Over the next few days, Senator Steinberg is expected to be making final decisions on which bills to move out of Appropriations.  We would like Senator Steinberg to receive as many friendly reminders as possible in support of the California Homes and Jobs Act (SB 391).  Please take a moment to call Senator Steinberg at (916) 651-4006 (or text if you have his cell number), and urge him to support passing SB 391 out of Appropriations.

The California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013 (SB 391) will:

• Create 29,000 jobs annually, primarily in the beleaguered construction sector.
• Help businesses attract and retain the talent that fuels California’s economy.
• Generate an estimated $500 million in state investment and leverage an additional $2.78 billion in federal, local, and private investment.
• Deploy these dollars throughout California using a successful private/public partnership model, creating jobs and generating revenue for local governments.
• Build safe and affordable apartments and single-family homes for Californians in need, including families, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness.

Everyone in California needs a safe and affordable place to call home. Rents and mortgages within the reach of working families are critical to maintaining California’s business competitiveness. Let’s get California building again.

Visit http://www.californiahomesandjobsact.org/ for more information.

The post Action Alert! Calls to Senator Steinberg Needed Today! appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

To help get the CA Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act passed through to the full Assembly, we need to show support by calling Assembly Appropriations Committee Members. There will be an organized call-in day on May 22, but no sense in waiting until then. Call them Friday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Simplified Script: “I am [your name] calling to urge the Assemblymember to support AB5″.

Here are the Assembly Appropriations Committee members’ phone numbers:

Assemblymember Mike Gatto, Chair ( D) LA 916-319-2043
Assemblymember Diane L. Harkey (R) Orange 916-319-2073
Assemblymember Franklin E. Bigelow (R) Alpine, Amador 916-319-2005
Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra (D) LA 916-319-2039
Assemblymember Steven Bradford (D) LA 916-319-2062
Assemblymember Ian C. Calderon (D) LA 916-319-2057
Assemblymember Nora Campos (D) Santa Clara 916-319-2027
AssemblymemberTim Donnelly (R) San Bernardino 916-319-2033
Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D) San Joaquin 916-319-2013
Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez (D) LA 916-319-2051
Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III (D) LA 916-319-2064
Assemblymember Chris R. Holden (D) LA, San Bernardino 916-319-2041
Assemblymember Eric Linder (R) Riverside 916-319-2060
Assemblymember Richard Pan (D) Sacramento, San Joaquin 916-319-2009
Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D) Alameda 916-319-2020
Assemblymember Donald P. Wagner (R) Orange 916-319-2068
Assemblymember Shirley N. Weber (D) San Diego 916-319-2079

Please share with your organization, friends and family.

For more information visit www.wraphome.org.

The post Action Alert! Calls to Appropriations Committee Members Needed for the CA Homeless Bill of Rights appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

Take the Survey 

The City of Sacramento is performing an update to its Housing Element, which affects the affordability and accessibility of housing. Please attend the City’s public meeting and take the survey for the Housing Element. Your input can help keep housing inclusive and within reach for everyone in our community. Click here for more information the City of Sacramento’s housing needs. 

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The following information is from the City of Sacramento:

The City is undertaking a comprehensive update to its housing policies and regulations to address the community’s current and future housing needs. The Housing Element, a key chapter of the City’s General Plan, serves as Sacramento’s housing strategy. State law requires cities to adopt a new Housing Element in 2013. The focus of the update is to ensure that the City has programs and regulations in place to support housing for all income levels.

In conjunction with the Housing Element update, the City is revising both the Mixed-Income Housing Ordinance and the Housing Trust Fund Ordinance — two major affordable housing programs that have been significantly affected by the new economy. With the loss of redevelopment funding and current market conditions, the City needs effective programs that produce affordable workforce housing and support economic development.

We want your input. There are two ways you can provide your thoughts and ideas.

1. Attend a public meeting on May 23 and help prioritize future housing needs in Sacramento.

You are invited to participate at a Planning and Design Commission meeting to discuss policies that will help prioritize the City’s efforts to meet the housing needs of its citizens. City staff will present new and amended housing policies of the City of Sacramento’s Housing Element.

Date: Thursday, May 23
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: 915 I Street, New City Hall Council Chambers, First Floor

2. Take our online survey on Envision Sacramento and let your voice be heard.

The City is hosting a survey on Envision Sacramento to garner your thoughts and opinions on the future housing needs in Sacramento. You will need to create a log in using your existing Facebook, Google + or LinkedIn accounts, or your email address before taking the survey.

Take the quick survey!

Got questions or want to learn more?

If you have any questions please contact Desmond Parrington at (916) 808-5044 orDParrington@cityofsacramento.org or visit the Housing Element project website.

The post The City of Sacramento Releases Housing Element Workshop Information and Survey appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

Take Survey Here 

The City’s General Plan includes the Housing Element, which affects the affordability and accessibility of housing. Please take the survey for the City’s General Plan. It is important that we keep housing within reach for everyone in our community.

From the City of Sacramento:

Every year, the City of Sacramento conducts a short survey to obtain your thoughts about living, working, and doing business in the City of Sacramento. Help us set a new direction for the future of the city by participating in the annual survey. This survey is geared to those that live and work in the City of Sacramento, and is aimed to help identify the city’s successes, challenges, and opportunities.

The survey will be included as part of the 2030 General Plan Annual Report, which is presented to City Council annually. Annual reports are available for review at www.sacgp.org.

The survey should take no more than five minutes and only aggregate responses will be reported. The survey will close on Monday, May 13th at 11:59 p.m.

The post City of Sacramento General Plan Survey appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

When: Wednesday, May 15 – 9 a.m. (tentative)
Where: State Capitol, Room 4202
RSVP: Paul Bodwn: pboden@wraphome.org or (415) 621-2533

The Homeless Bill of Rights (AB 5) is scheduled for an appropriations hearing at 9 a.m. (tentative) on May 15, 2013, where it will go on suspense. We will then only have until May 24th to get off of suspense and to the full assembly before the end of this session.

Let’s show  the members all of the broad based support AB 5 has gotten!  If you are unable to attend,  you can still show your support by allowing AB 5 campaign volunteers to read off the name of your organization as an endorser of AB 5.

The plan is to have people step up to the mic during public comment and say, “I am here on behalf of Western Regional Advocacy Project to express their support of AB 5.”  With over 90 organizations signed on, this will show our strength in numbers!

Contact the Appropriations Committee Members and your Assemblymember and let them know of your organization’s support by calling or sending an email endorsing the bill.

The post Save the Date: The Homeless Bill of Rights Needs Your Support on May 15 appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

The City of Folsom has completed a draft of the 2013-2021 Housing Element and is inviting community members to review and comment on the draft document. The Draft Folsom Housing Element is now available on the General Plan Update Website. The Housing Element is part of the 2035 General Plan, and contains the goals, polices, and implementation programs for the planning and development of housing for all economic segments of the community.

The Public Review Draft Folsom Housing Element can be downloaded from the Folsom 2035 General Plan Website at: http://folsom2035.com/documents.

A printed copy of the draft Housing Element is also available at the Folsom Planning Counter on the second floor of City Hall at 50 Natoma Street.

Planning Commission and City Council Study Sessions

The Planning Commission will be holding a study session on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. The objective of the May 15th study session is to review the Draft Housing Element with the Planning Commission and receive public input on the City’s housing needs.

The City Council is tentatively scheduled to review the Draft Housing Element on May 28, 2013. At the City Council study session, City staff will be seeking permission to submit the Draft Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for the State-mandated review for compliance with State law.

The post Action Alert! Participate in the Public Review Process for the Draft Folsom Housing Element appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

SHA is pleased to announce that it has recently reached a settlement of its lawsuit against the City of Folsom which was initiated because the City suspended its Inclusionary Housing Ordinance which was necessary to meet the City’s affordable housing goals. Please read the summary of the lawsuit below, which details the many accomplishments gained from the settlement. SHA appreciates the City’s willingness to work with SHA to resolve this case and is hopeful that this commitment to housing for families from all economic backgrounds continues.

A) Specifically what parties sued and under what grounds:

With representation from Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC), Public Interest Law Project (PILP), and Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP), SHA brought the suit listing five causes of actions, two of which were about the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. The issues the lawsuit raised were:

1) The City’s action to sunset the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance was inconsistent with its Housing Element, which expressly relied upon the Ordinance to achieve its affordable housing goals.

2) Alternatively, the City failed to amend its Housing Element to include any alternative mechanism to meet its housing goals when it repealed the Inclusionary Program.

The other claims involved the City’s failure to implement several other Housing Element programs, its failure to increase the density on many sites that the City had identified as adequate to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), and the City’s failure to amend its zoning code to allow for emergency shelters.

B) What were the outcomes?

After SHA filed the lawsuit in April 2011, the City amended its zoning code to comply with state law and permit emergency shelters by right and ultimately implemented the density increase program, along with many other key programs identified in SHA’s Petition. As a result of those actions as well as other preliminary court proceedings, four of the original five claims resolved before the court ultimately heard the merits of the case in June 2012.

In July 2012, the court ruled in SHA’s favor and found that the City’s action suspending its Inclusionary Housing Ordinance was inconsistent with the housing element and was void. The City appealed and took the position that the appeal halted the trial court’s decision, pending a ruling by the appellate court.

After mediation between the City and SHA earlier this year, the parties reached a mutually acceptable agreement in late March which resulted in the City recently dismissing its appeal

The settlement also had the following results:

1) The City amended its Housing Element and modified its Inclusionary Ordinance to reduce the percentages of low and very low income housing production requirements and to also permit an in lieu fee option.

2) The City will amend its Housing Trust Fund Program to ensure that 50% of any in lieu fees collected will be targeted for actual construction or rehab of multi-family residences in Folsom, with rents affordable to low and very low income families and that are required to remain affordable at those income levels for at least 30 years.

3) The City has agreed to consider an amendment to the Housing Trust Fund to increase the Housing Trust Fund Fee (aka commercial linkage fee) over two years, and to provide that all funds generated from the increase will be subject to the same uses and restrictions as the in lieu fees.

4) The City also will publish annually a Housing Trust Fund Report that discloses all deposits and expenditures of the Fund, together with related information.

5) The City also committed to consider an outreach program for the next Housing Element planning period that is designed to attract non-profit developers to Folsom.

6) The City will make a grant to a developer of $15,000 within the next five years for the construction of very low income multi-family housing that will remain affordable for at least 30 years.

7) Finally, the City agreed to pay reasonable fees and costs of the lawsuit and dismissed its appeal of the trial court ruling.

The post SHA- Folsom Inclusionary Lawsuit Summary appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

Everyone in California needs a safe and affordable place to call home. Rents and mortgages within the reach of working families are critical to maintaining California’s business competitiveness.

The California Homes and Jobs Act (SB 391) would:

• Build 10,000 homes each year that are affordable to California’s working families, people with disabilities, seniors, veterans and people who are now homeless
• Create 29,000 jobs each year
• Help businesses recruit and retain the employees they need to thrive

SB 391 will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee this Monday, May 6. Please contact Senator Steinberg today!

1. Urge him to co-sponsor SB 391.
2. Encourage him to be vocal about his support of SB 391 to his constituency and to the state.

Contact information:

• Email Senator Steinberg using this online form.
• Call Senator Steinberg: District Office – (916) 651-1529
  Capitol Office – (916) 651-4006

More ways to support SB 391:

1. Download a sample letter of support asking the Senate Appropriations to vote YES on SB 391.
2. Endorse the California Homes and Jobs Act:
Make it official! Complete the endorsement form, so your name will appear on the official list of supporters.

• Complete the online endorsement form.
• Prefer to fax your form? Download a hard copy of the endorsement form.

The post Action Alert! Urge Senator Steinberg to Co-Sponsor the CA Homes and Jobs Act (SB 391) appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

The week of April 22 is a big week! Join the Western Center on Law and Poverty for the events below.

The following groups are welcomed to Sacramento this week for lobby days: Western Regional Advocacy Project, National Association of Social Workers – CA Chapter and the California Association of Food Banks. Sacramento will be better with you here!

Monday Morning:
Senate Appropriations – Chaired by Sen De León: 11 a.m. at the State Capitol, John L. Burton Hearing Room (4203)

WCLP sponsored bills: SB 283 (Hancock), SB 672 (Leno), SB 252 (Liu)

Listen to this hearing and find more information.

Watch the hearing at www.calchannel.com.

Monday Afternoon:
Homeless Bill of Rights Rally (Ammiano): 2:30 p.m. – 6:30p.m. at the North Steps of the State Capitol

Tuesday Morning:
Assembly Judiciary Committee, Chaired by Asm. Wieckowski: 8:30 a.m. at the State Capitol, Room 4202

WCLP Sponsored bill: AB 5 (Ammiano) – Homeless Bill of Rights

Listen to this hearing and find more information.

Senate Committee of Public Safety, Chaired by Senator Hancock: 9 a.m. at the State Capitol, Room 3191

WCLP Sponsored Bill: SB 366 (Wright)

Listen to this hearing and find more information.

Tuesday Afternoon:
Senate Human Services Chaired by Senator Yee: 1:30 p.m.at the State Capitol, Room 3191

WCLP supported bills: SB 134 and AJR 7

Listen to this hearing and find more information.

Wednesday Afternoon:
Labor Committee Chaired by Roger Hernandez: 1:30 p.m. at the State Capitol, Room 447

AB 10: Minimum Wage (Alejo)

Listen to this hearing and find more information.

The post Action Alert! WCLP: Participate in Sacramento Lobby Days appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.

What: CA Homeless Bill of Rights and Fairness Act Rally
When: Afternoon of Monday, April 22 – 2:30 p.m. – 6:30p.m.
Where: North Steps of the State Capitol

What: CA Homeless Bill of Rights and Fairness Act Hearing, Assembly Judiciary Committee
When: Morning of Tuesday, April 23 – 8 a.m.
Where: State Capitol, Room 4202

The CA Homeless Bill of Rights and Fairness Act will be heard at its first committee, the Assembly Judiciary Committee, on April 23, most likely in the early morning. The Judiciary Committee members need to be convinced that they should vote in favor of AB 5.

In preparation for the hearing, the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee is asking supporters to contact the member in their district and each of the Judiciary Committee members, and tell them to vote yes on AB 5 and why you think they should. You can call, write and fax (on your organization’s letterhead), or email them. Your organization can also send Assemblymember Ammiano a support letter to be included in the bill as a supporter.

Send a letter of support for the CA Homeless Bill of Rights Act and view the District and Judiciary Member contact list.

There will also be a rally on Monday, April 22, in the afternoon on the north steps of the Capitol to voice support for the bill in preparation for the hearing the next day.

Go to Western Regional Advocacy Project’s website (WRAP) for for updated information on the bill and forms.

The post Action Alert! Save the Date: CA Homeless Bill of Rights and Fairness Act Hearing & Rally appeared first on Sacramento Housing Alliance.