The City of Albany is in the process of updating the Housing Element section of the City’s General Plan, and requests your input. The working draft of the Housing Element is available for Albany residents to review here. The City is required to submit a working draft to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). But prior to sending the working draft to HCD, the City is required to make the draft available for the public for 30 days. The 30 – day comment period began July 29, 2022, and will end August 28th. The City Council is scheduled to review the working draft, and comments received, at their meeting scheduled for September 6th.

This is a state-mandated plan that identifies how the City will accommodate its current and future housing needs. The working draft has been prepared over several months through a series of public meetings with the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.

According to the City of Albany, “The Housing Element includes an evaluation of local housing issues and needs, an analysis of potential housing sites and resources, a discussion of constraints to building housing, and a list of policies and actions that address housing issues. Recent changes to State law require that the Housing Element also show how each city will work to overcome housing discrimination and create housing opportunities for persons of all income levels in the community.”

Addressing the housing crisis requires informed community participation. Please review the working draft, provide constructive comments, and attend the City Council meeting on September 6th.

–Maggie Ju contributed to this article.