By Susan Steimle, CBS SF Bay Area, September 10, 2020
“The Bay Area has a new assignment from the state: build nearly 450,000 homes in the next eight years or risk losing control over where they go.
“RHNA, which stands for Regional Housing Needs Allocation, describes the quantity of housing the region must build to begin correcting the ongoing housing crisis. The new RHNA numbers are out and they’re higher than ever before.
“The goal is to build 441,176 homes between 2023 and 2031 — more than double the previous requirement of 187,990 between 2015 and 2023. It is a goal the region is not on track to reach.
“Historically the Bay Area has failed to meet its RHNA goals, especially when it comes to low-income housing.
“If cities don’t hit their RHNA goals, the state can intervene and force a community to build housing without much review at the local level. ‘Local control means you get to choose how you meet your state housing goals not whether you meet your state housing goals,’ Laura Foote, executive director of YIMBY Action, said.
“The final allocation that determines where homes will be built is due by the end of 2021 but housing advocates want people to start paying attention now.
“They’re hoping educating the public about what RHNA is will help prevent future pushback that often gets in the way of meeting these goals.”
Read the full article here. (~2 ½ min.)