Report to the Commission and the ABAG Executive Board: January 23, 2019
Federal Government Shutdown
December 21, Washington DC
The FY 2019 budget impasse led to a partial government shutdown – including the Departments of Transportation and Housing & Urban Development – that is still in force as of this week. Since U.S. DOT is funded mostly with highway trust funds, the impacts of the partial shutdown have been modest so far. Federal transit and HUD programs are funded with general revenue, however, so there have been furloughs and a significant slow-down in business at those agencies. See the “Map of the Month” for the real-life impacts on one HUD program.
ABAG Regional Planning Committee
January 10, San Francisco
The Regional Planning Committee held a special meeting on the CASA Compact in order to develop its comments to the ABAG Executive Board, which on January 17th will consider whether to authorize President David Rabbitt to sign the Compact.
New West Grand Ave. Lane Opens
January 3, Oakland
A new dedicated bus and carpool lane to the West Grand Ave. approach to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens to westbound commutes into San Francisco. This $2 million project – funded under Bay Bridge Forward with the goal of filling empty seats – involved the conversion of a quarter-mile stretch of the right shoulder of the West Grand Ave. on-ramp as well as a portion of the right shoulder of the Bay Bridge approach from northbound I-880. The new lane is designed to speed up travel times and offers time savings to the benefit of riders of AC Transit’s transbay lines and carpools with three or more occupants, while incentivizing others to shift out of single-occupant vehicles into buses and carpools. More info
Newsom Releases First Budget
January 10, Sacramento
Governor Newsom released his FY 2019-20 budget proposal and, not surprisingly, it featured a number of new funding and policy proposals in the fields of housing and homelessness. With respect to increasing housing production, the budget proposes $1.8 billion in one-time General Fund spending to incentivize local governments to build more housing (a la our HIP program), to finance additional construction of moderate-income housing in particular, and to expand the state’s housing tax credit program. In addition, the governor proposed a new long-term housing production strategy that would significantly re-shape the RHNA process as well as link the allocation of state transportation funds to housing production in as yet unspecified ways.
CALCOG Meeting
January 15, Sacramento
As a parting gesture of both aggravation and affection, I was asked to chair my final meeting of the California Councils of Government director’s association. The meeting was part business/part roast, and a good time was had by all.
Greenbelt Alliance Event
January 15, San Francisco
I was invited to speak at a Leadership Circle event sponsored by Greenbelt Alliance to review recent MTC/ABAG activities. My remarks focused primarily on next steps for the CASA Compact.
Where Low-Income Renters Face Eviction Due to Government Shutdown
This map shows the locations and number of households that receive housing aid through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) program known as the Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance Program. Funding that goes to families within these households has expired or is set to expire by the end of February 2019. Under the program, rental assistance contracts provide housing aid to seniors or individuals with disabilities with average incomes typically below the federal poverty limit. Due to the shutdown, roughly 1,150 contracts between HUD and private owners of multi-tenant buildings are in limbo across the U.S. Another 500 contracts are set to expire in January, with another 550 contracts to follow in February. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, should the shutdown persist into February, an estimated 1,500 Bay Area households could face the real prospect of eviction.