 Program | Provide assistance to with utility bills to 800 low-income households. | This is an ongoing program. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.2.2 Program | Provide rehabilitation assistance to 600 very low and low-income households. | This is an ongoing program. It has led to the rehabilitation of six homes. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.1.11 Program | Provide funding opportunities for development of housing for Extremely Low Income households. | Housing funds provided as needed by housing projects. This program is ongoing and housing funds provided as needed by housing projects. The City permitted 101 housing units appropriate for very low‐income households during the 5th Housing Cycle. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H4.1.5 Program | Continue to provide information to residents on reasonable accommodation procedures via public counters and on the City’s website. | This is an ongoing program. The city continued to enforce reasonable accommodation requirements such granting land use exceptions to meet the reasonable accommodation request. The City adopted a reasonable accommodation process ordinance in January of 2014. The codified ordinance is available at all counters where applications are made for permits and licenses, and on the City’s website. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.1.5 Program | Provide up-to-date information for residents regarding conservation through educational brochures available at City Hall and posted on the City’s website. | This is an ongoing program. This program has led to the development of zero waste and energy efficiency and conservation. Palo Alto has its own public utility, which offers information and rebates for installation of water conservation and energy conservation systems and appliances. The City’s Zero Waste division similarly offers resources for reducing trash, increasing diversion rates, and opportunities for disposal of hazardous household waste. These resources are available at the City’s offices and on the City’s website. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.1.6 Program | Continue to recognize homeowners and developers who incorporate sustainable features beyond what is required by the Green Building Ordinance. | This is an ongoing program. This program is with the City’s Utilities Department, which offers rebates and pilot programs such as the new heat pump water heater program launched in late 2022; Utilities efforts are ongoing and Planning is working with Utilities to streamline and remove Zoning Code obstacles to efficiency improvements. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H2.2.3 Program | Explore additional opportunities to encourage housing in commercial areas. | This program is partially complete. A Coordinated Area Plan (CAP) for the North Ventura neighborhood is expected to be completed in 2023. This plan includes policies and zoning regulations to support multifamily housing. Beginning a Downtown CAP is now possible as the 2022 PDA Grant allows the City to hire a consultant; consultant selection began in 2022. The City is also considering preparing a CAP for the California Ave. corridor. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H3.3.6 Program | Continue City staff participation in prioritizing funding for County-wide programs. | This is an ongoing program. The City has partnered with Lifemoves to construct Palo Alto Homekey, an emergency shelter that will service approximately 300 persons a year. It should be operational by August 2023. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H4.1.4 Program | Continue to provide funding and other support for these groups to disseminate fair housing information in Palo Alto. | This is an ongoing program. The city continued to enforce reasonable accommodation requirements such granting land use exceptions to meet the reasonable accommodation request. The City adopted a reasonable accommodation process ordinance in January of 2014. The codified ordinance is available at all counters where applications are made for permits and licenses, and on the City’s website. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |
| 2022 | H5.1.2 Program | Provide educational information regarding the City’s Green Building Ordinance. | This is an ongoing program. It is a routine staff function. | Ongoing | 5th cycle, 2013 to 2022 |