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BACKGROUND <br /> At the January 19, 2021 Pleasanton City Council meeting it was requested that an item <br /> be brought forward to the City Council to provide information regarding the Governor's <br /> budget measure to create a Housing Accountability Unit at the Department of Housing <br /> and Community Development (HCD) and to authorize a written response to this <br /> measure. <br /> This item was brought forward to the City Council on February 2, 2021. A draft letter <br /> (Attachment 1) was prepared by staff for the Council to review. After discussion, the City <br /> Council requested that the City Council Legislative subcommittee incorporate the points <br /> discussed by the Council into a revised letter for consideration at a future meeting. <br /> The Governor's proposed budget includes resources to create a Housing Accountability <br /> Unit at the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to further <br /> facilitate affordable housing production through monitoring, technical assistance, and <br /> enforcement of existing housing production laws such as the Density Bonus Law and <br /> Housing Accountability Act. This includes a $4.3 million allocation from the general fund <br /> for HCD to provide technical assistance to help local governments meet planning and <br /> zoning requirements and provide proactive engagement before enforcement becomes <br /> necessary. These additional resources will allow HCD to act as an ombudsman and <br /> help local governments navigate and comply with state housing laws and make <br /> sufficient progress toward their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). <br /> Included in the budget narrative regarding this new Housing Accountability Unit, <br /> Governor Gavin Newsom stated: <br /> "Let me just make this clear to all my friends," Newsom said, "this is to monitor <br /> city council meetings. This is to monitor board of supervisors meetings, planning <br /> commission meetings. We're not going to wait for an article to be written to be <br /> proactive in terms of holding local government accountable to increasing housing <br /> production."1 <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> The City of Pleasanton has an adopted Legislative Framework that outlines the guiding <br /> principles that guide the City's legislative advocacy efforts. Each year, the City Council <br /> Legislative Subcommittee affirms the Legislative Framework, identifies Focus Areas for <br /> the current legislative cycle, and brings them forward to the City Council for adoption. <br /> Staff and the Legislative Subcommittee reviewed the Governor's proposed Housing <br /> Accountability Unit and vetted it through the adopted framework, specifically, the guiding <br /> principles on Housing and Protect Local Control. These guiding principles are shown <br /> below. <br /> ' It is not clear what the Governor means by"monitoring"City Council meetings but it seems plausible that it <br /> would involve tracking housing proposals as they move through the local process,and commenting on staff <br /> interpretation of state law and their recommendation to Council if HCD staff concluded that their interpretation and <br /> project recommendation were inconsistent with state law. <br /> Page 2 of 4 <br />