GOOD NEWS FOR REGIONAL HOUSING

The Bay Area Council this week (June 16) applauded the Alameda City Council’s unanimous approval of a project that will help address the region’s massive housing shortage. The favorable decision came just days after the Bay Area Council’s Housing and Sustainable Development Committee endorsed the project, which calls for building 800 new residential units at Alameda Point on 68 acres at a former U.S. Navy base. The development includes 600,000 square feet of commercial space.

Another project on which the Council’s Housing Committee weighed in also got some good news this week. A political deal (as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier & Ross) among numerous interests will likely mute opposition to a planned November ballot measure on the San Francisco Giants’ proposed Mission Rock project. The project across McCovey Cove from AT&T Park would create 1,500 units of housing and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. The deal involves the Giants’ agreeing to set aside 40 percent of the housing as affordable and middle-class. The Giants are forced to go to the ballot because of a misguided 2012 law requiring voter approval for any project with buildings exceeding certain high limits. The Council’s Housing Committee last week endorsed the Giants’ plan for buildings taller than the current limits. To engage in our housing policy work, contact Senior Vice President Matt Regan.