Save the Date! ABAG General Assembly June 25, 2021
Business Meeting Requires Quorum of General Assembly Delegates
The next ABAG General Assembly will be held on Friday, June 25th, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon as an online meeting. The business meeting requires a quorum of General Assembly members to review and approve the ABAG Budget and Work Program for the coming year. Designed for elected officials and staff, the rest of the meeting examines the Value of Regional Partnerships with presentations on ABAG activities.
Register here for the conference and business meeting. Additional information is available on the GA page and on the meetings page.
Plan Bay Area 2050
Draft Plan Bay Area 2050 Released After three years of public discussion and technical work and an unprecedented outreach effort, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) released the Draft Plan Bay Area 2050 Document and Implementation Plan for public comment in late May, with the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) released in early June.
Plan Bay Area 2050 is a long-range plan charting the course for the future of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The Draft Plan Bay Area 2050 focuses on four key issues: the economy, the environment, housing and transportation; outlines 35 bold strategies for growth and investment through 2050; and identifies a path to make the Bay Area more equitable for all residents and more resilient in the face of unexpected challenges. The Draft Plan Document, Implementation Plan, and EIR are available for review at planbayarea.org/draftplan2050, with comments accepted through July 20th at 5:00 PM. The Final Plan Bay Area 2050 will be considered for adoption by the ABAG Executive Board and the Commission in the fall.
RHNA Update
The ABAG Executive Board on May 20 approved the Final Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Methodology and Draft Allocations. ABAG offered multiple opportunities to learn about RHNA and provide input through regular ABAG meetings that are open to the public, outreach to local government elected officials and staff, as well as electronic news blasts and postings to the ABAG website to notify the public and interested parties at decision points throughout the process.
Approval of the Final RHNA Methodology followed the finding in April 2021 by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that the Draft RHNA Methodology furthered the RHNA objectives.
Release of the Draft RHNA Allocations initiates the final phase of the RHNA process. During the coming weeks, a local jurisdiction or HCD can submit an appeal to ABAG requesting a change to any Bay Area jurisdiction’s allocation. Key dates in the appeals process include:
May 25, 2021: official release of Draft RHNA Allocations.
July 9, 2021: deadline for jurisdictions or HCD to submit an appeal of a jurisdiction’s Draft Allocation.
August 30, 2021: deadline for comments on appeals submitted.
September and/or October: ABAG conducts public hearing to consider appeals and comments received.
Following completion of the RHNA appeals process in fall 2021, remaining major milestones in coming months include:
Late 2021: the ABAG Executive Board will adopt Final Allocations, taking into consideration the results of the appeals process. This final adoption will also include a public hearing.
January 2023: Housing Element updates are due to HCD.
Benches and Grant Awards
The ABAG Housing Committee approved a pre-qualified bench of consultants to provide as-needed assistance to agency and local jurisdiction staff, including for grants administered through the Regional Housing Technical Assistance and Priority Development Area Programs. The item was then approved by the Executive Board on May 20. The next step in accessing the bench is the release of Draft REAP Suballocation Agreements.
Last month, the Board and the MTC Commission both approved the Equity Bench, there are now 27 primary and dozens more secondary firms now available to assist in implementing equity across multiple levels. There is some overlap of consultants on both benches and some statement of work could fit under either bench. If you have questions about the benches, please contact:
Regional Housing Technical Assistance Webinars
As part of its Housing Technical Assistance program to support the Housing Element update process, ABAG launched a webinar training series to highlight Housing Element topics that local staff must start early in the process. To date, seven webinars have provided information on communications, kicked off the Planning Collaboratives, discussed the role of data in Housing Element updates, overviewed the Sites Inventory and the new on-line HESS tool developed to assist with local governments’ site selection, and presented an overview of the Housing Element process.
These webinars have attracted more than 700 attendees and reached jurisdictions throughout the Bay Area. As an example, the Using Data webinar, had attendees from 71 different local governments.
Two additional webinars are planned for June and more are scheduled for later this summer. For more information on the webinars, including recordings of previous sessions, visit the Training Series webpage.
BAHFA
Solutions to housing issues in the Bay Area are under development through the Expanded Regional Housing Portfolio and BAHFA. The Housing Team is seeking a state budget appropriation of $18.5M to jumpstart five pilot projects developed in partnership with local jurisdictions and housing stakeholders across the 3 Ps:
Doorway – online platform to connect residents to opportunities for affordable homes across the region.
Affordable Housing Pipeline – database to quantify and track the production and preservation of affordable homes.
Preservation Strategy – financing and technical assistance to support and scale community-serving acquisition-rehab projects.
Homelessness Prevention System – integrated resources and services to keep people housed.
Anti-Displacement Services Network – coordination and best practices for effective deployment of tenant protection services.
The near-term goal of the pilots is to make a difference in the lives of thousands of Bay Area residents. The long-term goal is to provide proof-of-concept for a regional approach to housing implementation and to build support for a future regional ballot measure. Additional details on the Pilot Programs are available via the Housing Committee meeting.
Estuary Partnership Updating the Estuary Blueprint
The San Francisco Estuary Partnership is updating its Estuary Blueprint, which lays out priority actions needed for a healthy, resilient San Francisco Estuary by 2050. The partnership is seeking input to guide the update and has posted an online survey. The update process, which includes a review of existing priorities and the incorporation of emerging new topics, including a stronger focus on equity, will continue through fall 2021.
The Estuary Blueprint is a non-regulatory, collaboratively developed plan that maps out the regional actions needed for a healthy, resilient San Francisco Estuary. Originally created in 1993 under the title “Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan,” the document has undergone several updates. The most recent update was completed in 2016.
For more information on the existing Blueprint, including current priorities, visit www.sfestuary.org/ccmp.
San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority is requesting submittal of multi-benefit wetland restoration projects by June 14, 2021 for consideration and possible addition to the Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team’s (BRRIT’s) priority project list.
The BRRIT is an effort to provide an efficient permitting process for multi-benefit wetland restoration projects and associated flood management and public access infrastructure in San Francisco Bay by dedicating agency staff to work as a team to review project information and permit applications. The BRRIT is a team of staff from the six state and federal regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over wetlands restoration projects in San Francisco Bay.
We are currently soliciting for additional projects to start pre-application consultation with the BRRIT before the end of 2021. You do not need to resubmit if your project is already on the BRRIT priority project list. We encourage you to work with the BRRIT to help advance multi-benefit restoration projects in San Francisco Bay. For more information, visit the BRRIT webpage.
BayREN
On Earth Day, BayREN hosted an online workshop titled: Everything You Should Know About Home Energy in 30 Minutes to help Bay Area residents learn about how policy and the market can change energy bills and how they should adapt. Attendees gathered insight on the best ways to address energy costs at home and even how to make their homes healthier and more comfortable. Then, they had the opportunity to choose a breakout room to learn about the programs and resources that best fit their situation. Breakout room topics included Time-of-use rates, upgrading homes and getting rebates, and more. Over 300 Bay Area residents participated in this educational event. Missed the workshop? Watch the recording here.
BayREN's energy programs have provided $55.4 million in incentives and avoided 156 million tons of carbon emissions to date! Learn more about BayREN’s accomplishments in the 2020 Energy Efficiency Annual Report: www.bayren.org/reports.
