Case Studies
Santa Cruz Fine-Tunes Its ADU Approach: Lessons Learned
The City of Santa Cruz has been experimenting with ADUs since the early 2000s. As of early 2019, Santa Cruz had approximately 475 ADUs, with about 50 more units coming online each year.
San José’s “Yes, In My Backyard” Affordable Housing Program
A recent survey of San José homeowners showed 31% are interested in building a cottage in their backyard to rent or to help house family members. Recent changes in state law have helped promote the adoption of these backyard units.
Sonoma County’s Density Bonus Program Helps Ease the Housing Crisis
Sonoma County was dealing with a housing crisis well before the October 2017 firestorms. Rental occupancy was at 99 percent and people who worked in hospitality and agriculture were traveling longer and longer distances to find housing they could afford. Then came the fires that destroyed more than 5,000 homes in Sonoma County alone. Thousands of people in the region have been displaced, rents have gone up and finding an affordable place to live has become even more difficult.
Alameda County Bond Measure Tackles Affordable Housing Crisis
In 2016, Alameda County, passed Measure A1 — a 580-million general obligation bond to combat the local affordable-housing crisis. And now that funding is being turned into affordable housing and being used for other programs to assist county residents with their housing needs. The bond passage allowed the County to provide $25.6 million in emergency funding for nine projects that had hit a financial wall when the low-income housing tax credit market suddenly declined, leaving large, unanticipated financing gaps.