Sacramento Lobby Days
On March 17 and March 18, President Ramos, Executive Board member Motoyama, MTC Chair Sue Noack and Vice Chair Moulton-Peters and other Commissioners and staff are scheduled to meet with members of the Bay Area legislative delegation to discuss our 2026 legislative priorities. Over the two-day period, we will be focused on three legislative priorities: 1) protecting transit and housing investments in the FY 2026-27 State Budget; 2) seeking $15 million in one-time funds to sustain the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority’s programs; and 3) supporting SB 1087 (Cabaldon), the ABAG-MTC sponsored legislation to modernize SB 375, the law requiring sustainable communities strategies.
State Partners Visit ABAG-MTC
On Thursday, April 9, state partners from the California Transportation Commission, California Air Resources Board and California Department of Housing and Community Development are holding a joint meeting at the Bay Area Metro Center at 1 p.m. We have arranged a tour of the Oakland Chinatown Transit Oriented Development – a project that has received state and regional funding and exemplifies the region’s efforts to expand access to affordable housing near public transit. This is an opportunity to discuss the important role ABAG-MTC plays in supporting both the planning and implementation of projects to implement sustainable communities strategies and the need for additional flexible regional funding.
El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD Groundbreaking Update
On March 5, ABAG Housing Committee Vice Chair Lisa Motoyama, Commission Chair Sue Noack, Chief Deputy Executive Director Alix Bockelman, Deputy Executive Director Daniel Saver and I joined Related Companies of California, BART officials, and many other local and state leaders for the groundbreaking ceremony for Parcel A South of the El Cerrito Plaza BART TOD project. Commission Chair Sue Noack shared a few words on behalf of BAHFA, who provided a $2.4 million Priority Sites pre-development loan using Regional Early Action Planning grant funding early in the process, helping the project attract additional dollars. This project is 100% affordable and will include 70 units, part of a broader master plan which will include about 750 units, of which 47% will be affordable.
Doorway Receives Regional Excellence Award
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority’s (BAHFA) Doorway Housing Portal received a Eureka! Award for Regional Excellence from the California Association of Councils of Governments (CALCOG) during the organization’s Regional Leadership Forum in Long Beach on March 9. The Eureka! Award recognizes regional programs that demonstrate the type of creative leadership and thinking needed to solve tough regional challenges and can serve as examples for other regions to follow. The Doorway Housing Portal, launched in 2023, is the first multi-jurisdictional online affordable housing portal in the country and serves as a one-stop shop for searching and applying for affordable housing.
State Coastal Conservancy Funds Bay Area Olympia Oyster Public Education Initiative
The California State Coastal Conservancy, in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy, awarded the San Francisco Estuary Partnership $75,000 to support the San Francisco Bay Area Olympia Oyster Public Education Initiative. The initiative aims to increase the pace and scale of native oyster restoration in the San Francisco Bay through public education and outreach and is a partnership with the SF State University’s Estuary and Ocean Science Center, the Native Olympia Oyster Collective and Hog Island Oyster Company. The Estuary Partnership will lead on social media messaging to accompany the public launch of The Alluring World of Olympia Oysters, a web story about the importance of Olympia Oyster restoration.
2026 Webinars: Annual Progress Reports (APR) Update with HCD, When Ground Floor Retail Works — and When It Doesn’t
On Jan. 22, 125 local planning and housing staff joined ABAG’s RHTA program webinar with the CA Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD staff covered new updates to the APR form, such as expanded income categories for classifying unit affordability, as required by AB 3093 (Ward, 2024), requirements for reporting historical designations, as required by AB 2580 (Wicks, 2024), and more detailed requirements for reporting on the implementation of housing element programs. HCD also announced that local jurisdictions could continue to use the affordability assumptions from ABAG’s regional accessory dwelling unit (ADU) affordability survey rather than local staff independently documenting ADU rental rates.
Over 175 people attended the March 11 webinar, “When Ground Floor Retail Works — and When It Doesn’t," highlighting the growing pressure cities face to deliver more housing while still creating active, vibrant streets. The webinar provided practical guidance with an explanation of how mixed-use policy intersects with real retail market conditions and the development constraints that shape ground floor space.
Save the Date for the General Assembly
A reminder to save the date for the ABAG General Assembly on Thursday, June 18. The event will be held here at the Bay Area Metro Center. More details to come.