Death by a thousand cuts

I’m honestly shocked to see there is no public correspondence for tonight’s Planning Board agenda item. Maybe the resident A/26 boosters have just tuckered themselves out fighting all of the battles which have come before. Maybe A/26 boosters are saving their energy for bigger and more significant fights like battling all state housing laws via Livable Cities and the like because tonight’s PB meeting is pretty significant in Alameda’s journey to Housing Element compliance. There’s no vote tonight just a workshop but it will be discussion around which housing types should be allowed in certain zones.

Specifically per the staff report:

As described in the Draft Housing Element update, staff anticipates the need to process amendments to the R-2 through R-6 zoning districts and the mixed-use zoning districts (C-1, C-2, and CC) to accommodate the RHNA and address fair housing requirements in state law.  Staff is also working on multi-family overlay districts that may be used in specific areas to accommodate the RHNA, such as the shopping center sites.   These amendments will accomplish two objectives:

•                     Remove or lessen governmental constraints on housing development to increase production of housing in each district to help accommodate the RHNA.

•                     Bring the AMC into compliance with state law, including fair housing law.

This workshop focuses on the second objective, ensuring that Alameda’s zoning regulations do not discriminate or exclude certain types of housing that are needed to address the housing needs of all segments of the community as required by Government Code Section 65583.  

I figure that whenever Alameda’s A/26 boosters see the term “fair housing law” they immediately tense because there’s always going to be a discussion of A/26 when it comes to fair housing.

Here is staff’s recommendation pertaining to standard residential housing types:

Staff Recommendation on One-Family and Multi-family Housing: In order to help Alameda meet its RHNA, comply with state law, and update the AMC to clarify internal contradictions and conflicts, staff recommends the following changes:

•                     Permit multi-family dwellings by right in the R-2 through R-6 districts, as well as in the C-1, C-2, and CC districts.

•                     Prohibit new one-family dwellings and townhomes in zones intended for higher-density, mixed-use residential development, such as the C-1, C-2, and CC districts and the MF Overlay District. 

•                     Eliminate or significantly revise AMC Section 30-53, Multiple Dwelling Units Prohibited.

As a reminder, the multifamily housing overlay and the new proposed shopping center overlay explicitly allows multifamily housing and, so, our municipal code is a bit…scattered and inconsistent.

There’s a bunch of other housing types: shared livings, low barrier shelters, assisted living, transitional housing which are specifically referenced in state law which Alameda needs to resolve prior to the Housing Element certification. Guess what though? Putting it all at Alameda Point is not going to be an option.

As with most things in Alameda, it appears than systemic change will come from external forces and not because Alamedans self-governed itself into doing the right thing. At this point A/26 has, largely, become an “in name only” exclusionary artifact that we can’t let go. Though time will wear away much like tides lapping over a shard of glass to smooth its most vicious edges into something benign and, perhaps, beautiful.