As of Wednesday, February 6th, when the Cupertino City Council took action, all 15 cities and the County have voted to join the RHNA Subregion. The Cities Association of Santa Clara County coordinated the effort, first gauging interest from all cities, then asking them to formally join.

SV@Home is supportive of the formation of a RHNA Subregion in Santa Clara County. A RHNA Subregion provides a unified voice in responding to the area’s housing needs, allowing all cities in the County to work together to plan for housing, develop strategies and tools, and collaborate on regional and Statewide advocacy. Additionally, a Subregion could offer other opportunities for cooperation, including sharing Housing Element consultants, sharing expertise, analyses, and policies, as well as potentially enabling a shared review by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department. Three of the Bay Area’s nine counties already have RHNA Subregions, including San Mateo County.

The next step for the Cities Association will be determining its policies, rules, and governance. SV@Home will keep engaged, and believes it is crucial that cities seek to collaborate in this forum to find creative avenues for addressing our shared regional housing crisis.