Two Bay Area city council members serving on a regional commission suffered the political consequences of supporting a controversial regional housing initiative, not from their constituents, but from their colleagues.
Rachel Swan reports for the San Francisco Chronicle on the second city council member who serves on 21-member Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to suffer political consequences for voting on Dec. 19 to authorize the commission's approval of the Committee to House the Bay Area (CASA) Compact, a new 15-year regional initiative to address the Bay Area’s housing crisis that includes building 35,000 homes a year throughout the region.
Redwood City Councilwoman Alicia Aguirre lost her spot on the MTC last week. She represented San Mateo County, where mayors of 20 cities regularly meet to select members of boards and commissions. Several mayors told Aguirre that because she backed CASA, “they couldn’t vote for me.”
As posted Jan. 25 after the Bay Area's other major regional planning agency, the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) executive board, voted 21-9 in favor of the CASA Compact, veteran Rohnert Park Councilman Jake Mackenzie, who chairs the MTC and voted to approve the compact, was "stripped by his own City Council Tuesday night [Jan. 22] of influential posts on the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board and [the Sonoma County Transportation Authority]," reported Kevin Fixler for The Press Democrat.
Earlier this month at a City Council meeting, he faced an hourlong tongue lashing from each of his four fellow council members for backing the CASA Compact...
His fate lies with a selection committee of nine [Sonoma County] mayors who will vote Thursday [Jan 31], and then pass their recommendation along to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for a final confirmation next month.
The political consequences suffered by Mackenzie and Aguirre "signal that sharp disagreements remain over how to address the regional housing crisis," writes Swan.
Leaders in some communities feel they are being forced into policies emanating from San Francisco and Oakland, while others see aggressive regional action as imperative.
The CASA Compact [pdf], which pushes a 10-point agenda based on the "three Ps: Production, Preservation, and Protection," "will likely serve as a guide — and as political ammunition — for new state legislation," continues Swan. "Besides setting housing goals, CASA recommends adding taxes, loosening zoning near transit centers and establishing a regional rent cap, among other things."
Hat tip to MTC Transportation Headlines.
FULL STORY: Local leaders find that supporting Bay Area housing plan spurs anger at home
Regional Attempt to Address Housing Crisis Advances in Bay Area
A regional, comprehensive, and controversial approach to tackling the housing affordability crisis in the nine-county Bay Area, including strategies to render renter protections and new housing production, has cleared three major hurdles.
Legislation Introduced to Enable the Bay Area to Tackle Housing Crisis as a Region
A new bill would grant the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area taxing authority to raise revenue in the nine-county region to find solutions to the housing crisis. Another bill would reduce the voter threshold below two-thirds for eligible taxes.
Tolling All Lanes
Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.
Can State Lawmakers Make the Case for Road Charges?
More state legislatures are considering fees based on vehicle miles traveled as a replacement for declining gas tax revenues.
10 States Follow Through on Promise to Put 3.3 Million EVs on the Road
Rebate programs are at the heart of collaborative success.
Surf’s Upcycling: Hawai‘i’s Latest Green Building Material is Recycled Surf Boards
“Surf Blocks” are fire-resistant, termite-proof, and close the loop on mountains of waste from the state’s beloved sport.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Florida Atlantic University
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service