The City of Oakland Housing Element 2015 - 2023

City webpage: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/PBN/OurOrganization/PlanningZoning/OAK045364

The Housing Element is part of Oakland’s General Plan that serves as a blueprint for housing the City’s residents, at all economic levels including low income and households with special needs. The Housing Element presents an inventory of sites suitable for residential development in Oakland; an assessment of financial and programmatic resources; and an analysis of constraints, both governmental and non-governmental, to housing production in Oakland. This data and systematic analysis provides the basis for policies and actions to meet Oakland’s housing needs for the future.

Under State law (California Government Code Sections 65580-65589.8), every city and county in California is required to adopt a Housing Element, subject to State approval, as part of its General Plan. An updated Element allows a City to access critical local, state and federal funds. The City is currently in the process of updating the Housing Element for the planning period from 2014 through 2022.

The foundation for the Housing Element is the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).  This is a state-mandated requirement that all California cities provide for their fair share of the regional housing need for all income levels.  RHNA “assignments” for each city are determined by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). Oakland is required, under the RHNA, to plan for 14,765 new housing units between 2014 and 2022.

In 2008, Senate Bill 375 (SB 375 – the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act) was adopted and strengthened coordination between regional housing and transportation planning:

1. Requires Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to incorporate a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) into the Regional Transportation Plan:

• To achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions
• Accommodate the RHNA planning as a means to achieve GHG emission reduction goals

1. Amended the RHNA schedule and strengthened rezoning requirements. 

One effort to meet the overlapping objectives of SB 375 and Housing Element Law is ABAG’s “Plan Bay Area” with the following objectives:

• Increase supply, diversity and affordability of housing
• Promote infill development and more efficient land use patterns
• Promote intraregional relationship between jobs and housing
• Protect environmental resources
• Promote socioeconomic equity

chapter 7.pdf housing element 2007-2014.pdf

Public meetings are being held that will address questions such as:

• What are the top housing issues in Oakland?
• In terms of existing housing policies and programs, what are the strengths?
• In terms of existing housing policies and programs, what are the weaknesses?