San Ramon Likely To Lose Housing Need Allocation Appeal

SAN RAMON, CA — San Ramon appears unlikely to succeed in its quest to lower the number of new housing units it must plan for, meaning officials could have to make way for at least 5,100 additional housing units in the city.

The city is not required to ensure these units are built, but it must update planning documents to ensure there is space for these new units. The city sought to reduce its housing allocation by 28 percent to 3,660 units.

San Ramon was one of 27 local governments that appealed its Regional Housing Needs Allocation to the Association of Bay Area Governments, a planning agency that focuses on finding regional solutions to issues such as housing, water or environmental matters.

The association's administrative committee recommended San Ramon's appeal for rejection Wednesday.

The state seeks to address the housing shortage and decides how many housing units, including affordable housing, must be planned for in various regions. The Association of Bay Area Governments was tasked with figuring out how many of those units should be built in various local towns and cities.

San Ramon sought to punt a portion of its allocated units to cities with economic hubs, arguing that a larger share of housing units should go to places where Bay Area workers already are.

Danville, Dublin and Pleasanton all made similar arguments that were recommended for rejection.

Aaron Eckhouse, regional policy director of California YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), said in comments during the meeting that San Ramon is a major job center that has a housing-to-job ratio comparable to that of San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Campbell.

The state determined that local governments in the Bay Area must make way for more than 441,000 new housing units, including 26 percent for people who are considered very low income; 15 percent for people who have low incomes; 17 percent for people with moderate incomes; and 43 percent for people who have incomes above moderate.

The Association of Bay Area Governments will continue to hear appeals through October and adopt final housing unit allocations in December. Local governments must submit updated plans to the state by January 2023.