Dear Editor,
As a former staff member of the Association of Bay Area
Governments and the person responsible for the last Regional
Housing Needs process, I was dismayed at your portrayal of ABAG’s
role.
Dear Editor,
As a former staff member of the Association of Bay Area Governments and the person responsible for the last Regional Housing Needs process, I was dismayed at your portrayal of ABAG’s role.
As you are aware, the RHNA process is based on a state mandate/law and not ABAG fiat. In fact, ABAG was instrumental in having the number for the entire Bay Area region reduced by some 25 percent prior to the distribution of allocations in the last assessment.
Then, the leadership of the ABAG board actively supported state legislation that modified the RHNA process, making it more open and concrete for future iterations.
Additionally, ABAG developed a finance program that brokers state and other funds for use in housing development projects. The Blueprint for Bay Area Housing was updated by ABAG in conjunction with numerous government and non-governmental groups to provide an extensive look at best practices, funding mechanisms and techniques for improving the capacity of local government to supply housing.
All in all, not a bad day’s work for an agency with no power, limited budget and placement between a rock (state law) and a hard place (local government).
A plug for the unheralded good work of the ABAG Board and a focus on housing production might be a better placed editorial.
Alex Amoroso, Oakland
