Contra Costa County Inclusionary Housing
We won!
In October 2006, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an inclusionary housing policy
for the County of Contra Costa. The policy requires a percentage of the homes in new residential developments
to be affordable.
The new policy will help build homes within
existing cities—not on the greenbelt—and help ensure that people
don't have to move to the region's outskirts to find a home they can afford.
Here's what the new policy says and where it applies:
- The new inclusionary ordinance will require all new developments in the unincorporated areas of the county to either: include affordable homes in the new development; provide land for a non-profit developer; or pay a fee to be used by the county to create affordable housing.
- For new developments that include affordable homes, 15% of the new homes must be affordable.
- Homes for sale are defined as affordable if they cost no more than 40% of the income of households making up to $91,000 per year.
- Homes for rent are affordable if they cost no more than 33% of the income of households making up to $49,000 per year.
- Communities in the unincorporated areas of the county include North Richmond, Bay Point, Crockett, Rodeo, Kensington, Vine Hill, Alamo, Byron, Bethel Island, Knightson, and Discovery Bay.
What's at Stake
The skyrocketing cost of housing in the Bay Area over the last decade
has put the dream of homeownership out of reach for a majority of working
people, and has forced them to pay high percentages of their monthly income
for rental housing. The lack of affordable housing near Contra Costa County
and East Bay job centers has serious consequences. The people who need
this housing are the people who keep our communities running: people like
firefighters, policemen, office workers, schoolteachers, and childcare
workers. Local workers are being forced to move farther and farther away
to find homes they can afford, resulting in longer commutes and hours
spent in traffic instead of with family and friends.
The County must ensure that future development includes enough affordable
housing to maintain the strength of the local economy. Supplying affordable
housing will help ensure that people can afford homes near their jobs
and that businesses can attract workers. By locating affordable housing
near job centers and shopping, we can reduce the amount of driving necessary
in day-to-day life and prevent increased traffic problems.
To download or view a toolkit on Inclusionary Housing, visit www.nonprofithousing.org.
What You Can Do
Contact your Supervisor and tell him or her you support his or her adoption of this policy:
- John Gioia: 510-374-3231 or email
- Gayle Uilkema: 925-335-1076 or email
- Mary Piepho: 925-240-7261 or email
- Mark DeSaulnier: 925-646-5762 or email
- Federal Glover: 925-427-5915 or email
Campaign Update
10/11/06 County Supervisors Act to Address Housing Affordability Crisis
October 2006
After many years of work, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
unanimously adopted an inclusionary housing ordinance on October 10.
The vote will be finalized through the Board’s consent calendar
on October 24. Greenbelt Alliance has been a core leader in this effort
and worked closely with East Bay Housing Organizations, Non-Profit Housing
Association of Northern California, League of Women Voters and many other
allies to urge the Supervisors to adopt this ordinance. The ordinance
will require all new development in unincorporated communities (e.g.
North Richmond, Bay Point, Alamo, Discovery Bay) to include 15% affordable
homes. Ninety percent of County residents can’t afford the median
home price in Contra Costa. This policy will have a strong impact in
allowing people to live closer to where they work and relieving development
pressure and traffic congestion throughout the county. Now, 61 out of
109 jurisdictions in the Bay Area have inclusionary housing ordinances!
August 2006
On September 26, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on the proposed inclusionary housing ordinance. The County has been considering
such an ordinance for many years. The inclusionary housing ordinance would
require 20 percent of all new housing developments to be affordable for
families earning between $40,000 and $97,000 a year. The proposed ordinance
enjoys broad support from Greenbelt Alliance, League of Women Voters,
East Bay Housing Organizations and many other labor, faith-based and community-based
organizations. The Planning Commission recommended changes that weakened
the proposed ordinance, including:
- Lowering the overall percentage of affordable units from 20 to 15%.
- Changing the formula for the in-lieu fee developers can pay instead
of building the units. The new formula results in a smaller fee that
will create fewer homes.
- Giving the in-lieu fee option to developments of any size. The original
proposal allowed the fee for only developments between 5 and 50 units
in size.
Greenbelt Alliance along with our allies is urging the Board of Supervisors
to reject these Planning Commission recommendations and to adopt the originally
proposed ordinance. We will be meeting with the Supervisors and we encourage
Contra Costa residents to attend the upcoming hearing.
June 2006
Greenbelt Alliance has been working with a broad coalition to move an
inclusionary housing ordinance forward in Oakland. City Councilmembers
have put forward a proposal that would serve a more narrow section of
families earning higher incomes, compared to the Coalition's proposed
inclusionary housing parameters. Over the last month, the coalition has
been meeting with city council members to craft an ordinance that strikes
a balance between providing certainty for developers while serving Oakland's
severe housing needs. In early June, a proposed ordinance was heard by
the City Council's Community and Economic Development Committee as well
as the Planning Commission. These meetings have been an opportunity to
show broad support for an inclusionary housing ordinance that serves a
broad spectrum of Oakland's families.
May 2006
In April, the Contra Costa County Planning Commissioners had
a hearing to discuss the proposed inclusionary housing ordinance. The
inclusionary
housing ordinance would require 20 percent of all new housing developments
to be affordable for families earning between $40,000 and $97,000 a year.
Greenbelt Alliance has been working with allies and County staff to craft
an ordinance that strikes a balance between meeting providing needed
housing
and providing certainty for developers. Despite years of discussion,
hours of staff and community members' time, and broad support for the
proposed
inclusionary housing ordinance, the Commissioners delayed recommending
the ordinance to the Board of Supervisors. The ordinance will come back
to the Planning Commission on June 13 for a study session and for action
on June 27. We will continue building coalition and grassroots support
to urge the Planning Commissioners to move forward with this important
ordinance. Every day that goes by, opportunities for creating affordable
homes are lost!
Inclusionary Housing, Oakland
Greenbelt Alliance is working with the Oaklanders for Affordable Housing
Coalition to support an inclusionary housing ordinance that provides housing
for a range of income levels. The Coalition submitted to the City proposed
policy parameters for an inclusionary housing ordinance that targets families
earning $25,000 to $65,000 annually. In late April, three members of the
Oakland City Council released parameters for an inclusionary housing ordinance
that targeted income levels higher than the Coalition's proposal. We will
be working with our coalition partners and the city to craft an inclusionary
housing ordinance that strikes a balance, and to identify and support
other city policies and programs to create affordable homes in Oakland.
04/25/2006 Contra
Costa Considering Affordable Housing Ordinance, CBS5.com
April 2006
County staff has completed a draft inclusionary ordinance that will be
heard by the Planning Commission at the end of this month.
04/24/2006 Affordable
housing on Contra Costa agenda, Contra Costa Times
March 2006
County staff has completed a draft inclusionary ordinance and will be
bringing the ordinance to the Planning Commission in April. Greenbelt
Alliance is working in a coalition with other organizations to support
the ordinance and to urge the Planning Commission and ultimately, the
Board of Supervisors, to adopt it. Through a postcard drive we are building
a grassroots base of supporters to urge the Board to adopt the ordinance
by June.
February 2006
Contra Costa County builds many new homes in unincorporated communities.
Most of these new homes are too expensive for local people. As a result,
people have to move out of the County and spend long periods of time commuting
on congested freeways. To create a more balanced housing market and reduce
the pressure to build in open spaces and working farms, Greenbelt Alliance
is working to establish an inclusionary housing ordinance for unincorporated
communities in Contra Costa County. This ordinance would require all new
housing developments to include some homes affordable to local residents
and workers. The County has been working on an ordinance for five years
and the draft ordinance is nearly complete. Along with a broad coalition,
Greenbelt Alliance is urging the county to ensure the ordinance creates
homes for the most pressing housing need (people earning $41,000/year
or less) and to adopt the ordinance within the next 6 months.
January 2006
The County has been discussing and drafting an ordinance for five years,
but continues to move slowly with the draft ordinance. In December we
sent a letter to the Supervisors urging them to adopt an ordinance in
the next 6 months that creates homes for people earning 80% of Area Median
Income or less, the county's most pressing need.
November 2005
Greenbelt Alliance is part of a broad coalition of community and environmental
groups working to establish an inclusionary housing ordinance for unincorporated
communities in Contra Costa County. Greenbelt Alliance has participated
in stakeholder meetings held by the County to influence specific elements
of the draft policy. We expect the policy to pass with three votes at
the Board of Supervisors once it gets there. We will be solidifying these
votes in the next two months.
September 2005
A broadening coalition of community and environmental groups is working
to pass a strong inclusionary housing policy for unincorporated communities
in Contra Costa County. County staff has hired a consultant to do a study
to inform how the policy is written. Greenbelt Alliance staff, along with
coalition partners, have participated in stakeholder meetings convened
by the County to work through policy questions including for what income
levels the inclusionary homes should be affordable, how much developers
should pay per unit in lieu of building the homes and how much flexibility
to allow in how developers meet the requirements of the ordinance. To
build and show support for the ordinance, the Coalition sponsored an advocate's
training on September 24 in Pittsburg. The training focused on what other
communities like Pittsburg and Brentwood have done to build support for
and pass inclusionary housing ordinances and what people can do to urge
the County to move forward with its own policy.
July 2005
After a delay of several months, the process of creating an Inclusionary
Housing policy for Contra Costa County has once again started moving forward.
A nexus study and an in-lieu fee study, which are needed to finalize the
policy, are expected in September.
June 2005
After a delay of several months, the process of creating an Inclusionary
Housing policy for Contra Costa County has once again started moving forward.
A nexus study and an in-lieu fee study, which are needed to finalize the
policy, are expected in September.
May 2005
The coalition of groups working on an Inclusionary Housing ordinance for
Contra Costa County remains dogged in the face of delays. The consultant's
next study is delayed by the need for additional funding to study in-lieu
fees, particularly in light of the diversity of the communities in Contra
Costa County. The Coalition plans a breakfast seminar for planning commissioners
from throughout the county to address state-mandated density bonuses for
affordable housing.
March 2005
A broadening coalition of community and environmental groups is working
to pass an aggressive inclusionary housing policy for Contra Costa County.
The coalition is asking the Board of Supervisors to approve the ordinance
in June, to coincide with Affordable Housing Week. County staff and the
consultant are pushing for high housing amounts, but with less aggressive
income targets.
|
