Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the 10 Year Housing Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Alameda County outlines 10‑year housing plan, estimates 93,000 needed affordable units
Summary
County housing staff presented a 10‑year plan that recommends 'produce, preserve, protect' strategies and sets a countywide goal of about 93,000 affordable units, including 17,000 for the extremely low‑income; staff estimated a local investment need of roughly $27 billion and said the plan will be released Aug. 1 with a 45‑day public comment period.
Alameda County staff on July 22 presented the proposed 10‑year housing plan and a countywide housing needs assessment that, staff said, will be publicly released on Aug. 1 and opened to a 45‑day comment period.
"What we really need is more affordable housing," Michelle Starett, the county’s housing director, told the Health Committee. Starett framed the county strategy on the three Ps — produce, preserve and protect — and said the plan examines historical drivers of inequality, including redlining and foreclosure-driven investor purchases that have reduced family homeownership and wealth accumulation in Black and brown communities.
Starett said the county’s assessment finds roughly 93,000 affordable units are needed countywide to address current and future needs. That total, she said, includes 17,000 units for households at 0–15% of area median income and additional needs across very low- and low-income categories. Staff also identified approximately 22 new homeless shelter beds needed and highlighted nearly 93,000 low- and very-low-income households who are severely cost-burdened.
Starett presented financial scale estimates: building the 93,000-unit goal would cost on the order of $27,000,000,000 in local-government investment assumptions, though she acknowledged the county does not have that funding and that regional resources (for example, a Bay Area Housing Finance Agency allocation) could be part of the solution. She noted Measure A1 helped build more than 4,500 units, including about 1,200 for extremely low‑income homeless households, but emphasized operating subsidies remain scarce.
Committee members and online commenters asked about homeownership pathways and how the plan addresses continuum-of-care services that support housing stability once people are placed. Starett said those issues are part of the plan and will be included in the public materials and subsequent presentations. She reiterated that housing affordability — loss of income or dramatic cost increases — is the most common proximate cause of homelessness.
Next steps: staff will post the full plan on Aug. 1, accept public comments for 45 days, and then bring the plan to the full Board for discussion and any action.
