The Bay Area Council has doubled down on our advocacy for increased housing production throughout the Bay Area, addressing the pre-existing housing crisis that has been compounded by our public health crisis. We must seize the opportunity to rebuild and revitalize our region with smart growth strategies that address historic racial injustices and our ongoing environmental crisis in a manner that does not derail our fragile economy.
We come into 2023 committed to this fight with fresh ideas, more allies, and the same determination to remove the roadblocks that currently prevent the building of a more diverse, equitable, sustainable, and vibrant Bay Area. No other peer organization can boast our level of engagement on housing or our track record of passing bills that produce actual quantifiable results.
2023 Goals
- Sponsor & support state and federal legislation that incentivizes housing development through reducing construction costs, streamlining the entitlement process, and increasing federal funding for housing.
- Endorse & advocate for housing in the Bay Area through supporting proposed housing developments and advocating for their approval at local public hearings.
- Work with our network of advocates to ensure compliance with the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) through the state oversight mechanisms outlined in SB 288 (Weiner), which the Council sponsored.
Get Involved
The Housing Committee and Project Endorsement Committee are open to Bay Area Council members. In addition, we invite members and non-members alike to submit projects to the Project Endorsement Committee for review. Upcoming committee meetings can be found on the Council’s calendar of events.
To engage in our legislative advocacy efforts or receive our We Need Housing Wednesday newsletter contact Vice President Louis Mirante (lmirante@bayareacouncil.org).
If you would like to submit a project for consideration by our Project Endorsement Committee, please fill out this form.
Housing Committee Co-Chairs:
Jonathan Fearn, Head of Development Oak Impact Group
Katereh Khodavirdi, VP, Consumer and Network Analytics, PayPal
Project Endorsement Committee Co-Chairs:
Catarina Kidd, Senior Manager, FivePoint
Linda Klein, Partner, Cox, Castle & Nicholson
Strategic Partnerships
Casita Coalition
Home Building Alliance
Up for Growth
Sponsored Bills
AB 990 Water quality: low impact development: infill housing projects
Author: Grayson (Concord)
Summary: Would require local agencies grant all applicable water treatment reduction credits for qualifying infill housing projects in the Bay Area, preventing the regional water board from repealing an important streamlining for housing. Consistent with the Council’s work to build more housing the region.
AB 1114 Planning and zoning: housing development projects: postentitlement phase permits
Author: Haney (San Francisco)
Summary: Would prevent cities from issuing building code permits in a discretionary way, after a project has been gone through the full process of approval and has been entitled. One of the only localities that still allows these appeals is the city of San Francisco. This bill aligns with Council efforts to accelerate the process of building housing in the city.
AB 1287 Density Bonus Law: additional density bonus and incentives or concessions: California Coastal Act of 1976
Author: Alvarez (San Diego)
Summary: Existing law requires cities and counties to provide developers with a density bonus – or the permission to build a project with greater density and waive certain local standards — and if a project provides units for low-income or very low-income households.
This bill would require that cities and counties afford an additional density bonus for projects that reserve 24% of units for low-income households, 15% of units for very low-income households, or 44% of units for moderate income households. The bill would also require cities and counties to provide additional incentives to projects that fall into any one of those categories and provide additional units for moderate income households. Support the Council’s goal to construct more affordable housing throughout California.
AB 1633 Housing Accountability Act: disapprovals: California Environmental Quality Act
Author: Ting (San Francisco)
Summary: In infill areas, would prevent local governments from pocket-vetoing development projects by refusing to complete required environmental reviews under CEQA. Instead, local governments would be required to set timelines for the completion of environmental reviews in addition to other requirements. Consistent with our work to build more housing in the Bay Area.
AB 1033 Accessory Dwelling Units: local ordinances: separate sale or conveyance
Author: Ting (San Francisco)
Summary: This bill promotes affordable home ownership by allowing accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) to be sold separately from a primary residence.
SB 294 Housing development projects: floor area ratios
Author: Weiner (San Francisco)
Summary: A building’s floor-area-ratio is the measurement of its useable floor area in relation to the area of the lot it is on. The more units or floors a building has, the higher it’s floor-to-area ratio will be.
This bill prevents local governments from setting a floor-area-ratio standards that is less then 2.5 for housing developments that 11-20 units and less than 1.25 for projects of more than 20 units. Consistent with our work to build more housing the Bay Area.
