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Fair Share Housing Campaign

THIS PAGE IS AN ARCHIVE. INFORMATION AND LINKS ON THIS PAGE MAY NOT BE ACCURATE OR ACTIVE. FOR MORE ABOUT THIS PAGE, CONTACT US AT info@transcoalition.org

About the Campaign

Platform

Campaign contacts and housing needs quantified by County and City
Housing Element updates are in process around the region. Some cities (San Jose) have already submitted to HCD, but most are still in the information gathering stage. As of right now, campaign organizers have targeted 35 jurisdictions in eight counties (so far we have nothing going in Solano). In total these jurisdictions have been assigned over 50% of the Housing Needs allocations for the region including responsibility for over 45,000 units of affordable housing (see chart).

At the regional and county level, the campaign is being organized primarily by members of NPH with considerable support from Greenbelt Alliance. At the local level, the campaign includes organizers from BATLUC and Greenbelt in the East Bay and South Bay, and numerous faith-based groups throughout the region. In Contra Costa County alone, there are faith-based affordable housing workshops planned in Richmond, Walnut Creek, and the Tri-Valley.

Last updated: 7/19/01

More about the housing element
Through a state-mandated planning process, all jurisdictions in the Bay Area must update the "housing element" of their General Plan by the end of 2001. State law requires local jurisdictions to make efforts to include low-income people and other stakeholders in their housing element drafting process.
These housing elements contain three parts: 1) an inventory of housing needs and available land to meet the needs; 2) a set of policies and quantified objectives; and 3) a set of programs and proposed activities geared to meeting those objectives. By law, the housing element must plan for housing for households at all income levels as well as populations with special housing needs, such as homeless people, persons with disabilities, and farmworkers.
Because of its certainty in affecting local policy and its comprehensiveness, the housing element updating process is the most important and viable vehicle for actual changes in local land use policies in the last decade.
Once adopted, the housing element has the force of law within the locality. Every land use decision taken must be consistent with the housing element. And, the jurisdiction is legally obligated to proceed with the programs and activities set out in its housing element.
The housing element updating process also provides a context for housing advocates, environmentalists, and social justice activists to come together in order to create a shared vision for the future of our communities.

Affordable Housing Compliance
SB 910, legislation proposed by state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), would create sanctions for communities that fail to comply with state housing element law through not adequately planning for housing that all residents can afford. To lend your organization's support to this legislation, contact Doug Shoemaker at doug@nonprofithousing.org.
To see which communities are out of compliance, the Department of Housing and Community Development has a Housing Element Compliance Report posted at: http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/hrc/plan/he/status.htm.

Last Updated 7/19/01

Update from the Annual Summit workgroup meeting
The Fair Share Housing Campaign breakout group (at the Coalition’s annual summit on March 3, 2001) began with a call for activists to get involved by joining a local campaign, doing outreach to your members, and writing letters to key policy makers. Please check out our updated City & County information page. Then, the breakout participants focused on identifying key local policies and possible regional strategies for BATLUC.

Key local policies to include in Housing Elements updates:

I dentifying land for in-fill development and adaptive re-use

Encouraging transit oriented development along transit corridors and near transit hubs, including bus lines and fixed rail systems.

Rezoning formerly commercial and industrial land, including shopping malls, brownfields and other vacant or underutilized sites.
Increasing allowable residential densities
Inclusionary Zoning Ordinances which require a percentage of affordably-priced housing in market-rate housing developments.
Reducing Parking Requirements
Encouraging second units

Potential regional strategies:

Tying Transportation Funds to Housing —Ensure that local governments adopt supportive land use policies either through incentives or by requirements for major new investments such as BART or Cal Train.

ABAG enforcement—the group would like to push for more real enforcement possibly through lawsuits. A number of people mentioned the particular case of the City of Alameda which is demolishing East Housing and asking for a reduction in their housing requirement from ABAG, and yet effectively prohibits multi-family housing through Measure A.

Public education campaign aimed at identifying the benefits of in-fill housing development and affordable housing. Potential campaign themes include

“YIMBY” (Yes In My Back Yard)

Housing Choices—where will your parents and children live?

“The Bay Area Belongs to All of Us” or “Housing for All of Us”

Focusing on the loss of public employees: nurses, teachers, etc.

Quality of Life improvements, such as more housing = more retail or

More housing = less commute

last updated 9/10/02

Update: 05/29/03