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 | 12: Periodic Housing Inspection Program | Continue and strengthen the Periodic Housing Inspection Program to ensure the safety and habitability of the rental housing stock. | The Code Enforcement Division continued to inspect rental housing properties with three or more units and issue notices to property owners regarding code violations requiring correction. In 2023, the Code Enforcement Division inspected 1826 units at 58 properties. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 30: Preservation of At-Risk Housing | Protect affordable housing options, including affordable housing units in subsidized projects that are at risk of reverting to market rate rents during the planning period. | The City maintained existing rent stabilization for mobile home parks. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 9: Interjurisdictional Housing Activities | Collaborate with Marin County, cities and towns to address regional planning and housing issues. Remain open to alignment on programs to increase housing supply and further fair housing. | Together with the County of Marin and other Marin jurisdictions, San Rafael met with the Napa-Sonoma ADU Center to discuss expansion of their services into Marin to provide additional support and resources for homeowners interested in constructing ADUs. Staff anticipates bringing forward a multi-jurisdictional services proposal in 2024 for City Council consideration.
In June, the City renewed its cooperative agreement with the County of Marin to participate in a single joint countywide program for CDBG and HOME allocations.
In December, the City Council adopted updated commercial linkage fees based on a joint study commissioned by multiple Marin County jurisdictions. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 16: Funding for Affordable Housing | Increase funding for affordable housing through the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and other sources. | The City issued a Notice of Funding Availability in April and in July awarded a total of $1.45 million to three projects, including gap funding for 40 units of permanent supportive housing, rehabilitation of 125 units recently acquired and preserved as affordable, and renovation of 4 units of existing affordable housing for low and very low income families. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 44: Monitoring of Approved Development Projects | Convene regularly-scheduled meetings with residential developers following project entitlement to identify any issues impacting project schedules and actions the City can take to address regulatory or permitting constraints | The Community Development Director, planning and housing staff continued to communicate with and outreach to residential developers to help facilitate projects in the development pipeline. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 15: Increasing Equity in Home Maintenance | Support lower income households in maintaining their homes and increase their ability to participate in and reap the benefits of housing sustainability initiatives. | In May, the City Council approved allocation of CDBG funding for the Residential Rehabilitation Loan Program, which provides low-interest loans and technical assistance to qualified very low-income homeowners to make basic repairs, correct substandard conditions, and eliminate hazards around the home. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 7: Affirmative Marketing of Housing Opportunities | Affirmatively market local affordable housing opportunities to include groups that have historically been disadvantaged in the local housing market. | The City requires affordable housing developers requesting funding from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to provide an affirmative marketing plan for review as part of their application. This policy was applied to the Notice of Funding Availability issued in April 2023. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 10: Just Cause for Eviction | Maintain and monitor effectiveness of local just cause for eviction regulations. Require rental property owners to provide relocation assistance to low-income tenants in no-fault evictions. | Staff regularly respond to tenant and landlord inquiries and provide education and information regarding the City's Cause for Eviction policy. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 26: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) | Expand resources and reduce barriers for the construction of ADUs and Junior ADUs (JADUs) in San Rafael neighborhoods. | Together with the County of Marin and other Marin jurisdictions, San Rafael met with the Napa-Sonoma ADU Center to discuss expansion of their services into Marin to provide additional support and resources for homeowners interested in constructing ADUs. Staff anticipates bringing forward a multi-jurisdictional services proposal in 2024 for City Council consideration. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 6: Fair Housing Program Administration | As part of the Cooperative Agreement with the County on CDBG funding, direct a portion of the City’s allocation to a local fair housing assistance program. | In May, City Council approved continued countywide CDBG funding for Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 14: Residential Building Record (RBR) Program | Continue residential building inspections at the time of sale to ensure the safety and habitability of units. | In 2023, the Code Enforcement Division completed 495 RBR inspections. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 4: Emergency Shelter Capacity | Provide emergency shelter capacity sufficient to meet local needs. | The 2022 PIT Count for San Rafael showed 241 unsheltered individuals in the city. Staff have been collaborating with the County and consultants to identify opportunities and funding to increase shelter capacity. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 13: Code Enforcement Program | Provide effective code enforcement efforts in all neighborhoods to abate unsafe or unsanitary conditions. Organize service delivery around principles of equity and inclusion. | The Code Enforcement Division continued to respond to inspection requests from tenants throughout the City. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 17: Affordable Housing Requirements for Residential and Commercial Development | Maintain affordable housing requirements for market-rate residential and commercial developments. Monitor the effectiveness of the City’s affordable housing policy and periodically revise to reflect changing housing market conditions. | In July, the City implemented an updated affordable housing in-lieu fee that was approved by the City Council in December 2022. In December 2023, the City Council approved updates to the City's commercial linkage fee policy. The updates will go into effect July 1, 2024. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 23: Monitoring and Marketing of Housing Opportunity Sites | Maintain capacity to meet the RHNA at all times during the 2023-2031 planning period and add new sites as opportunities arise. Make the list of housing opportunity sites (Appendix B) available to prospective developers and the public. | The housing opportunity sites were adopted as part of the Housing Element in May 2023 and certified by the state in June 2023. Since then, City staff have met with a number of developers to discuss potential sites. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 2: Extremely Low-Income Housing Resources | Expand housing resources and supportive services for extremely low income households. | In May, the City issued a building permit to convert an office building at 3301 Kerner Blvd into 40 units of permanent supportive housing. In July, the City matched a gap funding award from the County to address the project's location in a floodplain. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 3: Funding and Resources to Prevent and Reduce Homelessness | Continue to actively seek funding for strategies that prevent homelessness and help San Rafael residents experiencing homelessness in securing a place to live and access to the services they require. | The City, through an Encampment Resolution Funding grant for $500,000, provided funding to St Vincent de Paul for housing case management, outreach services, and move-in costs for previously homeless individuals. In 2023, 12 individuals from the 17-person caseload secured permanent housing through the grant funded program. In June 2023, the City was awarded an additional $250,000 for a second round of Encampment Resolution Funding. This grant provides services and supplies for ongoing encampment management and resources to connect individuals to housing services. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 31: Monitoring the Status of BMR Units | Monitor the status of affordable units created through local inclusionary housing requirements to ensure that they are occupied by qualifying households and rented or sold at affordable rates. | The City continued its agreement with Marin Housing Authority for monitoring of BMR ownership units, and initiated the contracting process for continued monitoring of the City's BMR rental units. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 8: Latinx Community Capacity Building and Engagement | Undertake a capacity-building and educational program designed to increase understanding of the housing system by the City’s Latinx community. | Staff began internal planning to launch a community outreach initiative in 2024. | 2024 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
| 2023 | 19: Air Rights Strategic Plan | Develop an official City process for developing housing in air rights on municipally-owned sites, including Downtown municipal parking lots. The process should support and promote public-private partnership opportunities that result in new housing on these sites. | In December, the City issued a Request for Proposals for development of affordable housing on a City-owned property at 519 4th St, with responses due in January 2024. | 2027 | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |