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I’m happy to share that our sponsored bill, AB 670 by Assemblymember Quirk-Silva, is heading to the Governor’s desk. This bill would expand cities’ and counties’ ability to receive credit on the annual housing element report for converting naturally occurring affordable housing to deed-restricted affordable housing.
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The Regional Housing Technical Assistance (RHTA) webinar on the housing provisions contained in budget trailer bills AB 130 and SB 131 — including significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act — was one of the largest, most engaged groups ever participating in a RHTA webinar. Over 450 people participated from all nine counties and most Bay Area cities, as well as from the Department of Housing and Community Development and a few other jurisdictions around the state (Placer County, San Diego and Santa Barbara). Most attendees stayed on the 90-minute webinar for 70 minutes or more.
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The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) released the Bay Area Eviction Study in late July, the first study of its kind in the region to look at the rates and characteristics of evictions across the Bay Area. BAHFA commissioned this study to provide baseline data to inform strategies to keep people housed and in their communities. Webinars organized by BAHFA staff and the research team were well attended. The evictions webinar had 232 attendees, and the tenant-legal services webinar had 159 attendees. Staff from State Senator Wahab’s office requested a meeting to discuss the potential to improve data collection to support local decision-making – a shortcoming identified in the study. Anti-Displacement Program Manager Irene Farnsworth and Principal Legislative Advocate Julie Snyder met with her office in early August.
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The Power-Building and Engagement (Pb+E) grant program, part of MTC’s Community Action Resource Empowerment initiative, is accepting applications for community-driven projects that expand housing choices and affordability and reduce car dependency. Pb+E will distribute $1.3 million in grants to community-based organizations under three project categories. The application window opens Friday, Sept. 26 and closes Oct. 9, 2025. Please help us spread the word about this funding opportunity to community-based organizations in your counties. Visit the CARE Pb+E Program page for more information. The funding for this grant program comes from the state’s REAP 2.0 program.
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MTC’s Transit 2050+ team was honored with the 2025 Excellence in MPO Coordination and Partnership Award at the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) national conference this month. We have been advancing the Transit 2050+ process jointly with the region’s transit operators to re-envision our transit network for a post-pandemic future – with greater fiscal constraints. It was a competitive field, but MTC’s work over the past two years stood out as innovative, thoughtful and collaborative. A final update on Transit 2050+ was presented at the Sept. 12 ABAG Administrative Committee meeting, and the final report will be published in early 2026.
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Matt Maloney, ABAG-MTC Metro Planning & Policy Deputy Executive Director, has been named to the California Sustainable Communities Task Force — a cross-sector coalition tasked with catalyzing the implementation of California’s climate, housing, equity and transportation goals. The 30-member task force was launched by California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) Secretary Omishakin in August to explore sustainable transportation investments, land use planning and funding and authority needed for regional implementation, among other areas. The task force will produce a final report in November 2026 with recommendations for legislative, regulatory and budgetary actions.
San Francisco Estuary Partnership Updates
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Every five years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts a Program Evaluation of active National Estuary Programs to monitor and report on progress in achieving long-term planning goals, housed in the Estuary Blueprint in our case. This year, the San Francisco Estuary Partnership successfully passed the program evaluation and was recognized for innovation in nature-based approaches, regional impact and its ability to leverage federal funds at one of the highest rates in the entire National Estuary Program. The visit in August, which included EPA representatives from both the regional and DC offices, included a visit to two Estuary Partnership project sites: the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee Pilot Project and the Novato Creek Baylands Strategy planning area.
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This summer, the San Francisco Estuary Partnership team published its seventh Estuary Blueprint Report and presented the findings to the Estuary Blueprint’s Implementation Committee. The latest report highlights the progress made since 2022 on the Actions and Tasks in the Estuary Blueprint, a regional planning framework spanning from 2022 to 2027 that focuses on improving water quality, sustaining habitat, bolstering community resilience and supporting stewardship of the San Francisco Estuary. During this tracking period, the Estuary Partnership found that 30 tasks out of 126 have been completed and that an additional 45 tasks have reached or exceeded 50% completion. To learn more about the progress of the Estuary Blueprint, visit the Estuary Blueprint webpage.
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On Sept. 8, construction began on the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee Pilot Project, a project that will provide water quality, habitat and flood-protection benefits and help shape sea level rise planning in the Bay Area. The Estuary Partnership, in partnership with the City of Palo Alto, is moving forward on this innovative project, which is the first horizontal levee to be built in the San Francisco Bay that beneficially reuses treated wastewater for irrigation. Learn more at the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant page