Training
These webinars are a comprehensive training series for local planning and housing staff focused on updates to local Housing Elements. Many sessions are jointly sponsored by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) or the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
Each training is a live and interactive webinar, with many opportunities to ask questions. Access to completed webinar recordings and supporting materials is available below.
Upcoming Trainings
Preparing Objective Standards for Multifamily Housing: Introducing ABAG's Objective Design Standards Handbook
April 25, 2024, 10-11 a.m.
ABAG’s Objective Design Standards Handbook provides a how-to manual for creating objective design standards. This webinar will introduce this new resource intended to help planners develop standards for multi-family residential and mixed-use projects. The handbook includes:
- A framework to nest standards within your community's urban design policies
- Customizable standards for building and site design topics and guidance on how to refine standards to meet your community's design values
- Downloadable graphics to illustrate and complement written standards
- Financial feasibility analysis to weigh the cost implications of key objective standards against the value of designing great places.
The webinar will establish the statutory context for why communities may want to adopt objective design standards, and then move beyond the why to the how. The webinar will educate planners about how to use the handbook to select and refine standards and zoning graphics for a full range of building and site design topics. It will also describe the financial feasibility of key objective design standards, drawn from interviews with market-rate and affordable housing developers, to consider how to balance the costs and benefits of implementing objective design standards.
Presenters include Jean Eisberg, AICP, Lexington Planning; Stefan Pellegrini, RA, AICP, LEED AP, OPTICOS; and Alex Steinberger, Cascadia Partners. This webinar is eligible for AICP certification maintenance (CM) credit.
Register now for Preparing Objective Standards for Multifamily Housing. The Handbook and accompanying resources will be posted here in advance of the webinar.
Past ABAG Training Sessions
Changes to the APR with HCD
January 8, 2024
Staff from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) reviewed legislative changes to APR reporting requirements and changes in the form to accommodate the new legislation. After a brief presentation, HCD staff answered questions about submitting your APR.
View the Changes to the APR with HCD presentation video and slide deck.
2023 New State Housing Laws Overview
November 30, 2023
The recent state legislative session brings many changes to housing laws in California. Several new laws impact jurisdictions' housing processes. Join ABAG’s Regional Housing Technical Assistance Program, in conjunction with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), for a webinar to review these new laws. Staff from Goldfarb & Lipman LLP will discuss some of the most significant legislation and what it means for jurisdictions.
Overview of AB 2011 and SB 6
March 1, 2023
AB 2011, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022 and SB 6, the Middle Class Housing Act of 2022, are intended to permit residential development on sites currently zoned and designated for commercial or retail uses. Both bills will go into effect on July 1, 2023. Staff from Goldfarb & Lipman LLP will give an overview and discuss key details of each bill, action items and policy decisions. This webinar was eligible for 1.5 CM credits from APA.
View the Overview of AB 2011 and SB 6 webinar video, slides and other presentation materials.
Annual Progress Reports with HCD
January 19, 2023
There are new data requirements related to SB 9 and student housing that local jurisdictions must include in their Housing Element Annual Progress Reports (APRs) due April 1, 2023. In this webinar, HCD Housing Policy staff explained the new legislative requirements and the changes in the APR form. Staff also gave an overview of the form and took questions.
View the Annual Progress Reports with HCD recording and download the slides.
Talking with the Media about Housing
December 7, 2022
Media stories about housing shape public perception and can help or hinder jurisdictions’ housing policies and programs. This training helped local planning and housing staff develop housing messages, prepare to talk to the media and address tough questions.
View the Talking with the Media about Housing recording and download the slide presentation.
2022 New Housing Laws
November 15, 2022
The recent state legislative session brings many changes to housing laws statewide. Several new laws impact California jurisdictions' housing processes. Staff from Goldfarb & Lipman LLP discussed some of the most significant legislation and what it means for jurisdictions.
Resources from this webinar include:
- Video recording
- Slide deck
- 2022 New Housing Legislation Summary
- 2022 New Housing Legislation Action Item and Issue Spotting Chart
How to Address HCD Comments for Certification
September 27, 2022
Submitting your Housing Element is just the start. Addressing HCD’s comments to get it certified is the next step. This webinar featured a conversation with jurisdictions from Southern California and the Sacramento region to learn how they responded to and worked with HCD to get across the real finish line.
Bay Area Priority Sites Pilot Program
September 21, 2022
MTC-ABAG and the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) recently released the Priority Sites Concept Paper: A proposal to transform public land and aging malls & office parks into neighborhoods. The paper is the first step toward the launch of a Priority Sites Pilot Program.
Staff hosted a webinar to highlight findings from the concept paper and provide further insight into the pilot program’s proposed approach to advancing major reuse projects. Participants will have an opportunity to provide input on the program’s design to help ensure it meets local needs.
Terner Center and ABAG Present: Best Practices to Implement SB 9 and Missing Middle Housing in the Bay Area
September 13, 2022
Senate Bill (SB) 9, one of California's most sweeping zoning reform bills, became law on January 1, 2022. How are cities, property owners, and developers responding to SB 9? What can we learn from the initial half-year of implementation? How can cities use the impetus of SB 9 and missing middle housing to create more equitable, affordable, and resilient neighborhoods? These panel presentations discussed effective strategies for creating small-scale housing development that advances equity goals.
Panels included:
- Making It Feasible: Innovative Zoning and Land Use Approaches from the Bay Area and Beyond, with representatives from Berkeley and San Diego.
- Making It Easy: New Ideas for Improving Planning Processes, with representatives from Milpitas and other communities.
- Missing Middle and the Housing Element, with representatives from HCD and Baird + Driskell.
Transforming Aging Malls and Office Parks: Reuse Challenges and Opportunities
August 24, 2022
The webinar highlighted findings from a white paper on mall and office reuse challenges and opportunities in the Bay Area and beyond. To support local planning, housing and economic development staff in implementation, ABAG-MTC staff and a team of consultants are convening a Transforming Aging Malls and Office Parks Work Group in September. View the Transforming Aging Malls and Office Parks recording and download the presentation.
Leveraging Your Land: Best Practices for Reusing Public Land for Housing
August 10, 2022
MTC-ABAG recently developed a Public Lands Playbook to guide local governments and other public agencies through the process of inventorying, prioritizing and reusing publicly owned land. Staff provided an overview of the Playbook and other technical assistance resources during this webinar. Watch the video recording of the "Leveraging Your Land" webinar.
Webinar for Elected Officials: Learn About Available Assistance for Housing Element Updates
March 25, 2022
ABAG has developed a technical assistance program, funded by a California Regional Early Action Program (REAP) grant, to assist local governments in implementing the state’s RHNA requirements. This webinar showcased the program and the range of available technical and communications/outreach products to assist your jurisdiction.
Keynote speaker Dr. Tiffany Manuel provided attendees with an overview of what housing means to Bay Area residents and some tools for how to engage residents in productive conversations about housing. Dr. Manuel has worked with both the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California over the past several years, bringing her research to efforts to shift regional conversations around housing equity and access. ABAG staff presented highlights from the first year of the program and plans for this program going forward. Staff also discussed new tools available for local jurisdictions related to wildfire prevention and missing middle housing and provided an overview of communications resources designed for elected officials and staff.
Watch the "Learn About Available Assistance for Housing Element Updates" video and view the handouts.
New Annual Progress Report Requirements with HCD
January 18, 2022
AB 1255 and AB 2345 (passed in 2020) added new data requirements that local jurisdictions must include in their Housing Element Annual Progress Reports (APRs) due April 1st. HCD Housing Policy staff Ava Hoffman, Ashley Sanchez and Tom Brinkhuis explained the new legislative requirements and the changes in the APR form.
New Annual Progress Report Requirements with HCD: Watch the video and view the presentation.
Keep Calm and Certify On: Tips from Early Adopters
January 11, 2022
This presentation and roundtable conversation covered the new state requirements for 6th cycle housing elements and perspectives from HCD and jurisdictions who have successfully submitted their housing elements.
Speakers included:
- Sohab Mehmood, Senior Housing Specialist at the California Department of Housing and Community Development
- Paul McDougall, Planning Grants and Incentives unit chief for the California Department of Housing and Community Development
- Chelsey Payne, Director of Urban Design and Planning with Ascent
- Shawna Purvines, Deputy Director of the Placer County’s Community Development Resource Agency
- Veronica Tam, Principal with Veronica Tam and Associates
Keep Calm and Certify On: Tips from Early Adopters — watch the video and view the presentation.
New Housing Laws Discussion
November 30, 2021
The recent state legislative session brought many changes to housing law statewide. Beyond SB 9, several new laws impact California jurisdictions' housing elements timelines, permit processes, state density bonus applications, and more. Staff from Goldfarb & Lipman LLP discussed some of the most significant legislation and what it means for jurisdictions. New Housing Laws Discussion: Review the presentation and watch the video.
"Surplus Public Land: What Local Agencies Need to Know" Webinar
October 26, 2021
In the "Surplus Public Land: What Local Agencies Need to Know" webinar, State of California Dept. of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and ABAG/MTC staff offered an overview of the Surplus Land Act’s expanded requirements, highlighted common mistakes made by public agencies trying to dispose of surplus land, and explained HCD’s roles in monitoring compliance with the Act and promoting affordable housing on public land.
HESS Tool 1.0 Tutorial Webinar
October 19, 2021
The HESS Tool is a web-based mapping tool developed to guide Bay Area cities and counties in identifying opportunity sites for new housing that align with state Housing Element requirements and support regional and local priorities.
Summary: This virtual tutorial walked local planning staff and consultants through the HESS Tool 1.0 interface. It also demonstrated how to perform the following actions to assist with building a Site Inventory:
- Filter sites based on HESS screening categories and specified characteristics of interest
- View detailed information for sites of particular interest
- Generate a list of selected sites in HCD's new Site Inventory Form with select columns auto-populated with available data
- Identify actions items to meet HCD Site Inventory requirements for groups of sites with shared characteristics
- Update underlying data based on local records to improve accuracy of the HESS Tool
- HESS Tool 1.0 Tutorial Webinar: Video Recording
Context of SB 9 and Potential Impacts
September 20, 2021
The "Context of SB 9 and Potential Impacts" webinar presented information on the content of SB 9 and the potential impacts of the legislation. The session includes explanations of ministerial two-unit developments and ministerial lot splits: which projects qualify, criteria that cannot, must be or may be used by jurisdictions, how SB 9 intersects with other laws, and the projected impacts in jurisdictions across the state. Presenters included Barbara Kautz from Goldfarb & Lipman and David Garcia from the Terner Center. Webinar resources include:
- Video recording
- Terner Center Presentation
- Legislative Presentation
- Terner Center full analysis
Integrating Climate Adaptation/Resilience Into Your Housing Element
July 27, 2021
The Integrating Climate Adaptation/Resilience Into Your Housing Element workshop, co-produced by California OPR, presents ways to integrate resilience into Housing Element updates.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: Data Deep Dive
July 13, 2021
The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: Data Deep Dive webinar showcased data analysis and land use policies related to segregation patterns and trends in the Bay Area. A presentation from Dr. Jessica Trounstine, UC Merced, on portions of her work on segregation and land use analysis with special attention to the Bay Area context.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: The Nuts and Bolts with HCD
June 22. 2021
- Webinar video recording: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: The Nuts and Bolts with HCD
- Presentation: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: The Nuts and Bolts with HCD
Additional HCD resources from the webinar:
Engage How To! Introduction to Remote Meeting Tools
May 25, 2021
- Webinar video recording: Engage How To! Introduction to Remote Meeting Tools
- Presentation: Engage How To! Introduction to Remote Meeting Tools
Additional resources from the webinar:
Housing Sites Inventory - Deep Dive
Incorporating Environmental Justice and Safety into your Housing Element
May 11, 2021
Summary: This webinar is co-hosted by OPR.
- Webinar Video Recording: Incorporating Environmental Justice and Safety into your Housing Element
- Presentation: Incorporating Environmental Justice and Safety into your Housing Element
Additional resources from the webinar:
How to Talk About Housing – Data-Driven Lessons on Housing Communications that Work and Those that Backfire
April 27, 2021
Summary: Speakers share information developed from two separate efforts to analyze how housing is discussed at the Bay Area level and at a statewide level. HCD also discusses how they are supporting local government around communication of housing issues.
- Webinar video recording: How to Talk About Housing - Data-Driven Lessons on Housing Communications that Work and Those that Backfire
- Presentation: How to Talk About Housing - Data-Driven Lessons on Housing Communications that Work and Those that Backfire
Additional resources from the webinar:
- Communications Tips for Housing Staff
- Bay Area Seize the Narrative Playbook, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
- Dig Deeper on Research, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
Planning Collaboratives Kick-Off
April 13, 2021
Summary: This webinar introduces the County Planning Collaboratives.
- Planning Collaboratives Kick-Off: Webinar video recording
- Planning Collaboratives Kick-Off: Presentation
Additional resource from the webinar:
Using Data Effectively in Housing Element Updates – ABAG’s Housing Needs Data Packets and Accessing the US Census
March 23, 2021
Summary: This webinar introduces the ABAG data packets.
- Using Data Effectively in Housing Element Updates: Webinar video recording (Census portion starts at 46:53)
- Using Data Effectively in Housing Element Updates: Presentation
Additional resource from the webinar:
Creating Capacity: An Overview of the Sites Inventory
March 9, 2021
- Creating Capacity: An Overview of the Sites Inventory: Webinar video recording
- Creating Capacity: An Overview of the Sites Inventory: Presentation
Additional resource:
Additional HCD resources from the webinar:
- Housing Element Sites Inventory Guidebook, June 2020
- Draft Electronic Housing Element Site Inventory Form and Instructions, Dec, 2020
- Housing Element Sites Inventory Form (XLS)
- HCD Webinar Video: Updating the Housing Element Part Three – Sites Inventory
- Building Blocks: Identify Adequate Sites
Housing Element 101 - Overview and New Laws & Tips
Planning Innovations Webinar: Regional Data Tools for the Housing Element
Oct. 29, 2020
Summary: ABAG, in partnership with HCD, discuss state data requirements, solicit input on regional data tools and train local planners to use a site selection tool to analyze parcel-level data and pre-populate HCD’s new site inventory form. The beta version of the Housing Element Site Selection (HESS) tool is presented at the webinar.
Housing Planning: For the Future
July 20, 2020
Summary: This interactive webinar introduces ABAG’s and HCD’s technical assistance partnership and explains some of the technical assistance tools being developed.
Additional Resources
For additional online training HCD and the Institute for Local Government (ILG) have developed a webinar series for city and county elected officials. View upcoming sessions and review previous sessions.
