What is affh?
AFFH stands for Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. It is a provision of the Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and a piece of federal legislation that prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing and ensures equal opportunity in housing for all. While federal law prohibited overt forms of housing discrimination, residential segregation has remained and persists in California today.
California Assembly Bill 686 created new requirements for cities to affirmatively further fair housing as a part of a jurisdiction’s planning process, and to take meaningful actions that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity.
What are higher-resource neighborhoods?
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) identifies neighborhoods of the state that have been shown to have positive educational, economic, and health outcomes for low-income families. These neighborhoods are characterized by quality schools, safety, plentiful community amenities, and economic opportunity.
why is this project happening now?
The City’s recently adopted Housing Element is a State-mandated plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. It maps out how the City of Concord facilitates a variety of housing types for all income groups, assists in the development of lower and moderate-income housing, removes constraints to housing, improves existing housing, and promotes fair housing. California law requires that each county and city in the state develop and adopt a revised Housing Element every eight years and report progress on program accomplishment each year. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified the City’s 2023-2031 Housing Element Update in October 2023. The housing element contains many programs, including Program 8.6 Fair Housing, which aims to increase housing supply, choices, and affordability in higher-resource neighborhoods of the city.
what is housing element program 8.6?
Housing Element Program 8 aims to expand the range of housing opportunities for residents with low and moderate incomes, older adults, people with disabilities, large families, and more. The program continues to analyze impediments to fair housing, to contract with service providers for fair housing education and outreach, to seek new funding for housing programs, and to increase housing opportunity in higher-resource neighborhoods to serve the housing needs of all segments of the community.
Program 8.6 of the Housing Element aims to expand the range of housing opportunities for residents with low and moderate incomes, older adults, people with disabilities, large families, and more. The program continues to analyze impediments to fair housing, to contract with service providers for fair housing education and outreach, to seek new funding for housing programs, and to increase housing opportunity in higher-resource neighborhoods to serve the housing needs of all segments of the community.
what is rezoning and what parts of the city will be impacted by it?
Zoning regulates what type of development is allowed on a parcel of land and the process to realize the project. Rezoning refers to when the zone of a parcel is changed, thus allowing different activities, uses, or densities of development. In this case, a parcel may be rezoned to allow residential uses, or to allow a different residential type with a higher density to accommodate multi-family developments on specific sites. The areas being considered are higher-resource neighborhoods within the city, in addition to Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAAs), which are neighborhoods with high non-Hispanic White populations and an above-average median income.
how will community feedback influence the project?
The City Council wants a robust community engagement process used so that meeting state requirements is reflective of community desires. Community members and stakeholders will be provided with easy-to-understand information to facilitate informed decisions and input regarding the AFFH rezoning process. Key input from the community will influence the various phases of the project, starting with site identification.