Transit and housing are inextricably linked. However, in most of the United States, including the Bay Area, public transit cannot live up to its full potential due to a variety of policy decisions over the past half century that have eroded funding.

The Housing Heroes Awards is annual an event to celebrate the leaders who have made exceptional contributions to creating more housing at all levels of affordability and fostering more diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities across the Bay Area and California.

As part of our June 15 How to Implement Upzoning discussion, panelist Stefan Pellegrini from Opticos Design included a compelling presentation about the importance of “Missing Middle” housing and how cities can build more of it.

All of us at HAC were excited to host a very interesting and practical June 16 panel on how to implement upzoning with success starring Professor Karen Chapple (UC Berkeley Urban Displacement Project), Stefan Pelligrini (Opticos Design), Nikki Beasley (Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services), and Rachel Tanner (San Francisco Planning Commission).

Many thanks to everyone who tuned in to Building Momentum: The Housing Action Coalition’s 15th Annual Spring Symposium! If you missed the live event, or want to relive the experience, our program video is now available.

Attention nonprofit housing developers! Longfellow Real Estate Partners is seeking nonprofit housing partner(s) to collaborate with on the development of affordable housing projects in Redwood City as it pursues entitlements for the expansion of its biomedical hub at Redwood Shores.

San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection (DBI) recently led a presentation regarding updates to their permitting process.

On Wednesday, May 26 from 11:45am to 1:30pm, the Housing Action Coalition (HAC) will bring together hundreds of pro-housing organizations, elected officials, and neighbors to hear from local, state, and national leaders about new opportunities and strategies for alleviating the Bay Area and California’s housing shortage, displacement, and affordability crisis. HUD Senior Advisor for Housing and Services Richard Cho will also discuss the Biden Administration’s national initiatives to Build Back Better when it comes to advancing new solutions to address the nation’s accelerating housing crisis. 

With the appointment of former Assemblymember Rob Bonta to California Attorney General, there will be a special election to fill the seat for Assembly for California Assembly District 18 (AD-18). Governor Gavin Newsom declared the primary for this special election will be held on June 29, with the general election to follow on August 31. 

San Francisco may be considered one of the country’s most progressive cities, but you’d never know it by looking at its land use policies. With nearly 75% of SF currently zoned for low density, it is currently illegal to build small fourplex homes in most parts of the city. This explains why our severe housing shortage, displacement, and affordability crisis has only worsened exponentially decade after decade and reveals a wildly irresponsible lack of leadership from our Board of Supervisors.

t’s been a busy several weeks in (virtually) Sacramento as our team has been covering hearings, advocating for and against (but mostly for) 26 pieces of legislation, and closely monitoring numerous other housing and housing-related bills. 

All of us at HAC were excited to mark Earth Day with our Home & Environment conversation and thankful to WoodWorks for making today’s program possible!

From ending exclusionary zoning to legalizing more affordable housing, it’s an especially exciting and promising time to work in housing. The growing movement for more equitable, affordable, and inclusive housing across the Bay Area is why the theme of HAC’s recently-announced Spring Symposium is Building Momentum, and it’s also why everyone at HAC is busier than ever.

The Housing Action Coalition is excited to announce that for the first time in HAC’s history, we’re co-sponsoring a piece of legislation in Sacramento! This is an excellent opportunity to build on our years of advocacy work and collaborate with pro-housing leaders to help build much-needed homes across California.

When President Joe Biden was elected, and HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge was confirmed, housing advocates hoped for a sea change in federal housing policy to address America’s skyrocketing housing shortage and affordability crisis.

Earlier this month, the Housing Action Coalition met with San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. As the supervisor of District 8 (The Castro, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, and Glen Park), Supervisor Mandelman recognizes the need to build more much-needed multi-family housing, especially within his own district. His much-publicized “Monster Homes” legislation will attempt to address just that.

HAC was delighted to host a recent conversation with Oakland Planning Director William Gilchrist, who came to Oakland after years of leading planning departments in New Orleans and Birmingham, about his department’s priorities for the year ahead. 

The Housing Action Coalition recently met with Anne Taupier, Acting Director of the San Francisco Office of Economic & Workforce Development. Working at OEWD since 2009, she brings long-standing experience and dedication to her role, and we were excited to hear her vision for OEWD and thoughts on housing.

HAC was delighted to welcome Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín to a recent Regulatory Committee meeting and discuss his views on housing in Berkeley and the broader Bay Area.

San Francisco’s housing shortage, displacement, and affordability crises have long made national news. But now, only two months into 2021, the media spotlight has turned to our schools and our attention-getting school board.