After nearly three years, these Bay Area cities still lack a state-approved housing plan

Nearly three years after the state s deadline a Bay Area county and three cities across the region still haven t finalized their state-mandated housing plans leaving them vulnerable to fines loss of grant funding and the dreaded builder s remedy which can cost them control over land use decisions San Mateo County and the cities of Half Moon Bay Belvedere and Clayton have yet to secure state approval for their plans which were due by Jan Every eight years local governments across California are required to submit the plans known as housing elements which serve as roadmaps for how cities and counties aim to permit a specific number of homes across a range of affordability levels Following decades of sluggish evolution and skyrocketing housing costs state leaders have significantly increased the homebuilding targets for the greater part jurisdictions and added new penalties for those failing to complete their plans on time In total the Bay Area s local governments are responsible for adding new homes between and up from in the previous eight-year cycle So far the region is far behind schedule in meeting the ambitious new goal in part because of high interest rates and other field forces Despite the threat of stricter penalties housing advocates say the insufficient remaining municipalities without completed housing elements appear to lack a sense of urgency in obtaining the state s sign-off They re mostly small and wealthy jurisdictions that possibly feel they don t have any obligation and that they can hire enough lawyers to get out of whatever obligation the state imposes on them declared Matt Regan a housing procedures expert with the Bay Area Council a pro-business group Particular local administrators rejected the claim saying they ve worked closely with regulators to finalize the complex plans which are typically hundreds of pages and outline a broad range of housing policies and practices There hasn t been any foot-dragging happening in the city of Half Moon Bay announced Leslie Lacko group advancement director with the city Earlier this month the San Mateo County coastal city adopted a fifth draft of its plan to update policies on accessory dwelling units and other concerns from regulators The city aims to submit the plan to the state officers this month Since phasing in the new housing element rules the state has only pursued serious penalties against a handful of cities primarily in Southern California for failing to secure approval for their plans In state functionaries sued Hunnigton Beach which has openly flouted the housing element process putting it at vulnerability of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly fines The state s Housing and Locality Evolution department did not provide a response to questions about whether the state would seek to impose penalties against any Bay Area jurisdictions Still Bay Area communities that were late submitting their housing plans have been subject to the builder s remedy a provision in state law that allows developers to push through massive housing projects that exceed local zoning limits Local governments are only required to accept such projects during periods when the state determines their housing elements are out of compliance As of last year cities and counties across the region had received at least builder s remedy proposals totaling more than units Despite a flurry of headline-grabbing applications and the subsequent uproar from suburbanites that the builder s remedy would Manhattan-ize their communities it remains unclear how a large number of projects have definitely broken ground In Belvedere however one developer used the threat of a large builder s remedy proposal to persuade local leaders last year to approve a smaller -unit duplex project along the affluent Marin County city s waterfront Even so Belvedere has yet to complete its housing element In September regulators sent the city a letter urging it to complete a required rezoning process to allow for more housing a key aspect of its plan The letter also reminded the city about prospective fines and penalties for noncompliance including ineligibility for certain state housing and transportation grants Related Articles California insurers to charge homeowners for FAIR Plan bailout after LA wildfires Why Trump s -year mortgage isn t the worst idea ever New ballot measure push aims to overhaul California s landmark environmental law Walters California s pro-housing laws have failed to raise new home numbers Antioch council approves housing projects by developer involved in alleged corruption scheme Belvedere bureaucrats did not respond to a request for comment On the Peninsula San Mateo County received a similar letter from the accountability unit in September County bureaucrats declared they are working as expeditiously as practicable to finish their required rezoning process by the middle of next year attributing the delay to difficulties of navigating the multiple new housing laws passed in fresh years They commented the county had not received a builder s remedy application In Half Moon Bay executives disclosed the slow progress is necessary to ensure the city s housing plan complies with regulations outlined by the state s Coastal Commission The commission aims to protect coastal habitats and maintain constituents access to the shoreline but critics have long blamed it for stalling new housing Functionaries disclosed the city has not received a builder s remedy proposal City agents in Clayton a small suburban enclave near Concord did not respond to a request for comment on the delay in obtaining approval of its plan