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ATTACHMENT 1 March 2, 2021 The Honorable Gavin Newsom Governor of the State of California California State Capitol, First Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Via: Townsend Public Affairs RE: City of Pleasanton response to budget measure proposal to create a Housing Accoutability Unit at Housing and Community Development department Dear Governor Newsom, On behalf of the Pleasanton City Council, I w. Y. ank you for your continued efforts to address the housing affordability crisis in Cal'='a. Your recent budget proposes a new resource in the HCD by creation of the Housing -----_:_suntabir_it Unit. The Housing Accountability Unit(HAU) as proposed seeks to fa-"=�f -to ;`.ction of affordable housing through monitoring,technical assistance, and enforce existing housing production laws. HCD would also act as an ombudsman and help local go _•. ents navigate and comply with state housing laws and make sufficient progress toward thei = Tonal Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The new HAU focu ,on producing affordable housing and providing technical assistance to help local governme*make progress towards their RHNA allocations. With the volume of housing bills being signed into lass each year, additional support to cities for assistance in implemental ,4 these laws through technical assistance would be a benefit to the City of fes_ Pleasant. _ —__ -� The Ci plies with a to lad follows the regulations set forth by HCD so we are concerneI + additional ormg of the proposed unit as it was described in your statement' ied in your b t narr . Every year, each City must submit an annual report on the status and progress in implementing the housing element of its general plan using forms and definitions adopted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development(HCD). The report must be must be submitted to HCD and the Governor's Office of Planning and Research on orbefore April 1 of each year. This is a robust document and _ demonstrates each City's c liance and progress. Adding the type of monitoring you describe is a waste of valuable HCD staff time and resources. In the current time of COVID-19 response and recovery, the $4.3 million of funding could be put to a more productive use to meet the needs of California cities and their residents. While accountability is crucial at all levels of government,the monitoring aspect of this unit promotes an adversarial tone between the State and local governments. Identifying real housing 1..."this is to monitor city council meetings. This is to monitor board of supervisors meetings, planning commission meetings. We're not going to wait for an article to be written to be proactive in terms of holding local government accountable to increasing housing production.