Rules and Legislation Committee - Cancelled
December 8, 2022

2023-2031 Housing Element

PUBLIC HEARING DRAFT
January 2023
City of Oakland EXHIBIT A:1
Prepared by:

Prepared for:

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� I 1� INTRODUCTION ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1

1.1 Purpose of the Housing Element ......................................................................................................... 8

1.2 Oakland’s Housing Approach .................................................................................................................. 13

1.3 Organization and Summary of the Housing Element .............................................................. 15

1.4 Relationship to Other General Plan Elements .............................................................................. 18

1.5 Sources of Information ................................................................................................................................ 19 2� PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 23

2.1 Summary of Community Outreach Activities .............................................................................. 24

2.2 Public Participation Themes ................................................................................................................... 33 3� SUMMARY OF THE HOUSING SITES INVENTORY 37

3.1 Regional Housing Needs Allocation ................................................................................................... 38

3.2 Capacity to Accommodate the RHNA .............................................................................................. 39

3.3 Assessing Housing Sites Through a Fair Housing Lens .......................................................... 45 4� HOUSING ACTION PLAN ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 49

4.1 Goals, Policies, and Actions ..................................................................................................................... 50 Goal 1. Protect Oakland Residents from Displacement and Prevent Homelessness ..... 51 Goal 2. Preserve and Improve Existing Affordable Housing Stock ............................................. 59 Goal 3. Close the Gap Between Affordable and Market-Rate Housing Production by Expanding Affordable Housing Opportunities .............................................................. 66 Goal 4. Address Homelessness and Expand Services for the Unhoused ............................... 99 Goal 5. Promote Neighborhood Stability and Health ......................................................................... 110

4.2 Quantified Objectives ............................................................................................................................... 121 i
Executive Summary
Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Executive Summary
The Housing Element includes five specific goals
with associated programs that are priorities for
the City of Oakland. The goals were developed
through a careful review of community input from
each of the outreach and engagement sessions
listed in Chapter 2 and is further informed by the
comprehensive analysis of housing production
capacity, constraints analysis and other topics
covered throughout the Housing Element
appendices.

Many of Oakland’s existing housing programs
will be carried forward, but there are many new
actions, that are shown in blue , that address the
city’s housing needs that are added to the Housing
Element.

Oakland’s 2023-2031 Housing Element is a plan
that presents goals, policies, and actions to address
Oakland’s need for more affordable homes and
to promote integrated, vibrant communities.

By expanding housing options in more affluent
neighborhoods and reinvesting in less affluent
neighborhoods, the Housing Element will
affirmatively further fair housing for all Oaklanders.

The Housing Element takes significant action
to address urgent community needs, including
protecting Oakland residents from displacement,
improving Oakland’s existing housing stock,
expanding affordable housing opportunities,
expanding resources for the unhoused, and
promoting neighborhood stability and health.
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Executive Summary
Goal 1� Protect Oakland
Residents from Displacement
and Prevent Homelessness
The Housing Element protects Oakland tenants
from displacement and creates conditions that
enable them to remain in their homes and
communities.
• Action 1.1.1: Continue to Implement the Rent
Adjustment Ordinance.
• Action 1�1�2: Enforce Just Cause for Eviction
measures�
• Action 1.1.3: Enforce and Strengthen Ellis Act
protections.
• Action 1�1�4: Implement tenant relocation
measures�
• Action 1�1�5: Implement a right to counsel in
Rent Adjustment Program proceedings�
• Action 1.1.6: Enhance housing related legal
services
• Action 1�1�7: Expand our ability to enforce
rent control to maintain affordability�
• Action 1�1�8: Monitor neighborhood
displacement
• Action 1�1�9: Implement a rental housing
registry�
• Action 1.1.10: City Enforcement of the Tenant
Protection Ordinance (TPO).
• Action 1�1�11: Enforce the tenant right to
return and protections from coercive
buyouts�
• Action 1�1�12: Provide a local preference in
affordable housing projects
• Action 1�1�13: Negotiate for appropriate
community benefits during development
agreement approvals for major entitlements
and use of City land�
• Action 1.1.14: Protect Oakland residents from
displacement and becoming homeless.

Goal 2� Preserve and Improve
Existing Housing Stock
The Housing Element conserves and improves the
affordability of existing housing stock in Oakland
and addresses substandard conditions.
• Action 2.1.1: Support home rehabilitation
programs.
• Action 2.1.2: Promote healthy homes and lead-
safe housing.
• Action 2�1�3: Conduct proactive rental
inspections�
• Action 2.1.4: Support historic preservation and
rehabilitation.
• Action 2�1�5: Implement universal design
strategies
• Action 2�1�6: Increase funding for improved
indoor air quality�
• Action 2.2.1: Continue to implement resale
controls on assisted housing.
• Action 2.2.2: Enforce, monitor, and preserve
affordable housing covenants with an
emphasis on “at-risk” units.
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City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
• Action 2.2.3: Enforce residential demolition and
conversion restrictions for residential hotels.
• Action 2.2.4: Limit condominium conversions.
• Action 2.2.5: Extend local replacement unit
provisions.
• Action 2�2�6: Reduce short-term home
purchases/sales (i�e�, “house flipping”)
to ensure affordability and prevent
displacement�
• Action 2�2�7: Provide additional subsidy for
residential hotels�
• Action 2�2�8: Investigate a Tenant/
Community Opportunity to Purchase Act�
Goal 3� Close the Gap Between
Affordable and Market-
Rate Housing Production by
Expanding Affordable Housing
Opportunities
The Housing Element facilitates the production
of housing for extremely low, very low, low, and
moderate-income households. In addition to
increased production generally, the Housing
Element provides a diversity of housing types,
ownership opportunities, living arrangements, and
features supportive of special needs. The Housing
Element locates new housing to further access to
opportunity (while simultaneously investing in and
protecting tenants in disinvested communities)
and removes constraints to affordable housing
development.
• Action 3�1�1: Develop a project-based rental
or operating subsidy program for extremely-
low-income residents�
• Action 3�1�2: Align and target Oakland
Housing Authority Section 8 Vouchers
for permanent supportive housing and
extremely-low-income units�
• Action 3�2�1: Develop zoning standards to
encourage missing middle and multi-unit
housing types in currently single-family-
dominated neighborhoods, including flats,
duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes/
rowhouses, and ADUs
• Action 3�2�2: Promote and protect live/work
housing and housing for artists
• Action 3.2.3: Promote flexibility in adaptive
reuse to increase the housing stock.
• Action 3�2�4: Provide financial incentives for
lower-income homeowners to legalize ADUs
• Action 3�2�5: Reduce constraints to the
development of ADUs
• Action 3�2�6: Monitor affordability of
permitted ADUs
• Action 3�2�7: Proactive Short-Term Rental
Enforcement
• Action 3.3.1: Sale or ground-lease of City-owned
property for affordable housing.
• Action 3.3.2: Expansion of Section 8 vouchers.
• Action 3.3.3: City of Oakland Emergency Rental
Assistance Program.
• Action 3�3�4: Development of permanent
housing affordable to extremely-low-income
(ELI) households on public land�
• Action 3�3�5: Implement an affordable
housing overlay�
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Executive Summary
• Action 3.3.6: Access to low-cost financing for
development.
• Action 3�3�7: Study the targeted
implementation of an inclusionary housing
requirement
• Action 3�3�8: Right-sized development fees
on market-rate developments
• Action 3�3�9: Adjusting or waiving City fees
and payment timing for affordable housing
developments�
• Action 3�3�10: Consider a citywide Enhanced
Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD)
• Action 3�3�11: Support innovations by design
• Action 3.3.12: Continue the Acquisition and
Conversion to Affordable Housing (ACAH)
Program.
• Action 3.3.13: Expand availability of
predevelopment funding and low-cost debt
products for affordable housing development.
• Action 3�3�14: Evaluate the creation of
a leveraged acquisition fund or debt/
equity funds for small sites to support site
acquisitions for affordable housing
• Action 3.3.15: Continue and expand density
bonus incentives.
• Action 3�3�16: Analyze the Real Estate
Transfer Tax structure and its current effect
on the Affordable Housing subsidy and the
effect on the General Purpose Fund
• Action 3.3.17: Support low-income, grassroots,
and BIPOC affordable housing developers.
• Action 3�3�18: Implement affordable housing
investments contained in Measure U
• Action 3�3�19: Sites Inventory and Fair
Housing Accomplishments Tracking
Program
• Action 3�4�1: Revise development standards,
including allowable building heights,
densities, open space and setback
requirements
• Action 3�4�2: Study the Relationship Between
Zoning and Racial Segregation as Part of the
Phase 2 General Plan Update
• Action 3�4�3: Revise Conditional Use Permit
(CUP) requirements
• Action 3�4�4: Revise citywide parking
standards
• Action 3�4�5: Revise open space
requirements
• Action 3�4�6: Correct zoning district
boundaries that cut through parcels
• Action 3�4�7: Capture the diversity of existing
built fabric in zoning
• Action 3�4�8: Implement objective design
standards
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City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
• Action 3.4.9: Implement new ADU standards
that streamline approvals and address
unpermitted units.
• Action 3�4�10: Implement a Housing Sites
Overlay Zone to permit sites included in the
Housing Sites Inventory to develop with
affordable housing by right
• Action 3�4�11: Promote educator and/or
student housing on public land by reviewing
the zoning and General Plan designations of
Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and
Peralta Community College District-owned
sites for consistency with housing
• Action 3�5�1: Support community land trusts
and other shared equity model
• Action 3�5�2: Support housing cooperatives,
co-living, and cohousing models
• Action 3�5�3: Advocate for statewide
legislation on social housing
• Action 3�5�4: Monitor and consider adopting
shallow subsidy programs for lower-income
households
• Action 3�5�5: Study Feasibility of Single-Stair
Residential Buildings
• Action 3�6�1: Streamline the City permitting
process, especially for low-income and
nonprofit builders
• Action 3�6�2: Provide increased flexibility in
development standards
• Action 3�6�3: Expand by-right approvals and
implement entitlement reform for affordable
housing
• Action 3�6�4: Continue SB 35 streamlining
and encourage projects to use it�
• Action 3.6.5: Continue one-stop and online
permitting services.
• Action 3�7�1: Incentivize the development
of senior housing and provide financial
assistance to developers of housing for
seniors and persons with special needs�
• Action 3.7.2: Provide housing for persons with
HIV/AIDS.
• Action 3.7.3: Accessible units in new housing
developments.
• Action 3.7.4: Implement the sponsor-based
Housing Assistance Program.
• Action 3�7�5: Encourage a range of unit sizes
for affordable housing that matches local
household needs and family sizes
• Action 3�7�6: Expand areas where rooming
units and efficiency units are permitted by
right
• Action 3�7�7: Amend Planning Code to
comply with the Employee Housing Act
• Action 3�7�8: Expand areas where Residential
Care Facilities are permitted by right
• Action 3�8�1: Continue to implement the
Vacant Property Tax (VPT)
• Action 3�8�2: Encourage the conversion of
vacant ground floor commercial space to
residential uses in appropriate locations
• Action 3�8�3: Tax vacant residential rental
units
• Action 3.8.4: Continue the Oakland Community
Buying Program and support scattered site
acquisition efforts.
• Action 3.8.5: Partner with Alameda County Tax
Collector to redevelop tax defaulted properties.
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Executive Summary
GOAL 4� Address Homelessness
and Expand Resources for the
Unhoused
The Housing Element recognizes housing as a
human right and reduces homelessness through
Housing First approaches and support coordination
across the spectrum, from homelessness prevention
to transitional housing/shelter and services to
permanent housing with resources for long-term
support.
• Action 4�1�1: Expand, improve, and maintain
crisis response beds
• Action 4�1�2: Expand, improve, and maintain
crisis response beds, especially for unsheltered
communities of color
• Action 4�1�3: Expand health and hygiene
facilities and services and improve access to
bathrooms and showers�
• Action 4�1�4: Provide needed support and
income to people who have been homeless so
they can avoid returning to homelessness�
• Action 4�2�1: Enhance operations of the City’s
2020 Encampment Management Policy
• Action 4�2�2: Lead strategic homelessness
response operations and homeless services
from the Homelessness Division, Office of the
City Administrator
• Action 4�2�3: Strengthen interdepartmental
Encampment Management Team
• Action 4�2�4: Increase the oversight of
homelessness strategies, investments,
outcomes, and encampment operations with
Commission on Homelessness�
• Action 4�2�5: Expand co-governance and
partnerships with unsheltered residents in the
design and delivery of homelessness services�
• Action 4�3�1: Finance the construction and
maintenance of permanent supportive and
deeply affordable housing for homeless
households to expand the supply of deeply
affordable and supportive housing for
Oakland’s most vulnerable residents�
• Action 4�3�2: Streamline approval for
modular developments to provide quality
shelter quickly to address the scale of the
crisis
• Action 4�3�3: Remove regulatory constraints
to the development of transitional housing
and supportive housing
• Action 4�3�4: Ensure that the authority
provided by the City’s Shelter Crisis
Ordinance and Declaration of a Local
Emergency regarding Homelessness
remains in place until public health and
safety concerns no longer persist
• Action 4�3�5: Provide development standards
for low barrier navigation centers
• Action 4.3.6: Expand opportunities for the
permitting of emergency shelters
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City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
GOAL 5: Promote
Neighborhood Stability and
Health
The Housing Element promotes resilient
development in safe, healthy, and just communities.

It also increases resources in disinvested
communities and create long-time stability
through homeownership opportunities.
• Action 5.1.1: Provide first-time homebuyer
programs.
• Action 5.1.2: Expand access to low-cost
financing for home purchase.
• Action 5.1.3: Provide paths to homeownership
for Section 8 voucher holders.
• Action 5�2�1: Protect against smoke and
wildfire�
• Action 5.2.2: Promote infill, transit-oriented
development (TOD), and mixed-use
development.
• Action 5�2�3: Study options to provide
financing for the remediation of
environmentally contaminated sites, with
priority for affordable projects�
• Action 5�2�4: Secure funding from the
State’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities (AHSC) Program�
• Action 5.2.5: Encourage earthquake-resilient
housing.
• Action 5.2.6: Encourage climate-resilient
housing.
• Action 5�2�7: Consider the adoption of a
disaster reconstruction overlay zone
• Action 5�2�8: Encourage new affordable
housing in higher resource neighborhoods
• Action 5�2�9: Prioritize improvements to
meet the needs of low-resourced and
disproportionately burdened communities�
• Action 5�2�10: Promote the development of
mixed-income housing to reduce income-
based concentration
• Action 5.2.11: Provide accountability measures
for housing programs, including annual
monitoring.
• Action 5.3.1: Provide fair housing services and
outreach.
• Action 5.3.2: Promote awareness of predatory
lending practices.
• Action 5�3�3: Provide targeted outreach and
support to disproportionately burdened
groups and areas�
1 Chapter 1: Introduction
1� Introduction
INTRODUCTION01
1�1 Purpose of the Housing Element
1�2 Oakland’s Housing Approach
1�3 Organization and Summary of the Housing Element
1�4 Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
1�5 Sources of Information
2 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
1� Introduction
This General Plan presents the City of Oakland’s
strategy and commitment for how it will meet
the housing needs of the community over the
next 8 years (covering the years 2023-2031). In
the face of a crushing regional housing crisis, the
task is formidable, but essential: to make quality
housing opportunities available to all Oakland
residents through the Protection, Preservation,
and Production of homes, and to address systemic
housing inequity.

Preparation of this Housing Element comes at
a time of challenge and uncertainty for many
Oaklanders. It comes amid a global pandemic, a
renewed call for racial justice after the murder of
George Floyd, and economic and global security
uncertainty. It comes while Oakland has imposed
one of the strongest eviction moratoriums in the
State, and it comes at a moment when the world
moves closer to the tipping point of irreversible
climate change. All of these systemic challenges
play a vital role in the current and future shape
of housing for individuals and families who call
Oakland home.

The actions in this Housing Element also account
for Oakland’s production of affordable and market
rate housing over the previous eight-year Housing
Element period. The California legislature has
found that the state of California has accumulated
an unmet housing backlog of nearly 2,000,000
1 See California Government Code Section 65589.5, subdivision (a)(2). units and must provide for at least 180,000 new
units annually to keep pace with growth through
2025.1 Over the last eight years, Oakland produced
sufficient housing units to meet its share of the
overall state-mandated housing production goals.

Many other cities throughout the state fell short of
their assigned goals, which exacerbates the current
housing affordability crisis and creates additional
displacement forces on cities like Oakland.

However, Oakland’s housing production skewed
significantly toward market-rate development and
fell short of producing sufficient affordable housing.

This Housing Element explores why this occurred
and focuses actions on increasing affordable
housing production to address this imbalance.

The 2023-2031 Housing Element finds that there
are sufficient parcels of land under existing zoning
regulations to meet the City’s assigned eight-year
housing production goals, and that these sites
are zoned at a sufficiently high density so as to
not preclude affordable housing development.

Nevertheless, this Housing Element additionally
concludes that even if the land is available for
housing development, this is only one necessary
factor to create an environment where affordable
housing is constructed at sufficient levels. Given
the shortfall in affordable housing production over
the previous eight-year period, there is little reason
to expect different results over the next eight
years unless constraints are removed, incentives
are added, and additional funding sources are
identified. This Housing Element seeks to do that.

Finally, the Housing Element’s actions are also
3 Chapter 1: Introduction
proposed in the context of the longer historical
patterns of segregation and exclusion that have
resulted in racial and geographic disparities
throughout the region and within the City of
Oakland. It is not by accident or coincidence that
Oakland has historically had more Black residents
and more lower income residents than other cities
in Alameda County. Nor is it a coincidence that
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and
lower income residents disproportionately live in
the Oakland flatlands and disproportionately not in
single-family neighborhoods north of Highway 580.

The historic factors that led to this segregation are
numerous and can be difficult to untangle, but
it is clear that the City has an obligation to undo
these patterns of past harms by taking affirmative
steps to further fair housing opportunities for all
residents. Again, looking at the past eight-year
period, it is apparent that the majority of new
housing development occurred in neighborhoods
targeted for new development such as the
Broadway Valdez area, Downtown, West Oakland,
and other major transit corridors. These patterns
of growth may be appropriate for purposes
of creating transit-oriented development and
reducing automobile reliance, but without
other actions also serve to maintain the existing
exclusivity of other neighborhoods. This Housing
Element recognizes that the City’s obligation
to affirmatively further fair housing compels
the City to redress the fact that some Oakland
neighborhoods were purposefully designed to be
exclusive, and preserved that exclusivity through
racial covenants, unfair mortgage lending
practices, and exclusionary zoning. The Housing
Element proposes actions to reverse those trends.
2 Mitchell Schwarzer, Hella Town: Oakland’s History of Development and Disruption , (Oakland: University of California Press, 2021). 3 City of Oakland, “Environmental Justice and Racial Equity Baseline.” March 2022. Access available at https://cao-94612. s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Equity-Baseline_revised4.15.22.pdf

LEARNING FROM THE PAST
What does it mean to call Oakland “home”?
Oakland’s current housing landscape tells the story
of struggle, of systemic forces that have shaped the
neighborhood geography of opportunity. To chart
an equitable path forward, Oakland’s history must
be examined and addressed. In particular, Oakland
and other governmental entities that influence
fair housing choice must affirmatively further
fair housing by creating policies that increase
affordable housing in high-resource neighborhoods
that were formed through exclusionary policies
and must also bring additional resources to under-
resourced neighborhoods.

The land that is now Oakland is the ancestral home
of the Ohlone indigenous group who were stewards
of the oak and redwood forests, grasslands, and
marshlands that make up the coastal region of
central and northern California for thousands
of years. The arrival of Spanish missionaries in
the 1760s and subsequent periods of Spanish
colonization, Mexican settlement, and American
urbanization of the Ohlone region greatly shifted
the cultural and physical landscape. Nevertheless,
this land continues to be of great importance to the
Ohlone people.2
Oakland has historically been a destination for
working people and immigrants who sought out its
abundant industrial jobs and relatively affordable
neighborhoods. Many of these places, including
Chinatown, West Oakland, and East Oakland,
formed into cultural and ethnic enclaves as a
result of segregationist and racially discriminatory
policies and practices, including exclusionary
single-family zoning (see ‘Constraints’ chapter
for more information). 3 Government-sponsored
“white flight” suburbanization during the early
1930s, followed by disinvestment and takings in
neighborhoods of color, created socioeconomic
and geographic lines that were further delineated
4 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
by redlining (a federally sanctioned practice during
the 1930s of denying mortgages in communities
of color) and racially restrictive covenants. 4 In
the 1950s and 1960s, urban renewal cut through
these disinvested areas to build new high-rises
and transportation infrastructure that displaced
many low-income residents and residents of color.

Segregation pressures and private developer
interests prevented additional expansions of public
housing, and Hope VI initiatives to replace larger
public housing projects decreased the overall
number of rent-subsidized units, particularly in
West Oakland. During the period between 1960
to 1966 alone, 11,800 housing units were razed in
Oakland to make room for freeways, BART projects,
new public housing, and other urban renewal
developments.5
4 Just Cities, East Oakland Displacement Status and Impacts from the BRT Project Summary: A Racial Equity Planning and Policy Justice Report for OakDOT’s East Oakland Mobility Action Plan, June 2021, https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/ EOMAP-Appendix-2.pdf , accessed March 16, 2022.
5 See Oakland City Planning Department, Oakland’s Housing Supply: Cost, Condition, Composition, 1960-1966. 6 “East Oakland Displacement Status and Impacts from the BRT Project Summary.” n.d. Oakland: Just Cities. https://cao-94612. s3.amazonaws.com/documents/EOMAP-Appendix-2.pdf .

Since the late 1990s, Oakland has seen an
increase in real estate investment, which has had
both positive and negative effects. In the years
leading up to the 2008 housing crash and Great
Recession, banks engaged in a process referred
to as “reverse redlining” where predatory lending
practices and subprime loans were targeted in the
same neighborhoods that were once marked as
off-limits for borrowers in the 1950s. 6 This activity
resulted in waves of foreclosures in East and West
Oakland. A significant number of these foreclosed
properties were then acquired by investors,
and once-affordable and stable homes flipped
overnight into market-rate rentals. An influx of
private capital, in part due to efforts like the City’s 10K plan to revitalize the urban core with infill,
market-rate housing, has reinvigorated downtown

5 Chapter 1: Introduction
and uptown. 7 The 10K plan aimed to attract new
residents, often with higher salaries than existing
communities, to spend incomes at commercial
establishments downtown. At the same time as
this influx, rising housing prices and a lack of new
affordable options created waves of residential
and commercial gentrification, especially in
North and West Oakland and Chinatown, with a
growing pattern of displacement in East Oakland.8
Massive regional job growth, particularly in the
technology sector, coupled with the lack of supply
of housing in other cities to keep up, sent waves
of new residents to the East Bay in search of
more affordable homes. 9 The impacts of lack of
regional supply rippled through other residential
areas of the city, where communities of color faced
greater vulnerability to rising housing costs than
white residents. 10 California’s Costa Hawkins Law,
passed in 1995, also exempted newly constructed
units and single-family homes from rent control
and effectively banned local vacancy control laws,
exacerbating displacement and socioeconomic
exclusion in the city. 11 Generational economic
and housing discrimination continues to impact
Oakland residents: significant disparities remain
7 Ibid.
8 See generally Owens, Darrell, Discourse Lounge, “Where Did All the Black People in Oakland Go?”, September 8, 2021. https:// darrellowens.substack.com/p/where-did-all-the-black-people-in , accessed February 21, 2022. See also City of Oakland, “Economic Trends and Prospects, Baseline Analysis for Oakland General Plan”, Commute Trends and Workforce Characteristics, pp. 9-16. Access available at https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Economic_Trends_Prospects_EPS_2022.06.02.pdf 9 Mitchell Schwarzer, Hella Town: Oakland's History of Development and Disruption (University of California Press, 2021). 10 “East Oakland Displacement Status and Impacts from the BRT Project Summary.” n.d. Oakland: Just Cities. https://cao-94612. s3.amazonaws.com/documents/EOMAP-Appendix-2.pdf .
11 Wolfe, T. California’s Affordability and Displacement Crisis: The Role of the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act. UC Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy, 2016. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c09723c55b02cf724c3d340/t/5d51 7d8db0194b0001a1e29b/1565621653633/Displacement_Dellums_FINAL_022617 .pdf 12 Menendian, S., Gambhir, S. and Gailes, A. “Racial Segregation in the San Francisco Bay Area, Part 5: Remedies, Solutions, and Targets. The Othering and Belonging Institute, 2020. Accessed October 31, 2022 at https://belonging.berkeley.edu/racial- segregation-san-francisco-bay-area-part-5
13 Nguyen, T. et al. Housing Habitability and Health: Oakland’s Hidden Crisis: A Report on Childhood Lead and Asthma by Alameda County Public Health. 2018. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://www.acgov.org/cda/lead/documents/news/ health,housinginoakland.pdf
14 Oakland 2022 Point-in-Time Count: Unsheltered and Sheltered Report. EveryOneHome. Accessed November 18, 2022. https:// everyonehome.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Oakland-PIT-2022-Infographic-Report.pdf in home ownership, household incomes, and
health outcomes that are tied to race, income,
neighborhood poverty level, and housing status,
among other social and environmental conditions.12, 13
Nowhere has the impacts of these changes
been more visible than on Oakland’s streets,
as homelessness increased by 83 percent from
2017 to 2022. 14 Although the individual causes
for homelessness are complex, there are key
structural reasons why Oakland has one of the
worst homelessness crises in America. These
reasons include structural racism, unstable rental
markets for tenants, systemic barriers to housing
for the formerly incarcerated, a lack of living wage
job opportunities, and, above all else, a catastrophic
shortage of deeply affordable homes. Another
vital truth is that the impacts of homelessness
compound over time- the longer someone is
homeless, the worse the impacts on physical and
mental health, social and family networks, and the
ability to find, maintain, and sustain permanent
housing.

The direct and indirect displacement of residents in
these areas, driven by the heated and inequitable
6 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
housing market, threatens not only individual
households but also the cultural identity and
viability of these communities. From 2000 to
2019, Oakland lost nearly 30 percent of its Black
population and significant numbers of long-
time Asian Americans residing in ethnic enclaves
including Chinatown.15 The COVID-19 pandemic has
highlighted and exacerbated racial and economic
disparities in housing security; the pandemic has
also shown the public health consequences of
Oakland’s housing disparities. 16 The consequence
of Oakland‘s complex history has and continues
to shape the city’s built environment, including
the distribution, types, affordability, and quality of
housing in Oakland.

Today, Oakland has grown to be the largest city in
Alameda County and the busiest port in Northern
California. Neighboring cities include Berkeley
and Emeryville to the north, San Leandro to the
south, Alameda across the Oakland Estuary, and
Piedmont surrounded by Oakland. San Francisco is
located just 12 miles west across the San Francisco
Bay, connected by Interstate 80 (I-80). Oakland
is known for its diverse geography, including 19
miles of bay and estuary coastline to the west, the
Oakland/Berkeley Hills to the east, and Lake Merritt,
a tidal lagoon located within the city’s borders.
15 American Community Survey (ACS) (2014-2018); U.S. Census 2000, 2010; Urban Displacement Project, 2021. 16 “City of Oakland HCD 2021-2023 Strategic Action Plan City of Oakland Housing & Community Development Department 2021-2023 Strategic Action Plan.” n.d. Accessed May 9, 2022. https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/HCD.final.21-21Strategic-Plan. pdf.

CHARTING AN EQUITABLE,

INCLUSIVE FUTURE
With the legacy of inequity top of mind, the City
has begun planning for a more equitable future. In
2016, the City established the Department of Race
and Equity with a mission “to advance the creation
of a city where diversity has been maintained, racial
disparities have been eliminated, and racial equity
has been achieved.” The Department of Race and
Equity is particularly concerned with making a
difference in the determinants of equity that lead to
creation of a fair and just society, including housing.

In 2018, the department published the Equity
Indicators Report , which serves as a baseline
quantitative framework that can be used by City
staff and community members alike to better
understand the impacts of policy on racial
groups and measure inequities. In 2022, the
City declared racism a public health crisis and in
response has provided funding for additional staff
in the Department of Race and Equity to track
performance and equity progress.

The work of the Department of Race and Equity
informs the City of Oakland’s Department
of Housing and Community Development’s
(Oakland HCD) 2021-2023 Strategic Action Plan.

This plan is informed by past analyses, planning,
and accomplishments such as the 2016 “Oakland
At Home: Recommendations for Implementing A
Roadmap Toward Equity from the Oakland Housing
Cabinet,” and applies a race and equity lens to the
City’s housing investments and services in wake of
the public health, fiscal, and social crises caused by
COVID-19. In practice, this includes:
• Transparent and regular reporting on outcomes
disaggregated by race;
• Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant,
accessible information provided in multiple
languages;
7 Chapter 1: Introduction
• Anti-displacement and housing production
programs, policies, and initiatives focused on
the most impacted vulnerable populations;
• Access and opportunity pathways to and for
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
developers, service providers, and other
contractors to the resources the City has to
offer in the conduct of its housing work.

The 2021-2023 Strategic Action Plan also details
a series of specific actions and policies Oakland
HCD will pursue as part of a broader strategy to
protect residents from displacement, preserve
existing affordable housing - both subsidized and
unsubsidized, and produce new affordable housing.

Community-based organizations, many of whom
have been leading housing justice efforts for
decades, are also shaping housing goals rooted
in racial equity. Oakland residents, community
organizations, developers, and government
partners created the Healthy Development
Guidelines (HDG) with the intent of establishing a
shared vision of a healthy, equitable community.

The guidelines promote policies, goals, and
development guidelines that strengthen
environmental justice, sustainability, health,
and racial equity in Oakland. In particular, the
guidelines are intended to empower residents to
address planning, policy, and public health issues in
Oakland, so that no neighborhood or demographic
group is unduly burdened by development that
exacerbates health disparities, economic inequality,
or access to open space. A City Council resolution
recognized the guidelines, which commended
the coalition for their collaborative and engaging
partnership with the community.

The East Oakland Neighborhood Initiative
(EONI) is a collaborative partnership between
the City of Oakland and CBOs leveraging the
Transformative Climate Communities grant
administered by California’s Strategic Growth
Council. The EONI plan is a community-driven
plan for a just transition to a regenerative economy
for East Oakland, led by frontline communities,
to strengthen the health, wealth, and resilience
of East Oakland neighborhoods in the face of
displacement and climate impacts. The plan is
focused on five goals: reduce greenhouse gases,
prevent displacement, improve public health, build
economic empowerment, and plan “by and with”
the community.

The East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative ,
highlights anti-displacement among their plan
goals, noting that improvements recommended in
the plan must not drive out existing residents by
inadvertently increasing the cost of housing. This is
achieved in part through local wealth creation, well-
crafted policies, and mainstreaming of affordability
vehicles.

Goals, Policies, and Actions included in the
Housing Action Plan seek to overcome patterns of
segregation, foster inclusive communities free from
barriers that restrict access to opportunity and
housing, and close the gap between market rate &
affordable housing by prioritizing preservation and
development of housing for those of the greatest
need, including Black & Brown households.

The global climate crisis will also have profound
impacts on—among other things—housing
security and availability in Oakland. To address
the climate crisis, the City released the Oakland
2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP) in July
2020. The ECAP is the City’s strategy to create a
Healthy Development
Guideline Goals
Two of the HDG’s goals include enhancing
access to affordable housing, particularly
for vulnerable populations; preserving
existing affordable housing and protecting
residents from involuntary displacement.
8 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
future built on justice, equal opportunity, and
environmental protection. Among the list of
Transportation and Land Use (TLU) actions in the
ECAP is TLU-3, “Take Action to Reduce and Prevent
Displacement of Residents & Businesses.” TLU-3
explicitly links anti-displacement efforts to climate
equity action, as the City can only achieve its ECAP
goals if Oaklanders are able to fully participate in,
and benefit from, climate action without fear of
displacement and homelessness.

The City is also undertaking an update to its Land
Use and Transportation Element of the General
Plan, in tandem with this Housing Element, to
promote a land use pattern and policies that will
help accelerate and target housing production.

Like many other Bay Area cities, nearly every
property in Oakland has been developed, with
few “greenfield” (not yet developed) sites within
its limits or at its borders, meaning that housing
development will primarily rely on development
and redevelopment of “infill” sites. Within the
city limit, there are approximately 29,700 acres
(46.4 square miles) of land, including residential,
commercial, and industrial developments, as well
as public facilities, including parks, schools, and an
international airport. The Housing Element applies
to land within city limits, depicted in Figure 1-1.
1�1 Purpose of the Housing
Element
TThe 2023-2031 Oakland Housing Element is one
component of a larger effort: an update to the
City of Oakland General Plan. The General Plan
Update will create Oakland’s 2045 General Plan
and is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for all
Oaklanders to work together to create a visionary
blueprint for the city’s future over the next 20 years.

The Oakland 2045 General Plan will be made up
of several “elements” covering a wide range of
topics important to the future of Oakland, including
environmental justice, land use, transportation,
open space, noise, conservation, and safety.

The 2023-2031 Housing Element sets forth the
City’s housing priorities and goals—as well as its
vision for both short- and long-term development—
to create a fair and just city. The actions proposed
by this Housing Element cover a wide range
of housing issues but are largely focused on
addressing two major issues: the City’s shortfall of
housing production and affirmatively undoing past
patterns of exclusivity. State law mandates that the
Environmental Justice and
Racial Equity Baseline
The Environmental Justice and Racial
Equity Baseline , published in March 2022,
identifies and details disparities by race
and by geography that can be influenced
directly or indirectly by the General
Plan. The findings in the Environmental
Justice and Racial Equity Baseline
identify environmental justice and racial
equity existing conditions and inform
conversations between City staff and
members of the public. In parallel with
the Housing Element, this baseline will be
used as a starting place for policymaking
related to environmental justice, safe and
sanitary housing, and other community
equity issues.

March 2022
Oakland 2045
Environmental
Justice and
Racial Equity
Baseline

1 92
92 84
1 35
101
101
101
280
101
13 61
238
24 101
101
880
880
580
980
580
80 80
280
280
380
880
580
185
1 131
123
82 82
82 Belmont
Brisbane
Burlingame
Colma
Daly
City
Foster
CityHillsborough
Millbrae
Pacifica
SanBruno
San Carlos
San
Mateo
SouthSanFrancisco
Montara
Greenbrae
Larkspur
Corte
Madera
Mill
Valley
Tiburon
Sausalito
Richmond
El Cerrito
Berkeley
Emeryville
Oakland
Albany
Orinda
Moraga
Alameda
San Leandro
Lafayette
Piedmont
San Francisco
Oakland
International
Airport
San Lorenzo

SS AA NN FF RR AA NN CC II SS CC OO

MM AA RR II NN

CC OO NN TT RR AA

CC OO SS TT AA

AA LL AA MM EE DD AA

SS AA NN

MM AA TT EE OO
Pacific
Ocean
San
Francisco
Bay
Lake
Merritt
MILES
4208
Figure 1-1: Regional Location
BART Freeway State Route Major Road
Figure 1-1: Regional Map
10 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Housing Element be updated every eight years to
reflect changing conditions, community objectives,
and goals. The key components of the Housing
Element include an evaluation of whether the City
has sufficient zoned capacity to accommodate
required housing production at all affordability
levels, an assessment of whether the geographic
distribution of that capacity will either further
entrench or help to ameliorate existing patterns
of segregation, and finally a set of programs and
policies to address shortfalls and reduce identified
constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and
development of housing.

HOUSING ELEMENT: COMPONENTS
In California, all cities must adopt a General Plan
composed of at least seven elements, including the
Housing Element. All cities must also incorporate
environmental justice into the General Plan.

Oakland has chosen to adopt an Environmental
Justice Element while also incorporating
environmental justice goals into each element,
including the Housing Element. The Oakland
Housing Element, in tandem with the rest of the
General Plan Update, is designed to assess and
shape the community’s housing progress and
needs. In accordance with State law, the Housing
Element must include:
• A description of outreach conducted in
preparation of the element;
• An analysis of progress in implementing the
previous Housing Element and effectiveness of
its programs and actions;
• An assessment of existing and projected
housing needs;
• An analysis of special housing needs, such
as those of older adults and people with
disabilities;
• An analysis of existing assisted housing units
at risk of conversion from affordable to market-
rate;
• An analysis and inventory of resources and
constraints relevant to meeting housing needs;
• An affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH)
analysis, which guides the analysis of each set
of requirements;
• An inventory of adequate sites suitable for
construction of new housing sufficient to meet
needs at all economic levels;
• A program that sets forth specific actions to
address housing needs, with identification of
responsible agencies and timelines.

11 Chapter 1: Introduction

REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS

ASSESSMENT (RHNA)
Oakland’s Housing Element was last updated in
2015 and covered the years 2015-2023. The current
Housing Element update reflects the Regional
Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) as determined
by the Association of Bay Area Governments
(ABAG) for the Sixth Cycle Housing Element update,
covering the years 2023-2031. The RHNA is a State-
mandated process intended to ensure every city
and county plans for enough housing production
to accommodate future growth. The State of
California Housing and Community Development
Department (State HCD) assigns each region of
the state an overall RHNA allocation. For the nine-
county Bay Area region, ABAG then distributes
a “fair share” portion of that allocation to each
local jurisdiction. Each city and county must then
identify adequate sites with a realistic capacity for
development sufficient to meet this RHNA.

For the 2023-2031 period, Oakland must identify
sites sufficient to accommodate 26,251 new
housing units between 2023 and 2031, with a
specific number of units designated as affordable
to each income category, as shown in Table 1-1.

A total of 6,511 units must be affordable to
households making less than 50 percent of
area median income (AMI), 3,750 units must be
affordable to households making between 50 and
80 percent of AMI, 4,457 units must be affordable
to households making between 80 and 120 percent
of AMI, and 11,533 units must be affordable to
households making over 120 percent of AMI. The
RHNA does not specifically break down the need
for extremely-low-income households. As provided
by State law, the housing needs of extremely-low-
income households, or those making less than 30
percent of area median income (AMI), is estimated
as 50 percent of the very-low-income housing
need. More detail on the RHNA allocation process
is described in Chapter 3 as well as in Appendix C.

Table 1-1: Oakland Regional Housing Needs Assessment, 2023-2031 INCOME LEVEL 1 INCOME RANGE NEEDED UNITS PERCENT OF

NEEDED UNITS
Very-Low-Income (0-50% AMI) <$50,000 6,511 24.8%
Extremely-Low-Income
(<30% AM part of Very-Low-Income in
previous row)2
<$30,000 3,256 -
Low-Income (51-80% AMI) $30,001-80,000 3,750 14.3%
Moderate-Income (81-120% AMI) $80,001-119,950 4,457 17.0% Above-Moderate-Income (>120% AMI) >$119,950 11,533 43.9% Total 26,251 100�0%

1. Income levels reflect 2022 Alameda County Housing and Community Development income limits for a one-person household.

2. Extremely-low-income housing need is assumed to be 50 percent of very-low-income housing need.

Source: ABAG, Final RHNA Plan, December 2021
12 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
HOUSING ELEMENT: STATE CHANGES
Various amendments have been made to Housing
Element law since adoption of the City’s current
Housing Element, especially since 2017. Some of
the key changes for 6th cycle RHNA and Housing
Element update include:
• Assembly Bill (AB) 72 (2017) provides additional
authority to State HCD to scrutinize housing
elements and enforce housing element
noncompliance and other violations of state
housing laws.
• AB 879 (2017) and AB 1397 (2017) require
additional analysis and justification of sites
listed on a local government’s housing
sites inventory, additional explanation of
the realistic capacity of those listed sites,
and further scrutiny of governmental and
nongovernmental constraints that limit the
production of housing.
• AB 686 (2018) requires local governments to
Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH)
by including in revised housing elements (1)
an assessment of fair housing; (2) equitable
distribution of housing to meet the needs of
households at all income levels and dismantle
segregated living patterns with integrated
and balanced living patterns; (3) policies and
programs that address fair housing barriers
and promote fair housing patterns; and (4)
a comprehensive, collaborative, accessible,
inclusive, and equity-driven public engagement
approach.
• AB 215 (2021) extends the housing element
compliance review process by requiring local
governments to make draft housing elements
available for public review prior to submittal to
State HCD rather than conducting concurrent
review. The draft must be made publicly
available for at least 30 days, and the local
government must consider and incorporate
public comment for at least 10 business days,
before sending the draft to State HCD. AB 215
also increased State HCD’s review period of
the first draft element submittal from 60 to
90 days and within 60 days of its receipt for
a subsequent draft amendment or adoption.

However, the January 31, 2023, statutory
deadline remains the same, even as these
new requirements have significantly added to
the time a city needs to complete the overall
housing element update process.
• AB 1398 (2021) revises the consequences for
local governments that miss the deadline for
housing element adoption. Local governments
must complete rezoning no later than one
year from the statutory deadline for adoption
of the housing element if that jurisdiction fails
to adopt a housing element that State HCD
has found to be in substantial compliance
with state law within 120 days of the statutory
deadline. The City retains the three-year
rezoning period if the housing element is
adopted within 120 days of the statutory
deadline.
• AB 1304 (2021) clarifies that a public agency
has a mandatory duty to comply with existing
Housing Element Affirmatively Furthering Fair
Housing (AFFH) requirements. AB 1304 revises
the items to be included in AFFH analysis and
requires that analysis to be done in a specified
manner. In addition, the housing inventory
must analyze the relationship of the sites
identified in the inventory to the city’s duty to
affirmatively further fair housing.

The contents of this Housing Element comply with
these amendments and all other requirements of
Housing Element law.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The General Plan update is being accompanied
by an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which
analyzes the potential impacts attributable to the
Housing Element Planning Code amendments,
as well as the Safety and Environmental Justice
Elements and related General Plan and Zoning
Map amendments.
13 Chapter 1: Introduction
1�2 Oakland’s Housing Approach
Two important components of the Housing
Element include a plan to address Oaklanders’
housing needs, and an inventory of sites suitable
for housing development at all income levels,
based on Oakland’s 6th cycle RHNA.

HOUSING ACTION PLAN
This Housing Element identifies a foundational
framework of five overarching goals in Chapter 4:

Housing Action Plan to comprehensively address
the housing crisis and needs of Oaklanders. The
goals seek to significantly address disparities in
housing needs and in access to opportunity, replace
segregated living patterns with truly integrated
and balanced living patterns, transform racially and
ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas
of opportunity, foster and maintain compliance
with civil rights, and affirmatively further fair
housing. The goals were developed through a
careful review of community input from each of
the outreach and engagement sessions listed
in Chapter 2. The Housing Action Plan is further
informed by the comprehensive analysis of housing
production capacity, constraints analysis and other
topics covered throughout the Housing Element
appendices. The goals include:
1� Protect Oakland Residents from
Displacement and Prevent Homelessness:

Protect Oakland tenants from displacement
and create conditions that enable them to
remain in their homes and communities.
2� Preserve and Improve Existing Housing
Stock: Conserve and improve the affordability
of existing housing stock in Oakland and
address substandard conditions.
3� Close the Gap Between Affordable
and Market-Rate Housing Production
by Expanding Affordable Housing
Opportunities: Facilitate the production of
housing for extremely low, very low, low, and
moderate-income households. In addition
to increased production generally, provide
a diversity of housing types, ownership
opportunities, living arrangements, and
features supportive of special needs.

Locate new housing to further access to
opportunity (while simultaneously investing
in and protecting tenants in disinvested
communities) and remove constraints to
affordable housing development.
4� Address Homelessness and Expand
Resources for the Unhoused: Recognize
housing as a human right. Reduce
homelessness through Housing First
approaches and support coordination across
the spectrum, from homelessness prevention
to transitional housing/shelter and services to
permanent housing with resources for long-
term support.
5� Promote Neighborhood Stability and
Health: Promote resilient development in
safe, healthy, and just communities. Increase
resources in disinvested communities
and create long-time stability through
homeownership opportunities.

The goals, policies, and actions form the Housing
Action Plan for the 2023-2031 planning period and
transform this framework into impactful action.

HOUSING SITES INVENTORY
The Housing Element also presents an inventory
under existing zoning of housing sites suitable for
new homes in Oakland at all income levels. The
purpose of the inventory is to evaluate whether
the City currently has a sufficient number of sites
available to meet its RHNA over the next eight
years, and to determine whether the distribution
of these sites will either further entrench or help to
ameliorate existing patterns of segregation. To do
this, the inventory includes:
• Sites where development is underway or
approved (known as “pipeline projects”) or
otherwise can be credited to meet the RHNA
(such as Accessory Dwelling Units ); and
14 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
• Opportunity sites where additional
development could occur. Opportunity sites
were selected in a manner consistent with
the City’s mandate to affirmatively further fair
housing. Housing sites, especially lower-income
sites, were selected so as to reduce segregation
and increase affordable development in high
resource neighborhoods, where possible.

Chapter 3 provides a summary of the inventory
approach and Appendix C includes the detailed
site inventory. While the Housing Sites Inventory
documents that Oakland has sufficient zoning
capacity to meet Oakland’s RHNA requirements, the
City’s Housing Action Plan includes several zoning
reforms that would further increase production
capacity and unlock opportunity for affordable
and missing middle housing in high resource areas.

These are in addition to the continued enforcement
and strengthening of identified tenant protection
and anti-displacement measures. A few examples
of actions in the Housing Action Plan include:
• Develop zoning standards to encourage
missing middle and multi-unit housing
types in currently single-family dominated
neighborhoods (Action 3.2.1);
• Reduce constraints to the development of
accessory dwelling units (Action 3.2.5);
• Implement an affordable housing overlay zone
that would allow for 100% affordable housing
development at any density up to a specified
height in most areas where housing is currently
permitted (Action 3.3.5);
• Revise development standards, including
allowable building heights, densities, open
space, and setback requirements (Action 3.4.1);
• Remove conditional use permit requirements
for housing in RD-2 and RM zones (Action 3.4.3);
• Implement objective design standards (Action

3.4.8);
• Implement a housing sites overlay zone that
would allow all sites included in the Housing
Element’s Housing Sites Inventory (identified in
Table C-26, available in a separate Excel file) to
develop owner-occupied and rental multifamily
uses by right for developments in which 20
percent or more of the units are affordable to
lower-income households (Action 3.4.10);
• Promote infill, transit-oriented development
(TOD), and mixed-use development (Action

5.2.2); and
• Encourage new affordable housing in higher
resource neighborhoods (Action 5.2.8)
• Prioritize improvements to meet the needs
of low-resourced and disproportionately
burdened communities (Action 5.2.9)
The Housing Action Plan and Housing Sites
Inventory reflects feedback from members of the
community and the goals, policies, and actions
reflect both local priorities and State obligations.

15 Chapter 1: Introduction
1�3 Organization and Summary
of the Housing Element
The Housing Element is divided into four chapters:
an Introduction, a Summary of Public Participation,
a Summary of the Housing Sites Inventory, and the
Housing Action Plan. In addition, there are several
technical appendices that provide extensive detail
on a range of topics, including many of the checklist
items mandated by state law. This includes an
evaluation of the City’s 2015-2023 Housing Element,
an assessment of housing needs, resources, and
constraints, and the comprehensive housing sites
inventory. A summary of the findings from each
technical appendix is provided in the main body
of the Housing Element. It is organized as follows:
• Chapter 1 – Introduction: Provides an
overview of State requirements, a summary
of the organization of the Housing Element,
and an explanation of the Housing Element’s
relationship to the General Plan.
• Chapter 2 – Public Participation: Provides a
description of the public participation process
and a summary of community outreach
activities.
• Chapter 3 – Summary of the Housing Sites
Inventory: Summarizes the City’s ability to
accommodate the RHNA on available land,
and the selection of sites in light of AFFH
requirements.
• Chapter 4 – Housing Action Plan: Institutes
the goals, policies, and actions of the 2023-2031
Housing Element, and provides quantified
objectives. The Plan includes five goals: protect
Oakland residents from displacement and
prevent homelessness; Preserve and improve
existing affordable housing stock; Close the
gap between affordable and market-rate
housing production by expanding affordable
housing opportunities; Address homelessness
and expand services for the unhoused; and
Promote neighborhood stability and health.
• Appendix A – Evaluation of the 2015-2023
Oakland Housing Element: Summarizes
the City’s achievements in implementing
goals, policies, and actions under the previous
Housing Element. While the City was able to
meet its above-moderate-income RHNA, it
fell short of meeting its lower- and moderate-
income goals. Oakland recognizes that
more can and should be done to close the
gap on affordable housing construction.

Oakland further recognizes that many cities
in the Bay Area region have failed to meet
market rate development goals and continue
to prohibit housing at densities that can
support affordable housing, both of which
have contributed to exacerbated regional
inequality, a protraction of the housing crisis,
and very likely has catalyzed gentrification and
displacement in Oakland.
• Appendix B – Housing Needs Assessment:

Presents community demographic information,
including both population and household
data, to identify Oakland’s housing needs.

Since at least the 1940s, Oakland has had
a significantly higher percentage of Black,
Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
residents than other cities of a similar size in
California. BIPOC communities in Oakland have
historically faced patterns of discrimination
and segregation, as well as neighborhood
disinvestment, throughout the 20th century
continuing into the 21st century. In recent
years, many of these same communities now
bear a disproportionate impact of the State’s
housing crisis and are increasingly at risk of
displacement from Oakland—Oakland’s Black
population has decreased from 36 percent in
2000 to 23 percent in 2020. Oakland’s rates of
homelessness have also significantly increased
from 2017-2022 (83 percent), though the rate
of increase has decreased from the period
of 2019-2022 (23 percent, compared to 47
percent from 2017-2019). Oaklanders of color
also disproportionately face lower rates of
homeownership, higher housing cost burden,
16 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
overcrowded conditions, and homelessness.

These trends are being compounded by
demographic factors such as the rapid aging
of the population and continued prevalence of
poverty.
• Appendix C – Sites Inventory: Outlines the
selection and capacity methodology used to
identify sites to accommodate the RHNA. While
the Housing Sites Inventory documents that
Oakland does have sufficient zoning capacity
to meet Oakland’s RHNA requirements, the City
has identified in its Housing Action Plan several
zoning reforms that would further increase
production capacity and unlock opportunity for
affordable and missing middle housing in high
resource areas.
• Appendix D – Assessment of Fair Housing:

Identifies fair housing issues and solutions
to meet Oakland’s AFFH mandate. Oakland
is incredibly diverse at the City level, but at
the neighborhood level, geographic patterns
of income segregation and racial/ethnic
segregation are clear. Additionally, Oakland
has racially and ethnically concentrated areas
of poverty localized to four areas in the City.

Neighborhoods across Oakland have received
varying levels of investment, which is reflected
in the unequal opportunities available for
communities of color. Additionally, access to
economic, educational, and environmental
opportunities vary greatly across the City.

Comparing access to opportunity with
displacement risk and gentrification across
the City, areas that are exclusive, stable, or in
the advanced stages of gentrification offer
the best access to opportunity. Much of the
City has gentrified in recent years, leaving
residents in the few (predominantly BIPOC)
neighborhoods that have not gentrified
at risk of displacement. Oakland is further
impacted by disproportionate housing needs:
overcrowding rates are higher in the City than
in the County/Bay Area Region, cost burden
rates are high (highest for Black and African-
American households and lowest for white
households), and homelessness is a major
public health crisis in the City. Individuals
experiencing homelessness increased 83
percent between 2017 and 2022 and individuals
identifying as Black or African American
are disproportionately represented in the
unhoused population.
• The goals and actions concluding this
appendix have a strong focus on investing in
neighborhoods considered “Low Resource”
and “High Segregation and Poverty” by
the State HCD/TCAC Opportunity Maps (i.e.
those neighborhoods with low access to
opportunity). These neighborhoods have
high concentrations of BIPOC populations.
• Appendix E – Housing Resources and
Opportunities: Assesses the City’s financial
and administrative resources available for
future housing development. This appendix
describes and assesses the resources available
for the development, rehabilitation, and
preservation of housing in Oakland. The
following sections provide an overview of
the financial and administrative resources to
support the provision of affordable housing.

These include Oakland Housing Authority
funds, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund,
Community Development Block Grant Funds,
and other sources of funding. The appendix
also describes additional housing resources
or considerations relevant for the provision of
housing in the city, including publicly-owned
and surplus land, as well as utility and service
systems to support new housing.
• Appendix F – Housing Constraints: Analyzes
governmental and non-governmental
constraints to the development of housing.

Governmental constraints on affordable
housing construction include a lack of local
and State funding to support the development
of affordable housing, a lack of clarity on
permit streamlining processes, higher costs
17 Chapter 1: Introduction
for all housing developments due to a lack
of City staff capacity. Both market rate and
affordable housing also face constraints from
development standards and green building
standards. Non-governmental constraints on
housing development include environmental
constraints such as risk of seismic activity,
infrastructure needs for infill housing, rising
interest rates, and the high cost of land,
materials, and labor in Oakland.
• Appendix G – Opportunities for Energy
Conservation: Presents opportunities to
develop housing in a sustainable manner. While
electrification is one of the primary ways to
reduce the environmental impact of a building
and improve energy performance, residential
buildings in Oakland face a range of difficulties
when pursuing electrification including lack
of electrical panel or service capacity, and
the extensive renovations and remediations
that the retrofitting for electrification might
trigger. Residents and property owners in
Oakland have access to a variety of resources
to assist with and incentivize residential
energy conservation including local and state
financing programs, and local resources such
as solar rebates and incentives, and assistance
with conversions of gas stoves to induction
cooktops. Low-income Oakland utility
customers who qualify can also take advantage
of State and Federal Energy Bill assistance and
energy efficiency programs.
• Appendix H – Glossary� Defines key terms
used in the Housing Element.
• Appendix I – Public Outreach Materials�
Includes meeting materials, outreach and
survey summaries.
• Appendix J – Proposed Rezoning and Height
Changes� Illustrates proposed rezoning and
height changes to increase housing production
capacity and unlock additional opportunities
for affordable and “missing middle” housing in
high-resource neighborhoods and affirmatively
18 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
further fair housing by opening up exclusionary
neighborhoods. The proposed changes are also
available as an interactive map.
• Appendix K – Findings Letter from California
Housing and Community Development
(State HCD) dated 9/28/22 and Responses�
Provides a brief summary of the changes in
response to the State HCD letter and where
they were made in the revised draft.
• Appendix L – Response to Public Comments�
Provides an overview of public comments and
staff responses, to illustrate how the revised
draft reflect public input received during the
public comment period. Appendix L-1 includes
comment letters; Appendix L-2 includes
responses.
• Appendix M – Recommended Sites for
Future Housing (Upzoning/General Plan
Update Opportunity Sites)� The City of
Oakland has received a number of housing site
recommendations from the public. Some of
the sites are in the inventory already (shown in
yellow); others have been analyzed for Phase
I upzone potential or other applicable zoning
changes to facilitate housing development.

For sites not included in the inventory, the City
will consider land use changes as part of the
longer-term General Plan Update.
1�4 Relationship to Other
General Plan Elements
State law requires the Housing Element to contain
a statement of “the means by which consistency
will be achieved with other general plan elements
and community goals” (California Government
Code, Section 65583(c)(8)). There are two aspects
of this analysis: 1) an identification of other General Plan goals, policies, and programs that could
affect implementation of the Housing Element or
that could be affected by the implementation of
the Housing Element, and 2) an identification of
actions to ensure consistency between the Housing
Element and affected parts of other General Plan
elements.

As described above, the City is undergoing a
comprehensive update to the General Plan. The
General Plan update is undertaken in two phases
in order to meet deadlines mandated by State law.

Phase 1 focuses on updates to the Housing and
Safety Elements, which are due by the beginning
of 2023, as well as preparation of a Racial Equity
Impact Assessment, Zoning Code and Map
update, and a new Environmental Justice Element.

Subsequently, Phase 2 will include the update of
the Land Use and Transportation (LUTE) Element;
Open Space, Conservation and Recreation (OSCAR)
Element; Noise Element, and the creation of a new
Infrastructure and Facilities Element which are
slated to be completed by 2025.

The Land Use and Transportation Element (LUTE) of
the Oakland General Plan was last comprehensively
updated in 1998. The vision and specific policies
contained in the LUTE seek to encourage and
facilitate the types of infill, re-use, mixed-use,
and central city/corridor-oriented residential
development that are the focus of the Housing
Element and the City’s ability to accommodate its
regional housing allocation. Most of the housing
to be provided in Oakland will result from the
development or redevelopment of underutilized
and infill parcels. In addition, rezoning will occur
in select areas to accommodate additional density
such as parcels around BART stations, along transit
corridors, and in existing residential neighborhoods
to allow for “missing middle” housing.

The goals, policies, and programs contained
within this Housing Element will also inform the
strategies included in the updated LUTE. As the
Housing Element will be adopted prior to the
LUTE update, the general distribution, location and
extent of land uses as well as population density
and building intensity standards prescribed by
the current Planning Code are used to determine
the City’s ability to accommodate residential
19 Chapter 1: Introduction
development. Some initial amendments to
the Land Use and Transportation Element and
Planning Code and initial zoning map changes
will be made during Phase I; this will allow for
upzoning of areas to accommodate additional
density on areas near BART stations, along transit
corridors, and in existing residential neighborhoods
to allow for “missing middle” housing. Anticipated
development on these sites is expected to be
in compliance with updated policy standards
for noise, safety, open space, recreation, and
conservation contained in the other General Plan
elements.

The policies in the other updated General Plan
elements will advance the ability of the City to
achieve the objectives contained in the 2023-
2031 Housing Element. Likewise, the Housing
Element policies will advance the implementation
of policies and programs in the other updated
General Plan elements. Evaluation of General
Plan consistency will be made as part of adoption
of the Housing Element. As other elements are
updated as part of Phase 2, consistency will be
achieved and maintained as part of General Plan
adoption and maintained through any General Plan
amendments. The City has therefore determined
that the updated Housing Element is consistent
with the General Plan.
1�5 Sources of Information
In preparing the City’s Housing Element, various
sources of information were utilized. As a starting
point, the Element used ABAG-prepared local data
and AFFH package pre-certified by State HCD
for use in sixth cycle housing elements, which
provides the basis for population and household
characteristics and affirmatively furthering fair
housing resources. Where necessary, several
additional and more current sources are used to
provide reliable updates of the ABAG data package.

The sources used in the ABAG data package and
many additional sources are listed below. Public
input from members of the public, community-
based organizations (CBOs), and community
leaders, was also a key source of information for this
Housing Element. More details on what information
was collected from these partners can be found in
Chapter 2.

1. ABAG Pre-Certified Housing Needs Data
Package, 2021
a. Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council’s (FFIEC) Home
Mortgage Disclosure Act loan/
application register (LAR) files
b. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000;
Census 2010; American Community
Survey 5-Year Data (2005-2009 through
2015-2019)
c. U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal
Employer-Household Dynamics,
Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC)
files, 2002-2018; Residence Area
Characteristics (RAC) files, 2002-2018
d. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Census
of Farmworkers (2002, 2007, 2012, 2017),
Table 7: Hired Farm Labor
e. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), Comprehensive
Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS)
ACS tabulation, 2013-2017 release
f. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), Continuum of
Care (CoC) Homeless Populations and
Subpopulations Reports (2019)
g. California Department of
Developmental Services, Consumer
Count by California ZIP Code and Age
Group (2020); Consumer Count by
California ZIP Code and Residence Type
(2020)
h. California Department of Education,
California Longitudinal Pupil
Achievement Data System (CALPADS),
Cumulative Enrollment Data (Academic
Years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019,
2019-2020)
20 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
i. California Department of Finance, E-5
series
j. California Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD), 5th
Cycle Annual Progress Report Permit
Summary (2020)
k. California Employment Development
Department, Local Area
Unemployment Statistics (LAUS),
Sub-county areas monthly updates,
2010-2021
l. California Tax Credit Allocation
Committee (TCAC)/California Housing
and Community Development (HCD),
Opportunity Maps (2020)
m. California Housing Partnership,
Preservation Database (2020)
n. Zillow, Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI)

2. Freddie Mac, Historical Weekly Mortgage
Rates Data, 2015-2021

3. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data,
2012-2020

4. HUD, CHAS ACS tabulation, 2013-2017 release

5. HUD, Fair Market Rent, 2019

6. HUD, AFFHT0006 Table 12, July 2020

7. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000; Census
2010; American Community Survey 5-Year
Data (2005-2009 through 2015-2019)

8. California Department of Finance, P-2 series
9 . California Department of Food and
Agriculture, Certified Farmers’ Markets by
County, January 2022

10. California Department of Education, CAASPP,
Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments,
2018-2019

11. California Department of Public Health,
Licensed and Certified Healthcare Facility
Listing, 2022

12. HCD, AFFH Data and Mapping Resources,
2021

13. HCD, State Income Limits, 2021

14. HCD, Qualified Entities, May 2021

15. TCAC, Nine Percent Application, 2022

16. TCAC, Project Staff Reports 2017-2020
17 . ABAG-MTC, Existing and Planned Transit
Stops, 2021

18. ABAG-MTC, Final RHNA Plan, December 2021

19. Alameda County, Assessor Parcel Data, 2021

20. Alameda County, Historic Assessor Parcel
Data, 2014-2015

21. Alameda County, Regional Analysis of
Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) for
FY 2020/21-2024/25

22. Alameda Housing Authority, Utility Allowance
Schedule, 2021

23. EBMUD, Water and Wastewater System
Schedules of Rates and Charges, Capacity
Charges and Other Fees, July 2021

24. EBMUD, Water Shortage Contingency Plan,
2020

25. City of Oakland, Planning Code, 2022

26. City of Oakland, Staff Reports, 2019-2021

27. City of Oakland, Accela Building and Planning
Permits, March 2022

28. City of Oakland, Building Bureau Code
Enforcement Division, FY 2020-2021

29. City of Oakland, Building & Planning
Department, 2022
21 Chapter 1: Introduction

30. City of Oakland, Equitable Climate Action
Plan, 2020

31. City of Oakland, Housing & Community
Development Strategic Action Plan, 2021-2023

32. City of Oakland, Master Fee Schedule and Fee
Estimator with Impact Fees, July 2021;

33. City of Oakland, Oakland ADU Initiative,
Existing Conditions and Barriers Report,
January 2020 (Revised June 2020)

34. City of Oakland, Oakland Equity Indicators
Report, 2018

35. City of Oakland, Department of Housing
and Community Development, Five Year
Strategic Consolidated Plan: Annual Action
Plan, 2018-2019

36. City of Oakland, Impact Fee Annual Report,
December 24, 2021

37. City of Oakland, Resilient Oakland Playbook,
October 10, 2016

38. City of Oakland, 2016-2021 Local Hazard
Mitigation Plan (LHMP)

39. Oakland Housing Authority, Draft Making
Transitions Work Annual Plan, FY 2023

40. Oakland Department of Transportation,
Geographic Equity Toolbox Planning Areas,
2020

41. Oakland Housing Authority, August 2021

42. City of Berkeley, Building Permit Fee
Estimator, 2022 and Affordable Housing
Mitigation Fee Ordinance, October 2020

43. City of Emeryville, Master Fee Schedule,
July 2021 and Development Impact Fees, FY
2020-2021

44. City of Richmond, Master Fee Schedule, July
2020

45. City of San Francisco, Development Impact
Fee Register, December 2021 and Planning
Department Fee Schedule, August 2021

46. City of San Jose, Planning Application Filing
Fee Schedule, August 2021, Building and
Structure Permits Fee Schedule, August
2021, and Inclusionary Housing Ordinance
Schedule of Fees, April 2021
4 7 . Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.,
Downtown Oakland Specific Plan: Incentive
Program Feasibility Study, July 10, 2020

48. Hausrath Economics Group, Oakland
Affordable Housing Impact Fee Five-Year
Review, December 23, 2021

49. California Housing Partnership, Preservation
Database, February 2022

50. Urban Displacement Project, 2018 and 2019

51. National Association of Realtors Research
Group, Downpayment Expectations & Hurdles
to Homeownership, April 2020

52. Yelp, 2022

53. Zillow, Mortgage Rates, October 2021

54. Zillow, ZHVI, December 31, 2010, and
December 31, 202054.
22 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
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23 Chapter 2: Public Participation
2� Public Participation
PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION02
2�1 Summary of Community Outreach Activities
2�2 Public Participation Themes
24 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
2� Public Participation
elements, and guide development of General Plan
policies. Outreach that informed the development
of this Housing Element is summarized in the
following chapter, and materials used in the
outreach process are included in Appendix I.
2�1 Summary of Community
Outreach Activities

GENERAL PLAN UPDATE OUTREACH
The City, based on feedback received from
community members, implemented an innovative
approach by bringing on two collaborating
consultant teams to assist on the General Plan
Update. The City partnered with both a Community
Consultant Team – Deeply Rooted Collaborative,
and a Technical Consultant Team – Dyett and
Bhatia, to ensure a planning process that: 1) meets
state deadlines and requirements for the GPU,
and 2) dedicates significant resources to deep
and meaningful community engagement. The
Community and Technical Consultants coordinate
closely. The team leads meet weekly, and the entire
project team meets biweekly to share key findings
Inclusive engagement and public participation
have been key to the preparation of Oakland’s
Housing Element. Public participation is an
ongoing process that will continue to occur as the
General Plan is updated. Outreach completed as
part of phase 1 of the update process will continue
to inform phase 2 of the General Plan update. All
community outreach is conducted through a
racial equity lens to identify actions to affirmatively further fair housing, increase community assets,
decrease pollution exposure, and improve overall
health.

The community engagement effort is composed
of an extensive outreach process that seeks to
engage stakeholders throughout the community,
with additional resources dedicated to engaging
communities historically underrepresented and
excluded from traditional planning processes and
often most negatively impacted by City policies
and represents a diligent effort to include public
participation from all economic segments of the
community, consistent with outreach requirements
under AB 686. All community input shared will be
used to “ground truth” data based on peoples’ lived
experience, inform areas of focus for General Plan
25 Chapter 2: Public Participation
and provide feedback. Both Community Consultant
and Technical Consultant outreach and feedback is
incorporated into all components of the Housing
Element. This approach aligns with advancing the
City’s critical mission of creating a just and fair City for all (Oakland Municipal Code Section 2.29.170.1).

Community engagement efforts for the General
Plan Update include an extensive and inclusive
outreach process, engaging stakeholders
throughout the community with additional
resources dedicated to engaging communities
historically underrepresented and excluded from
traditional planning processes and most negatively
impacted by City policies.

The Community Consultant Team, Deeply Rooted
Collaborative, focuses on engagement with the
following key communities and geographic areas:
• Communities: Unhoused; formerly
incarcerated; low-income Asian, Pacific
Islander, Black, Latinx, multiracial communities
including those experiencing environmental
injustices
• Outreach Geographies: Fruitvale, West
Oakland, East Oakland, Chinatown, Eastlake,
San Antonio
Deeply Rooted has three organizations providing
central support through the design and
coordination of the overall structure for community
engagement, providing technical assistance
and community education in planning, and
administrative support.
• EastSide Arts Alliance | Cultural Programming
Partner
• Just Cities | Technical Assistance/Community
Education Partner
• Urban Strategies Council | Administrative
Partner
The Deeply Rooted Collaborative in partnership
with community partners as shown in Figure 2-1 .

Deeply Rooted’s community partner roles are listed
in Table 2-1.
26 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Figure 2-1: Deeply Rooted Collaborative
Table 2-1: Deeply Rooted Collaborative Community Partner Roles

COMMUNITY PARTNER COMMUNITY / OUTREACH GEOGRAPHY
The Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation Black Community | East Oakland CURYJ Formerly incarcerated, Black and Latinx | Fruitvale House/Full of Black Women/ Deep Waters Dance Theater
Lao Family Community Development, Inc Southeast Asian American community Malonga Arts Residents Association (MARA) Black and Brown communities, and partnership with members in Chinatown
Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC)/ API Cultural Center Asian American community| Chinatown Unity Council Latinx community | Fruitvale
The Village in Oakland Unhoused curbside communities in North Oakland, West Oakland, Downtown, and East Oakland
West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project. Environmental Justice | West Oakland Black Arts Movement Business District, CDC (BAMBD, CDC) West Oakland (Lower Bottoms), Artists, flatland communities of color, those invested in the animation of BAMBD, CDC and its stakeholders
27 Chapter 2: Public Participation

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND

OUTREACH SUMMARY
A variety of outreach activities such as workshops,
focused discussions, pop-ups, open houses, porch
chats, and community hub events are planned
throughout the entire process. All community input
shared will be used to ground truth data based on
peoples’ lived experience, inform areas of focus for
the update of General Plan elements, and guide
development of General Plan policies.

Input related to housing overlaps with many
General Plan topic areas and will be incorporated
into both the eight-year Housing Element Update
as well as into elements with a longer planning
horizon, such as the Land Use and Transportation,
Environmental Justice, and Safety Elements. A
summary of the General Plan update project
schedule is provided in Chart 2-1 . Information on
all community engagement events, including
engagement summaries; workshop and townhall
presentations, recordings, meeting summaries;
and discussion group summaries, are provided
via the General Plan Update website at https://
www.oaklandca.gov/topics/meetings-and-events .

A summary of these engagement activities is
described below:
• Popup and Community Hub Events: Since
November 2021 to March 2022, the GPU Deeply
Rooted Collaborative has conducted pop-up
events in Eastmont, Fruitvale, San Antonio,
Chinatown, West Oakland, and Downtown.

For example, in West Oakland these events
have been porch-side chats and a pop-up
at Hoover Elementary. Engagement has
also been integrated into larger community
events like the Oakland Asian Cultural Center’s
(OACC) Asian Pacific New Year Celebration and
the Black Joy parade. At these community-
embedded events, the team has engaged
with over 1,006 people, with a majority being
individuals from communities of color. These
events sought to hear community concerns,
ideas and solutions through interviews and
focus group conversations. Community
concerns that rose to the top included
affordability, displacement, disinvestment,
housing quality, pollution (industry and cars),
lack of parks, collisions, and illegal dumping.
• Townhalls: Two townhalls were held on March
26, 2022, and April 7, 2022. The townhall on
March 26, 2022, introduced the General Plan
Update process and gathered community
input on a vision for the City in 2045, as well as
local issues and opportunities that should be
Chart 2-1: Oakland 2045 Project Schedule
28 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
addressed in the General Plan. The townhall on
April 7, 2022, focused on equity across all issues,
with a special focus on EJ and safety priorities
in the City.
• Community Education Workshops: Two
community education workshops were
hosted on April 8, 2022, and April 9, 2022, and
organized by the Deeply Rooted Collaborative
Community Engagement partner to review the
past and present policies that led to today’s
conditions in housing and environmental
justice. Over 100 people attended the
workshops. Speakers included Oakland
unhoused leader Needa Bee (The Village
in Oakland), EJ leader Ms. Margaret Gordon
(West Oakland Environmental Indicators
Project), Margaretta Lin (Just Cities) and Diana
Benitez (Just Cities). Attendees shared their
frustration regarding ongoing displacement
and disinvestment and various community-
centered solutions that would bring much
needed resources to communities of color in
Oakland without displacement.
• Youth Engagement: Youth engagement
for the GPU will take the form of a Deeply
Rooted Fellowship with 15 – 20 fellows. The
Fellowship will be a 2-to-3-year commitment
and fellows will be provided with a monthly
stipend. Planning, design, and training of the
fellowship program will be done in coordination
with Y-Plan. Fellows will coordinate with the
Oakland Youth Advisory Commission (OYAC)
and will be engaged in outreach activities such
as community-based events, presentations
to the community and schools, and social
media outreach. Recruitment began in April
2022. On August 31, 2022, twenty (20) young
leaders were selected as inaugural Deeply
Rooted (DR) Fellows. These young people will
lead DR outreach efforts to engage Oakland’s
youth in the GPU update. DR Fellow activities
will include interviewing and surveying young
people about their visions and aspirations for
the City; educating elementary, middle and
high school students about the OGP; gathering
data and conducting research to identify the
challenges young people face in the City and
their proposed solutions; and, implementing
a social media campaign to increase youth
awareness of the GPU.
• Neighborhood Group Meetings: Staff
are working with Neighborhood Service
Coordinators to present at Neighborhood
Crime Prevention Councils (NCPCs) on topics
including housing, environmental justice,
industrial lands and safety and natural hazards
and receive feedback. Staff have presented at
several NCPCs and will continue to engage and
obtain feedback. Staff are presenting to other
Neighborhood – Community groups, faith-
based organizations, and at other community
congregation events as well.
• Equity Working Group: Convened by the
Deeply Rooted Collaborative, the Equity
Working Group (EWG) is comprised of 20
diverse community members who will: 1)
Identify the major challenges and impacts
of the General Plan (housing, safety,
environmental justice, land use, transportation,
and parks); and 2) Advocate for solutions that
advance equitable and healthy communities
for Oakland residents. Each member will
receive a stipend. 20 EWG members who met
the following criteria were selected through an
interview process from a total of 66 applicants:
- Hard to reach communities: People from
communities that the City traditionally has
trouble engaging with including Indige-
nous, unhoused, formerly incarcerated,
low-income, Asian, Black, Latinx, multiracial,
people with disabilities, undocumented,
and people experiencing environmental
injustices.
- In target geographic areas of: West Oakland,
East Oakland, Chinatown, and Fruitvale.
- Age diversity: People at different stages of
their lives to ensure varied knowledge and
experiences.
29 Chapter 2: Public Participation
- Diversity of gender and sexual orientation:

To ensure women’s and LGBTQ+ perspec-
tives are included in this process.
- People who own small businesses in
Oakland.

Additional information about the EWG selection
process can be found at https://www.oaklandca.
gov/news/2022/general-plan-equity-working-
group-members-selected.
• Technical Advisory Committee: The Technical
Advisory Committee (TAC) is comprised of
internal City department representatives as
well as other Oakland-based, neighboring, and
regional governmental agency representatives.

The TAC serves to advise on key strategies to
address Oakland’s big issues related to housing,
environmental justice, safety, and other topics;
review community input collected at key points
in the process; and inform, discuss, and provide
technical direction on policies and actions. The
second TAC meeting was held on March 7, 2022
and TAC members provided recommendations
for housing strategies/actions for housing
production, preservation, and protections.

• Study Sessions with Official Decision-Making
Bodies: The Planning Commission, City Council,
and various boards and commissions are
active participants in the GPU and will have
opportunities to provide direction at each Stage
in the process. The project team will continue
to check in with these decision-making bodies
at key milestones to ensure that the project
remains on the right track in terms of process,
direction, and overall vision. Engagement
will take the form of study sessions and
informational presentations to review products
and generate feedback on drafts. The
Planning Commission and Special Community
& Economic Development Committee met
on February 2nd and February 22nd to
discuss potential housing site locations and
recommended housing strategies and actions.

HOUSING ELEMENT OUTREACH
To supplement efforts that were part of the General
Plan update, a series of targeted activities related to housing were held prior to the release of the public
Draft Housing Element. Additional opportunities
for feedback will occur after plan release as well.

These efforts are summarized in Chart 2-2 and
described below:

Chart 2-2: Housing Element Outreach Timeline
Oakland 2045
Housing Element:

Workshop #2
Housing Programs
and Inclusive
Neighborhoods
17 February 2022
30 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Housing Workshops: The team hosted four
virtual housing workshops on February 10, 2022,
February 17, 2022, March 12, 2022, and June 9,
2022 to solicit feedback on the Draft Housing
Element. Approximately 200 people participated in
these three virtual workshops. The first workshop
provided background information on the General
Plan, the Housing Element, and housing sites
inventory requirements. Workshop 2 sought to
gather input on potential housing programs.

Workshop 3 focused on community input on
strategies to preserve existing affordable housing,
protect tenants, and prevent displacement.

Workshop 4 was held on June 9, 2022, and
sought Oaklanders’ input on housing sites and
proposed strategies included in a public review
Housing Element draft before sending it to the
California Department of Housing and Community
Development (State HCD). Summaries of these
workshops are included in Appendix I.

Discussion Groups: A series of focus group
discussions were held on the housing-related topics
to solicit targeted feedback from organizations
and individuals with direct experience with
housing provisions and housing-related services.

Discussion participants included organizations that
may not have traditionally participated in the past
including housing justice advocates, tenant rights
organizations, faith-based organizations, and other
community organizations.

Summaries of these meetings, including the names
of participating groups, are provided in Appendix I;
see below for the themes of the discussion groups:
• Focus Group Discussion 1 (February 2, 2022):

Housing Sites
• Focus Group Discussion 2 (March 10, 2022):

Production, Preservation, and Protections
• Focus Group Discussion 3 (June 8, 2022): Draft
Housing Element
31 Chapter 2: Public Participation
Housing Element Update Survey
The Oakland Housing Element Update Survey
accompanied the first housing workshop on
planning where housing should go. The survey was
open from February 11, 2022, through March 7, 2022,
received 480 individual responses, and generated a
total of 1,976 unique map responses. It included two
interactive mapping questions regarding potential
locations for future housing in the city of Oakland.

The interactive map in the survey displayed the
initial sites under consideration for the Housing
Element and focused on identifying community
priorities and recommendations for additional
locations. See Figure 2-2 above for a snapshot of
the interactive map. As an optional component of
the survey, respondents were asked to describe
their zip code, and race or ethnicity. The results of
this survey guided the selection of sites identified
in Chapter 3 and Appendix C, and a summary of the
survey’s findings is provided in Appendix I.

The Draft Housing Element was released on May
12, 2022 and was made available at https://www.
oaklandca.gov/topics/oakland-general-plan-2045-
housing-element . Pursuant to AB 215, the city
made the first draft available for public review for
32 days between May 12, 2022, to June 13, 2022.

The City also created an interactive Konveio page
so the community could read, post comments, and
submit questions on the Draft Housing Element
and Appendices. During the 30-day mandatory
public review period, a fourth Housing Element
workshop was held on June 9th to describe the
community outreach process and Housing Element
content (with particular focus on the Sites Inventory
and Housing Action Plan) and provide opportunity
for the members of the public to ask questions.

During this initial comment period, the City
received 18 letters from Oakland residents and
organizations. Staff also sought feedback on
the 2023-2031 Draft Housing Element from the
Community and Economic Development (CED)
Committee of the Oakland City Council on May 24,
2022, and from the Planning Commission on May
18, 2022, and June 1, 2022. City staff incorporated
changes to the draft prior to submittal to State
HCD where it was feasible to do so within the short
time period.

The city provided its draft Housing Element to
State HCD for the first 90-day review period on
June 30, 2022. The Draft Housing Element (clean
and redlined versions) submitted to State HCD is
available at https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/
oakland-general-plan-2045-housing-element.

Figure 2-2: Interactive Map Survey Snapshot - Draft Housing Element Plan Release 32 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update

EXTENDED PUBLIC REVIEW PERIOD

FOR COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
To ensure that the community had enough time
to review and comment, the City committed to
keeping the first draft of the Housing Element
available for public comment during the 90-day
State HCD review period, until September 30, 2022.

The first Draft Housing Element was available for
public review and feedback for a total of 142 days
between May 12, 2022, until September 30, 2022.

Staff presented the draft Housing Element to
neighborhood and community groups such as
Monarch Senior Homes – Satellite Affordable
Housing Associates (SAHA) development, East
Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO)’s Oakland
Committee, Allen Temple Public Ministry’s Virtual
Townhall, Rockridge Community Planning Council
(RCPC) Townhall and the Piedmont Avenue
Neighborhood Improvement League (PANIL).

Finally, staff conducted study sessions with the
City Council and Planning Commission in October
to seek additional feedback on the 2023-2031 Draft
Housing Element.

Equity Working Group
Between June 2022 and October 2022, the
Equity Working Group (EWG) group met eight
times to provide feedback and housing policy
recommendations on the 2023-2031 Draft Housing
Element. EWG members also shared a list of their
housing policy recommendations and met with the
Directors from the Planning and Building (PBD),
Human Services Department (HSD), Oakland
Housing and Community Development (Oakland
HCD) and the Office of the City Administrator (CAO)
and the CAO Homelessness Division to review the
policy recommendations.

Response to Public Comments
Appendix L provides an overview of public
comments and staff responses, to illustrate how the
revised draft reflect public input received during
the public comment period.

Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing
Choice
The assessment of fair housing contained in
Appendix D relies in part on outreach done in
preparation of Alameda County’s 2020 to 2024
Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing
Choice (AI). 1 Historically, Oakland has prepared
its own AI every five years as a U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
requirement. However, in 2020, the City joined
various Alameda County cities and Housing
Authority agencies to complete a regional AI.

A year-long community engagement process for
the 2020 to 2024 AI consisted of three meetings
and a seven-page survey between June 2019 –
November 2019. The survey was translated into
multiple languages and distributed to priority
populations (those most impacted by fair housing
issues) via local organizations. Priority populations
include racial and ethnic minorities, people
experiencing homelessness, people with limited
English proficiency, people with disabilities,
and people residing in Racially or Ethnically
Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAPs). The
survey received 3,296 responses. Key data from the
2020 to 2024 AI is used in the Assessment of Fair
Housing in Appendix D : Affirmatively Furthering
Fair Housing.
1 Alameda County, “Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice.” February 2020. Accessible at https://cao- 94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/ALAMEDA-COUNTY-
REGIONAL-ANALYSIS-OF-IMPEDIMENTS-TO-FAIR-HOUSING-Final- AI_Combined_2-24-20.pdf
33 Chapter 2: Public Participation
Housing Element Community Education
Materials
The GPU Deeply Rooted Collaborative is preparing
Housing Element community education materials
that will provide a focused look at housing issues
most important to Oaklanders, informed by
substantial community outreach. The outreach
materials are intended to synthesize a complex,
lengthy document into key points and describe
how policy changes to help address these issues.

These education materials will also provide a deep
dive into the historical conditions that have shaped
housing quality, access, and opportunity, as well as
recommendations for other future City processes
(such as Phase 2 of the General Plan Update) that
affect housing. These materials are expected to be
released in winter/early spring of 2023.
2�2 Public Participation Themes
Across discussion groups, workshops, EWG
meetings, and other community engagement
events, several key themes emerged that
informed development of this Housing Element
Update’s goals, policies, and actions. This list is not comprehensive, but the key themes listed below
are reflected in the overarching goals identified
in Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan. The goals,
policies, and actions seek to significantly address
disparities in housing needs and in access to
opportunity, replace segregated living patterns
with truly integrated and balanced living patterns,
transform racially and ethnically concentrated
areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, foster
and maintain compliance with civil rights, and
affirmatively further fair housing.

34 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
• Address Homelessness: “Housing is a Human
Right.” A common refrain from participants
was that Oakland should recognize housing
as a human right and focus on addressing
the homelessness crisis. As experts from the
National Law Center on Homelessness and
Poverty note, “a right to adequate housing is
not a requirement that states build free housing
for the entire population, rather, it devotes
resources and protective measures to prevent
homelessness, discrimination, and promote
permanent stable housing.”2 Participants
expressed distrust with the City and frustration
with the current unaffordability of housing and
ongoing displacement. They suggested a wide
variety of strategies to house the unhoused
community, including treating unhoused
populations with dignity, stopping the current
encampment management policy, more flexible
building types, temporary units, permanent
supportive housing, RVs/safe parking zones, tiny
homes, manufactured housing, and working
with the unhoused community to understand
their needs and priorities. Participants discussed
methods for addressing the homelessness crisis,
including a moratorium on market rate housing
to balance the speed at which housing is built
2 https://www.kqed.org/news/11801176/what-would-housing-as-a- human-right-look-like-in-california
with the need to ensure that new housing
is high-quality, affordable, and habitable,
partnering with community groups that work
with unhoused communities, and creating
housing options that include wrap-around
services. The Housing Element incorporates this
input in the following ways:
- Goals: 1, 2, 3, 4
- Policies: 1.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 - Actions: 1.1.1 through 1.1.14, 2.2.1 through

2.2.8, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.3.1 through 3.3.7, 3.3.9, 3.3.11 through 3.3.15, 3.3.17, 3.3.18, 3.5.1 through

3.5.3, 3.6.1, 3.6.2, 3.6.5, 3.7.1, 3.7.2, 3.7.4, 3.7.6,

4.1.1 through 4.1.4, 4.2.1 through 4.2.5, 4.3.1
through 4.3.6
• Protect Oakland Residents from
Displacement and Preserve Existing
Affordable Housing� Over the last two
decades, housing costs in Oakland have
risen dramatically – meaning many Oakland
residents cannot afford to buy or rent a home
within their own neighborhood. Participants
expressed frustration with increasing
displacement pressures while the stock
of affordable housing throughout the city
decreases, including both subsidized housing
and “naturally occurring affordable housing” –
or unsubsidized housing that is affordable at
market prices. Participants also discussed how
Oakland’s cultural institutions and history are
at risk of loss due to continuing gentrification.

To mitigate the pressures of displacement and
gentrification, Oakland residents suggested
a number of potential anti-displacement
strategies, including enhanced rent stabilization
measures, stronger just cause for eviction
protections, increased enforcement of anti-
harassment tenant protections, and historic

35 Chapter 2: Public Participation
preservation programs to preserve cultural
institutions. Participants also discussed ways
to preserve the city’s existing affordable
housing stock, including the implementation
of a Community/Tenant Opportunity to
Purchase Act, innovative solutions to maintain
permanent affordability like community land
trusts, additional acquisition and conversion to
affordable housing efforts, live/work preferences
for Oakland residents, and programs to
physically rehabilitate homes to allow long-time
residents to enjoy new community amenities.

Participants also pointed to a need for better
data collection to ensure accountability and to
better understand and target anti-displacement
resources. The Housing Element incorporates
this input as through the following goals,
policies, and actions:
- Goals: 1, 2, 3
- Policies: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 3.5
- Actions: 1.1.1 through 1.1.14, 2.1.1 through 2.1.6,

2.2.1 through 2.2.8, 3.3.12, 3.3.18, 3.5.1, 3.5.2,

3.5.4 • Focus on Building more Housing Affordable
to Extremely Low, Very Low, Low, and
Moderate Incomes� Producing new
affordable and deeply affordable housing
options was identified as a key strategy to
prevent displacement. There were varying
opinions about new market rate housing;
some participants expressed that the City is
currently facing a housing supply shortage,
and must add new units of all types, while
other participants felt that the City most sorely
needs affordable housing and as such should
focus explicitly on this type of construction.

Groups discussed a wide range of strategies
to build more inclusive neighborhoods add
more affordable housing units in Oakland,
including: legalizing existing nonconforming
housing units, inclusionary zoning, changing
the zoning to increase density in primarily
single-family areas like Rockridge, supporting
homeowners in the construction of accessory
dwelling units (ADUs), City land acquisitions
to build new permanently affordable housing
and create community land trusts, and
reducing the amount of discretionary review
required for new housing projects. Other
recommendations included creating housing
commission and neighborhood planning
councils for ongoing resident leadership to
decide the kind of housing development.

The City of Oakland recognizes the need to
increase housing supply generally, and, with
priority given to increasing housing affordable
to very-low-, low-, and moderate-income
households in the following ways:
- Goals: 3
- Policies: 3.1 through 3.8
- Actions: 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1 through 3.2.6, 3.3.1
through 3.3.18, 3.4.1, 3.4.3 through 3.4.11,

3.5.1 through 3.5.4, 3.6.1 through 3.6.5, 3.7.4
through 3.7.6
• Address Housing Quality Issues� Housing
quality issues can have detrimental impacts on
people’s physical and mental health. Through
neighborhood outreach processes, many
Oaklanders described housing quality issues
they were living with, such as overcrowding,
unsafe building conditions, and lack of
maintenance, caused by landlord neglect,
lack of funds for upkeep or housing burden,
or fear of reporting these issues. Community-
recommended strategies to address these
issues included programs/grants to landlords
and homeowners to make repairs; universal
design to allow all Oaklanders to remain in
their homes as they age, or to help mobility-
impaired residents; and tax credits or programs
to address other housing habitability concerns,
like indoor air quality. The Housing Element
addresses housing quality issues in the
following ways:
36 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
- Goals: 2, 5
- Policies: 2.1, 5.2
- Actions: 2.1.1 through 2.1.6, 3.3.12, 5.2.1, 5.2.5,

5.2.6 • Keep Oakland Communities Together� All
Oakland neighborhoods are deserving of high-
quality amenities, more affordable housing, and
other public investments, especially in areas
that have suffered from disinvestment of the
past. However, concerns about gentrification
and displacement associated with new
investment were top of mind for many
Oaklanders. Scores of people expressed how
difficult it was to pay the rent in light of rising
costs. People who have long generational roots
in Oakland have been displaced but continue
to come to Oakland to be with community
and work. This includes a significant loss (30
percent) of Oakland’s Black population from
2000 to 2019. As some community members
noted, Oakland neighborhoods are like villages
where people care for and nurture each other,
and displacement means these villages are
fragmented, and culture is lost. Oaklanders
recommended creative ways to bring back
displaced people as homeowners, such as
support for co-ops, land trusts, and shared
multi-unit buildings. Other creative ways
to prevent displacement include creation of
cultural district/anti- displacement zones, a
human health/socioeconomic impacts analysis
to analyze displacement and homeless impacts
of market rate projects before the City provides
permits or zoning changes. Another way they
saw keeping Oakland communities together
was through investment to the most impacted
communities via municipal reparation to
redress Oakland’s history of eminent domain
and urban renewal and for Black Americans
who are descendants of chattel slavery. The
Housing Element addresses displacement and
cultural preservation in the following ways:
- Goals: 1, 2, 5
- Policies: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.5, 5.1, 5.3
- Actions: 1.1.1 through 1.1.14, 2.1.4, 2.2.1 through

2.2.8, 3.2.2, 3.3.8, 3.3.12, 3.3.18, 3.5.1 through

3.5.4, 5.1.1 through 5.1.3, 5.3.1 through 5.3.3
• Building in Accountability and Success
Metrics� Oaklanders desire more transparency
around housing issues and actions in the City,
and to be heard by elected officials and City
departments stressing the importance of
setting transparent and data-driven metrics
to measure the success of various housing
programs, and building in accountability
measures to ensure that the City can meet
its goals. The Housing Elements aims to
increase transparency and accountability in the
following ways:
- Goals: 1 through 5
- Policies: 1.1, 2.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2 - Actions: 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 2.1.3, 3.2.5, 3.3.13, 3.3.17,

3.7.1, 4.1.2, 4.2.4, 4.3.1, 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.2.11

37 Chapter 3: Sites Inventory Summary
3� Summary of the Housing Sites
Inventory

SUMMARY OF THE

HOUSING SITES
INVENTORY03
3�1 Regional Housing Needs Allocation
3�2 Capacity to Accommodate the RHNA
3�3 Assessing Housing Sites Through a Fair Housing Lens 38 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
3� Summary of the Housing Sites
Inventory
number is called the Regional Housing Needs
Allocation (RHNA). For the planning period 2023 to
2031 (also known as the 6th housing cycle), Oakland
must plan for 26,251 new units, or approximately six
percent of the total allocation for the nine-county
Bay Area region. Oakland’s allocation is a 77.8
percent increase from the prior cycle’s allocation
of 14,765 new units, but many nearby jurisdictions
have been assigned a larger percentage increase
than Oakland compared to their prior RHNA
allocation. This is in alignment with the regional goal of ensuring all cities and counties are affirmatively
furthering fair housing. Table 3-1 shows the income
breakdown of the Oakland RHNA with an additional
buffer, as recommended by the State, to account
for any loss due to reductions in density.

The Housing Element of the General Plan must
include an inventory of land suitable and available
for residential development to meet the city’s
regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) by
income level. This inventory is known as the
Housing Sites Inventory (“Inventory”). This chapter
provides a summary of the full Sites Inventory,
available in Appendix C.
3�1 Regional Housing Needs
Allocation
As required by State housing law, all California cities and counties must plan for the housing needs of
all their residents, at various income levels. This
39 Chapter 3: Sites Inventory Summary
Table 3-1: Oakland Regional Housing Needs Assessment, 2023-2031 INCOME LEVEL 1 NEEDED UNITS NEEDED UNITS
WITH 15% BUFFER

PERCENT OF

NEEDED UNITS
Very-Low-Income (0-50% AMI) 6,511 7,488 24.8%
Extremely-Low-Income (<30% AMI; part of Very-Low-
Income in previous row)2
3,256 3,745 -
Low-Income (51-80% AMI) 3,750 4,313 14.3%
Moderate-Income (81-120% AMI) 4,457 5,126 17.0%
Above-Moderate-Income (>120% AMI) 11,533 13,263 43.9%
Total 26,251 30,189 100�0%

1. Income levels reflect Alameda County Area Median Income. 2022 AMI limits are available at https://www.acgov.org/cda/hcd/hud-income-rent_ limits.htm .

2. Extremely-low-income housing need is assumed to be 50 percent of very-low-income housing need, pursuant to Govern-ment Code Section 65583(a). Although extremely-low-income housing need is not explicitly projected in the RHNA, this group often requires the most subsidy and assistance to generate a sufficient number of housing units.

Source: ABAG, Final RHNA Plan, December 2021
3�2 Capacity to Accommodate
the RHNA
Government Code Section 65583.2(c) requires
that local jurisdictions determine their realistic
capacity for new housing growth by means of
a parcel-level analysis of land resources with
the potential to accommodate residential uses.

Oakland’s analysis of potential to accommodate
new housing growth has considered physical
and regulatory constraints, including: lot area and
configuration, environmental factors (e.g. slope,
sensitive habitat, flood risk), allowable density, and
other development standards such as parking
requirements and building height limits.

Based on the City’s current General Plan and
zoning regulations, there is sufficient capacity to
accommodate its RHNA allocation with a buffer. In
addition, rezoning will also occur in select areas to
accommodate additional density such as parcels
around BART stations, along transit corridors, and
in existing residential neighborhoods to allow for
“missing middle” housing. This rezoning proposal
will unlock new sites that can accommodate
affordable housing within high resource
neighborhoods. Sites included in the inventory
reflect those that are most likely to develop during
the planning period and meet the RHNA; sites that
are newly made available by one of the rezoning
efforts identified in the Housing Action Plan are not
considered as part of this inventory since they do
not reflect zoning conditions at the beginning of
the Housing Element update process.
40 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
The Inventory identifies sufficiently zoned land to
accommodate the Oakland RHNA at all income
levels. The inventory is divided into two major
groups:
• Sites where development is underway or
approved (known as “pipeline projects”) or
otherwise can be credited to meet the RHNA
(such as Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs);
and
• Opportunity sites where additional
development could occur. This includes
1) potential development projects, where
projects may be in pre-approval; sites from
the previous RHNA cycle that remain available
for development; and new opportunity sites,
which includes both vacant and non-vacant
sites and consists of City-owned sites, sites
owned by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) or
other government agencies, sites located
within a specific plan area, and other sites with
expressed or potential development interest.

The analysis of nonvacant properties included
only those properties with realistic potential for
additional development, in light of 1) existing uses
on the site; 2) prevailing market conditions; 3)
recent development trends; 4) expressed interests
in housing development from property owners
or developers; and 5) regulatory and/or other
incentives to encourage recycling or intensification
of existing development.

A summary of capacity by housing units to meet
the Oakland RHNA is provided in Table 3-2, on the
following page. The complete 2023-2031 Inventory
is provided in Table C25 of Appendix C, and can be
seen in Figure 3-1.
41 Chapter 3: Sites Inventory Summary
Table 3-2: Summary of Residential Capacity to Accommodate the 2023-2031 Oakland RHNA

RESIDENTIAL UNITS

VERY-LOW-
INCOME 1,2
LOW-
INCOME 1

MODERATE-
INCOME
ABOVE-

MODERATE-
INCOME
TOTAL
Total Credits 2,013 2,247 776 9,933 14,969
Pipeline Projects 1,241 1,555 182 9,931 12,909
Projected ADUs 692 692 594 0 1,978
Adequate Sites Alternative 80 0 0 2 82
Potential Development Projects 440 1,494 194 5,374 7,502 Vacant 203 787 23 1,156 2,168
Non-Vacant 238 707 171 4,218 5,334
Available 5th Cycle RHNA 746 3,578 380 4,704
Vacant 23 596 3 622
Non-Vacant 723 2,982 377 4,082
New Opportunity Sites 5,106 895 2,035 8,036
Vacant 142 218 0 360
Non-Vacant 4,964 677 2,035 7,676
Total Capacity 12,046 5,443 17,722 35,211
6th Cycle RHNA 10,261 4,457 11,533 26,251
RHNA + 15% Buffer 11,801 5,126 13,263 30,189
Surplus Over RHNA 1,785 986 6,234 8,960
117�4 % 122�1 % 153� 7% 134�1 %

1. Low- and very-low-income capacity on opportunity sites is consolidated per default density assumptions as described in Government Code Section 65583.2(c)(3).

2. Extremely-low-income housing need is assumed to be 50% of the total very-low-income housing need, or about 3,256 unit.

3. Potential development project totals are reduced by 10% to account for likelihood of pre-application or early-phase planning permits that may not move forward.

Source: ABAG, Final RHNA Plan, December 2021; City of Oakland, 2022 Jc
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High St
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T unnel Rd
San Leandro St
A St
Main St
Dwight Way
Alcatraz Ave
Jackson St
Park Blvd
Piedmont Ave
Webster St

CURTIS ST
Golf Links Rd
Keller Ave
Oak St
Santa Clara Ave

CLEVELAND AV
Powell St
Posey T ube
35th Ave
Pacific Ave
Lincoln Ave

MARIN AV
73rd Ave
Grand St

KEY ROUTE BL
E 21st St
Harrison St
77th Ave
Versailles Ave
51st St
Bancroft Ave
Maitland Dr
82nd Ave
College Ave
Shattuck Ave
Sea View Pkwy
Park St
Broadway
Davis St
Adeline St
23rd Ave
E 14th St
Foothill Blvd
14th St Hegenberger Rd
Hollis St
University Ave
Park StFoothill Blvd
Claremont Ave
11th St
W Grand Ave
Market St
Broadway
T elegraph Ave
San Pablo Ave
14th St
Grand Ave
International Blvd
Bancroft Ave
Foothill Blvd
Seminary Ave
Bancroft Ave
Dutton Ave
Macarthur Blvd
98th Ave
Doolittle Dr
35th Ave
14th Ave
Broadway
Park Blvd
E 20th St
E 12th St
MLK Jr Way
Oakland Ave
Harrison St
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ALAMEDA

SAN LEANDRO

BERKELEY

PIEDMONT

EMERYVILLE
ORINDA
MORAGA
San Francisco Bay
Oakland
International
Airport
To Berryessa/
North San Jose
To Richmond
To San
Francisco
To Antioch
Lake
Merritt
Lake
Chabot
Coast Guard
Island Alameda
Alameda Gateway
Ferry Terminal
Bay Farm Island
Ferry Terminal
SOURCE: City of Oakland, 2021; ALAMEDA County GIS, 2021; Dyett & Bhatia, 2022 0 1 20.5
MILES
Figure C-1: City of Oakland 2023-2031 Housing Sites Inventory Oakland General Plan Update
µ
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Jc
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Skyline Blvd
As
hby Ave
Doolittle Dr
Otis Dr
E 12th St
Redwood Rd
W A St
11th St
Fruitvale Ave
Claremont
Ave
Edes Ave
Mand
ela Pkwy
98th
Ave
High St
Island Dr
Tunn
el Rd
San Leandro St
A
St
Main St
Dw
ight Way
Alcatraz Ave
Jackson St
Park Blvd
Piedmont
Ave
Webster St

CURTIS ST
Golf Links Rd
Keller Ave
Oak St
Santa Clara Ave

CLEVELAND AV
Powell St
Posey Tub
e
35th
Ave
Pacific Ave
Linc
oln Ave
MAR
IN
AV
73r
d Ave
Grand St

KEY ROUTE BL
E 21st St
Harrison St
77th
Ave
Versailles Ave
51st St
Bancroft Ave
Maitland Dr
82n
d Ave
College Ave
Shattuc
k Ave
Sea View Pkwy
Park St
Broadway
Davis St
Ad
eline
St
23r
d Ave
E 14th St
Foothill Blvd
14th St Hegenbe
rger Rd
Hollis St
University Ave
Park St
Foothill Blvd
Claremont
Ave
11th St
W Grand Ave
Market St
Broadway
Telegraph
Ave
San Pablo Ave
14th St
Grand Ave
International Blvd
Bancroft Ave
Foothill Blvd
Seminary Ave
Bancroft Ave
Dut
ton Ave
Macarthur Blvd
98th
Ave
Doolittle Dr
35th
Ave
14th
Ave
Broadway
Park Blvd
E 20th St
E 12th St
MLK Jr W
ay
Oakland
Ave
Harrison St
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ALAMEDA

SAN LEANDRO

BERKELEY

PIEDMONT

EMERYVILLE
ORINDA
MORAGA
S a n F r a n c i s c o B a y
Oaklan d
In terna tio na l
Air po r t
To Berryessa/
North San Jose
To Richmond
To San
Francisco
To Antioch
Lake
Merritt
Lake
Chabot
Coast Guard
Island Alameda
Alameda Gateway
Ferry Terminal
Bay Farm Island
Ferry Terminal
SOURCE: City of Oakland, 2021; ALAMEDA County GIS, 2021; Dyett & Bhatia, 2022 0 1 20.5
MILES
Figure C-1: City of Oakland 2023-2031 Housing Sites Inventory O a k l a n d G e n e r a l P l a n U p d a t e
µ
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RHNACAT
Lower-Income
Moderate-Income
Above-Moderate-Income
Mixed-Income
2020 Planning Areas
Central East Oakland
Coliseum/Airport
Downtown
East Oakland Hills
Eastlake/Fruitvale
Glenview/ Redwood Heights
North Oakland Hills
North Oakland/Adams Point
West Oakland
!( BART Stations
Jc Ferry Terminals
BART Lines
BART Airport Connector
Bus Rapid Transit Line
Ferry Routes
Railroads
Major Highways
Major Roads
City of Oakland
Alameda County

CREDITS TOWARDS THE RHNA
State HCD Guidance provides that the RHNA can
be accommodated by looking at: 1) projects that
are currently in the development pipeline; and 2)
by considering alternative means of meeting the
RHNA, such as projected accessory dwelling units
(ADUs) and a limited number of rehabilitated,
converted, or preserved units affordable to lower-
income households.

Pipeline Projects
Pipeline projects are projects that have been
approved, permitted, or will receive a Certificate of
Occupancy during the projection period (June 30,
2022, to December 15, 2030) and can be credited
toward the City’s 6th cycle RHNA. Using data from
the City’s Accela permitting system, 336 pipeline
projects with 12,593 units are spread across the
city, with the majority in the Downtown, West
Oakland, Eastlake/Fruitvale, and North Oakland/
Adams Point areas. Based on the affordability
levels or project-ed rents specified on the project
proposal, approximately 21.5 percent of pipeline
capacity is affordable for lower-income households,
while 1.3 percent is affordable for moderate-
income households. The remainder is assumed
to be affordable for above-moderate-income
households. All pipeline projects are shown in Table
C-5a and b, and shown in Figure C-2 in Appendix C.

Projected ADUs
Cities may consider the development potential of
ADUs or junior ADUs (JADUs) to meet their RHNA
using past building permit approval patterns since
2018. From 2018 to 2021, approximately 247 ADU
permits were issued annually in the City of Oakland.

Using a conservative estimate, the City anticipates
approximately 1,978 ADUs, or approximately 247
average permits per year times eight years.) Annual
ADU approvals are shown in Table C-7 in Appendix
C. To estimate affordability during the projection
period, the City used the results of its recent online
survey of ADU owners.11 Projected ADU capacity by
affordability level is shown in Appendix C, Table C-8.

Adequate Alternative Sites
According to State HCD, under “limited
circumstances” a local government may credit up to
25 percent of their adequate sites requirement per
income category through existing units. 2 Limited
circumstances refer to sites that are substantially
rehabilitated; located on a foreclosed property or
in a multifamily complex of three or more units
converted from non-affordable to affordable rental;
preserved at levels affordable to low- or very-low-
income households with committed assistance;
or preservation of mobile home parks through
acquired spaces.

According to Oakland HCD’s 2021-2023 Strategic
Action Plan, the City has acquired and converted
and/or preserved 600 affordable units between
2018 and 2020. As an ongoing City strategy, there
are a number of units that the City will convert and/
or preserve during the 2023-2031 planning period.

The affordability of these projects reflects the
actual affordability levels pursuant to the regulatory
agreements that will maintain such income-
restricted units. These sites and their capacity are
shown in Appendix C, Table C-9.
1 This survey was conducted in preparation of the “Oakland ADU Initiative: Existing Conditions and Barriers Report,” which was published January 2020 and revised June 2020. There were 56 responses to the question “How much does the
current ADU oc-cupant pay in rent per month? If the occupant is staying in the ADU for free, then mark $0.”
2 More specific conditions that sites included under this option must meet are provided by HCD on their website: https://www. hcd.ca.gov/planning-and-community-development/housing-
elements/building-blocks/adequate-sites-alternative
44 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update

OPPORTUNITY SITES
Opportunity sites included in the Inventory are
those likely to redevelop with housing considering
re-cent development patterns as well as a variety of
factors that indicate incentives to redevelop. These
include both vacant and underutilized land in
potential development projects, available 5th Cycle
RHNA sites, and new opportunity sites identified as
part of this Housing Element cycle.

Potential Development Projects
While pipeline projects are those that have received
planning approval or are in the building permit
process, there are also a number of other potential
projects at various stages in the planning process,
including those in the pre-application stage and
those with filed and under review planning permits.

Such projects are considered likely to develop.

These sites are shown in Appendix C, Table C-14.

Available 5th Cycle RHNA Sites
There are a number of opportunity sites selected
as part of the 5th cycle RHNA that did not develop
over the 2015-2023 period and are still available for
housing. Pursuant to Government Code Section
65583.2(c), sites identified to accommodate a
portion of Oakland’s lower-income RHNA that
were also contained in previous Housing Element
cycles must be zoned at residential densities of at
least 30 dwelling units per acre (du/ac) and must
also be rezoned to allow for residential use by right
for housing developments in which at least 20
percent of the units are affordable to lower-income
households. The proposed Inventory contains sites
identified to accommodate a portion of Oakland’s
housing need for lower-income households
that were included during the previous Housing
Element cycles. Specific sites carried over from
prior housing cycles are described in more detail
in Appendix C, Table C-15.

New Opportunity Sites
New opportunity sites not included in previous
Housing Element cycles were identified to meet
the City’s remaining RHNA. These sites include
both vacant and non-vacant sites and consist
of City-owned sites, sites owned by BART, sites
located within a specific plan area, and other
sites with ex-pressed or potential development
interest, including interest determined as part of
a community map-ping exercise. Capacity of and
rationale for nonvacant sites redevelopments can
be found in Appendix C, Table C-16.

Site Selection and Capacity
As part of site analysis, a Housing Element also
must demonstrate the projected residential
development capacity of sites identified
that can realistically be achieved. Creation of
realistic assumptions involved survey of recently
constructed and approved projects by base
zone, density, and height; likelihood of residential
conversion and infill development rates; and
development capacity modifiers such as existing
use on a site, and potential development incentives
like low assessed value (AV) ratio (when the value of
the land is greater than the existing structure) and
low floor area ratio (when a building only takes up
a small part of a lot.)
To identify adequate sites and determine realistic
capacity, a parcel-based analysis was conducted
in accordance with the State site requirements
for very-low and low-income sites. Sites that were
excluded include non-residential projects already
in development; sites without much incentive
to redevelop; sites that were environmentally
constrained by high fire risk, near fault lines, or
within a 100-year flood plain; and sites with known
contamination. In addition to these considerations,
sites that are sought to be designated as capable
of accommodating lower-income housing must
meet the State-defined standard of 30 du/ac,
known as the “default density”, and they must be
between 0.5 and 10 acres. A robust description of
the methodology and full table of realistic capacity
is provided in Appendix C.
45 Chapter 3: Sites Inventory Summary
3�3 Assessing Housing Sites
Through a Fair Housing Lens
The City of Oakland is committed to ensuring
that all of its actions are “fair and just” and
further racial equity in Oakland. At the same
time, the Environmental Justice Element of the
General Plan seeks to address equity issues—
including adequate provision and support
of affordable, healthy homes—in identified
Environmental Justice Communities. As explored
in the Environmental Justice and Racial Equity
Baseline (March 2022), there are many factors that
contribute to the livability of a healthy community,
ranging from physical aspects of the natural and
built environment to less tangible aspects like
historic, socioeconomic, and cultural settings
and conditions. By assessing the housing sites
inventory against Affirmatively Furthering Fair
Housing (AFFH) criteria, the Housing Element is an
important step in achieving an equitable future in
Oakland.

As described in Appendix D, the site identification
requirement in the context of affirmatively
furthering fair housing involves not only an analysis
of site capacity to accommodate the RHNA,
but also whether the identified sites serve the
purpose of replacing segregated living patterns
with truly integrated and balanced living patterns,
transforming racially and ethnically concentrated
areas of poverty into areas of opportunity.
3Furthermore, this analysis will determine whether
programs must be adopted to “make sites available”
with appropriate zoning, development standards,
3 Gov. Code, § 8890.50. subd. (b).
and infrastructure capacity to accommodate the
new development need.

Chart 3-1 summarizes the process of developing
the housing sites inventory and demonstrates
how the inventory meets the criteria for AFFH.

Sites were selected in a manner to further and
prioritize investment in historically disadvantaged
communities, to decrease displacement pressures,
and to increase access to existing higher resourced
neighborhoods.4 More information on each of the
steps to identify additional sites for lower-income
housing is available in Appendix C.

The Inventory was developed in a manner
consistent with the City’s mandate to affirmatively
further fair housing (AFFH), pursuant to State
law. Given the City’s inability to meet the 5th
cycle RHNA for lower- and moderate-income
households (see Appendix A), an emphasis was
placed on locating sites appropriate for these
income groups – particularly in higher resource
areas. However, increasing access to existing
high resource neighborhoods represents just one
strategy to increase access to opportunity for lower-
income households – the City is also committed
to investing in “lower resource” neighbor-hoods
to increase opportunity for the existing residents
4 To quantify access to opportunity at the neighborhood level, State HCD and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) convened to form the California Fair Housing Task Force to develop Opportunity Maps that visualize accessibility of low-income adults and children to resources within a jurisdiction. High Resource areas are those that offer low- income adults and children the best access to a high-quality education, economic advancement, and good physical and
mental health.

Chart 3-1: Housing Sites Inventory Development Process
Establish
RHNA 6
target
Calculate
remaining
RHNA 6
Total
Earmarked
Sites
Identify
New
Opportunity
Sites
Assess
Inventory
under AFFH
criteria
Identify
supplemental
sites for
AFFH
46 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
of those neighborhoods – described further in
Appendix D and the Housing Action Plan. Many
Oakland residents want to remain in the neighbor-
hoods that they call home, and may not want
to move to “higher-resource” areas which tend
to be predominantly white and higher-income.

Many existing ethnic enclaves offer resources
like culturally-specific grocery stores, churches,
language services, or other key access points that
could be difficult to find elsewhere. Thus, efforts
to increase access to exclusive neighborhoods
must also be coupled with investment, cultural
preservation, and anti-displacement efforts in
lower-income neighborhoods and Racially or
Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/
ECAPs). In parallel with housing development, the
City must invest in lower resource neighborhoods
with a focus on improving opportunity and out-
comes for existing residents—especially historically
marginalized BIPOC communities—including
in-vestments in equitable access to transit, public
facilities, food access, and other amenities.

The State and California Fair Housing Task Force
use a series of Opportunity maps developed by
the Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) and
HCD to define areas of low to high opportunity
using a set methodology. These maps, described
more fully in Appendix D, indicate that a significant
portion of Oakland is considered low resource or
high segregation and poverty. As a result, while
the RHNA is met for each income category based
on pre-established housing sites in the Inventory,
lower-income capacity in “moderate” to “highest”
resource neighborhoods remained relatively low.

With the exception of Rockridge BART, which has
historically not been available for lower income
housing, many of these areas are, in fact, in close
proximity to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit)
lines and are suitable to develop at the densities
typically required for lower-income projects. For
example, much of the Downtown area—which
permits some of the highest densities in the city—
is considered low to moderate resource.

Most residential capacity at all income levels is
located in the low resource and high segregation
and poverty areas, largely due to the fact that over

60.0 percent of land in Oakland is considered lower
re-source or high segregation and poverty per
TCAC’s Opportunity Scores. The high and highest
resource neighborhoods carry a relatively small
portion of the total unit allocation – influenced by
environmental constraints present in the Oakland
Hills including fault zone hazards, high fire risks,
and active pipeline projects. About 70.1 percent
of Oak-land’s highest resource areas are within a
Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), as
are about 25.7 percent of the city’s high resource
areas. Flooding also represents a risk in these areas
(.6 percent in highest resource; 6.8 percent in high
resource), as do earthquake fault zones (5.0 percent
in highest re-source; 2.2 percent in high resource)
– see Appendix C for additional information. It
should also be not-ed that ADU projections, which
estimate significant numbers of units affordable
to lower- and moder-ate-income households, are
not included in these estimates. As these units
are typically provided in low-er-density and higher
resource neighborhoods, they will further increase
the proportion of lower-income housing available
in these neighborhoods.

Many of these higher resourced neighborhoods
currently reflect a historic pattern of exclusionary
zoning; to address this, the City is taking action to
upzone these areas to further increase housing
production ca-pacity and unlock additional
opportunities for affordable and “missing middle”
housing in high-resource neighborhoods. These
reforms would also affirmatively further fair housing
by opening up exclusionary neighborhoods, and
reducing the exposure to air pollution, toxic and
other environmental hazards in environmental
justice communities. See Appendix J for more
information on these rezoning actions, and
Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan for other actions
that support affirmatively furthering fair housing.

The location of all sites contained in the Inventory
compared to TCAC opportunity areas are provided
in Figure 3-2 on the following page.

Jc
Jc
Jc
!( !(
!(
!(
!(
!(
!(
!(
!(
!(
Skyline Blvd
As
hby Ave
Doolittle Dr
Otis Dr
E 12th St
11th St
Fruitvale Ave
Claremont
Ave
Edes Ave
Mand
ela Pkwy
98th
Ave
High St
Island Dr
Tunn
el Rd
San Leandro St
Main St
Dw
ight Way
Alcatraz Ave Park Blvd
Piedmont
Ave
Webster St
Golf Links Rd
Keller Ave
Oak St
Santa Clara Ave
Powell St
Posey Tub
e
35th
Ave
Pacific Ave
Linc
oln Ave
73r
d Ave
Grand St
E 21st St
Harrison St
77th
Ave
Versailles Ave
51st St
Bancroft Ave
Maitland Dr
82n
d Ave
College Ave
Shattuck Ave
Sea View Pkwy
Park St
Broadway
Davis St
Adeline
St
23r
d Ave
E 14th St
14th St Hegenbe
rger Rd
Hollis St
ersity Ave
Park St
Foothill Blvd
Claremont
Ave
11th St
W Grand Ave
Market St
Broadway
Telegraph
Ave
San Pablo Ave
14th St
Grand Ave
International Blvd
Bancroft Ave
Foothill Blvd
Seminary Ave
Bancroft Ave
Dut
ton Ave
Macarthur Blvd
98th
Ave
Doolittle Dr
35th
Ave
14th
Ave
Broadway
Park Blvd
E 20th St
E 12th St
MLK Jr W
ay
Oakland
Ave
Harrison St
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ALAMEDA

SAN LEAND RO

BE RKE LEY

PIEDMONT

EMERYVILLE
ORINDA
MORAGA
S a n F r a n c i s c o B a y
Oaklan d
In terna tio na l
Air po r t
To Berryessa/
North San Jose
To Richmond
To San
Francisco
To Antioch
Lake
Merritt
Lake
Chabot
Coast Guard
Island Alameda
Alameda Gateway
Ferry Terminal
Bay Farm Island
Ferry Terminal
SOURCE: HCD AFFH Data and Mapping Resources - HCD & TCAC Opportunity Areas Mapping Analysis, 2021; ABAG, 2020; City of Oakland, 2021; ALAMEDA County GIS, 2021; Dyett & Bhatia, 2021 0 1 20.5
MILES
Figure C-8: Housing Sites Access to Opportunity
O a k l a n d G e n e r a l P l a n U p d a t e
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J:\GISData\582_Oakland_GP\GIS\Projects\HE\Hearing Draft\UPDATE 121522\Figure C-8_Housing Sites Access to Opportunity.mxd Draft Inventory Site

RHNACAT
Lower-Income
Moderate-Income
Above-Moderate-Income
Mixed-Income
TCAC Opportunity Area
Highest Resource
High Resource
Moderate Resource (Rapidly Changing)
Moderate Resource
Low Resource
High Segregation & Poverty
!( BART Stations
Jc Ferry Terminals
BART Lines
BART Airport Connector
Bus Rapid Transit Line
Ferry Routes
Railroads
Major Highways
Major Roads
City of Oakland
Alameda County
Figure 3-2: Housing Sites Access to Opportunity, 2022
48 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Increased provision of affordable housing in existing
higher resource neighborhoods is a State priority
to ensure that the City meets its requirements to
affirmatively further fair housing. Therefore, the City undertook the additional effort to locate suitable
supplemental sites appropriate for lower-income
development in higher resource neighborhoods
beyond the preliminary sites inventory – which
already met the RHNA in each income category.

As discussed in Appendix C, the preliminary sites
inventory consisted of active pipeline projects,
projects with expressed developer interest, and
other City- and community-identified underutilized
sites without known environmental constraints and
near amenities like transit. To identify supplemental
sites, the City started with the entire universe of
parcels in Oak-land, and filtered out sites based
on objective physical constraints and opportunity
metrics. More in-formation on these constraints
and metrics can be found in Appendix C.

From this list of sites filtered by physical suitability characteristics, other important decision factors
were applied, including: sites within moderate to
highest resource TCAC Opportunity Areas, within
Priority Development Areas (PDAs), within a half-
mile of a BART station, and within a “transit-rich”
area as defined by the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC).5 After completing this exercise,
an additional 70 potential sites were identified
– generally in the North Oakland/Adams Point,
Eastlake/Fruitvale, Glenview/Redwood Heights,
North Oakland Hills, and Downtown areas. Among
these, 19 parcels were identified as supplemental
sites that would further AFFH objectives. Feasibility
of future residential development on these
additional sites were “ground-truthed” by City
staff based on underutilization, local knowledge of
the sites, and aerial images of the current state of
5 A transit-rich area is defined by MTC as one in which 50 percent of the area is within one half-mile of the following: an existing rail station or ferry terminal (with bus or rail service); a bus stop with peak service frequency of 15 minutes or less; and a planned rail station or planned ferry terminal (with bus or rail service) in the most recently adopted fiscally-constrained Regional Transportation Plan.
the property. Figure C-7 in Appendix C maps the
locations of these supplemental “AFFH sites.”
An affirmative effort was made to locate affordable
housing in higher resource neighborhoods to
reduce patterns of exclusion and segregation,
and the City remains committed to increasing
opportunity in neighborhoods that have
experienced historic disinvestment. Providing
opportunity for lower-income households must be a
multipronged approach – the provision of affordable
housing in areas that are already higher resourced
must be coupled with continued investments in
place-based strategies for historically marginalized
neighborhoods. As outlined in Appendix D, the
production of affordable housing and other
strategies that enhance opportunity and housing
security where lower-income residents already
live—including gentrifying neighborhoods that
face significant displacement pressures—must
complement strategies to locate additional
affordable housing in existing high-opportunity
areas.

These actions, as outlined in the Housing Action
Plan (Chapter 4) will ensure that lower-income
housing does not become concentrated in
neighborhoods without active efforts to provide
the needed place-based strategies to let historic
Oakland neighborhoods thrive. Further, rezoning
actions included in the Housing Action Plan will
increase the number of sites viable for lower-
income housing in high resource neighborhoods;
however, since the City is able to meet the RHNA
under existing zoning and due to the difficultly
associated with projecting the affordability and
capacity of sites newly made available for housing
during the planning period, sites resulting from
these actions are not considered in the sites
inventory. Further, the City remains committed
to enacting strong tenant protections and anti-
displacement strategies to ensure that the
same market forces that promote market rate
development in gentrifying neighborhoods do not
lead to the displacement of residents who call that
neighborhood home.
49 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
4� Housing Action Plan

HOUSING
ACTION PLAN04
4�1 Goals, Policies, and Actions
50 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
4�1 Goals, Policies, and Actions
The 2023-2031 Housing Element identifies a
foundational framework of five overarching goals
to comprehensively address the housing crisis and
needs of Oaklanders and to affirmatively further
fair housing.
• Reduce racial segregation and disparities in
housing opportunities and outcomes
• Replace segregated living patterns with truly
integrated and balanced living patterns
• Transform racially and ethnically concentrated
areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, foster
and maintain compliance with civil rights, and
affirmatively further fair housing.

The five goals are:

Goal 1: Protect Oakland Residents
from Displacement and Prevent
Homelessness
Goal 2: Preserve and Improve Existing Housing
Stock
Goal 3: Close the Gap Between Affordable
and Market-Rate Housing Production
by Expanding Affordable Housing
Opportunities
Goal 4: Address Homelessness and Expand
Resources for the Unhoused
Goal 5: Promote Neighborhood Stability and
Health
4� Housing Action Plan
While these five goals provide an overall framework
for addressing the multifaceted housing crisis,
the policies and actions described in this chapter
specify the means for implementing those
goals. Actions include both programs currently
in operation as well as new actions needed to
address the city’s housing needs.

In addition, the City seeks to combat entrenched
patterns of segregation by ensuring its laws,
programs, and activities affirmatively further
fair housing. This means taking specific actions
targeted at overcoming patterns of segregation,
fostering inclusive communities free from barriers
that restrict access to opportunity and housing,
and closing the gap between market-rate &
affordable housing by prioritizing preservation and
development of housing for those of the greatest
need, including Black & Brown households. Each
goal below includes a statement of how the
programs and actions supporting that goal will help
affirmatively further fair housing including but not
limited to the promotion of equal access to housing
for low -income households. An assessment of
patterns of segregation in Oakland can be found
in Appendix D Assessment of Fair Housing.

In order to provide more immediate housing
solutions and stability for existing tenants and
unsheltered residents, the City’s Housing and
Community Development Department (Oakland
HCD) has established a balanced approach to
investing its available resources, with 25 percent of
available resources to rehabilitation/preservation
of existing deed-restricted affordable housing,
51 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
25 percent to acquisition and conversion of
unsubsidized affordable housing opportunities,
and 50 percent dedicated to the new construction
of affordable housing with a required homeless
set-aside. These funding priorities are outlined in
HCD’s Strategic Action Plan (2021-2023), found here:
https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/
HCD.final.21-21Strategic-Plan.pdf.

The City’s Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA)
and Request for Proposal (RFP) processes are
key for how the City supports many of the goals
outlined below. NOFAs and RFPs released by
the HCD are competitive application processes
for awarding City of Oakland funds for the
development of affordable housing. Currently,
HCD has three NOFA programs: 1. Acquisition
and Conversion to Affordable Housing (ACAH), 2.

New Construction of Multifamily Housing, and 3.

Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Preservation of
Multifamily Affordable Housing. When funding
is available, NOFA are released under the three
programs to issue funds for affordable housing
projects, which are then reviewed for feasibility
and scored based on criteria in each NOFA. Based
on ranking, projects are recommended for funding
to the Oakland City Council. NOFA scoring is
guided by the values centered on advancing racial
equity and to prioritize assisting housing projects
where the tenants are at risk of displacement
and that target assistance towards extremely low
income households. In recent years, the City has
1 Policy Link, “A Roadmap Toward Equity: Housing Solutions for Oakland, California.” 2015. 2 Urban Displacement Project, “Mapping Displacement, Gentrification, and Exclusion in the San Francisco Bay Area.” 2018. Available at https://www.urbandisplacement.org/maps/sf-bay-area-gentrification-and-displacement/ . also implemented its Homekey Program, which
uses State Homekey funds to expand housing for
people experiencing homelessness or at risk of
homelessness. The City chooses Homekey partners
via an RFP process seeking proposals for the rapid
acquisition and operation of homeless housing.

Goal 1� Protect Oakland
Residents from Displacement
and Prevent Homelessness
The San Francisco Bay Area is decades into an
extreme housing crisis, and Oakland is at the
center of that crisis. Housing production, and
particularly affordable housing production, has
not kept pace with the region’s economic growth.

Because Oakland’s rental and housing market
has traditionally been less expensive than other
Bay Area cities, Oakland residents experience
disproportionately high displacement pressure. As
a result, many Oakland residents cannot afford to
buy or rent a home within their own neighborhood.
1As households displaced from more expensive
Bay Area communities search for more affordable
housing options in Oakland and higher-income
households continue to move into the city,
Oakland’s existing residents continue to bear the
brunt of the Bay Area’s housing crisis.2 Community
investment, including building new housing, is
crucial for all Oakland neighborhoods to prevent
52 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
displacement.3 With demand outpacing the limited
housing supply, competition for finite units and the
resulting rising rents creates displacement pressure
on low-income residents. Research by the Changing
Cities Research Lab at Stanford University and the
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on credit
score data shows that lower income residents who
move from historically Black neighborhoods tend
to move to neighborhoods with lower housing
values and health scores, suggesting movement
under constrained circumstances; over time, fewer
of these low-income movers stayed within Oakland
or moved into Oakland as affordable options
declined. Rising rents are a factor in increasing
rates of homelessness. According to the 2022
Alameda County Point in Time Count, 25 percent
of unsheltered Oakland residents report that rent
increases were a primary cause of homelessness, in
addition to job loss (22 percent) and other money
issues (13 percent).

Oakland is committed to enabling renters and
owners to stay in their homes and communities,
eliminating all involuntary moves out of the city.

Goals and policies that are part of a comprehensive
protection strategy are designed to prevent
displacement and homelessness, and to ensure
that low-income renters and homeowners
have supports they need to stay in their homes
and communities as increased neighborhood
investment occurs.

HOW THIS GOAL AFFIRMATIVELY

FURTHERS FAIR HOUSING
To meet the City’s equity goals and mandate
to affirmatively further fair housing, this goal of
protecting Oakland residents from displacement
and preventing homelessness —including the
policies and actions contained within—will
advance the City’s commitment to reducing
3 Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “Displacement of Lower- Income Families in Urban Areas Report.” May 2018. Available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/ DisplacementReport.pdf .
racial and economic disparities across Oakland.

This goal seeks to protect Oakland renters and
owners from displacement pressures and prevent
homelessness, both of which disproportionately
impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
(BIPOC) communities throughout Oakland. For
example, enhanced tenant protections will crack
down on tenant-based racial discrimination in the
housing market. This will be particularly important
as the eviction moratorium established during the
COVID-19 pandemic eventually comes to an end
and as further pressure is exerted on the residential
rental market.

Rent stabilization and just cause protections also
ensure that as more amenities are added to a
neighborhood (and it becomes higher resource),
the existing residents from diverse backgrounds
are able to stay. Residents of historically disinvested neighborhoods should be able to remain in their
homes and enjoy the results of improved amenities
and increased services. In the long-term, this will
enhance access to opportunity for historically
marginalized and disadvantaged communities.

By pursuing live/work preferences for Oakland
residents and taking actions to assist tenants
at risk of eviction, Oakland helps tenants avoid
displacement or concentration in disadvantaged
neighborhoods.

53 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Through more robust data collection efforts, the
City will also be able to better identify and correct
barriers to opportunity. These efforts include the
creation of a rental registry and other displacement
measure tracking. More accurate data will also help
the City to better target its existing and future
housing resources for maximum impact.

POLICY 1�1� TENANT PROTECTIONS

AND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT
Action 1�1�1: Continue to Implement the Rent
Adjustment Ordinance�
The Oakland Rent Adjustment Ordinance (Chapter

8.22, Article I of the Oakland Municipal Code) limits
rent increases on covered units (most units built
before 1983) based on a formula tied to increases in
the Consumer Price Index. In 2022, the City Council
adopted an amendment to change the formula
used to calculate the annual allowable rent increase
to 60 percent of the change in CPI, or 3 percent,
whichever is lower. The Rent Adjustment Program
(RAP), a division of Oakland Department of Housing
and Community Development, will continue to
enforce the Rent Adjustment Ordinance.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: Revisions to formula to calculate
allowable rent increase completed in 2022.

Implementation ongoing, 2023-2031.

Objective: All tenant rights and protections
under applicable City law will be enforced.

Action 1�1�2: Enforce Just Cause for Eviction
measures�
Just Cause for Eviction protections are enforced
by the Rent Adjustment Program (RAP) and are
contained within Chapter 8.22, Article II of the
Oakland Municipal Code. In 2022, the City Council
voted to place on the November 2022 ballot an
expansion of the Just Cause for Eviction ordinance.

In particular, the ballot measures asks: Shall the
Measure amending the Just Cause for Eviction
Ordinance to: (1) prohibit no-fault evictions of
children and educators during the school year;
(2) extend eviction protections to tenants in
recreational vehicles (RVs), tiny homes on wheels,
and newly constructed units except during the
first 10 years after issuance of the certificate of
occupancy; (3) remove failure to sign a new lease as
grounds for eviction; and (4) make other clarifying
amendments, be adopted? The City will continue
to enforce just cause measures, undertake efforts
to ensure the public is aware of revisions if enacted
by the voters, and expand tenant protections
as feasible—including identifying additional
limitations to just causes.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: All tenant rights and protections
under applicable City and State law will be
enforced.

Action 1�1�3: Enforce and Strengthen Ellis Act
protections�
The Ellis Act is a statewide law that permits
property owners to terminate tenancy when
withdrawing residential units from the rental
market. Although the City cannot prohibit Ellis Act
evictions, it has adopted the Ellis Act Ordinance
(Chapter 8.22, Article III of the Oakland Municipal
Code) to set specific requirements that must be
followed when removing a property to discourage
violations of the Act and prevent the displacement
of renters. This includes filing withdrawal notices
with the Oakland Rent Adjustment Program, and
the provision of relocation assistance. Recent
efforts to reform or repeal the Ellis Act at the State
level have gained significant traction but have not
to date been successful. The City has supported
those efforts—for example, see City Resolution
54 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
No. 88571 C.M.S. in support of Assembly Bill 854
(Lee) that would have prohibited a rental housing
owner from removing a building from the market
pursuant to the Ellis Act unless all owners of the
property have held their ownership interest for
at least five years. The City continues to hold that
reform is necessary to reduce speculator abuse and
protect tenants. The City will join neighboring Bay
Area cities to advocate for statewide reform to the
Ellis Act to stabilize rental housing.

Furthermore, the City’s requirements when
removing a property through the Ellis Act
Ordinance are bolstered by protections under the
City’s Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance (see Action

1.1.2 above) and Relocation Ordinance (Action

1.1.4 below). The City’s newly implemented rental
registry (2022) will also help the City monitor Ellis
Act-related eviction cases.

The City will continue to enforce the Ellis Act
Ordinance and, based on any changes allowed by
statewide reform, explore ways to strengthen renter
protections—including proactive enforcement of
eviction protections—in case of an Ellis Act eviction
where feasible.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: Ellis Act Ordinance Protections
are ongoing, 2023-2031; staff will continue to
process Ellis findings, which have averaged
25 annually over the past four years, and will
continuously seek ways to improve efforts to
inform owners and tenants of their rights and
obligations under the Ellis Act through robust
outreach and counseling. Furthermore, the
rental registry will be required as of July 1, 2023
and monitored thereafter. Lastly, the City will
engage its legislative lobbyists annually and
submit a support letter to the State annually to
continue Statewide advocacy efforts.

Objective: All tenant rights and protections
under applicable City and State law will be
enforced, and the City will continue to seek
ways to improve tenant protections under the
related ordinances.

Action 1�1�4: Implement tenant relocation
measures�
On January 16, 2018, the City of Oakland passed the
Uniform Residential Tenant Relocation Ordinance
(Ord. No. 13468) to establish a uniform schedule
of relocation payments which are now extended
to tenants evicted when the owner or qualifying
relative moves in and for other “no tenant fault”
evictions. The Uniform Relocation Ordinance (Ord.

No. 13468) requires owners to provide relocation
payments to tenants displaced by code compliance
activities, owner or relative move-ins, Ellis Act
activity, and condominium conversions. The
City will continue to implement and enforce the
Ordinance, adjusting base payments for inflation
annually on July 1st. Additional relocation payments
shall be required for tenant households in rental
units that include lower-income, elderly or disabled
tenants, and/or minor children.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: All tenant rights and protections
under applicable City and State law will be
enforced.

Action 1�1�5: Implement a right to counsel in
Rent Adjustment Program proceedings�
The City will implement a tenant right to counsel
in Rent Adjustment Program (RAP) proceedings,
where qualified tenants who participate in RAP
hearings have right to free legal representation
within the funding availability restrictions. This
includes partnering with nonprofit organizations
to provide those services.
55 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: In October, 2022 Council approved
a service provider contract to provide legal
representation during RAP proceedings begin-
ning in providing representation services in
Fall 2022.

Objective: Resources permitting, all tenants
participating in RAP proceedings will have
access to legal representation to prevent
displacement by preventing unlawful rent
increases. (see Action 1.1.6 below).

Action 1�1�6: Enhance housing related legal
services
As funding becomes available, the City will
increase housing related legal services, including
eviction defense services and legal counseling
through community partners. Housing Related
legal services will help address displacement risks,
eviction defense, and housing instability through
legal representation, consultation, and education.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Local, State or
federal sources as available, and Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: In July 2022 Council approved
a direct grant to a consortium of nonprofit
legal service providers to continue eviction
protection and other legal services. Other
tenant legal service contracts are administered
through the Rent Adjustment Program. Staff
will continue to seek funding to ensure services
will be ongoing.

Objective: Resources permitting, all at risk ten-
ants may seek free legal services from external
partners to prevent evictions and housing
instability.

Action 1�1�7: Expand the City’s ability to
enforce rent control to maintain affordability�
Rent control measures are outlined in Oakland’s
Rent Adjustment Ordinance and enforced through
the Rent Adjustment Program (RAP). Currently,
residential rental units are covered by the Rent
Adjustment Ordinance if they are within a building
built prior to 1983 and there are two or more units
in the building. In addition, the City’s new rental
registry, approved in 2022, will require property
owners to report rent and tenancy information to
RAP on an annual basis. This new tool will allow
the City to better monitor rent control and will help
both tenants and owners understand whether their
rents comply with Oakland’s Rent Adjustment
Ordinance. The City will consider how to expand
the number of units subject to rent control to
maintain affordability.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: Rent control measures are ongo-
ing, 2023-2031. As of July, 1, 2023, the City’s
rental registry will require owners of these
units to report rent and tenancy information
to RAP on an annual basis. With this new tool,
staff will be able to better monitor rent control
measures.

Objective: To the extent permitted by State
law, Oakland will use the rental registry to
ensure rent control laws are being followed,
enabling better renter protections.

56 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 1�1�8: Monitor neighborhood
displacement risk factors�
As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue
to unfold and eviction moratoriums lift, there is an
urgent need to monitor displacement pressures.

The City will regularly monitor displacement risk
factors—including rising housing costs, rapid
demographic changes, neighborhood instability,
climate risks, and trends around in- and out-
migration across neighborhoods in Oakland—to
understand local displacement risk. This data
will be used to better target anti-displacement
programs and prioritize neighborhoods with a high
risk of displacement. This data will also be used to
better understand the causes of displacement and
help tailor City programs to meet existing housing
needs. The City will carry out the bi-annual Resident
Mini Pulse Survey on the state of housing security
as part of these monitoring efforts.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment fee
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031; conduct Resi -
dent Mini Pulse Survey on biannual basis.

Objective: The City of Oakland will include
displacement-related statistics in a broader
housing or community dashboard available on
the City website.

Action 1�1�9: Implement a rental housing
registry�
A rental housing registry is a database of rental
units within Oakland and will be used to track
properties subject to rent control provisions, Just
Cause for Eviction measures, and other property-
specific policies and requirements. In June 2022,
the Oakland City Council adopted Ordinance No.
13695 CMS to establish a rental registry in Oakland.

The City will use data collected in the rental housing
registry to monitor and understand neighborhood
change at a more granular level, to better target
anti-displacement policies and ensure that rent
increases are compliant under the Rent Adjustment
Ordinance.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Annual Rent
Adjustment Fee
Timeframe: Implement the rental registry by
2023, maintain it ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: By 2023, the City will design and
implement a rental housing registry. This regis-
try will cover housing units subject to rent sta-
bilization and/or just cause protections under
City law.

Action 1�1�10: City Enforcement of the Tenant
Protection Ordinance (TPO)�
The TPO (Chapter 8.22, Article V of the Oakland
Municipal Code) recognizes tenants’ right to live in
safe, dignified, harassment-free homes. The TPO
deters and makes unlawful harassment by property
owners and their agents, including property
managers, recognizing that such harassment can
frequently force tenants from their homes. The
ordinance provides tenants strong legal recourse
in the event of such prohibited harassment. On
July 21, 2020, the City further amended the TPO
to strengthen existing protections and include
additional remedies. For example, the amendments
established heightened penalties for violations
against elderly, disabled, and/or catastrophically ill
tenants. The amendments further expanded the
ordinance’s application to non-profit-owned rental
housing and rental units in newly constructed
residential properties. City enforcement of the TPO
can prevent and remedy violations against tenants,
for example by deterring unscrupulous landlords
from undertaking “self-help” evictions and securing
building and/or citywide relief for tenants. City
enforcement therefore is critical to ensuring that
Oakland’s most marginalized tenants also receive
the protections of the TPO.

In October 2020, the Oakland City Attorney
launched the Housing Justice Initiative, a housing
57 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
enforcement unit specifically dedicated to
protecting marginalized Oakland tenants through
the enforcement of the TPO and other similar or
related local and State laws.

Through the Housing Justice Initiative and the
work of the City Attorney’s existing Neighborhood
Law Corps, the City will continue to expand its
enforcement of the TPO.

Responsible Party: Oakland City Attorney
Potential Funding Source: Additional grant
sources will be pursued.

Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: Tenants’ rights and protections
under applicable City and State law will be
enforced more systematically and on a larger
scale over time, with a focus on actions that
protect the most marginalized tenants and
hold large-scale bad actors to account.

Action 1�1�11: Enforce the tenant right to
return and protections from coercive
buyouts�
Currently, through the Tenant Move Out Ordinance
(Chapter 8.22.700, Article VI of the Oakland
Municipal Code), Oakland renters have protections
from unfair or coercive buyout agreements. Further,
State law (SB 330) requires that property developers
provide the right to return to low-income renters
when a property is demolished and redeveloped,
and that the charged rent must be affordable. The
City will continue providing awareness of State and
local requirements and will enforce affordability
requirements in new development projects.

Further, pursuant to Action 2.2.5, the City will
extend this right beyond the sunset date of SB 330.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development; Oak-
land Planning & Building Department
Potential Funding Source: Legal fees associ-
ated with case parties involved
Timeframe: SB 330 rights will be extended by
the end of 2024.

Objective: All tenant rights and protections
under applicable City and State law will be
enforced.

Action 1�1�12: Provide a local preference in
affordable housing projects �
Oakland Municipal Code [Chapter 15.63] grants
preference in City-assisted affordable housing
projects to (1) Oakland residents displaced
due to City actions or no-fault evictions, (2)
neighborhood residents, and (3) Oakland residents
and workers. All three preferences are applied
at initial occupancy, to the extent permitted by
other funding sources. After initial occupancy,
displaced households and Oakland residents and
workers continue to receive priority preference for
available units. Oakland’s Housing and Community
Development Department recently updated its
findings to support its preferences and ensure
that its preferences may be permitted in County-
assisted projects. The City will continue its efforts to streamline the process by which these preferences
are applied, including through a regional housing
portal and a more robust tracking system for
displaced households.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: n/a
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031. While the
ability of the City to require its projects to
participate in a regional application portal
depends in part on the readiness of such por-
tals, the City currently attends regular meet-
ings around the design of a regional portal. The
City intends to identify a suitable application
portal to partner with by the end of 2024.

Objective: The City will continue to apply local
preferences in City-assisted affordable hous-
ing to the extent allowed by law and the con-
straints of other involved funding sources. The
City will continue to identify ways to streamline
the administration of its preferences, includ-
ing through a regional housing portal and a
more robust tracking system for displaced
households.
58 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 1�1�13: Negotiate for appropriate
community benefits during development
agreement approvals for major entitlements
and use of City land�
While negotiating development agreements with
developers for large scale market-rate and non-
residential projects on City land or development
agreements requiring complex, multi-phase
entitlements, the City will advocate for establishing
an appropriate set of standardized community
benefits to mitigate any displacement pressures
that result from the development. This may include
increased levels of required affordable housing
units. The City will consult with community-
based organizations and residents impacted
by developments to evaluate the extent of
community benefits required to properly mitigate
displacement impacts.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department, Oakland Department of Hous-
ing and Community Development; Economic
and Workforce Development Department
Potential Funding Source: Permit fees
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: Significantly reduce displacement
pressures through negotiating appropriate
community benefits during the development
agreements process.

Action 1�1�14: Protect Oakland residents from
displacement and becoming homeless�
Keep Oakland Housed, the Shallow Subsidy Pilot
(public-private partnerships), Oakland Housing
Secure, and the federally funded Emergency
Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) are programs
that currently help prevent renters from becoming
homeless through rental assistance, legal advice,
housing counseling, and/or case management.

Through these programs, a diverse and vibrant
network of providers has been created that work
together to provide individualized services to
Oakland tenants.

The City will support and align City, Alameda
County, and private partners (such as community-
based and faith-based organizations that have
roots in communities whose members are
disproportionately at risk of homelessness) to
strengthen their capacity to prevent displacement
and respond effectively when people are
experiencing a housing crisis. The City will also
expand these types of programs and design new
ones that identify, assist, and prioritize funding
for those who are most at risk of becoming
homeless. In addition, the City will continue to
make information about tenant protection, anti-
displacement, rental assistance, and homelessness
services available on the City’s website and at City
facilities and strive to improve public awareness of
these programs. These efforts are especially key in
the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and the eventual
end of the eviction moratorium. Additional tenant
protection actions are included in Actions 1.1.1-1.1.10.

Responsible Party: Oakland Housing and
Community Development Department
Potential Funding Source: Federal ERAP
funds, private contributions, other local, State,
and federal resources as available
Timeframe: Continue implementation of the
ERAP program 2022-2023, and The City of
Oakland to issue a Request for Proposals and
award a contract to a homeless prevention pro-
gram provider(s) by mid 2023.

Objective: The City of Oakland will continue
to implement a homeless prevention program
that includes emergency financial assistance,
legal support and wrap around services. The
program will be an extension of previous
homeless prevention programs such as Keep
Oakland Housed, Oakland Housing Secure, and
the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

59 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Goal 2� Preserve and Improve
Existing Affordable Housing
Stock
Oakland’s existing affordable housing stock is an
important resource for the city’s lower- and
moderate-income population. Housing
preservation means retaining existing built
affordable housing and extending its affordability
for current and future tenants. Preventing the loss
of valuable existing affordable housing units is a
cost-effective way of maintaining this resource
as well as keeping existing residents who may be
more vulnerable to increasing cost pressures in
their homes.

Oakland has numerous preservation policies in
place already, including rehabilitation programs for
low-income homeowners, demolition and condo
conversion restrictions, resale controls to preserve
affordability, and regular inspections of City-
assisted affordable housing stock. A primary task
of City staff will be to enforce and maintain these
policies over the coming cycle. In addition, the City
has identified areas where it may seek to expand
preservation strategies, such as through a proactive
inspection program for non-restricted housing
stock, environmental remediation programs, and
policies to facilitate acquisition of properties by
tenants and mission-driven nonprofits. These
strategies are described below.

Preservation, improvement, and maintenance also
have health and equity co-benefits—addressing
housing habitability issues can help to narrow
inequitable racial and ethnic gaps in substandard
housing conditions and reduce the burden
of maintenance challenges for lower-income
homeowners. This goal includes policies and
actions that conserve and improve existing housing
stock.

HOW THIS GOAL AFFIRMATIVELY

FURTHERS FAIR HOUSING
This goal sets forth several policies and actions that
will advance fair housing in Oakland though actions
that physically rehabilitate housing units, reduce
displacement by deepening and/or extending
affordability, and ensure Oakland residents are
able to remain in their communities and enjoy
new amenities and benefits. Physical rehabilitation
of housing also improves the environmental
determinants of health, thereby advancing the
City’s Environmental Justice goals. As discussed in
Appendices B and D, BIPOC residents of Oakland
are disproportionately impacted by substandard
housing issues. Actions contained within this goal
will reduce the prevalence of these substandard
housing issues citywide. Universal design strategies
will also increase housing access for seniors and
people with disabilities.

Actions that preserve the affordability of existing
homes play a key role in preventing displacement
and allowing lower-income and BIPOC tenants
to remain in place despite the displacement
pressures in their neighborhoods. These actions
range from resale controls to demolition and

60 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
conversion protections. A Community Opportunity
to Purchase/Tenant Opportunity to Purchase
Act, if adopted, would allow for tenants to access
the wealth building and stability benefits of
homeownership. Historic preservation actions also
preserve cultural institutions and history that would
otherwise be at risk of loss due to gentrification.

POLICY 2 �1 EXISTING HOUSING STOCK

IMPROVEMENT
Action 2�1�1: Support home rehabilitation
programs�
The City will expand housing rehabilitation
assistance to very low- and low-income
homeowners to address code violations, repair
major building systems in danger of failure, abate
lead-based paint hazards, conduct minor home
repairs for seniors, and perform or fund emergency
repairs. Per the Council-adopted target of 100
percent building electrification by 2040 (Equitable
Climate Action Plan (ECAP) Action B-2) and energy
resilience for all (ECAP Action A-2), the City will
pursue resources to integrate holistic building
electrification, onsite renewable energy, and energy
storage into these programs where possible, and
combining building electrification improvements
with other improvements for health, safety, and
livability. Per the ECAP, electrification refers to
the replacement of methane (aka “natural”) gas
systems and appliances with efficient, effective,
all-electric alternatives, such as heat pumps or
induction cooking. Electrification is intended to
be permanent: to meet the Council’s 2040 target,
buildings switching away from gas to efficient
electric systems and appliances should not later
add gas infrastructure or appliances. Some of the
programs currently operated by the City of Oakland
or its partners include:
• Home Maintenance & Improvement Program
(HMIP) Deferred Loan Program
• Emergency Home Repair Program Loan
Program
• Alameda County Minor Home Repair Grant
Program
• Lead Hazard Control and Paint Program
• Access Improvement Program
• Oakland CalHome ADU/JADU Loan Program
• Bay Area Regional Energy Network’s HomePlus
Program and Home Energy Advisor
• TECH Clean California
• California Energy Smart Homes
• Low Income Weatherization Program
The City will engage local partners and fair housing
experts to help promote awareness of, and broad
participation in, these programs. The City will
continue to implement, annually review, and
revise, as needed, program guidelines for housing
rehabilitation assistance. The City will target
resources, as available, to expand opportunities
throughout the community, including in lower-
income and lower resource areas that will include
Environmental Justice Communities that will be
identified through the EJ screening process. The
City will also strive to build community capacity and
technical know-how by connecting homeowners
with local labor to carry out home rehabilitation
projects. This assistance will be particularly targeted to neighborhoods experiencing or at severe risk of
displacement and gentrification. The City will also
commit to explore additional funding sources for
rehabilitation work beyond limited CDBG funds,
which provides funding for many of Oakland HCD’s
homeowner rehabilitation programs.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development, Resi-
dential Lending Division
Potential Funding Source: Community Devel-
opment Block Grants and potentially other
funding sources as available
Timeline: The City of Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development will
61 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
continue to accept applications for and serve
residents through its established low-income
homeowner rehab programs and facilitate
access to other resources on an annual basis.

The City will also pursue additional funding
sources for rehabilitation work beyond lim-
ited CDBG funds, which provides funding for
many of Oakland HCD’s programs. The timing
on pursuit of these additional funding sources
depends on when such opportunities are avail-
able, as State funding streams for home reha-
bilitation/electrification are unpredictable or
trade off with other Housing Element priorities
(for example, the CalHome program could fund
rehabilitation, but that would potentially mean
applying for less money for down payment
homebuyer assistance which has no other ded-
icated funding).

Objective: As funding is available, the City of
Oakland will continue to fund and operate
home rehabilitation programs. At current fund-
ing trends, this will allow for approximately 80
rehabilitation projects each year.

Action 2�1�2: Promote healthy homes and
lead-safe housing�
The City will continue, and seek resources to
expand, implementation of the Lead-Safe Homes
Program to assist low- and moderate-income
homeowners with lead paint identification
and remediation, prioritizing resources for
disadvantaged communities with high rates of
asthma. The City will also continue to partner with
the Alameda County Community Development
Agency’s Healthy Homes Department to provide
education, lead-safety skills training, and on-site
consultations for Oakland property owners and
conduct lead poisoning prevention and asthma
trigger interventions for Oakland residents. In
accordance with Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate
Action Plan, the City will encourage the transition
away from natural gas appliances, which has been
proven to increase development of asthma in
children by 24 percent and which increases risks of
fire and explosions. The City will seek resources to
integrate electrification, lead abatement, and home
rehabilitation activities in order to maximize public
health and housing security benefits for frontline
Oaklanders. The City will also seek resources and
inter-agency partnerships to monitor public health
impacts of new programing and requirements.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development, Res-
idential Lending Division; Sustainability and
Resilience Division, City Administrator’s Office
Potential Funding Source: Community Devel-
opment Block Grants and potentially other
funding sources as available
Timeline: Ongoing throughout the 2023-2031
period and beyond
Objective: As funding becomes available, the
City of Oakland will implement programs to
reduce health hazards from lead and natural
gas appliances.

Action 2�1�3: Conduct proactive rental
inspections�
The City is adopting a proactive, data-driven
housing inspection program for City Council’s
approval in early 2023 to improve housing
habitability conditions among the City’s rental
stock. Covered rental units will be inspected on
a regular basis at designated intervals thereby
reducing the likelihood of deterioration and
escalation to substandard housing conditions by
identifying and targeting exterior and interior code
violation early on. The City will continue to monitor
and inspect properties in response to a complaint
driven process from the public on habitability and
blight condition. The City will work with community
partners to develop appropriate enforcement
mechanisms, including tenant protection and anti-
displacement mechanisms to ensure tenants are
not displaced as a result of proactive inspections
turning up housing habitability issues and/or raising
rents due to the cost of fixing habitability issues.

Further, the City will prioritize inspections in areas
with older housing stock and health disparities
and seek funding to streamline the inspection/
62 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
rehabilitation process by connecting property-
owners to technical and financial assistance for
safety and accessibility improvements at the time
of inspection. Guidelines are being developed
to identify issues that may qualify as delay of
enforcement actions to provide property-owners
with sufficient time to complete the needed
repairs, thereby mitigating displacement of existing
tenants and preserving affordability.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: Permit fees
Timeline: 2023
Objective: The City will develop a proactive
rental inspections program to significantly
improve housing safety and quality and
address housing needs, particularly in areas
with older housing stock and communities
experiencing health disparities.

Action 2�1�4: Support historic preservation
and rehabilitation�
The City will support the preservation and
rehabilitation of both the existing historic housing
stock and adaptively reused non-residential
structures through a variety of strategies,
including continued implementation of Mills Act
Contracts and the Oakland Community Buying
Program. The City will support the preservation
of historic, archaeological, and tribal cultural
resources and their incorporation into project site
planning where feasible. As described in Action

3.2.3, the City will also promote adaptive reuse to
promote historic preservation.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge, permit fees
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: The City will continue to implement
the Mills Act and the Oakland Community
Buying Program to support to help support
historic preservation.

Action 2�1�5: Implement universal design
strategies�
The City will initiate community engagement
to understand the need for universal design
strategies, including with seniors, people
experiencing disabilities, and community-based
organizations with insight and experience with
accessibility issues. The City will consider the
adoption of a Universal Design Ordinance, which
would help close loopholes, ensure good faith
compliance of Americans with Disability Act
provisions, ensure that accommodations are built
into new developments, and allow Oaklanders to
age in place.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge, permit fees
Timeline: 2025-2027
Objective: The City will consider adopting a
Universal Design Ordinance to address hous-
ing needs and improve housing conditions for
seniors, people experiencing disabilities, and
other communities with accessibility issues.

Action 2�1�6: Increase funding for improved
indoor air quality�
The City will seek State, Federal, and other
funding sources to provide financial assistance to
property owners and very low- and low-income
homeowners to offset some of the cost of investing
in better ventilation, air filtration systems (e.g.,
MERV filter systems), and efficient electrification
to improve indoor air quality in existing single-
and multifamily residential units, with a priority
for homes in high air pollution areas such as near
freeways. The City will adopt and implement an
Existing Building Electrification Roadmap, using an
equity-centered approach to transition all homes
away from methane (aka “natural”) gas systems by
2040. The Roadmap will specify policy strategies,
necessary incentives and safety nets, and other
steps to avoid increasing housing displacement or
energy insecurity in the electrification transition.
63 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Responsible Party: Sustainability and Resil-
ience Division, City Administrator’s Office
Potential Funding Source: State fund-
ing such as Technology and Equipment for
Clean Heating Initiative, Building Initiative for
Low-Emissions Development, and California
utility repayment funding. Federal funding is
available through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Additional sources of funding could include
CEQA mitigation funds, philanthropic sources,
and other public-private partnerships.

Timeline: Identify funding by 2026; bring Exist-
ing Building Electrification Roadmap to Coun-
cil for adoption by end of July 2023
Objective: Significantly improve indoor air
quality and address housing need in existing
single- and multifamily residential buildings.

POLICY 2 �2 PRESERVE THE

AFFORDABILITY OF EXISTING HOMES
Action 2�2�1: Continue to implement resale
controls on assisted housing�
The City will continue to use financing agreements
for both City-assisted ownership and rental
development projects to ensure that units remain
permanently affordable through covenants running
with the land.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: HOME, HUD,
CALHFA, County, misc. State/Federal housing
programs, AHP private funds
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objectives: 100 percent of City-assisted home -
ownership and rental units will have their
affordability covenants effectively enforced.

Action 2�2�2: Enforce, monitor, and preserve
affordable housing covenants with an
emphasis on “at-risk” units�
The City will proactively monitor and enforce
affordable housing covenants and will conduct
outreach to the owners of assisted units that are at
risk of conversion to market-rate housing. The City
will prioritize the preservation of units at some level of risk of converting in the next 10 years by actively
working with and encouraging the owners of those
properties to extend their covenants. Pursuant to law, the City will also engage in required noticing, tenant
education, and coordinating with qualified entities.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: HOME, HUD,
CALHFA, County, misc. State/Federal housing
programs, AHP private funds
Timeframe: Program monitoring and enforce-
ment of this program is ongoing, 2023-2031. Fur-
thermore, the City has issued Preservation and

64 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Rehabilitation NOFAs on a periodic basis, per
funding availability to capture existing afford-
able units at-risk of conversion to market-rate,
and perform rehabilitation work on properties in
exchange for extending the term of affordability
restrictions. Recent NOFA under this program
were released in 2017 ($9.5M) and 2019 ($11M),
and the next NOFA release is anticipated in 2023.

The City is aiming for approximately $10M in this
round, but will likely bolster that amount with
the 2022 Bond Measure funding for affordable
housing and infrastructure approved by voters.).

Objectives: As funding becomes available,
deed-restricted affordable housing units at risk
of losing their affordability will be protected
from a loss of affordability protections through
extensions of regulatory agreements, and
deepening of affordability levels when possible.

Currently the City’s policy is to allocate approx-
imately 25 percent of available local funding
towards Preservation and Rehabilitation NOFA,
and future funds will be allocated contingent
upon availability.

Action 2�2�3: Enforce residential demolition
and conversion restrictions for residential
hotels�
Residential hotels, also referred to as single-room
occupancy (SRO) units, provide an important
source of naturally occurring, deeply affordable
housing in City. As such, Oakland has enacted
regulations to limit the demolition, conversion,
and rehabilitation to charge higher rents of existing
residential hotel units. The City has recently
amended these regulations (Chapter 17.153 of the
Oakland Planning Code) to strengthen protections
for residential hotels and will continue to enforce
these protections to preserve their affordability.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objectives: Continue to enforce Single-Room
Occupancy (SRO) regulations to preserve
affordability and meet housing needs.

Action 2�2�4: Limit condominium
conversions�
The conversion of rental housing to condominiums
provides a risk to the affordability of Oakland’s
housing stock. The City recently amended its
condominium conversion regulations to require
replacement rental housing for the conversion of
two or more housing units, to remove the provision
allowing the generation of conversion rights when
the units are offered as rental units for seven or
more years, to acknowledge the applicability of the
Oakland Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and the
Oakland Rent Adjustment Ordinance, and to afford
greater rights and protections to existing tenants.

The City will strictly enforce these recently adopted
regulations to preserve Oakland’s rental housing
supply.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: Permit fees
Timeframe: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objectives: Continue to enforce condominium
conversion regulations to preserve rental hous-
ing supply and prevent displacement.

Action 2�2�5: Extend local replacement unit
provisions�
State law (SB 330) mandates that “protected
units” are replaced with comparably affordable
units when a residential building is demolished
and redeveloped. The City will codify and extend
replacement provisions pursuant to State law
beyond the established sunset date. The City
will require that developers notify existing and
prospective tenants of their tenant rights as
provided both under SB 330 as well as Oakland’s
Just Cause for Eviction Notice. The City will require
developers to comply with applicable tenant
right to refusal provisions. Further, the City will
65 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
engage in strict monitoring and enforcement of
the law to ensure replacement units are provided.

This will include active outreach to developers
to ensure they are aware of and comply with
replacement unit provisions, and the maintenance
of a displaced tenant database. The City will require
that any demolition proposals include sufficient
relocation assistance and right to return to the new
replacement units.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department; Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeframe: Enforcement of SB 330 require-
ments: Ongoing, 2023-2031. Adoption of
Requirements above SB 330: 2024.

Objectives: Codify and extend local replace-
ment unit provisions to ensure compliance and
prevent displacement.

Action 2�2�6: Reduce short-term home
purchases/sales (i�e�, “house flipping”)
to ensure affordability and prevent
displacement�
The practice of “house flipping,” —acquiring
properties, making superficial improvements,
and quickly reselling at a higher price—can cause
housing costs to increase, leading to higher rates
of displacement and increased exclusivity in higher
resource neighborhoods. To curb the negative
effects of speculation, the City will consider
implementing an anti-speculation tax, which would
apply a fee when a property is sold shortly after
purchase. The City will conduct a market study to
understand the potential impacts of such a tax and
its appropriateness within Oakland. As discussed
in Action 2.2.8, the City will also explore a possible
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase/Community
Opportunity to Purchase Act.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Finance
Potential Funding Source: General Plan
Surcharge for the study; self-funding, if
implemented
Timeframe: 2026
Objectives: Study the root causes of unafford-
ability and displacement and consider possible
taxes to prevent displacement and maintain
affordability. Looking specifically at the cost
to rehabilitate a home and incentivizing the
market to maintain neighborhood level afford-
ability through tax incentive or disincentive.

Action 2�2�7: Provide additional subsidy for
residential hotels�
The City will consider allowing owners of residential
hotels that agree to restrict occupancy to lower-
income residents to transfer development rights to
create an endowed source of funding for an internal
subsidy for such residents, or for maintenance/
facility upgrades that do not increase rents.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeframe: 2025-2027
Objectives: Preserve SROs and meet housing
need.

66 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 2�2�8: Investigate a Tenant/
Community Opportunity to Purchase Act�
A Tenant/Community Opportunity to Purchase
Act, referred to as TOPA/COPA, gives tenants
and nonprofit organizations the opportunity to
purchase their home when it goes up for sale,
thereby preserving that housing unit as affordable.

TOPA/COPA policies are under development in
multiple Bay Area cities, including Oakland, the
neighboring City of Berkeley, East Palo Alto, and
San Jose. The City will study the effectiveness of
a TOPA/COPA model suited to local conditions,
which may include equity-building mechanisms,
funding needs and sources, racial equity impact
considerations, or other approaches that may be
appropriate to Oakland. Enactment of a TOPA/
COPA policy would require City Council review and
approval.

Responsible Agency: City Council; Oakland
Department of Housing and Community
Development
Potential Funding Source: Impact fees, Gen-
eral Fund, infrastructure bond funds, HOME,
CDBG, and other local, State, and federal fund-
ing as available
Timeline: Investigate a TOPA/COPA policy
and present findings to Oakland City Council
for discussion by Fiscal Year 2025. If adopted,
implementation will occur at maximum two
years after the date of adoption.

Objective: Oakland will study by FY2025, and
if appropriate, implement a TOPA/COPA policy
by 2027 at the latest.

Goal 3� Close the Gap Between
Affordable and Market-
Rate Housing Production by
Expanding Affordable Housing
Opportunities
To address Oakland’s ongoing housing crisis, key
strategies should focus on closing the gap between
market-rate and affordable housing production by
prioritizing the preservation of existing housing and
developing high-quality and abundant affordable
housing for those of the greatest need, including
Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color
(BIPOC) households.

During the previous RHNA cycle, the City
permitted more above-moderate-income housing
than required by the RHNA, whereas the City
only permitted one affordable housing unit for
every eight above-moderate income units. This
highlights the need for a concerted effort to
increase production of homes that are affordable to
very low-, low-, and moderate-income households.

While adding housing at every income level can
help reduce market competition for existing
homes, a primary driver in displacement and
homelessness, Oakland also needs more deeply
affordable housing. Oakland especially needs
housing affordable to extremely-low-income
residents and housing that remains permanently
affordable. One of the key objectives in expanding
affordable housing opportunities and producing
more affordable housing is overcoming patterns
of discrimination and opening up neighborhoods
67 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
that have historically been exclusionary to
communities of color and low-income residents,
while simultaneously refocusing resources and
protections towards historically disinvested
neighborhoods (see Policy 2.2).

As stated above, the City fell short of meeting its
lower- and moderate-income need, which has
nearly doubled during the current 6th cycle RHNA.

The shortfall is primarily a reflection of the lack of
commensurate state and federal subsidies that
would be necessary to achieve Oakland’s targets
for low- and moderate-income households. Public
funds for affordable housing would need to be
expanded tenfold in order to meet these 6th Cycle
RHNA targets. Other constraints are discussed
in Appendix C. To meet the increased need for
affordable housing, the City will identify new
funding sources, expand existing programs, and
introduce new strategies to close the gap between
market-rate and affordable housing production,
and further encourage high quality and abundant
affordable housing development.

As California’s housing crisis continues into another
decade, new and innovative models for the
development and maintenance of permanently
affordable housing are needed to overcome these
obstacles and meet Oakland’s increased housing
needs. This includes alternative housing models
that have the benefit of being more affordable
and can meet a wider range of community
needs, incomes, and lifestyles, including single
room occupancy (SRO) programs; efficiency units
(where the kitchen/dining area is segmented off
from a combination sleeping/living area); micro
units (units usually less than ~250 square feet);
and co-housing (private homes clustered around
shared space). The City is encouraging these
models: recent examples include Oakland’s 2018
Residential Hotels Ordinance, the “Nook” microunit
project built in 2016, and completion of co-housing
project Phoenix Commons in 2016. Recognizing the
limited resources that staff already operate with,
the City will welcome models that are community-
based and are eligible for external funding. For the
next eight years and beyond, the City will cultivate
an atmosphere that encourages new approaches
to meet Oakland’s affordable housing needs. The
City will also encourage models that emphasize
community ownership of land and housing to
promote permanent affordability.

Oakland has very little vacant land available for
development and is reliant primarily on reuse of
existing sites for development. The vacant parcels
that do exist, however, often provide significant
opportunities for residential development.

Furthermore, vacant residential and commercial
buildings and units could provide potential sources
of additional housing supply that are not currently
available. As part of this goal, the City will enact a
variety of strategies to incentivize active residential uses on vacant land and units.

Although housing is largely provided by the private
and nonprofit sectors, the City has one major tool
to influence development patterns and increase
housing development of affordable housing and
allow for other housing types: the Planning Code.

To ensure that the Planning Code is responsive
to housing policies and programs, the City will
need specific zoning amendments that meet
Oakland’s changing needs and remove identified
constraints to residential development. The suite
of amendments the City will undertake range from
short- to long-term solutions, some of which will be
carried out alongside the update of the Housing
Element and others as part of the comprehensive
update to the City’s General Plan that includes the
Land Use and Transportation Element and will
continue through 2025 after the Housing Element
adoption.

The length and cost of the residential permitting
process—which are ultimately reflected in a unit’s
selling price—are also generally within the City’s
control. An onerous and lengthy review process can
be one of the most significant barriers to housing
construction because some developers may decide
that the cost of project review and its potential
delays simply overcomes the revenue of new
68 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
housing, particularly in the case of projects that are
only marginally financially feasible and/or profitable.

Recognizing that long permitting processes are a
statewide issue, a slate of new legislation, including
SB 35, SB 330, AB 2162, and SB 1483, has introduced
new requirements that are intended to facilitate
the production of affordable housing through a
streamlined residential permitting process.

The City of Oakland currently operates both an
online permit center and an in-person “one-stop”
permit center with counter services staffed by the
Departments of Planning and Building, Fire, and
Transportation. However, there are opportunities
to better steward small nonprofit and BIPOC
developers, homeowners looking to add additional
units, affordable housing developers, and other
community partners through the residential
permitting process.

This goal will encourage the production of
affordable housing and guide development of
a more diverse range of housing choices for
households of all types, incomes, and special
needs; and promote changes to City tools like its
permitting procedures and zoning code to make it
easier and faster to build affordable housing.

HOW THIS GOAL AFFIRMATIVELY

FURTHERS FAIR HOUSING
Though Oakland is one of California’s most diverse
cities overall, there is significant racial segregation between the city’s neighborhoods. As a result
of past practices such as mortgage redlining,
disinvestment in neighborhoods of color, racially
restrictive covenants on housing development,
exclusionary zoning, destructive urban renewal,
highway development and predatory lending
in neighborhoods of color, many of Oakland’s
BIPOC residents live in neighborhoods that lack
access to quality amenities or upward mobility.

As higher income people move to Oakland, low-
income neighborhoods of color are also more
susceptible to gentrification and continue to bear
infrastructure burdens from the city’s increased
housing supply. In contrast, some high-resource
areas remain disproportionately white in their racial
composition because they are zoned primarily for
single-family homes, and the absence of lower cost
housing types prevents BIPOC and lower-income
families from moving to these neighborhoods.

See Appendices B and D for additional detail on
these patterns of segregation. The City must work
towards breaking down barriers towards accessing
high-opportunity neighborhoods for those who
choose to live there, while simultaneously investing
in “lower resource” neighborhoods. Increasing
affordability and expanding the housing types
permitted in high-opportunity neighborhoods
will be key to ensuring that currently exclusive
neighborhoods become inclusive.

During the outreach process, many community
members expressed a desire to see Oakland
be more inclusive and retain and strengthen its
diversity with a wider array of housing choices.

Community members sought more duplexes,
fourplexes, cottage courts, and garden apartments
throughout the city. These smaller, “missing
middle” housing types tend to be more affordable
by design—compared to single-family homes—
and thus provide additional options for first-time
homebuyers, single people, and moderate-income
households. These housing types can also
increase the housing stock in previously built-out
neighborhoods, and as such are an important
factor for Oakland to meet its moderate-income
RHNA target. Accessory dwelling units – also
known as ADUs, granny flats, secondary units,
in-law units, and backyard cottages – are another
important strategy to increase the supply of
housing that is more affordable by design. ADUs
offer an alternative for people who want to rent but
do not want to live in larger apartment complexes.

ADUs tend to be located in lower-density and
higher resource neighborhoods that often contain
few other rental options that are affordable. As
described in Appendix C, the majority of ADUs in
Oakland are estimated to have rents affordable
to lower-income households. The community
also expressed a desire to see increased housing
typologies and affordable housing throughout
69 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
the city, including existing working-class
neighborhoods that are currently low-resource
due to systemic racism and disinvestment. Efforts
specifically aimed at increasing affordable housing
production are included in Policy 3.3.

On March 16, 2021 , the City Council directed the
Planning Bureau to explore criteria for allowing four
units on all residential parcels citywide, including
in areas that are zoned to only allow single-family
homes—prior to the passage of SB 9. Zoning
reform actions under this goal will expand on
this direction and help to open up exclusionary
neighborhoods. Other housing development
reforms—like permit streamlining and ADU
promotion—will also help expand housing options
in traditionally exclusionary neighborhoods.

Further, certain segments of the population face
greater challenges to finding decent, affordable
housing due to special characteristics. Such
characteristics may include one’s employment
and income, family characteristics, disability, or
other conditions. Thus, some residents face greater
housing cost burden, overcrowding, or other
housing problems.

State Housing Element law defines “special
needs” groups to include persons with disabilities
(including developmental disabilities), the elderly,
large households, female-headed households,
homeless people, and farmworkers. Many
households within these special needs groups also
fall within the extremely-low-income category. The
special needs of individuals within these groups
are wide ranging: in addition to affordable and
accessible housing opportunities in proximity to
transportation and other services, individuals with
disabilities or who are experiencing homelessness
may need on-site support and services. Meanwhile,
female-headed households benefit from on-site
childcare, and universal design elements such
as zero-step entrances and single floor living are
important considerations for senior housing.

Special needs housing is an important component
of Oakland’s commitment to just and fair treatment
of all individuals. It is critical that housing conditions foster an environment where everyone can
participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

Actions contained within this goal will expand
funding sources for affordable housing, including
bonus points for serving special needs populations,
will together allow for the expansion of affordable
opportunities for special needs populations in
high-opportunity neighborhoods. Actions related
to expanding affordable housing options that are
accessible to extremely-low-income households
are also contained under Policy 3.1.

POLICY 3�1 FACILITATE PRODUCTION

OF DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Action 3�1�1� Develop a project-based rental
or operating subsidy program for extremely-
low-income residents�
Create a capitalized operating subsidy program for
extremely-low-income households. This will enable
the creation of extremely-low-income housing,
which is only possible with the provision of public
operating subsidies to ensure financial stability for
the property and appropriate support services for
the residents.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Timeline: Program will be launched by Decem-
ber 2023
Potential Funding Source: State of California
Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA),
Homeless Housing Assistance & Prevention
(HHAP), and any and all other resources that
become available for this use.

Objective: This program will fund proj-
ect-based rental or operating subsidy for at
least 16 units of extremely-low-income hous-
ing per year, for a total of at least 56 extreme-
ly-low-income units by 2031.
70 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�1�2: Align and target Oakland
Housing Authority Section 8 Vouchers
for permanent supportive housing and
extremely-low-income units�
The Oakland Housing Authority will continue
targeting vouchers to support the development of
extremely-low-income Housing through the award
of project-based vouchers and/or other Oakland
Housing Authority funds.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Housing
Authority
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Potential Funding Source: Federal Section 8
vouchers, VASH vouchers, and/or other Oak-
land Housing Authority funds.

Objective: As vouchers or funds are avail-
able, at least 20 percent of units in assisted
developments will be deed restricted as
extremely-low-income.

POLICY 3�2 CREATE A MORE DIVERSE

MIX OF HOMES TO MEET COMMUNITY
NEEDS
Action 3�2�1: Develop zoning standards to
encourage missing middle and multi-unit
housing types in currently single-family-
dominated neighborhoods, including flats,
duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes/
rowhouses, and ADUs�
The City will review and amend the Planning
Code and implement objective design standards
to encourage missing middle-density housing
typologies, including flats, duplexes, multiplexes
(triplexes, and fourplexes), bungalow courts,
rowhouses/townhomes, and ADUs. The City
will work to reduce pre-development costs
and expedite the planning approval process for
missing middle housing types resulting from both
new construction and the conversion of existing
structures.

The City will develop zoning standards that
allow for two, three, and four units on parcels
in Detached Unit Residential (RD) Zones and
additional multi-unit housing types in Mixed
Housing Type Residential (RM) Zones. The City will
also reduce the minimum lot size in Detached Unit
Residential and Mixed Housing Type Residential
lots to 2,000 square feet to remove constraints
on lot splitting. The City will permit a variety of
building types (attached, detached, bungalow
courts) to maximize flexibility, neighborhood scale
and potential opportunities for homeownership
(split lots and condominiums) in parallel with Policy

3.4 and Policy 5.1. See Appendix J for a summary of
missing middle zoning amendments.

Under Action 3.4.1, the City will revise development
standards, including allowable building heights,
densities, open space and setbacks requirements.

Under Action 3.4.8, the City will develop objective
design standards at the neighborhood level to
ensure that multi-unit neighborhood scale housing
types designed in a manner that is compatible with
the scale of existing residential housing forms in
these zoning districts is permitted ministerially.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees, SB2 Grant for Objec-
tive Design Standards
Timeframe: June – July 2023
Objective: Significantly increase produc-
tion of multi-unit housing types (including
duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes, along with
other multi-unit housing types) in current sin-
gle-family-dominated neighborhoods to match
housing need.

Action 3�2�2: Promote and protect live/work
housing and housing for artists �
The City will update development standards,
building codes, and land use regulations to promote
artist housing, including joint living and working
71 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
quarters (JLWQs) in areas where appropriate
under the General Plan. The City will encourage
employers, trade groups, and arts and cultural
districts to provide housing opportunities that
are affordable to artists and similar professionals.

The City will continue to allow the conversion of
existing commercial nonresidential buildings to
JLWQs in specific commercial/industrial locations
while considering the impacts on nearby viable
businesses. The City will support bringing
existing, unpermitted JLWQ units in commercial
and industrial buildings into compliance with
Building Codes and the Planning Code in a way
that mitigates displacement of existing tenants
and preserves affordability.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees, 2415 fund of the City,
SB2 Grant for Objective Design Standards
Timeframe: 2025
Objective: Significantly increase production
and protection of live/work housing and hous-
ing for artists to match housing need.

Action 3�2�3: Promote flexibility in adaptive
reuse to increase the housing stock�
The City will encourage the reuse and rehabilitation
of Oakland’s historic building stock to provide
additional housing units, safeguard neighborhood
character, and preserve the energy embodied in
the building’s original construction. The City will
amend land use regulations and development
standards in the Planning Code to reduce
constraints on adaptive reuse of commercial
buildings for residential use, and help make clear
how the Historic Building Code and Alternate
Materials and Methods Request (AMMRs) can
be used to facilitate the adaptive reuse of older
commercial buildings. Reuse in environmentally
sensitive areas—including in warehouses adjacent
to industrial uses—will consider health and safety
impacts prior to approval.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees, SB2 Grant for Objec-
tive Design Standards
Timeframe: 2025
Objective: Significantly increase reuse and
rehabilitation of historic commercial buildings
for residential use to match housing need.

Action 3�2�4: Provide financial incentives for
lower-income homeowners to legalize ADUs�
The City will implement its “ADU Loan Program” to
provide deferred loans to low-income homeowners
who want to legalize an ADU.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Building
Department; Oakland Department of Housing and
Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Funding for an
ADU incentive program would include $3 mil-
lion already awarded from the State of Califor-
nia’s CalHome program for a pilot program,
and the City would seek ongoing State funding
for ADU development in the future.

Timeframe: The City’s ADU Loan Program
opened in Fall 2022 and will offer loans into
2023. As additional funding becomes avail-
able, the City will provide additional funding
opportunities. For more information on the
City’s Accessory Dwelling Unit Loan Program
(ADULP), see https://www.oaklandca.gov/adulp.

Objective: Using the ADU CalHome grant, the
City anticipates supporting at least 25 low-in-
come and/or senior households with the cost of
legalizing at least 25 Accessory Dwelling Units.

This is based on the 25 loans projected for the
existing CalHome grant the City has received
to help low-income homeowners build ADUs.
72 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�2�5: Reduce constraints to the
development of ADUs�
On January 18, 2022, the City updated its zoning
standards related to ADUs to be consistent
with State law. The adopted local ordinance
clarified and simplified existing requirements
and offered additional allowances to encourage
creation of ADUs that went beyond the minimum
requirements of State law. These additional
allowances include higher maximum heights
allowing for two-story ADUs, reduced setbacks in
some zones, larger maximum sizes for detached
ADUs, and an introduced ADU amnesty from
Planning Code requirements allowing homeowners
with existing un-permitted ADUs to legalize
them. Also, this zoning update removed setback
requirements and allowed additional envelope
expansion of existing structures to create livable-
size ADUs on “small lots” where ADUs would not be
feasible under previous requirements.

The City’s current Planning Code already meets the
requirements for recently passed ADU state laws
under SB 897 and AB 2221. City Staff will work to
implement the new requirements for these laws
through the City’s administrative approval process.

The City will continue to provide pre-approved
ADU plans on its website to facilitate reduced
applicant cost and expedited review for ADUs.

The City will also provide increased staffing
capacity for the “one-stop shop” to distribute
information to property owners, contractors, and
tenants. The City will budget a new staff position
for an ADU Specialist whose assignments would
include community outreach and education to
teach property owners about ADU construction,
financing, and landlord responsibilities. The City
will also consider developing a database through
which property owners can find and hire local
workers to build ADUs. The City will comply with
State law (including recently passed SB 897 and AB
2221) and Building Code requirements for ADUs,
and also study how the implementation of the
Building Code may constrain the legalization of
unpermitted ADUs. Oakland’s Planning & Building
Department will take the lead in implementing
these efforts, with support as needed from
Oakland’s Department of Housing and Community
Development.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees, SB2 Grant for Objec-
tive Design Standards
Timeframe: January 2023 (Comply with 2022
State ADU law requirements); 2023-2024 (One-
Stop Shop); by 2025 (Budget a new ADU Spe-
cialist position)
Objective: Significantly increase production of
ADUs to match housing need.

Action 3�2�6: Monitor Affordability of
Permitted ADUs�
Based on a recent online survey conducted by the
City as well as data provided by the Association
of Bay Area Governments, the Appendix C Sites
Inventory estimates that ADUs produced from
2023 to 2031 will have the following projected
affordability levels: 35 percent affordable to very-
low-income households, 35 percent affordable to
low-income households, and 30 percent affordable
to moderate-income households. Based on a total
projected ADU production of 1,978 units through
2031, the City has estimated that ADU construction
will result in the creation of 692 very-low-income
units, 692 low-income units, and 593 moderate-
income units.

73 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
To ensure that Oakland’s ADU production aligns
with these projections, the City will send a survey
to the property owners of ADUs that received a
certificate of occupancy within the prior two-year
period requesting information on household size
and rents charged for these recently constructed
ADUs. If the survey identifies a shortfall in the
numerical affordability production projections,
within six months of the survey report being
published the City will provide to the Planning
Commission a report summarizing the survey
report and identifying additional actions that
can be taken to either increase the production of
affordable ADUs, and/or proposing other rezoning
programs that will enable additional affordable
housing production to fill any identified affordable
housing production shortfall.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeframe: First survey to be conducted first
quarter of 2024. Results to be presented to
Planning Commission by end of 2024. Any
necessary reforms to ADU regulations and/
or rezoning programs to be adopted in 2025.

Second survey to be conducted in first quarter
2026.

Objective: To match affordability projection
included in Table C-8 of Appendix C, produce
on average 86.5 very-low-income ADUs, 86.5
low-income ADUs, and 74 moderate-income
ADUs per year.

Action 3�2�7: Proactive Short-Term Rental
Enforcement�
With limited exceptions in single-family homes
with a CUP for a traditional owner-run bed and
breakfast, Oakland’s current planning regulations
prohibit any rental of an accessory dwelling unit
(ADU), single-family home, duplex, apartment/
condo, live/work unit, or other dwelling unit for
less than 30 consecutive days. In addition, State
laws that govern ADUs do not allow for any ADU
to be rented as a short-term rental of less than
30 consecutive days. The City’s code compliance
division reviews zoning code violations on a
complaint-driven basis, which has not sufficiently
deterred property owners from operating short-
term rentals that do not comply with planning
regulations. Additionally, code compliance often
lacks sufficient evidence to clearly document that
an ADU or other dwelling unit is operating as a
short-term rental.

In response, the City will pursue additional data
collection tools that will allow the City to access
information showing addresses of units listed on
short-term rental platforms. Upon securing this
data, the City will engage in proactive enforcement
against property owners who are operating short
term rentals in ADUs and in other dwelling units
throughout the City.

Responsible Party: Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: Violation Fees,
permit fees, transient occupancy tax collection
Timeframe: Secure additional data collection
tools and begin proactive enforcement in 2023.

Complaint-based enforcement is ongoing and
would continue, supplemented by the addi-
tional data collection tools.

Objective: Reduce the number of unautho-
rized short-term rentals in Oakland by having
bi-yearly data scrapes of short-term rental
platforms and automatic mailing notifications
to owners in violation.

74 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
POLICY 3�3 EXPAND RESOURCES

FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF

AFFORDABLE HOMES
Action 3�3�1: Sale or ground-lease of City-
owned property for affordable housing �
Consistent with the California Surplus Lands Act
(SLA) and the Oakland Municipal Code, the City
will continue to release land designated as surplus
for development of affordable housing and other
uses. The City will continue to release one to two
surplus sites per year for permanent affordable
housing development projects, noticing them
via a Notice of Availability (NOA) to local Bay
Area affordable housing developers, as well as to
all California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)
housing sponsors, consistent with the SLA. All
surplus sites are tracked on the City’s website
and NOAs are available on the website as well.

All surplus sites disposed of pursuant to the SLA
will include a minimum of 25 percent affordable
units and in many cases will include up to 100
percent affordable units. If the SLA process
does not conclude in an affordable housing
development for a particular site, the City will issue
Request for Proposals (RFP) for its designated
surplus properties. If the RFP process results in
an agreement with an entity that develops 10 or
more residential units on the property, the City will
require the entity to provide at least 15 percent of
the developed units at an affordable housing cost
or affordable rent to specified income groups, as
required by Government Code Section 54233 of
the SLA. The City will consider depositing up to
100 percent of net proceeds from such sales or
leases to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The
Planning Bureau provides priority processing for
affordable projects that are located on surplus sites.

The City will also continue to seek to utilize surplus
sites – as well as other City-owned or City-leased
properties – for emergency housing programs (e.g.,
safe RV parking and community cabins) and other
community-serving uses prior to disposition under
the SLA.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Economic &
Workforce Development Department; Oak-
land Department of Housing and Community
Development, Oakland Planning and Building
Department
Potential Funding Source: City subsidy
Timeline: The City will issue Notices of Avail-
ability and/or Requests for Proposals consistent
with the SLA on at least one to two City-owned
surplus sites each year for permanent afford-
able housing with preference for ELI or home-
less households. Complete EIR for rezoning by
July 2023.

Objective: Issue Notices of Availability and/
or Requests for Proposals consistent with the
SLA on at least one to two City-owned surplus
sites each year, and advance affordable hous-
ing projects underway to completion. Notices
will be posted on the City’s website and distrib -
uted directly to developers, including nonprofit
housing providers.

Action 3�3�2: Expansion of Section 8
vouchers�
The City will continue to participate in the HUD-
operated Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
program, and the City will continue to coordinate
with the Oakland Housing Authority to advocate
for additional funding from the federal government
for more Section 8 rental assistance for very-
low-income renters by documenting the need
for additional housing vouchers and contacting
decision-makers at HUD as appropriate. The City
will also advocate for additional funding at the
federal level as opportunities such as the American
Recovery Act become available. Further, the City will
work with nonprofit and community-based partners
to educate property owners throughout the city
about housing choice vouchers to encourage
greater participation and to increase locational
choices for voucher holders (see Action 5.2.8). In
2022, Oakland secured 515 emergency housing
vouchers as part of its advocacy to expand the
number of housing vouchers for Oakland residents.
75 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Responsible Agency: Oakland Mayor’s
Office, Oakland Housing Authority, Oakland
Department of Housing and Community
Development
Potential Funding Source: HUD Section 8
vouchers
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031. As part of
its landlord education efforts, the Oakland
Department of Housing and Community
Development will promote voucher accep-
tance. The Oakland Department of Housing
and Community Development hosts multiple
landlord education workshops each year that
can serve as an opportunity for this promotion.

The Mayor’s Office will lead federal advocacy
during budget discussions with the federal
government on an annual basis.

Objective: The City of Oakland Housing
Authority will increase the number of vouchers
being used in proportion with any future fed-
eral expansion of Section 8 or similar programs.

Action 3�3�3: City of Oakland Emergency
Rental Assistance Program�
As funding allows, the City will build on the success
of the Keep Oakland Housed program (a public-
private partnership) and the Federal Emergency
Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to offer
homeless prevention services to those most at risk
of experiencing housing instability or homelessness
including rental assistance grants to distressed
tenants, free legal consultation, eviction defense,
case management, and employment and financial
counseling and other services to increase housing
stability and prevention of homelessness. The City
will work with community partners to provide these
direct services and to advance racial equity by
removing barriers to long-term housing for Black,
veteran, formerly incarcerated, and other Oakland
residents most likely to experience homelessness.

Responsible Party: Oakland Housing and
Community Development Department
Potential Funding Source: Federal ERAP
funds, private contributions, other local, State,
and federal resources as available
Timeframe: The City of Oakland allocated over
$42 million of Federal and State ERAP fund-
ing for emergency rental assistance between
2020-2022 and, if resources are available, will
allocate additional ERAP funds to an existing
waitlist in 2023. Of the approximately 3,500
Oakland households served by the ERAP
program, over 85 percent earned less than 30
percent AMI. The City of Oakland will also issue
a Request for Proposals and award a contract
of approximately $2.3 million to a collaborative
of homelessness prevention program providers
by mid-2023.

Objective: The City of Oakland will continue to
implement a homelessness prevention pro-
gram that includes emergency financial assis-
tance, legal support and wrap around services.

The program will be an extension of previous
homeless prevention programs such as Keep
Oakland Housed, Oakland Housing Secure,
and the Emergency Rental Assistance Pro-
gram with a focus on advancing racial equity
by removing barriers to long-term housing for
Black, veteran, formerly incarcerated, and other
Oakland residents most likely to experience
homelessness
Action 3�3�4: Development of permanent
housing affordable to extremely-low-income
(ELI) households on public land�
The City will continue to work with development
partners including Community Land Trusts, co-ops
and emerging developers for possible partnerships
involving City land as mentioned in Action 3.5.1 and
other community partners on publicly owned sites
that may be designated as surplus property. To
support Action 3.3.1, the City will assist nonprofit
and local developer partners to access public
funding and financing to construct and increase
the supply of permanently affordable rental units
that are designated for extremely-low-income
households. In addition, the City will ensure that
permanently affordable housing for extremely-
low-income households is prioritized where
services and needs are accessible by transit or
76 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
walking. The City will prioritize affordable housing
developments that dedicate at least 20 percent of
units for extremely-low-income (ELI) or homeless
households in accordance with current policies.

The Planning Bureau provides priority processing
for affordable projects located on surplus sites. The
City will review City-owned sites to identify, and,
where appropriate, address land use conflicts that
would prevent affordable housing development.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Economic &
Workforce Development Department; Oak-
land Department of Housing and Commu-
nity Development; Oakland Human Services
Department
Potential Funding Source: City subsidy
Timeline:. The City will continue to release
future NOFAs contingent upon funding and
staff availability. The City will issue Notices
of Availability and/or Requests for Proposals
consistent with the SLA on at least one to two
City-owned surplus sites each year for perma-
nent affordable housing with preference for ELI
or homeless households. Complete rezoning by
July 2023.

Objective: The City will continue to release
future NOFAs contingent upon funding and
staff availability. City will issue Notices of Avail-
ability and/or Requests for Proposals consistent
with the SLA on at least one to two City-owned
surplus sites each year, and advance affordable
housing projects underway to completion.

NOFAs, Notices of Availability and/or Requests
for Proposals will be posted on the City’s
website and distributed directly to develop-
ers, including nonprofit housing providers and
community partners.

Action 3�3�5: Implement an affordable
housing overlay�
The City will create an Affordable Housing Overlay
(AHO) to streamline the approval of affordable
housing by right. Proposed features of this
overlay include ministerial approval of 100 percent
affordable housing projects, increased height and
density allowances, waiver of parking requirements,
and reduction of zoning barriers. The City will
broadly apply this overlay, except for limitations on
designated historic resources as well as areas in the
Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ). The
City will also study the possibility of extending the
streamlined approval provisions of the affordable
housing overlay to mixed income projects that
qualify for the super density bonus and/or other
strategies to augment the City’s density bonus
program, as well as the potential for select areas
within the VHFHSZ for the overlay to apply. The City
will allow SROs and Rooming Houses by right in
areas subject to the prospective affordable housing
overlay. See Appendix J for a summary of the AHO.
100 percent affordable projects within the AHO
zone would be subject to a ministerial approval
process. A proposed project would be exempt
from CEQA and not appealable. This would provide
greater certainty to affordable housing developers
that if the project is within the AHO zone and
meets the objective design standards and zoning
criteria listed in the Planning Code, the project will
be approved and not held up through an appeal
process.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: June - July 2023
Objective: Enable development of additional
affordable housing throughout the City, includ-
ing in higher resource areas.
77 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Action 3�3�6: Access to low-cost financing for
development�
The City currently awards local funding that
affordable housing developers leverage to obtain
financing for their projects. As funding allows, the
City will continue to award funds to affordable
housing developers on favorable terms—including
simple low interest rate, payment of principal and
interest due from excess cash flow from operations
after payment of operating costs, senior debt,
reserves and developer fee, and a 55-year loan term.

The City will also continue to work with affordable
developers to set loan terms in a way that will help
maximize their ability to leverage funding from
banks and other lending agencies. Further, the City
will also continue to coordinate with developers to
help ensure that they qualify for additional funding
from county, State, and federal sources.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, local infrastructure bond funds,
HOME funds, and other local, State, and federal
funds as available
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: Allocate all budgeted local funding
sources (approximately $12 million annually
starting in 2023) to support the construc-
tion, acquisition, and/or preservation of deed
restricted affordable housing units each year.

With $12 million in local funding forecasted
in 2023, at least 80 units could be created or
preserved; of these, at least 16 would be set-
aside for extremely low-income residents; the
creation of extremely low-income units will be
constrained by the availability of operating sub-
sidy (see Action 3.1.1). This will result in a total of at least 640 low-income units over the Hous -
ing Element period, including 128 extreme-
ly-low-income units, which would increase if
more local funds are identified or secured such
as a new local bond measure dedicated to
funding affordable housing.

Action 3�3�7: Study the targeted
implementation of an inclusionary housing
requirement�
The City currently relies on development impact
fees to provide local funding for affordable
housing. A study is underway as part of the five-
year impact fee update to assess the benefits
of impact fees versus inclusionary affordable
housing requirements. The study will consider the
number of units likely to be produced through
impact fees versus inclusionary affordable housing
requirements and their likely affordability levels;
and whether targeted inclusionary housing
requirements may increase the provision of
affordable housing units in higher-resource
neighborhoods.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department; Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: By mid-2024, complete a study on
targeted inclusionary housing requirements
and present to Council.

Objective: Ensure implementation of afford-
able housing impact fees and/or inclusionary
housing requirements maximizes production of
affordable housing in all areas of the city.

Action 3�3�8: Right-sized development
fees on market-rate developments�
The City levies a number of development impact
fees, including for affordable housing, to ensure
that new market-rate development pays its
fair share toward funding affordable housing,
transportation improvements, and capital facilities.

The City will regularly monitor its impact fees and
ensure that appropriate amounts are set on an
annual basis. Pursuant to the Mitigation Fee Act,
the City will conduct a comprehensive analysis and
make findings every five years for each impact fee
along with review of whether to increase fees and
if the option of building affordable housing units
on-site percentage is set appropriately.
78 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department; Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development; Oak-
land Public Works Department; Department of
Transportation (DOT)
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge, permit fees, and Impact Fees
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031; initiate next
five-year update in 2026
Objective: Continue to monitor and adjust
impact fees.

Action 3�3�9: Adjusting or waiving City fees
and payment timing for affordable housing
developments�
Affordable housing developers have pointed
to the impact of City fees and the timing of fee
payment, including impact fees, building permits,
and public art requirements, as constraints to
development. The City currently requires for
Affordable Housing Impact Fees only one-half of
the amount of impact fees to be paid before permit
issuance and the remaining half to be paid before
the issuance of Certificate Of Occupancy (COO),
while the Transportation and Capital Improvement
Impact Fees are paid in full before building permit
issuance. The City also defers other fees such as
public art and school tax. The City will explore
additional ways to increase flexibility in payment
timing and potential fee reductions and/or waivers
to reduce the burden imposed by the collection of
City fees and requirements.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department; City Administrator’s
Office; Oakland Department of Finance; City
Attorney’s Office
Potential Funding Source: Permit fees, and
General Fund for any reduction of fees
Timeline: Review and update where possible
Impact Fee and other payment timing as well
as fees charged by mid-2024.

Objective: Explore methods to reduce cost
burden of City fees and payment timing to
significantly increase affordable housing
development.

Action 3�3�10: Citywide Enhanced
Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD)�
On November 1, 2022, the Oakland City Council
enacted a resolution expressing the City’s
interest in establishing one or more Enhanced
Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFD) to
fund affordable housing that affirms the City’s
commitment to furthering fair housing and
infrastructure improvements. The resolution
directed the City Administrator to study proposals
for the creation and implementation of an EIFD
exclusively for East Oakland, exclusively for West
Oakland, and a combined East and West Oakland
EIFD. Upon completion of this study, the City
Administrator is to return to Council with reports
and recommendations. The City will consider
implementing the EIFD to increase available local
funding for affordable housing.

An EIFD is a special taxing district that directs a
portion of future property tax growth towards
infrastructure expenses, including affordable
housing. The Draft Downtown Oakland Specific
Plan is also recommending the creation of an EIFD
in the downtown area to support the construction
of onsite and offsite affordable housing as part of

79 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
future development in the downtown.

Responsible Agency: City Administrator’s
Office; Oakland Department of Finance
Potential Funding Source: An EIFD would be
a cost-recovering program for any implementa-
tion costs.

Timeline: By end of 2024, complete studying
the implementation of one or more EIFDs and
determine proposed EIFD boundaries.

Objective: Implement one or more EIFDs
to significantly increase affordable housing
development and fund infrastructure improve-
ments to match need, if feasible and financially
appropriate.

Action 3�3�11: Support innovations by design�
The City will support and encourage innovations
in construction technology to build more
housing in less time, more affordably, and with
fewer resources by supporting non-traditional
construction methods (such as modular and other
offsite construction methods). The City will meet
with stakeholders periodically to discuss emerging
innovations and gather more information to
understand and accommodate barriers.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023
Objective: Significantly increase production
of housing using construction innovations to
match housing need.

Action 3�3�12: Continue the Acquisition and
Conversion to Affordable Housing (ACAH)
Program�
The ACAH Program provides loans to eligible
borrowers for acquisition- and rehabilitation-related
costs associated with protecting and preserving
long term affordable housing. The ACAH Program,
formerly known as the Site Acquisition Program,
was formalized through the passing and issuance
of local Measure KK bond funds but continues
under other funding sources even as Measure KK
funds have all been allocated. With the passage
of Bond Measure U, it is expected that funds from
this new funding source will continue to support
the acquisition and conversion to affordable
housing of existing units. The City will continue
to issue NOFAs as funding is available and work
with borrowers—including local community land
trusts—to create new affordable housing units and
preserve existing ones. The City will also continue
to explore additional funding sources to sustain the
ACAH program.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, local infrastructure bond funds,
HOME funds, and other local, State, and federal
funds as available
Timeline: The ACAH Program has issued 3
Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA) since the
program’s inception: in 2017, 2019, and 2020,
issuing approximately $45 million to affordable
housing developers through the 3 NOFAs. The
Oakland Department of Housing and Com-
munity Development will continue to release
future NOFAs contingent upon funding and
staff availability. The next ACAH NOFA release
is anticipated in December 2022, and pending
City Council approval, staff expect to begin
reviewing the next round of ACAH NOFA appli-
cations in 2023.

Objective: Provide loans to eligible borrowers
for acquisition- and rehabilitation-related costs
associated with protecting and preserving long
term affordable housing throughout the City of
Oakland. Currently the City’s policy is to allo-
cate approximately 25 percent of available local
funding towards continuing the ACAH pro-
gram, and future funds will be allocated contin-
gent upon availability.
80 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�3�13: Expand availability of
predevelopment funding and low-cost
debt products for affordable housing
development�
The City will continue to allocate funding to support
predevelopment funding for affordable housing
projects using its existing local sources, to help
relieve the costs associated with the entitlement
process especially for emerging and BIPOC
affordable developers. The City will also identify
and secure low-cost debt products for affordable
housing development. To this end, the City has
applied to HUD for Section 108 authority to leverage
its CDBG allocation to provide low interest debt for
affordable housing. Because Section 108 are hard
loans that require repayment, the repayments
could be revolved to support ongoing pipeline. The
City will use a data-informed approach to target
its resources towards both high-opportunity and
historically marginalized/redlined areas. The city
will also target resources to support the growth of
emerging and BIPOC affordable developers.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, local infrastructure bond funds,
HOME and Section 108 funds, and other local,
State, and federal funds as available
Timeline: The City applied to HUD for Section
108 authority in 2022 and will seek to use these
funds starting in 2023, pending HUD approval.

Objective: As suitable funding and projects
become available, predevelopment funding
and low-cost debt products will be made avail -
able for affordable housing development.

Action 3�3�14: Evaluate the creation of
a leveraged acquisition fund or debt/
equity funds for small sites to support site
acquisitions for affordable housing�
Affordable housing developers indicated during
outreach that competing with market-rate
developers for sites posed a barrier on their ability
to acquire sites for development. The City typically
provides gap financing commitments during
predevelopment, with funds provided at construction
finance closing; acquisition is an eligible cost for
reimbursement by the City’s funding. While directly
funding acquisition presents an earlier, riskier, and
less efficient investment of the City’s limited funds, in recognition of this critical need the City will consider the implementation of a leveraged acquisition fund
to allow for faster and more efficient acquisition
transactions. The City will also study the creation
of debt and/or equity funds to support small site
housing projects. If feasible and funding is available, this new fund may be similar in nature to the City and
County of San Francisco’s Small Sites Program, which
relies on non-governmental funding for acquisition
and rehabilitation, that is later taken out by City funds.

The City will also assess the feasibility of raising the Council authorization threshold for site acquisition to enable the faster purchase of sites.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, local infrastructure bond funds,
HOME funds, and other local, State, and federal
funds as available to leverage philanthropic and
other outside resources.

Timeline: Conversations with Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and
other funders have been ongoing since 2021,
but any fund will require a significant stream of
new City subsidy to support takeout of acquisi-
tion loans. The City will further explore this item
in 2023, pending the passage of Measure U.

Objective: By the end of the Housing Element
Cycle, the City will be able to report on the
practicality of a leveraged acquisition fund, as
well as the feasibility and appropriateness of a
small sites fund.
81 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Action 3�3�15: Continue and expand density
bonus incentives�
The City will continue to implement Chapter 17.107,
Density Bonus and Incentive Procedure, which
was updated and adopted by the City Council on
April 19, 2022. The Density Bonus Ordinance offers
developers density bonuses in exchange for the
provision of affordable housing and provides:
• Greater certainty to project applicants about
the City’s implementation of the State Density
Bonus Law, density bonuses, and incentives for
affordable housing;
• Clarifying and accessible language that aligns
the ordinance with the City’s existing density
bonus application intake and regulatory
agreement requirements, including clear
timelines and a list of all required information;
• Offers an opportunity to streamline the
production of affordable housing; and
• Ensures affordability of both rental and
homeownership units and prevents potential
displacement of existing tenants.
• Goes beyond State Density Bonus Law to
allow moderate affordable rental units to take
advantage of the density bonus program in
addition to moderate for sale units.

To ensure that the Chapter 17.107 remains compliant
with state law, and to solicit additional ideas for
incentives and expansion of the density bonus
program, the City will review the density bonus
program mid-cycle, bring necessary amendments
to conform to state law, and solicit feedback
from Planning Commission and City Council on
additional incentives that could be included in the
local density bonus program.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: In 2025, bring forward informational
report to Planning Commission and City Coun-
cil on effectiveness of City’s density bonus
program and in 2026 return with proposed
amendments to ensure conformity with state
law and incorporated any recommended policy
changes.

Objective: Significantly expand the City’s den-
sity bonus program and increase production of
density bonus projects to match housing need.

Action 3�3�16: Analyze the Real Estate
Transfer Tax structure and its current effect
on the Affordable Housing subsidy and the
effect on the General Purpose Fund�
The real estate transfer tax, also called a Real
Property Transfer Tax (RPTT), is due when a home
is sold or gifted. The City will study the impact that
the RPTT has on the affordable housing subsidy
and the effect on the General Purpose Fund. In
the study, the City will explore revisions to the RPTT
including:
• Expanding the current progressive tax;
• The impact of reducing or waiving the tax for
affordable housing; and/or
• Using a portion of the revised tax rate as
a dedicated funding stream for affordable
housing. This could provide annual revenues
at levels significantly higher than current
Impact Fee revenue.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Finance
Potential Funding Source: General Fund Sur-
charge for any applicable studies
Timeline: Conduct the analysis and provide a
recommendation to the City Council and City
Administration by Fiscal Year 2023-2024
Objective: Complete an analysis by Fiscal Year
2023-2024.
82 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�3�17: Support low-income,
grassroots, and BIPOC affordable housing
developers�
The City will continue to work with low-income,
grassroots, and BIPOC affordable housing
developers to identify barriers that prevent BIPOC
and small nonprofit developers from accessing City
funding and navigating the permitting process. The
city will continue to develop solutions to ensure that
the permitting process is transparent, affordable,
and accessible for these Emerging Developers,
defined by Oakland HCD as “a developer who has
less than five (5) years of experience as a developer
and/or less than five completed projects.” The
City has secured a Breakthrough Grant from
the Partnership for the Bay’s Future that will
dedicate a full time fellow to facilitate this work of
identifying and breaking down barriers for BIPOC
and emerging developers to develop affordable
housing in Oakland.

Responsible Agency: City Administration;
Oakland Department of Housing and Commu-
nity Development; Oakland Planning & Build-
ing Department
Potential Funding Source: San Francisco
Foundation, General Plan Surcharge, and
permit fees
Timeline: The City’s Breakthrough Grant Fellow
is currently researching and implementing
strategies to address this action item from 2022
to 2024.

Objective: The proportion of City funding dis-
tributed for affordable housing development to
low-income, grassroots and BIPOC affordable
housing developers will significantly increase
by 2031.

Action 3�3�18: Implement affordable housing
investments contained in Measure U
Measure KK, a bond measure passed in 2016, has
provided a significant source of funding for anti-
displacement and affordable housing preservation
projects. The City has allocated nearly all remaining
Measure KK bond funds for resident-led and
community land trust-supported preservation
projects and homeless acquisition projects.

The City successfully secured voter approval in
November 2022 to authorize issuance of $850
million in General Obligation Bonds to fund and
prioritize affordable housing preservation projects
among other purposes. This Affordable Housing
and Infrastructure Bond Measure (Measure U)
will allocate $350 million towards affordable
housing preservation projects. The City is currently
conducting a robust community and stakeholder
engagement process from January through March
to inform the priorities of the Measure U investment
in affordable housing, resulting in a bond spending
plan that staff will likely seek Council approval with
the biennial budget in June 2023. To this end, the
City is relying on the input from stakeholders to
navigate the tensions of affordable housing, such
as depth of affordability vs. more affordable units,
homeownership vs. rental, acquisition/conversion
vs. new construction, and more. The results of the
engagement will guide the investment strategy
and resulting impact in affordable units expected
from Measure U.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development;
Potential Funding Source: Measure U Bond
Funds
Timeframe: As described in Action 3.3.12 and
other actions related to the expenditure of
affordable housing bond funds, expend the
proceeds of Measure U
Objectives: Measure U secured authorization
for $850 million in General Obligation Bonds
with $350 million set-aside for affordable hous-
ing. For reference, for the 2016 Infrastructure
Bond (Measure KK) where $600 million of Gen-
eral Obligation Bonds were authorized, $100
million was set-aside specifically for affordable
housing and anti-displacement projects and
supported the new construction of over 700
units, the preservation of 420 units, and the
83 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
acquisition and conversion of over 400 units.

This leverage of subsidy achieved under Mea-
sure KK may not be replicable as KK was lay-
ered onto projects that also secured County A1
bond funds, which are now also fully allocated.

Measure U is estimated to result in approx-
imately 2,300 units if applying City average
subsidy investment of $150,000 per affordable
unit. As discussed above, the projection will rely
on the Measure U stakeholder engagement
process, which may result in a different mix of
projects from existing programs. To provide
further context, under current City Notice of
Funding Availability (NOFA) process, new con-
struction projects that set-aside more than the
program minimum (currently 20 percent) of
units for extremely-low-income residents will
be prioritized. The City will also likely make sub-
stantial funding allocations to the Acquisition
and Conversion to Affordable Housing (ACAH)
and Preservation NOFAs to acquire and convert
additional market rate units to affordable hous-
ing, and also preserve the City’s existing afford -
able housing portfolio, extending affordability
restrictions, and investing in the rehabilitation
of older properties where needed. Lastly the
City hopes to invest Measure U funds in inno-
vative housing models that overcome hurdles
to affordable housing production, such as rapid
construction strategies.

Action 3�3�19: Sites Inventory and Fair
Housing Accomplishments Tracking Program
As part of a mid-cycle evaluation, the City will
establish a system to coordinate tracking units
with Development Services staff who process
permitting, to ensure that as projects are
developed, there is adequate capacity available
citywide to meet the City’s RHNA targets and no
net loss requirements. The City will also assess
the effectiveness of its AFFH programs (including
Action 3.3.6), including sites that develop in higher
resource areas.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: Mid-cycle (2027)
Objective: Identify and monitor adequate sites
available for development, and increase the
baseline of affordable units in high-resource
areas.

POLICY 3�4� REFORM ZONING AND

LAND USE TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY

PRIORITIES
Action 3�4�1: Revise development standards,
including allowable building heights,
densities, open space and setback
requirements�
The City will allow additional building heights and
densities in certain corridors and districts. These
changes include:
• Zoning for diverse housing types: As discussed
in Action 3.2.1, the City will develop revised
zoning standards for a diversity of housing types
in lower density neighborhoods, including but
not limited to duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes
in zoning districts such as the RD Detached Unit
Residential, RM Mixed Housing Type Residential,
and RU-1 and RU-2 Urban Residential Zones.

Zoning changes will include revised standards

84 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
for building heights, densities, open space, lot
coverage, and setbacks. The City will also reduce
minimum lot sizes to facilitate the subdivision
of existing lots. The City will permit a variety of
building types (attached, detached, bungalow
courts) to maximize flexibility and potential
opportunities for home ownership (split lots and
condominiums). For front setback requirements,
the City will allow for exceptions if meeting the
front setback physically prohibits development
of four units or two units on lots that meet the
minimum square footage for that density.
• Elimination of Conditional Use Permits for
Density: Under Action 3.4.3, the City will also
eliminate all conditionally permitted densities
throughout Planning Code to permit multi-
unit buildings according to objective criteria
such as by building type and development
size, without subjecting multi-unit residential
projects to CUPs.
• Objective Design Standards: Under Action

3.4.8, the City will also develop objective design
standards at the neighborhood level to ensure
that such missing-middle housing is designed
in a manner that is compatible with existing
residential housing forms in these zoning
districts.
• Increased Heights and Densities along
Corridors: The current building height map and
permitted densities along key corridors such as
International, Foothill, College, Claremont, and
MacArthur Boulevards does not always allow
residential projects to meet their full potential.

Consistent with the housing sites map, the City
will undertake zoning map revisions to allow
increased heights and densities. The City will
also increase heights and densities on interior
residential streets within close walking distance
of key corridors.
• Increased Heights and Densities in Transit-
proximate areas: Alongside efforts to increase
missing-middle housing (see Action 3.2.1), the
City will increase allowed height and density in
areas in close proximity to high-capacity transit,
including areas near Rockridge BART and
International Boulevard BRT Stations.
• Increased Heights and Densities in
Resource-rich areas: Oakland’s high resource
neighborhoods are typically lower-density
and have historically been exclusive – both
economically and racially. Allowing higher
density multi-unit buildings in these areas
that are rich in services will help increase the
competitiveness of affordable housing projects
for State funding, as well as the feasibility of
developing significant numbers of housing
units within these neighborhoods. Zoning
changes will include permitting residential
densities above 30 dwelling units per acre
by right in designated areas for affordable
housing projects and height increases along
College and Claremont Avenue. This will help
further fair housing objectives by increasing
the availability of affordable housing, in high
resource areas.
• Utilizing Senate Bill 10 Provisions: Under Senate
Bill 10 (Weiner) provisions, the City will identify
parcels located in transit-rich areas and/or
in Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence
(RCAAs) to allow up to ten units of residential
density and increased heights, and provide
additional opportunity for infill housing within
high-resource areas.
• See Appendix J for the City’s proposed rezoning
changes to increase housing production
capacity and unlock additional opportunities
for affordable and “missing middle” housing in
high-resource neighborhoods and affirmatively
further fair housing by opening up exclusionary
neighborhoods such as Rockridge, Trestle Glen,
and Crocker Highlands.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
85 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Timeline: June-July 2023
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of hous-
ing to match housing need. Create additional
opportunities for development along tran-
sit-rich areas and in urban infill sites to signifi-
cantly increase production of housing to match
housing need and to affirmatively further fair
housing.

Action 3�4�2: Study the Relationship Between
Zoning and Racial Segregation as Part of the
Phase 2 General Plan Update�
The City is updating the 2023-2031 Housing
Element as part of a comprehensive update
to the General Plan. The General Plan Update
(GPU) is undertaken in two phases in order to
meet deadlines mandated by State law. Phase
1 focuses on updates to the Housing and Safety
Elements, as well as preparation of a Racial Equity
Impact Analysis, Zoning Code and Map update,
and creation of a new Environmental Justice (EJ)
Element. Subsequently, Phase 2 will include the
update of the Land Use and Transportation (LUTE)
Element; Open Space, Conservation and Recreation
(OSCAR) Element; Noise Element, and the creation
of a new Infrastructure and Facilities Element which
are slated to be completed by the end of 2025.

As part of the LUTE update, the City will study
the impact of historic and contemporary zoning
restrictions, especially single-family zoning, on
ongoing patterns of racial segregation. Existing
data on historic zoning patterns highlights the
racial disparities in homeownership and rental
patterns. The study will also analyze potential
impacts of larger market rate development projects
in neighborhoods undergoing displacement or
vulnerable to displacement. The City will utilize this
study to direct zoning changes in the LUTE as part
of Phase 2 of the GPU as well as adding standard
conditions of approval to projects.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: Study complete by mid-2025
Objective: Through this study, inform zoning
and land use designation changes to pro-
mote inclusive, equitable and diverse housing
patterns.

Action 3�4�3: Revise Conditional Use Permit
(CUP) requirements�
Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) are currently
required for multi-unit buildings in the RD-2
and RM Zones, which can act as a constraint on
development – especially for affordable housing.

The City will revise regulations to permit multi-unit
buildings according to objective criteria such as
by building type and development size, without
subjecting multi-unit residential projects to CUPs.

Under Action 3.4.8, the City will create objective
design standards and amend the Planning Code
design review procedures to allow for streamlined,
ministerial approval. The City will also actively
promote and support use of SB 35 to streamline
100 percent affordable housing developments.

These revised standards will be implemented
alongside changes to Oakland’s RD, RM, and RU
zones as described in Action 3.2.1.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of housing
to match housing need.
86 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�4�4: Revise citywide parking
standards�
Parking requirements are a major cost driver
in residential development, and often conflict
with sustainable development goals that seek to
reduce dependence on automobile use. As such,
the City recently eliminated residential parking
minimums in the downtown area. Continued
revisions of Oakland’s parking standards, such as
elimination of parking minimums within ½ mile
of major transit stop and reduction of minimum
parking standards in other areas as well as lower
parking maximums in downtown and new parking
maximums near BART stations will be undertaken
through a comprehensive review of existing
residential parking standards and the identification
of appropriate new standards to match long-term
development and environmental goals. Additionally,
for mixed-use development projects (commercial
on ground floor and residential uses above), the
City will revise parking requirements so that
additional residential development on these sites
is not constrained by any lack of conformance with
commercial parking regulations. No parking will be
required for Rooming Houses/SROs throughout
the city with the exception of the Very High Fire
Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) (See Appendix J for
a summary of Zoning changes as well as strategies
regarding parking included in Oakland Equitable
Climate Action Plan: Transportation and Land Use
Action 1.)
Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: June - July 2023
July 2023
Revise citywide parking standards for all
housing types and zones, including but
not limited to housing inventory sites,
downtown and corridors.

Implement January 1, 2023 the elimination
of minimum parking requirements for
residential developments within ½ mile
of major transit stop to conform with state
law and update Planning code by July
2023.

Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of housing
to match housing.

Action 3�4�5: Revise open space
requirements�
Both affordable and market-rate developers have
pointed to the relatively high open space standards
in Oakland as a constraint to development,
especially for higher-density projects. In this
context, “open space standard” refers to the city
requirement for new housing to feature courtyards,
patios, balconies, and other open areas in the
development. As noted in Appendix F, Housing
Constraints, Oakland’s open space requirements
vary substantially across zoning districts, but in
some cases are more than double the open space
requirements seen in comparator jurisdictions. To
meet these requirements, each one square foot of
private usable open space is considered equivalent
to two square feet of required group usable open
space and may be so substituted.

To reduce this development constraint, the City
will review the open space requirements in zoning
designations where minimum usable open space
requirements currently exceed 60 square feet of

87 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
private open space/120 square feet of common
open space per unit and revise common and
private open space standards for multi-family
developments to increase the feasibility of
residential projects.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: June - July 2023
Revise common and private open space
standards for residential developments,
and allow flexibility on its onsite location
and configuration
Objective: Significantly reduce existing open
space requirements to remove constraints on
development and increase production of hous-
ing to match housing need.

Action 3�4�6: Correct zoning district
boundaries that cut through parcels�
Oakland’s Zoning Map includes many zoning
district boundaries that cut through individual
parcels – meaning that the same parcel is subject
to multiple development standards, which can
act as a development constraint. In updating
the Zoning Map, the City will correct instances of
this occurrence and ensure that zoning district
boundaries that affect allowed height and density
follow parcel boundaries to the maximum extent
feasible to remove inconsistencies and ambiguities.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 – 2025
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of housing
to match housing need.

Action 3�4�7: Capture the diversity of existing
built fabric in zoning�
Oakland has a diverse historic urban fabric, some of
which no longer conforms to the current Planning
Code. To capture and continue this diversity and
remove ambiguities, the City will reduce minimum
lot sizes and setbacks to facilitate the creation of
small-lot developments, as well as legitimize the
many existing small-lot neighborhood patterns
in West Oakland and other neighborhoods.

The City will conduct a comprehensive review
of the Planning Code to identify where current
development standards have created non-
conformities for older built facilities and amend
development standards to reduce or eliminate
them where appropriate. The City will also provide
flexibility in the objective standards to retain and
promote the City’s vernacular built environment.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 – 2026
Objective: Reduce constraints on develop-
ment to significantly increase production of
housing to match housing need.

Action 3�4�8: Implement objective design
standards�
The City currently requires design review for
nearly all residential development, which can
significantly lengthen the time required for project
approval. To reduce the permitting timeline, the
City has initiated a process to develop objective
design standards to streamline the approval of
residential, mixed-use, and commercial building
types, with a particular focus on much-needed
affordable housing projects in transit-rich areas.

Objective design standards are being developed
for historic buildings and districts as well. As
opposed to “design guidelines,” objective design
standards will not be subject to interpretation, and
88 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
will result in faster, more predictable approvals of
high-quality development that respects Oakland’s
history and benefits the local community. Housing
development projects will have the ability to utilize
the objective design standards that will not require
evaluation under the regular design review criteria
provided under Planning Code Section 17.136.050,
including the existing criteria that the project will
“enhance desirable neighborhood characteristics.”
Project applicants may also choose to instead
utilize the regular design review criteria and process
in order to have greater flexibility and creativity in
design criteria.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge, permit fees, and SB2 Grant for Objec-
tive Design Standards
Timeline: The City will adopt objective design
standards that will be available to all housing
development projects by 2024
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of housing
to match housing need.

Action 3�4�9: Implement new ADU standards
that streamline approvals and address
unpermitted units�
In January 2022, the City updated its ADU
regulations to comply with changes in State law.

To address unpermitted units, the new ADU
regulations go beyond minimum compliance with
State law and establish an expansive legalization
process for unpermitted ADUs addressing not
only any existing non-compliance issues with
the Building Code but the Planning Code as well.

The City has also initiated a program to allow pre-
approved construction documents for ADUs that
creates a more streamlined approval pathway
for many homeowners The City will continue to
implement this legalization and streamlining of
ADU permitting processes. The City will study
options to alleviate the burden of the building code
on the legalization of unpermitted ADUs.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 and Ongoing
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of ADUs to
help address housing need.

Action 3�4�10: Implement a Housing Sites
Overlay Zone to permit sites included in the
Housing Sites Inventory to develop with
affordable housing by right
Pursuant to State law, the City is required to
permit vacant sites included in two consecutive
prior RHNA cycles and non-vacant sites included
in at least one prior RHNA to develop with owner-
occupied and rental multifamily uses by right for
developments in which 20 percent or more of the
units are affordable to lower-income households.

This means that the City cannot require any form of
discretionary review or approval for such projects.

The City will create a Housing Sites Overlay Zone
to permit sites identified in the 4th and 5th RHNA
cycles as part of the Housing Element’s Housing
Sites Inventory (identified in Table C-26 in a separate Excel file) to build 20 percent or more of the units
are affordable to lower-income households to be
subject to by-right approval. In addition, the City
will also look at ways to incentivize developers
to build affordable housing on newly included
sites identified through the 6th RHNA cycle in
the Housing Sites Overlay. All parcels within the
Housing Sites Overlay Zone (whether they were in
the 4th or 5th cycles or new in the 6th RHNA cycle)
if redeveloped will be required to be developed as
a majority-residential use. A 100% non-residential
use will not be allowed in this overlay. In addition,
minimum densities proportional to the realistic
89 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
capacity on any given site in the inventory will
be required. If current development standards
prevent maximum densities (plus state density
bonus law) from being achieved on any given site
in the inventory, the City will revise development
standards to ensure that maximum densities can
be achieved.

This action is intended facilitate housing
opportunities in Oakland and to bring attention to
those sites that the City intends for housing to be
built pursuant to State requirements.

This means that the City cannot require any form of
discretionary review or approval for such projects.

A proposed project would also not be subject to
CEQA and would not be appealable. This would
provide greater certainty to projects building at
least 20% affordable units that if the project is
within the Housing Sites Overlay Zone and meets
the objective design standards and zoning criteria
listed in the Planning Code, the project will be
approved and not held up through an appeal
process.

See Appendix J for a summary of the Housing Sites
Overlay Zone.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan
Surcharge and permit fees
Timeline: June - July 2023
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to significantly increase production of housing
to match housing need.

Action 3�4�11: Promote educator and/or
student housing on public land by reviewing
the zoning and General Plan designations of
Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and
Peralta Community College District-owned
sites for consistency with housing�
Several school districts and community college
districts in California have successfully built
affordable housing for educators and/or students
on their property. In some cases, this housing was
built on district offices and other non-instructional
sites. In other cases, housing was carefully
co-located with an active school campus. The State
has also recently invested hundreds of millions
towards student housing on community college
property. The City will review OUSD- and Peralta-
owned sites to identify, and when practical correct,
land use conflicts that would prevent affordable
housing development.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2025 with the adoption of the Land
Use and Transportation Element
Objective: Reduce constraints to development
to allow for at least one educator and/or stu-
dent housing project during the sixth cycle
RHNA period.

POLICY 3�5� EXPLORE INNOVATIVE

AND ALTERNATIVE HOUSING
MODELS
Action 3�5�1: Support community land trusts
and other shared equity models�
The City has worked with a variety of community
land trusts, including East Bay Permanent
Real Estate Cooperative, Sogorea Te’, Oakland
Community Land Trust, Bay Area Community
Land Trust and the Northern California Land Trust
to provide affordable housing (including ownership
housing). Most significantly, the City created the
Acquisition and Conversion to Affordable Housing
(ACAH) Program, which has provided funds
through Bond Measure KK to community land
trusts to acquire and preserve affordable housing
units (see Action 3.3.10). Starting in 2019, the ACAH
Program was bifurcated into two subprograms to
establish a set-aside for community land trusts and
limited equity housing cooperatives after Council
90 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
passed the 2019-21 Budget, which allocated $12
million to the Preservation of Affordable Housing
Fund (PAHF). The City will continue to offer the
ACAH Program and support community land trusts
and limited equity housing cooperatives using
additional funding sources. The City is also working
with a technical assistance provider to determine
best practices for land trust ownership units
and cooperative units and will implement these
practices going forward. Financial or technical
assistance may become available from the Bay Area
Housing Finance Agency (BAHFA) or possible State
programs. The City will prioritize lower-income
residents and residents at risk of displacement
while supporting shared equity models.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Impact fees, Gen-
eral Fund Surcharge, infrastructure bond
funds, HOME, Measure U Bond Funds, CDBG,
and other local, State, and federal funding as
available
Timeline: Funds will be made available to
equity affordability models through the City’s
annual affordable housing NOFAs on an annual
or bi-annual basis (2023-2031). The next ACAH
NOFA release is anticipated in December 2022.

Objective: Oakland Department of Housing
and Community Development will continue to
make funds available to shared equity afford-
ability models as per current practice.

Action 3�5�2: Support housing cooperatives,
co-living, and cohousing models �
Formal and informal housing cooperatives, co-living
and cohousing models in Oakland have traditionally
provided an alternative form of affordable housing,
including ownership housing. To further support
these initiatives, the City will conduct outreach
with community-based organizations and other
community partners to identify ways the City can
support these models, especially for lower-income
residents. The City will prioritize lower-income
residents and residents at risk of displacement
when supporting these alternative housing models.

The City will study how the Planning Code and
building occupancy standards affect the viability
of these models. The Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development will also
continue to support cooperatives and community
land trusts through its Acquisition and Conversion
to Affordable Housing program.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development, Oak-
land Planning and Building Department
Potential Funding Source: Impact fees, Gen-
eral Fund Surcharge, Measure U bond funds,
HOME, CDBG, and other local, State, and fed-
eral funding as available
Timeline: Since 2019, the Acquisition and Con-
version to Affordable Housing (ACAH) program
has included set-asides for coops and commu-
nity land trusts, based on input received from
community stakeholders. $12 million was allo-
cated through the 2019-2021 budget, and the
City will continue to implement a significant
set-aside in future ACAH NOFAs, which are
expected to be issued at least every other year
through the 2023-2031 Housing Element cycle
depending on staffing capacity and funding
availability. The next ACAH NOFA is anticipated
to be released in December 2022 (see Action

3.3.10). Planning Code amendments permitting
rooming house facilities/SROs will be com-
pleted by June – July 2023 under Action 3.7.6.

In 2024-2025 the City will study the Planning
Code and building occupancy standards as
well as part of the update to the Land Use and
Transportation Element (LUTE) and Planning
Code
Objective: Oakland Department of Housing
and Community Development will continue
to make funds available to housing coopera-
tives as per current practice. The City will also
include cooperatives, co-living and cohousing
models in its study of the Planning Code and
building occupancy standards.
91 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Action 3�5�3: Advocate for statewide
legislation on social housing�
The City of Oakland recognizes that the statewide
housing crisis requires statewide solutions. As such,
the City will advocate for social housing legislation
under consideration in the State legislature, known
as the California Social Housing Act or AB 2053. The
Act would establish a California Housing Authority
(CHA) to produce and preserve social housing –
publicly-owned and mixed-income developments
that maintain homes as permanently affordable.

In addition, the City will track and advocate for
statewide efforts to repeal Article 34 of the State
Constitution that directly inhibits the ability of local jurisdictions to meet RHNA goals.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: City legislative
advocacy will be funded through the existing
general fund-supported contract for State leg-
islative representation services.

Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031; the City will con-
tinue advocacy for social housing and Article
34 repeal legislation until it is adopted.

Objective: The State of California will success-
fully adopt social housing legislation and repeal
Article 34.

Action: 3�5�4: Monitor and consider adopting
shallow subsidy programs for lower-income
households�
The City will continue to evaluate the merits of
shallow-subsidy acquisition and development
models to assist in the construction or preservation
of housing for lower-income households,
potentially in partnership with other regional
agencies including Alameda County and the Bay
Area Housing Finance Authority. However, such
a program typically involves acquisition of rent-
stabilized housing stock, which often enjoy strong
protections under Oakland’s Rent Adjustment
Program. Recent changes to the Rent Adjustment
Program Ordinance may provide equal or greater
benefit to target households as a shallow subsidy
affordable housing program. For this reason, it
would make sense to evaluate the impact of these
changes before further considering the adoption
of a program.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: The model could
be financed by de minimis appropriations of
general fund revenue, with additional ongo-
ing subsidies in the form of property tax
abatements.

Timeline: By December 2025, the Oakland
Department of Housing and Community
Development will conduct an analysis of the
added benefits a project-based shallow sub-
sidy program may bring, compared to the ben-
efits associated with existing rent stabilization
measures.

Objective: Use property tax abatements to
preserve, improve, or increase the supply of
housing available to lower-income households
Action: 3�5�5: Study Feasibility of Single-Stair
Residential Buildings�
Building regulations serve to establish minimum
safety standards in construction. Historically, fire
and life safety strategies have focused on standards
that ensure building occupants are able to safely
evacuate a building during an emergency. Modern
strategies focus more on containing fires where
they occur through sprinkler systems, fire alarms,
pressurized stairwells, fire-treated lumber, and
similar strategies.

The California Building Code Section 1629 currently
requires buildings to provide a minimum of two
stairways in buildings exceeding 3 stories or 36
feet, and California Building Code Section 1006.2.1
generally requires two means of egress where the
design occupant load exceeds values specified
in an accompanying table. In contrast, the City
of Seattle allows for building up to six stories to
include only one stairway for egress, and many
92 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
European residential buildings are constructed
as tall as ten stories with single-stair access. A
single-stair, or vertical shared access, building
construction allows for greater flexibility in design,
more efficient layouts, and potentially reduced
costs. Currently, there are gaps in available data
regarding the impact of these building code
requirements on increasing construction cost and
the safety benefits of requiring a second egress in
combination with fire containment strategies.

The City of Oakland cannot unilaterally relax these
California Building Code stairway and egress code
requirements; change would be required at the
state level. Nonetheless, to catalyze discussion on
the issue and prepare for implementing future
reforms, the City will study current stairway and
egress requirements, including consideration
of what cost savings could be incurred through
revision of the second egress requirement and
review of any potential fire safety concerns.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Plan-
ning & Building Department; Oakland Fire
Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees.

Timeline: The City will present a report on the
topic of existing second egress requirements
and the impact of potential reforms to the Oak-
land Community and Economic Development
Committee of City Council by the end of 2024.

Objective: Create additional information on
single-stair reform that could assist in promot-
ing statewide changes to the California Build-
ing Code second egress requirements.

POLICY 3�6� STREAMLINE THE

APPROVAL OF NEW HOUSING
Action 3�6�1: Streamline the City permitting
process, especially for low-income and
nonprofit builders�
The City will work with developers and housing
stakeholders, particularly low-income and nonprofit
builders, to review current processes and fees to
identify actions to reduce costs and streamline the
planning approval and building permit processes
for small infill development. These actions could
involve developing simplified CEQA compliance
through qualified exemptions, implementing
objective design standards as described in Action

3.4.8, and/or increasing staffing at the Planning and
Building Bureaus to reduce permit processing time.

The City will regularly review and update its website
to improve navigation and make information
such as fee schedules, application forms, zoning
ordinances, and other information available on
the City’s website, along with other educational
information to facilitate the permit process.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 – 2025 and ongoing
Objective: Significantly increase production of
housing projects, specifically by low-income
and nonprofit builders, to match housing need.

Action 3�6�2: Provide increased flexibility in
development standards�
The City will provide increased flexibility in
development standards, with a focus on smaller
infill residential projects, to ensure that these
projects can qualify for streamlined permitting
without need for variances. The City will also
consider increasing staff-level authority, with clear
guidelines, to grant minor exceptions without
the need for a variance, which can also reduce
project timelines and costs. Alongside the efforts
described in Actions 3.2.1, this flexibility will increase 93 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
the capacity of the Planning Bureau to permit a
variety of units, more expediently, creating more
residential units in traditionally lower-density
neighborhoods.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 – 2025 and ongoing
Objective: Significantly increase production of
housing projects, specifically by low-income
and nonprofit builders, to match housing need.

Action 3�6�3: Expand by-right approvals and
implement entitlement reform for affordable
housing�
Through the implementation of objective design
standards as described in Action 3.4.8, the City will
create a ministerial review pathway for qualifying
developments based on project size, type,
affordability level, and location. Discretionary design review will still be required for some types of projects and where certain adjustments are requested. As
part of the entitlement reform process, the City will
consider fee subsidies and/or payment deferrals to
better accommodate affordable housing projects
and increase the financial feasibility of affordable
projects (see Action 3.3.9). The City will work with
community partners and affordable housing
developers to identify and implement appropriate
entitlement reform actions.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department; Oakland Department of
Finance
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 – 2025 and ongoing
Objective: Significantly increase production of
housing projects, specifically by low-income
and nonprofit builders, to match housing need.

Action 3�6�4: Continue SB 35 streamlining
and encourage projects to use it�
SB 35 created a streamlined and ministerial
approval process for housing projects that meet
siting and construction criteria including being
located in communities that have failed to meet
their RHNA. The City of Oakland was among the
225 jurisdictions that made insufficient progress
towards meeting the RHNA for low- and very-low-
income housing at the time of the State’s most
recent determination in 2021 and is therefore
subject to the streamlining provisions for proposed
development in which 50 percent or more of the
units will be affordable. The City provides an SB 35
streamlining checklist to facilitate the development
of affordable housing, and will actively promote use
of SB 35 streamlining for 100 percent affordable
projects.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 and ongoing
Objective: Significantly increase production of
housing projects, specifically by low-income
and nonprofit builders, to match housing need.

Action 3�6�5: Continue one-stop and online
permitting services�
Through the Online Permit Center (Accela Citizen
Access), property owners are able to apply for
and follow the status of their permits online.

The City also operates an in-person One-Stop
Permit Center, where the counter services of the
Planning & Building Department, Oakland Fire
Department, and Department of Transportation
have been combined in one location to expedite
the permitting process. The City will continue to
offer both online and in-person permitting services
to reduce permitting timelines. The City will also
coordinate with affordable housing developers to
understand and correct the gaps in these services.
94 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 – 2031
Objective: Significantly increase production of
housing projects, specifically by low-income
and nonprofit builders, to match housing need.

POLICY 3�7� EXPAND OPTIONS FOR

SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING
Action 3�7�1: Incentivize the development of
senior housing and provide financial assis-
tance to developers of housing for seniors
and persons with special needs �
The City will continue to encourage a wide variety
of senior housing opportunities, particularly
for lower-income seniors with special needs,
through the provision of financial assistance and
regulatory incentives as specified in the Planning
Code. The City will continue to award points in
its consideration of housing funding to projects
that serve special needs populations, including
seniors and homeless individuals. The City will
explore options to expand the amount of financial
assistance available to developers of housing for
seniors and persons with special needs and will
commit to transparent reporting of how special
needs units are assisted. Special needs populations
may include, but are not limited to, formerly
incarcerated individuals, former foster youth, and
persons with developmental disabilities.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development; Oak-
land Planning & Building Department
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, HOME, local infrastructure bond
funds, and other local, State, and federal fund-
ing as available
Timeline: Ongoing 2023-2031; By December
2023, the City will complete an analysis of how
the clients served by its funded affordable
housing compare to the demographics of Oak-
land residents, including an analysis of age.

Objective: The City will continue to provide
bonus scoring points for special needs popula-
tions as found in current practices.

Action 3�7�2: Provide housing for persons
with HIV/AIDS�
The City will continue to provide housing and
associated supportive services for persons with
HIV/AIDS through a combination of development of
new housing, project-based assistance in existing
affordable housing developments; and tenant-
based assistance to allow households to find their
own housing in the private market. The City will
enhance outcomes via housing first model under
the Alameda County EveryOne Home Plan.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, HOME, HOPWA, local infrastruc -
ture bond funds, and other local, State, and
federal funding as available
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: The City will continue to provide
bonus scoring points for special needs popula-
tions as found in current practices.

Action 3�7�3: Accessible units in new housing
developments�
The City of Oakland’s Housing Development
Services division will uphold and align with State
and Federal funding requirements for accessibility
standards, which for most new construction
projects requires at least double requirements
under ADA and State building codes.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, HOME, local infrastructure bond
funds, and other local, State, and federal fund-
ing as available
95 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: The City will continue to meet the
requirements of the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act and the Fair Housing Act, among
other local, state, and federal laws to ensure
accessible units are included in new housing
developments.

Action 3�7�4: Implement the sponsor-based
Housing Assistance Program�
The City will continue to work with the Oakland
Housing Authority (OHA) to assist households that
otherwise might not qualify for or be successful
in the traditional Public Housing and/or Section 8
programs by partnering with agencies to provide
service-enriched housing options that increase
housing choice for special needs populations. The
City will explore options to find more landlords
willing to participate in the program.

OHA has its own community and social services
arm, the Family and Community Partnerships
Department (FCP). FCP educates and assists
residents including search assistance and also
works closely with owners during the leasing
process to remove barriers and identify needed
resources. OHA offers an array of Owner Benefits
such as vacancy loss, an owner leasing bonus, and
repair cost assistance. OHA’s operations include
two dedicated Owner Services teams and ongoing
owner focused activities such as our Owner online
Portal, educational webinars and emails, electronic
forms options and outreach events such as our
Owner Appreciation Day.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Human Ser-
vices Department; Oakland Housing Authority
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, HOME, local infrastructure bond
funds, and other local, State, and federal fund-
ing as available
Timeline: Between 2023-2031, the City and
OHA will promote and encourage OHA land-
lords to participate in this program through
ongoing activities and annual events.

Objective: The City will continue to work with
the Oakland Housing Authority to support
households successfully finding housing.

Action 3�7�5: Encourage a range of unit sizes
for affordable housing that matches local
household needs and family sizes�
The City will regularly review household size
data from affordable housing application portals
and waitlists to ensure that affordable housing
production is aligned with community needs.

City affordable housing funding priorities will be
adjusted as needed to be aligned with demand
across the spectrum of unit sizes and housing
types. This may include large units suitable for
multi-generational families, studios and efficiency
units for individuals, and projects with common
areas appropriate to seniors, families, or other
demographic groups.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development; Plan-
ning & Building Department
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, HOME, local infrastructure bond
funds, and other local, State, and federal fund-
ing as available
Timeline: The City will monitor available data
from affordable housing application portals to
comprehensively evaluate the unit size needs
of Oakland residents and adjust NOFA scoring
accordingly, to prioritize allocating City funds
to projects by 2024. Furthermore, the City
will aim to regularly evaluate local household
needs prior to NOFA releases. This will be priori-
tized, but not limited to, the new construction
NOFA released approximately every other year
to ensure affordable housing production is
aligned with community needs.

Objective: The City will adjust scoring points as
needed to encourage housing typologies that
reflect local household needs.
96 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�7�6: Expand areas where rooming
units and efficiency units are permitted by
right�
The Oakland Planning Code currently provides for
rooming units/SROs to be developed at twice the
residential density otherwise allowed for regular
dwelling units in Neighborhood Center, Community
Commercial, Central Business District, Housing and
Business Mix, and Transit-Oriented Development
Commercial Zones, as well as within the special
districts for implementation of the Broadway Valdez,
Lake Merritt, and Coliseum Specific Plans. Recent
Planning Code amendments similarly allow for
efficiency units to be built at twice the density of
more typically sized residential dwelling units. The
City will expand these provisions to additional zoning
districts, including in zones covered by the proposed
affordable housing overlay. As stated in Action

3.5.2, the City will also revise the Planning Code to
permit rooming house facility types more similarly
to multifamily residential facilities. These smaller,
more modest units are more likely to be a source of
naturally occurring affordable housing over the long
term, while also allowing new development to align
with current demographic trends towards smaller
household sizes.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: June – July 2023
Objective: Enable increased production of
rooming units and efficiency units.

Action 3�7�7: Amend Planning Code to comply
with the Employee Housing Act�
Farm and agricultural employee housing is a
type of employee housing under the Employee
Housing Act, California Health and Safety Code
Sections 17000 et seq. Section 17021.5 of the
Employee Housing Act requires that any employee
housing providing accommodations for six or
fewer employees shall be deemed a single-family
structure with a residential land use designation,
and not be subject to any conditional use permit,
zoning variance, or other zoning clearance that is
not required of a family dwelling of the same type
in the same zone. Section 17021.6 of the Employee
Housing Act requires employee housing consisting
of no more than 36 beds in a group quarters or
12 units designed for use by a single family or
household to be deemed an agricultural land use.

The City will amend the Oakland Planning Code
to modify the definitions of Limited Agricultural
Activities, Extensive Agricultural Activities, and
One-Family Dwelling Residential Facilities to
comply with the Employee Housing Act.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: June-July 2023
Objective: Ensure compliance with the
Employee Housing Act.

Action 3�7�8: Expand areas where Residential
Care Facilities are permitted by right�
The Oakland Planning Code currently permits
residential care facilities in residential and
nonresidential zones if located in single family
dwellings. Conditional Use Permits are required for
residential care facilities if they are located in any
other residential facility type and/or when located
on the ground floor of a street fronting building
in certain commercial zones. The City will amend
the Planning Code to expand where residential
care facilities are permitted by right. The City will
amend the Planning Code to ensure residential
care facilities are not subject to review criteria that the proposal will not detract from the character
desired fro the area. The amendments will include
all residential facility types and those located on
the ground floor of a street fronting building. In
addition, the City will amend the Planning Code
to allow residential care facilities for foster family
homes and the elderly within 300 feet of another
residential care facility, since the State calls out this 97 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
exemption in the overconcentration restriction in
California Health and Safety Code Section 1520.5.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: June-July 2023
Objective: Enable expansion of residential care
facilities by right and allow the exemption of
facilities for foster family homes and the elderly
in the overconcentration restriction provided
in California Health and Safety Code Section
1520.5.

POLICY 3�8� CONVERT VACANT LAND

AND UNITS TO HOUSING
Action 3�8�1: Continue to implement the
Vacant Property Tax (VPT)�
On November 6, 2018, Oakland voters approved
Measure W, the Oakland VPT. The VPT Act
establishes an annual tax of $3,000 to $6,000 on
vacant property. A property is considered “vacant”
if it is “in use less than fifty days in a calendar year,” and not subject to any of 10 exemptions. The City
will continue to implement the VPT to encourage
active uses on vacant land and regularly monitor
the effectiveness of the program. The City will
analyze expansion of exemptions to the VPT to
reduce the impacts of unintended hardships on
nonprofit and affordable housing developers,
discussed under Action 3.8.3. As directed by
Council, funding from this measure may be spent
on homeless services, affordable housing, and
illegal dumping cleanup.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Finance; Department of Human Services; Oak-
land Planning & Building Department, Oak-
land Department of Housing and Community
Development
Potential Funding Source: Self-funding
through the vacant property tax
Timeline: End of 2023 (Analysis of exemptions
will be complete)
Objective: Through the vacant parcel tax, seek
a 10 percent reduction in vacant parcels by the
end of the Housing Element period.

Action 3�8�2: Encourage the conversion of
vacant ground floor commercial space to
residential uses in appropriate locations�
Traditional brick-and-mortar commercial and
retail businesses have continued to transition to
an Internet-based model, which has been further
accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result,
a significant number of ground-floor commercial
and retail spaces in Oakland remain vacant. The
City will explore opportunities to promote the
conversion of vacant ground floor spaces in certain
areas to live/work or other residential use, as
may be appropriate in the local context. The City
will also explore other opportunities to promote the
conversion of vacant office or commercial space to
housing, in alignment with the recently passed AB
2011 and SB 6.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Planning &
Building Department
Potential Funding Source: General Plan Sur-
charge and permit fees
Timeline: 2023 - 2026
Objective: Expand the areas where residential
space is an allowable ground-floor use.

98 City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update
Action 3�8�3: Tax vacant residential rental units�
Although housing demand in Oakland remains
extremely high, the City experiences a higher
vacancy rate than both Alameda County and the
Bay Area overall. This results from a variety of
factors but may ultimately lead to higher housing
costs. Oakland currently has in place vacancy tax
on parcels and several types of housing units –
including condos, duplexes, and townhome units
under separate ownership. The City will consider
extending the current vacancy tax to all residential
units to encourage active use of residential units
and expand the available housing supply.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Finance
Potential Funding Source: General Fund
Timeline: Consider by the end of 2026 whether
the vacant parcel tax ought to be revised or
expanded
Objective: Increase the housing stock by
ensuring existing units are made available to
rent.

Action 3�8�4: Continue the Oakland
Community Buying Program and support
scattered site acquisition efforts �
The City continues to administer the Community
Buying Program, a collaboration since 2012
between PBD, HCD, Revenue, and others with the
goal to repurpose blighted tax-defaulted parcels
and turn them into affordable housing for low
income renters or moderate income Oakland
homebuyers. In 2017 the City used the 3.8.5 Tax-
Default Pilot Program process to purchase the
initial 26 parcels. The program which in the past
has been funded by State. that were expanded
the housing supply through programs like the
Oaktown Roots Affordable Homes pilot program
and local community land trusts, like the Oakland
Community Land Trust and the Bay Area
Community Land Trust. These programs also help
promote long-term affordable homeownership,
which will also promote the objectives of Policy

5.1. Through the Oaktown Roots Affordable Homes
pilot program, which commenced in 2017, 18 vacant
parcels were developed into homes resulting in
17 families achieving homeownership, with one
additional family scheduled to join them in 2023.

Five ownership parcels and two rental parcels
remained undeveloped and are scheduled for
feasibility analysis survey and then reassignment.

The City is conducting a robust community and
stakeholder engagement process leading up to
the bond spending plan for Measure U, as well as a
legal analysis on what Measure U funds can support
(including the Community Buying Program). As
well, the City has secured a Breakthrough Grant
Fellow as discussed in Actions 3.3.17 and 3.8.5 that
would repurpose blighted tax defaulted parcels
for these policy goals of affordable production and
contracting equity for emerging and BIPOC-led
developers.

Responsible Agency: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development; Oak-
land Department of Finance
Potential Funding Source: Development
impact fees, HOME, local infrastructure bond,
and other local, State, and federal funding as
available
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031
Objective: As additional funding is available,
continue to convert vacant parcels to afford-
able housing.

Action 3�8�5� Partner with Alameda County
Tax Collector to redevelop tax defaulted
properties�
Partner with the Alameda County Tax Collector
to identify tax-defaulted property suitable for
development or preservation as affordable housing.

Through use of the Chapter 8 tax sale program,
make this property available to affordable housing
providers, community land trusts, and related
organizations, either by encouraging nonprofits to
directly acquire through Chapter 8, or by pulling
properties from auction to administer through
99 Chapter 4: Housing Action Plan
a City program. Oakland Housing & Community
Development has secured a full-time fellow
through the Breakthrough Grant Program to
focus on creating an emerging developer program
(Action 3.3.17), and exploring how tax-defaulted
properties, among other development and funding
opportunities, could be leveraged as an entry point
for emerging developers.

Responsible Party: Oakland Department of
Housing and Community Development, Oak-
land Economic and Workforce Development
Department
Funding: Contributory value of the land,
impact fees, HOME, other local, State, and fed -
eral funds as available
Timeline: Ongoing, 2023-2031. Breakthrough
Grant fellow completes BIPOC and emerging
developer program development in 2023, and
will analyze tax-defaulted property program
opportunities by end of his term in 2024.

Objective: As funding, partners, and suit-
able parcels become available, tax defaulted
properties will become available as affordable
housing.

Goal 4� Address Homelessness
and Expand Services for the
Unhoused
The City of Oakland is facing an unprecedented
humanitarian crisis of residents who are
experiencing homelessness. As the United Nations
notes in its mandate on the right to adequate
housing, the right to adequate housing is more
than having a roof over one’s head, it is the right
to live in safety and dignity in a decent home; HUD
Secretary Fudge has declared that “housing is a
human right.” Goals, policies, and actions in this
Housing Action Plan recognize housing as a human
right. and that permanent housing is the solution
to homelessness. Policies and actions proposed as
part of Goal 3 seek to expand affordable housing
options. Goal 4 seeks to address homelessness
through strategies that enable coordination across
the spectrum, from homelessness prevention
to transitional housing/shelter and services to
permanent supportive and deeply affordable
housing with resources for long-term support.
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City of Oakland 2023-2031 | Housing Element Update

HOW THIS GOAL AFFIRMATIVELY

FURTHERS FAIR HOUSING
Homelessness disproportionately impacts
Oakland’s BIPOC residents, particularly the
city’s Black residents. Further, special needs
households—including extremely-low-income
households—tend to be at greater risk of
experiencing homelessness. Addressing
homelessness and providing high quality services
to the unhoused is also a racial equity issue and
must be part of the City’s efforts to affirmatively
further fair housing. By expanding access to
quality homelessness services across Oakland,
and seeking to expand transitional housing
options in a citywide manner, the City will work to
avoid an overconcentration in homelessness and
homelessness-related services in disadvantaged
neighborhoods. Further, by expanding economic
opportunities for the unhoused, Oakland
will help those currently unhoused access
housing opportunities in a variety of Oakland
neighborhoods. This goal, and the policies and
actions that implement it, will address fair housing
issues as they relate to homelessness in Oakland.

POLICY 4�1 EXPANSION OF

HOMELESS SERVICES
Action 4�1�1: Expand, improve, and maintain
crisis response beds�
Since 2018, the City has expanded its supply of
emergency interim housing (community cabins,
shelter beds, Safe RV parking) by over 1,000 beds/
spaces. This increase is almost entirely funded by
one-time funds. The City will use local, county,
State, and federal funding to maintain these new
resources and to improve the effectiveness of these
beds in moving people to permanent housing (for
example, by adding rapid rehousing exit resources).

In addition, the City will continue to expand the
interim housing sites and other forms of housing
for people experiencing homelessness in the City.

The City will ensure that such housing options
include supportive services such as rapid rehousing
assistance, housing navigation, and access to
resources via Coordinated Entry. The City will seek
to partner with Alameda County to provide mental
health and substance use services in interim
sites and will partner with mainstream workforce
programs to support on site job training programs.

The City will coordinate efficient provision of
services and resources from private, nonprofit,
local, Alameda County, and State organizations
Responsible Party: Oakland Human Services
Department
Potential Funding Source: Measure Q, ESG,
State Homeless Housing Assistance and Pre-
vention Funding, various HUD funding sources,
CalAIM (through County)
Timeframe: Expand on the availability of
outreach and social services to increase con-
nections to emergency, interim, and long term
housing supports by 2031
Objectives: 1. Increase the number of people
who are experiencing homelessness in Oak-
land who are sheltered; and 2. Invest in and
improve the quality of interim housing pro-
grams so that more people exit to permanent
housing and more people exit to permanent
housing more quickly.