Homes for Silicon Valley: The North Bayshore Plan
As leaders of the Bay Area’s business and environmental communities, we urge the leaders of Mountain View to fully embrace the 9,850-home vision of the North Bayshore Precise Plan with the flexibility necessary to make a complete neighborhood a reality.
Big Win for Affordable Homes in Walnut Creek
After two years of studies, workshops, and deliberation, the Walnut Creek City Council voted on August 1, 2017, to increase the Housing Impact Fee. By increasing these local resources, Walnut Creek will help create even more new affordable homes, supporting inclusive communities near transit and the thriving downtown area.
Plan Bay Area 2040 Adopted
Late last night, the boards of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC) voted to adopt Plan Bay Area 2040, a smart regional strategy to foster thriving neighborhoods across our nine-county region. We’re excited that the new plan affirms the groundbreaking vision of the original Plan Bay Area, adopted in 2013—guiding growth within our existing cities and towns to creating walkable communities for all close to jobs… Read More
Bay Area Voted for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future
In sharp contrast to the national election results, Bay Area election results showed millions of voters marked their ballots “yes” for a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Contra Costa County Adopts Agricultural & Open Space Preservation Policy
Farms and open space won important protections when the Contra Costa County’s LAFCo adopted an Agricultural and Open Space Preservation Policy.
Big Win: Sonoma County Renews Community Separators for 20 Years
Greenbelt Alliance led the charge to not only renew voter protections for Sonoma County’s community separators but also triple the amount of land protected. Watch the video.
Winning at the 2016 Primaries
Yesterday at polling places throughout the region, Bay Area residents continued 2014’s trend of voting for open space conservation and smart growth. Greenbelt Alliance endorsed positions on several ballot measures, and we won on all of them! These essential measures will make the Bay Area a better place to live, so thank you to everyone who voted.
Oakland Approves New Funding Source for Affordable Homes
Last night, the Oakland City Council officially adopted a housing impact fee—the single largest local source of funding for affordable homes in the city’s history. The new funding will generate an estimated $60 million over the next 10 years for the construction and preservation of affordable homes.
Implementing Smart Growth: A Toolkit for San Jose
Greenbelt Alliance created the San Jose Urban Village Toolkit to cut through technical jargon and help neighbors get organized so they can engage with each other, the city, and developers on neighborhood plans. The toolkit also guides residents through the planning process and helps them identify and build on what makes their neighborhood great.
Big Win for Open Space: Priority Conservation Areas
2015 was a big year for open space protection in the Bay Area. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) voted to expand the region’s Priority Conservation Area (PCA) Program significantly. Priority Conservation Areas are exactly what they sound like: natural areas, recreation lands, farms, ranches, and urban open spaces that should be protected from development. Local governments nominate open spaces as PCAs, and ABAG vets and approves the nominations. Now that the PCA Program has been expanded, there are 165 PCAs across the Bay Area, covering over 2 million acres.