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Introduction Draft Housing Element 1-1 1 Introduction This Housing Element is the City’s eight-year blueprint for meeting the housing needs of the community from 2023 to 2031. The Housing Element provides a coordinated strategy for preserving the city’s existing housing stock and advancing opportunities for new housing in a smart and sustainable way that enhances quality of life and equitable access to resources. It also serves as a strategy to address housing needs across the economic and social spectrum, reflecting the needs of a diverse community. Meeting current and projected housing needs includes San Leandro accommodating its share of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). San Leandro’s population grew six times faster than housing unit production between 2010 and 2021. The Housing Element identifies constraints to housing production as well as policies and actions to help overcome these constraints. Moving forward, San Leandro will continue to grow differently than it has in the past with a majority of new housing expected in transit-oriented development (TOD) areas, including around the city’s two BART stations, in and around the Downtown area, and along major commercial corridors such as East 14th Street. The City has made great strides in planning for new development that will make walking, bicycling, and public transit the most convenient means of travel for most new residents in line with the City’s Climate Action goals. Economic disparities have worsened in recent years in the Bay Area, displacing residents of low and moderate-income. Housing affordability and risk of displacement remain major concerns, with nearly one out of five households in San Leandro spending more than 50 percent of income on housing costs. San Leandro households earned a median annual income above $75,000; however, the median home price in San Leandro increased by 62 percent from 2015 to 2021. The Housing Element details how the City will assess and strengthen anti-displacement measures and tenant protections. San Leandro continues to attract a growing number of residents and businesses and housing needs have evolved. In the 1940s and ‘50s, auto-centric and mostly white single- family neighborhoods were standard during a time when federally sanctioned discriminatory mortgage lending practices, such as redlining, limited minority homeownership opportunities. In the decades following the 1963 California Fair Housing Act, San Leandro experienced a transformation into one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Alameda County. While there is no one ethnic group that constitutes a majority in the city’s population, long-standing historic discrimination in mortgage lending and a predominance of single-family housing development have resulted in disparities in housing resources. The City will prevent or counter geographic discrimination by implementing equitable investment in neighborhoods and housing resources, promoting mixed-income neighborhoods, and supporting housing education and opportunities for low-income, minority, and special needs residents. The City will continue to take actions to overcome patterns of segregation, address disparities in housing needs and access to opportunity, and foster inclusive communities. The Housing Element was prepared through a major community outreach effort across an economically and racially diverse spectrum of people who live and work in San Leandro, housing developers and affordable housing providers, and with people who represent special needs populations such as seniors, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness. San Leandro is poised for opportunity, with convenient transit access and proximity to employment centers such as Silicon Valley, Oakland, and San Francisco. San Leandro must grow sustainably and equitably to provide a complete community that serves all San Leandrans. The Housing Element is mandated by State Law and is part of the City’s General Plan. California Government Code requires the City to update its Housing Element every eight years. This Housing Element is the City’s 6th planning period (“cycle”). This document provides a roadmap for the City of San Leandro (City) to meet current and future housing needs during the 2023-2031 Housing Element planning period.