City of Oakland Affordable Housing Policy Falling Short of Goals

The Oakland City Council passed an impact fee on new residential developments in 2016 to encourage development of affordable housing by providing subsidies for new projects. While Oakland’s civic leaders thought this effort would lead to the expansion of affordable housing starts in the city, that reality has not manifested.

According to a San Francisco Chronicle report, Oakland has collected just under $9 million in fees, and distributed $4.8 million funding about 160 new affordable units — none of which are yet under construction. Oakland has not approved any new projects for the program since 2017.

When the measure was enacted in 2016, the city forecast it would collect close to $65 million in fees over 10 years. Unable to fully account for the program’s lack of performance, the city recently hired an outside auditor to investigate how it is working and how the city tracks the fees.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Chris Egger