By Julia Foote
How can we reconcile the Bay Area's housing crisis while passing scattered vacant lots, commercial buildings adorned with “for sale” signs, and simply too many homeless encampments? Between 2011 and 2015, the region has added only one unit of housing for every eight jobs created — and the influx of new residents isn't going to slow down anytime soon; to accommodate the two million new residents expected by 2040, we need to build 820,000 new homes.
It's a given that we must provide homes for everyone. How and where we build the necessary housing has serious implications for both people and planet. The Bay Chapter advocates for affordable, infill development in "Priority Development Areas" in order to house the growing population in a way that makes sense for people and the environment.
Under a program implemented by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments, local city and county governments throughout the region have identified and approved Priority Development Areas, or PDAs. The goal of PDAs is to tackle the challenges of creating affordable infill housing and reducing driving emissions, which increase as people are displaced further from where they work, shop, and recreate. Over 70 Bay Area local governments have voluntarily designated nearly 200 PDAs, which are intended to accommodate about 80 percent of new housing and over 60 percent of new jobs on less than five percent of the region’s land.
A Bottom-Up Approach
The concept of PDAs is a bottom-up approach to encourage cities and counties to permit and advocate for higher-density development around the region’s transit. With more top-down legislation regarding development coming down the pipeline at the state level (such as the now-dead SB 827), PDAs are a way to incorporate local land use considerations into planning.
Transit-Oriented Development
PDAs aim to concentrate dense development in areas that are transit-rich and near job centers and other amenities. They apply the concept of transit-oriented development, meaning that communities are designed with transit-riders, pedestrians, and cyclists in mind. Compact, dense development not only allows for the creation of more housing units, it also concentrates people near transit hubs and walk-to destinations so that green modes of transportation are utilized and vehicle use decreases. The approach also elevates design considerations so streets are safe and attractive to pedestrians.
The Affordability Challenge
Successful transit-oriented development depends on affordable housing because low-income populations rely heavily on transit. Locating affordable housing within PDAs has a positive impact on transit ridership, reduces car travel, and helps combat displacement. Here in the Bay Area, displacement has hit communities of color, low-income workers, and other vulnerable populations most severely, often forcing these groups out and away from their communities, jobs, and way of life.
The Treat to Open Space
On top of the deep social impacts and injustices of displacement, the mass migration out of urban areas to find less expensive homes increases pressure for sprawl development on open space and agricultural lands. Greenbelt Alliance’s 2017 “At Risk” report found that 293,000 acres of open space in the Bay Area’s greenbelt are in jeopardy of being developed over the next generation, with 63,500 acres at high risk of being developed within the next 10 years. For the health of our people and planet, it’s necessary to protect these natural landscapes and the valuable ecosystem services they provide, such as clean air and water, food, and climate change mitigation.
Challenges for PDAs
PDAs aim to stop this chain reaction by helping cities meet their state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) requirements for the amount of housing units that must be built for different income levels. The major challenge for most cities is meeting targets for low, very low, and extremely low income residents due to a lack of funding for affordable housing. Unfortunately, state and federal governments have pulled back financial support for affordable housing, so local governments are left with the challenge of financing its provision. The majority of affordable housing is now built through inclusionary housing policies that require new developments to include a certain percentage of affordable homes, with that percentage often not being high enough to meet housing goals.
In addition to the challenge of creating enough affordable housing, PDAs have been slow to reach their potential due to other factors such as a lack of planning readiness, infrastructure needs to accommodate additional growth, and the contentious nature of development.
What We're Doing To Help
We advocate for PDAs in order to provide necessary affordable housing, reduce vehicle emissions, and preserve our valuable open spaces. Here’s some of what we’ve been doing lately to help achieve these goals:
We helped to ensure that the transit-oriented Berkeley Way project — an ambitious development for affordable and supportive housing for the homeless in downtown Berkeley — moved forward without minimum parking requirements. This helped the project move along without delay and will help effectively reduce emissions from vehicles.
We also successfully pushed for affordable housing as part a planned development on a parking lot at Lake Merritt BART station, which falls within a PDA. The project had been planned to be primarily commercial and include parking to replace what would be lost by building on the lot. We sent BART a letter advocating for a mixed-use development, and BART's response was to change their plans so that the development is residential and commercial; the housing is 25% affordable; and they won't replace the parking.
Recently, we called on our members to turn out and speak in support of the Habitat for Humanity Las Juntas Way project when it went before the Walnut Creek Planning Commission. This project was approved, and it will provide high density, infill, affordable housing for working families directly across the street from the Pleasant Hill BART station.
In addition to advocacy on specific projects like these, I am working as a full-time organizer to speak with local decision makers, community groups, our members, and residents about the benefits and necessity of infill development within PDAs, while addressing concerns that come with development. I’m researching grant resources, technical assistance programs, policy recommendations, and success stories from other cities to share with those that are falling behind in affordable housing development. Our goal is to help push forward the appropriate development of PDAs to help residents of the Bay Area and the environment alike.
What You Can Do
Come to our upcoming community event and learn how to be an advocate for transit-oriented development!
WHAT: Building Equitable & Sustainable Bay Area Communities
WHEN: Tuesday, June 12, 6 pm
WHERE: National Sierra Club offices in Oakland, 2101 Webster Suite #1300, Yosemite Room
RSVP: bit.ly/transitorientedbayarea
Join the Sierra Club, East Bay Housing Organizations, and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland for a conversation about transit-accessible development, affordable housing, and bikeable/walkable communities. This is an opportunity to discuss the environmental and social aspects of development and learn how to be an advocate for the most equitable and sustainable avenues of development in your community.
You can also reach out to me directly at (510) 848-0800 or julia.foote@sierraclub.org.
Julia Foote is the Bay Chapter’s Community Outreach Coordinator