The Housing Element is part of the County’s General Plan. The Housing Element has a significant impact on land use decision-making, neighborhood design, and quality of life, as well as on housing availability, quality, and affordability. State Housing Element Law requires that local jurisdictions outline housing needs in the community, the barriers or constraints to providing that housing, and actions proposed to address these concerns over a designated planning period. The State of California allocates, through local Councils of Government, each locality’s share of the Regional Housing Needs Determination, which the jurisdiction is to plan for in the development of the Housing Element. The County committed itself, with the adoption of the Alameda County Housing Element in October 2, 2003, to an implementation program that would modify aspects of the Zoning Ordinance and Specific Plans to conform to the goals and policies of the Housing Element. This commitment was made both to ensure internal consistency between elements of the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance, and more importantly, so that the Housing Element could continue to be certified by the State of California. In order to maintain a certified Housing Element, the County reached an agreement with State HCD for an implementation program that embodied two key provisions:

1. To reclassify (re-zone) identified parcels in order to provide an agreed upon number of opportunity sites for new dwelling units within the unincorporated urban area of the County over the next few years (1999-2007); and
2. To make other changes to the Zoning Ordinance that would further facilitate the production of all types of housing throughout the unincorporated Eden area.

• Public Hearings Schedule (97KB)
• Initial Study (674KB)
• Notice of Availability and Intent (106KB)
• Unincorporated Services Committee Memorandum (179KB)
• Alameda County Planning Commission Staff Report, May 16, 2005: Update on Modification Proposed Modifications to the Zoning Ordinance and Specific Plans for Conformance with Adopted Housing Element (4.215MB)

• Modified Implementation Sites Map (216KB)
• Originally Proposed Implementation Sites Map (200KB)
• R-3 District Sites Map (211KB)
• R-4 District Sites Map (208KB)
• C-1 District Sites Map (213KB)
• C-2 District Sites Map (213KB)
• Central Business Districts Map (230KB)