Faced with what it expects to be an unusually high number of residential building permits in 2019, the Antioch City Council modified its Residential Development Allocation formula and exempted affordable housing from the cap. The existing RDA requires the city to stop issuing residential permits when the number hits 600. The city hasn’t exceeded the cap since 2003. But a 390-unit affordable housing project expected to pull permits this year coupled with the city’s normal activity could trigger a permit shutdown, staff warned. Eliminating affordable units from the count averts the trigger. However, the city’s growth cap will be set aside if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs SB 330 authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley. Entitled “The Housing Crisis Act of 2019,” the legislation voids growth caps for five years as well as imposes a number of other actions designed to encourage housing production. Click HERE to read the City Council staff report from its meeting on Sept. 24, 2019. Click HERE to read SB330 as amended. For questions or comments, contact BIA’s Lisa Vorderbrueggen at lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org.
