Affordable Housing Production Policies Initiative (AHP Policies)

About

The Alameda County Community Development Agency's Planning Department is working to develop two new Affordable Housing Production Policies that will help increase the amount of new affordable housing built in unincorporated Alameda County. This includes an:

Inclusionary Zoning Policy; and an
Expansion of the County's existing Ministerial Approval Policies.

Inclusionary Zoning and Ministerial Approval were included as policy goals in the County's 6th Cycle Housing Element (adopted in December 2024), as part of the County's plan to produce new affordable housing and meet Alameda County residents' housing needs. State law requires that jurisdictions plan for new housing, though they do not have to directly build or finance it. These policies are two tools available to Alameda County to incentivize developers to build new affordable housing.

This is part of a County initiative called the "Affordable Housing Production Policies Initiative."" The Affordable Housing Production Policy Initiative advances the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)'s "3Ps" of housing in order to solve the region's housing crisis. The 3Ps framework includes:

the protection of low- and moderate-income tenants;
the preservation of existing housing to prevent the displacement of low-income households and to stabilize communities; and
the production of new affordable homes.

This work will also bring the County into compliance with a regional policy, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Transit-Oriented Communities Policy (TOC Policy). The TOC Policy seeks to ensure that places around transit stations support healthy transit ridership and support people of all ages, abilities, income levels, and racial and ethnic backgrounds to live, work, and thrive.

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Project Timeline

Late 2025 / Early 2026	Winter / Spring 2026	Late 2026	Early 2027	Spring 2027	July 2027
Informational presentations to Municipal Advisory Councils (MACs), Planning Commission, and Board of Supervisors subcommittees to provide project overview Informational presentations and outreach to community groups to provide project overview	Outreach to community groups and residents to share information and promote participation Virtual community meeting to provide information and seek input Ad-Hoc MAC subcommittee meeting to seek input	Subsequent Ad-Hoc MAC subcommittee meeting to seek key input Feasibility studies completed	Draft ordinances available for public comments Optional Ad-Hoc MAC subcommittee meeting to seek key input on draft ordinances	Recommendations for adoption presented to MACs, Planning Commission, and Board of Supervisors subcommittees	Project completed

Project Timeline subject to change.

FAQ

The affordability level is an important component of an inclusionary zoning policy. Community members and advisory bodies will provide input on program design and affordability. Elected decision-makers will decide final affordability levels in the policy.

The Inclusionary Zoning Policy aims to comply with MTC's TOC Policy requirements that would apply to new residential development and would require that a minimum percentage of the proposed owner-occupied or rental units be affordable. Consistent with the TOC Policy requirements, rental projects would provide an average affordability of 80% or less of Area Median Income (AMI),and allow rental units to range from 30% of AMI to 120% of AMI to achieve that affordability goal. Inclusionary ownership projects are required to provide an average affordability of 120% or less of AMI and allows rental units up to 150% of AMI to achieve that affordability goal. In 2025, the AMI for a four-person household in Alameda County is $159,800.

MTC's TOC Policy requires that the Ministerial Approval policy apply to projects that achieve an average of 120% AMI or less. Units affordable at 150% AMI or below would qualify a project for the program.

Many current residents of unincorporated Alameda County could benefit from affordable housing. The 6th Cycle Housing Element showed that the population of unincorporated Alameda County is lower income than Alameda County. At the same time, home prices in unincorporated Alameda County are higher than the county average. These dynamics contribute to 29 percent of Unincorporated Alameda County homeowners and 52 percent of renters being cost burdened, meaning they spend 30 percent or more of gross income on housing costs. Moreover, 26 percent of renters spend 50 percent or more of their income on housing, as do about 11 percent of homeowners.

No. Inclusionary Zoning does not generally increase development potential.

Inclusionary Zoning requires that a set percentage of units in the development are affordable or that the developer contribute to affordable housing in another way (usually by paying an in lieu fee, building offsite affordable housing, or dedicating land to affordable housing). For example: If a developer proposed a market-rate residential building consisting of 20 units and the policy required that 15 percent of units be affordable, three of those 20 units would be affordable units.

In some cases, jurisdictions choose to offer development incentives, such as increased density, or other modified standards, to help offset the costs to developers to comply with Inclusionary Zoning. In California, developers who choose to provide a prescribed amount of affordable housing within their project are eligible for the State Density Bonus program, which offers a range of density and zoning incentives based on the amount and level of housing affordability provided.

Yes. As of 2025, 82 out of 109 Bay Area jurisdictions (as shown below) and 162 California jurisdictions have Inclusionary Zoning policies. Five jurisdictions in the Bay area opt for an affordable housing fee. Alameda County is one of 12 jurisdictions committed to developing an inclusionary zoning policy. All cities in Alameda County have an Inclusionary Zoning policy or related program in place, with the exception of the City of Piedmont.

Housing Policy or Program	# of Bay Area Jurisdictions	% of Bay Area Jurisdictions
Inclusionary Zoning (Required)	82	75.2%
Affordable Housing Fee or Similar	5	4.6%
No Policy in Place	10	9.2%
Policy Development Underway or Committed to	12	11.0%
Total	109	100.0%

Sources: Metropolitan Transportation Council, Alameda County Planning Department. October 2025.

No. State law already provides Ministerial Approval to some new housing developments in Alameda County. Current County code grants Ministerial Approval for certain kinds of housing development, such as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) under 800 square feet.

As part of the AHP, Ministerial Approval would be used as a targeted policy tool to incentivize the development of new affordable homes. To achieve compliance with the regional TOC Policy, it would apply to new residential developments with 11 or more units that includes a set percentage of affordable housing units. Elected decision-makers will decide final affordability requirements for Ministerial Approval.