Housing Element review, part 6

Program 13 is around tenant protections which is nothing that is new if you followed the rent stabilization discussions.

Program 14 is replacement housing which is just a monitoring program along with Program 15. Program 14 will monitor units that might be demolished to build new housing and Program 15 is for affordable housing units which might be converted to market rate.

Program 16 is the First Time Homebuyers Program which is exactly as it sound like and has a lofty goal of helping two (2) homebuyers per year with downpayments.

Program 17 is the Housing Rehabilitation Program and is an existing set of programs and grants which helps people to stay in their homes or retain their property that they may not have had money to afford fixing without intervention of the City.

Program 18 is Utility Assistance which is great because it will help people retain their housing by getting assistance for at least one bill.

Program 19 is Promote Energy Conservation which I dunno how this is relevant to the Housing Element other than there will be money to help lower income residents take advantage of the programs which exist like light bulb rebates.

Program 20 is Environmental Health which is important in light of lower income people usually being in areas of cities which is most impacted and has less resources like parks. The quantifiable objective is to build parks within one mile of all housing to reduce environmental health disparities between west and east Alameda. I guess no one told the people who were writing this that Tony Daysog wanted to remove two parks on the West End in order to not burden the East End with having to site any housing units to meet the RHNA.

Program 21 is Development Standards to Remove Constraints which essentially says that for projects that the City staff knows there’s gonna be opposition they will align the existing municipal codes to follow state law which has removed a lot of barriers to building projects like transitional and supportive housing.

Program 22, the last one, is a pledge to make sure that Alameda is meeting the goals set forward in this Housing Element.