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 | Rehabilitation Loans | Assist 14 homeowners during the planning period | Renew AC is a home loan program administered by Alameda County with funding provided by Alameda County taxpayers who approved the Measure A1 Housing Bond in November 2016. The program is operated by Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley. As of 2020, 13 households have received loans through this program. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Affordable Housing Development | Develop a housing strategy; Identify and complete between four to six new affordable housing projects during the planning period; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | Alameda County has created two siginficant funding mechanisms in the last planning period to serve peoples including households below 30% AMI. The first, the Boomerang Fund, was established by the Board of Supervisors for housing and homelessness programs. As of 2020, $5.8 million, or 10%, of the fund has gone to housing work and policy implimentation in Unincorporated Alameda County.
The second is Measure A1 funding, created by voter approval in 2016. Funding objectives have included supporting: household rehabilitation/preservation; the construction of rental units serving people with specific housing needs, including people below 20% AMI; homebuyers with downpayments; and programs and services for people experiencing homelessness.
Measure A1 funds have supported two rental projects in unincorporated, Ruby Street and Bermuda Gardens, as part of the 3,800 rental unit goal throughout Alameda County. County-wide, as of 2020, 13 families have received home preservations help (through the program RenewAC) and 47 people have received downpayment assistance (through the program AC Boost). | 2015-23; Annually | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Section 8 Housing Programs (5th Cycle) | Provide rental assistance to 600 extremely low and very low income households in the unincorporated areas during the planning period; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | Assistance to qualified applicants is ongoing. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Condominium Conversion (5th Cycle) | Continue to enforce the Condominium Conversion Guidelines | Continues to enforce and implement the Condominium Conversion Guidelines. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Accessory Dwelling Units (5th Cycle) | Promote the Accessory Dwelling Unit Program to increase public awareness; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | Alameda County General Ordinance Code was updated in 2017 in accordance with state laws. Interim ADU guidelines based on community input received by staff since January 2017 and on state laws that came into effect January 1, 2020 were most recently updated in June 2022, enabling a variety of accessory dwelling units. County is waiting for state ADU laws to stabilize before drafting a new ADU ordinance, and planning staff have offered intermim technical guidance and is partnering with Hello Housing. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | HIV/AIDS Housing and Services (5th Cycle) | Address the housing and needs of low income people with HIV/AIDS and their families; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | Efforts to provide assistance to low-income persons with HIV/AIDS are ongoing. Funded services include: Affordable housing development, tenant-based rental assistance, short-term housing and housing placement. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Mortgage Credit Certificate (5th Cycle) | Assist 40 county-wide (5-7 in the unincorporated County) low and moderate income first time homebuyers in the unincorporated areas; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | CDA-HCD continues to administer Alameda County’s Mortgage Credit Certificate Program. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Affordable Housing Trust Fund “Boomerang” Program (5th Cycle) | Support the development of affordable housing; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | Alameda County has created two siginficant funding mechanisms in the last planning period to serve peoples including households below 30% AMI. The first, the Boomerang Fund, was established by the Board of Supervisors for housing and homelessness programs. As of 2020, $5.8 million, or 10%, of the fund has gone to housing work and policy implimentation in Unincorporated Alameda County.
CDA-HCD continues to support the development of affordable housing through securing funding. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Code Enforcement (5th Cycle) | Continue to enforce applicable sections of the Alameda County Ordinance and related land use regulations | The Code Enforcement Division continues to investigate complaints relating to the Neighborhood Preservation, Junk Vehicle and Zoning Ordinances. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Fair Housing Services (5th Cycle) | Reduce housing discrimination through the provision of fair housing and landlord/tenant services | Alameda County HCD annually provides funding to ECHO Housing to provide Fair Housing and Landlord/tenant mediation. During the planning period, there has been critical feedback from residents regarding the efficacy of ECHO's mediation services. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Family Self Sufficiency Program (FSS) (5th Cycle) | Assist 20 Section 8 recipients in the unincorporated areas to achieve self-sufficiency during the planning period; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | Assistance to qualified applicants is ongoing. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Minor Home Repair (5th Cycle) | Assist 150 lower income households over the planning period. | This program continues to serve Alameda County residents. It is currently overseen by the Housing and Community Development Department. Between 2017 and 2022, 184 households receioved HOME funded repairs throughout Alameda County. However, the overwhelming majority were in jurisdictions other than unincorporated Alameda County. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Small Lot Consolidation (5th Cycle) | Promote lot consolidation to facilitate housing development; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | The County will continue to assist in land consolidation by providing sites information to interested developers and provide gap financing assistance, as available, to nonprofit housing developers. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | First Time Homebuyer Resources (5th Cycle) | Provide resources for first time homebuyers; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | CDA-HCD continues to provide resources to first time homebuyers. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | 3.G Minimum and Maximum Densities in Zoning Code Updates to Community Plans (6th cycle) | As community plans are updated, consider adopting minimum densities and maximum densities as part of any zoning code update | Staff are in the process of updating the Castro Valley Central Business District specific plan, which will include minimum and maximum densities | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Program 4.F: Require Americans with Disabilities Act-Compliant Housing Units (6th cycle) | Continue to require that a minimum percentage of units that conform to ADA standards be built for each housing project: projects using HOME require that 10 percent of units be physically accessible, 3 percent of units be vision accessible, and 3 percent of units be hearing accessible. | County staff continue to comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Park Fee Waiver (5th Cycle) | Promote affordable housing development and ensures financial feasibility; Assist in the Development of Affordable Housing | As affordable housing developments are proposed, staff will determine whether they qualify for the park fee waiver | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Accessibility Grants (5th Cycle) | Assist 20 households over the planning period. | This program continues to serve Alameda County residents. It is currently overseen by the Housing and Community Development Department. | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | 2.D Park Fee Waiver (6th Cycle) | Continue to waive the park fee for affordable housing projects to support their financial feasibility. | As affordable housing developments are proposed, staff will determine whether they qualify for the park fee waiver | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |
2023 | Healthy Homes Department (5th Cycle) | Prevent childhood lead poisoning and other health-related environmental problems | The Healthy Homes Department continues work to end lead poisoning and other environmental health issues through lead paint remidiation, home repair, and other small grant programs | Ongoing | 6th cycle, 2023 to 2031 |