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.

The Housing Action Coalition (HAC), though our 501(c)(3) education and 501(c)(4) advocacy arms, advocates for building more housing at all levels of affordability to help solve the Bay Area and California’s housing shortage, displacement, and affordability crises. 

HAC recently welcomed Streetlight as a new member and spoke with its founders Jeff Pawlak and Issac Rosenberg about their new venture aimed at helping home builders win approval for their projects.

HAC began 2021 working closely with our partners in the Home Builders Coalition to pinpoint our legislative priorities and enlist support from lawmakers. Now as the Senate and Assembly get ready to begin hearings on housing issues on March 18, below is a (very) short summary of bills we’re actively supporting. 

HAC recently welcomed architect Mark Hogan (OpenScope Studio) and attorney Brett Gladstone (Goldstein, Gellman, Melbostad, Harris & McSparran) to discuss updates to California ADU laws. 

HAC intern extraordinaire Olivia Bergin takes a deep dive into the history of freeways, examines their adverse effects on communities of color, and looks toward the growing momentum for tearing them down and building more vibrant and inclusive communities.  

All of us at HAC are pleased to share our latest video: How to Make the Most of Your HAC Membership, a conversation with HAC Board members, HAC team members, and HAC business members about ways to maximize your member experience. Whether you’re a new HAC member, haven’t been active in a while, or are thinking of becoming a member, this program is for you!

Despite the many challenges this year presented, we’re proud to have accomplished a great deal and pleased to share our 2020 Year in Review.

While 2020 was not at all what we had hoped for in terms of housing progress in Sacramento, we’re both prepared for and optimistic about advancing pro-housing legislation in the year ahead.