- Oakland is in the midst of a housing crisis that includes rising costs, increased rent burden, displacement, and widespread demographic change. At the root of this crisis is the limited availability of housing in Oakland, especially housing available to moderate- and low-income residents. The City is working on multiple fronts to increase the available supply of affordable housing and housing in general.
- California recently adopted legislation to address the housing shortage within the State. These new laws require that the City review new multi-family developments and residential mixed-use developments ministerially or "over-the-counter" against objective standards instead through a more subjective design review process open to interpretation.
- The City of Oakland also applied for and received a State planning grant funding used to develop and implement policies that will expedite housing development and increase housing supply in the City of Oakland. A portion of this grant funds will cover a housing-related share of this project.
- The objective design standards will be also applied more broadly to projects consisting of a wide array of mixed-use and commercial building types throughout the City of Oakland. The creation of standards for non-housing-related projects will come from a separate funding source. The State SB-2 grant funds will only be used for housing-related project items.
- The objective design standards developed during this project must be sensitive to the historic context of existing neighborhoods to protect and enhance the historic heritage of Oakland.