1999-06 RHND Executive Summary

The Bay Area's phenomenal growth has led to unprecedented economic prosperity for many of those who live here. However, the region's desirability has made it increasingly expensive. As the gap in wages for workers in highly skilled positions and in the retail and personal services sector has grown, lower wage workers have been left behind—particularly as housing costs have skyrocketed. By the year 2005 the population in the Bay Area is expected to grow by 450,000. Providing sufficient housing for this growth is crucial if we are to maintain the regions social and economic vitality. Already the mismatch between the location of jobs and housing is straining the region's roadways and environment. As the cost for housing near job centers has risen, workers have sought more affordable housing in communities farther and farther away from their jobs, compounding traffic congestion. This trend is not uncommon in many of the booming regions in California.

In order to respond to the growing population and household growth of the state, and ensure the availability of decent affordable housing for all income groups, the State of California enacted law (Government Code Section 65584) that requires each Council of Governments (COG) to periodically distribute the state identified housing need for its region. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is responsible for determining this regional need, initiating the process by which each COG must then distribute their share of statewide need to all jurisdictions within its region.

In anticipation of this process, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) began a seven month process of developing a methodology for distributing the housing need numbers among its members. Beginning in April, an ad hoc Housing Advisory Committee made up of elected officials, planners and housing advocates in the Bay Area, was established to determine a methodology which could allocate a "fair share" approach based on household and job growth of the region. In November, the ABAG Executive Board adopted the final methodology which has been used to distribute the housing need for the 1999-2006 period. Those figures can be found on the 1999-2006 Regional Housing Need section of this website. Once the distribution cycle is completed, each jurisdiction is required by law to incorporate its housing need numbers into an updated version of its general plan housing element. The entire process must be completed by December 30th, 2001.

ABAG's goal for this website is to as ensure a clear understanding of the Regional Housing Needs Distribution process and promote housing opportunities and choices for Bay Area residents. By addressing our region's housing need, we can help sustain the San Francisco Bay Region's quality of life.