A new framework for SLO County housing

A new regional framework provides a systematic approach and tools for meeting housing needs across SLO County communities.

 

The Regional Housing & Infrastructure Framework builds on the trailblazing commitment by SLO County, all seven cities and the SLO Council of Governments in a 2020 Regional Compact to develop the housing supply and infrastructure needed to support economic prosperity — bringing in the research, analysis and cross-sector collaboration to put the commitment into action.

REACH coordinated stakeholder engagement on the framework (originally called the Housing & Infrastructure Plan, or HIP) with input collected from a range of more than 150 planners, builders, nonprofit housing developers and elected officials.

What it does (in a nutshell):

 

  • Identifies where building new homes makes the most sense (generally, areas with the roads, water and wastewater service to support growth)
  • Highlights where regional funding can be directed to unlock new development, i.e., infrastructure projects that would support new housing
  • Identifies potential sources of funding for those projects along with a roadmap for pursuing them
  • Provides a menu of policies jurisdictions can employ to promote affordable by design development, such as zoning, design standards, and permitting processes.

9

jurisdictions

52

stakeholder meetings

80

prioritized projects

Card showing title of Housing Highlights report

Housing highlights

Why do we need more housing? What’s already happening across the county? Get the answers to these questions and more in our quick primer on housing in SLO County.

Read
map of slo county

Mapping tool

This new tool connects infrastructure and housing, pinpointing the areas where new housing makes the most sense and allowing enabling infrastructure projects to be identified and prioritized.

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“It’s long been clear that no one entity can solve the region’s housing challenges. By pulling together more than 150 stakeholders in local government, building and development, and housing advocacy groups with new studies and robust analysis, this approach holds great promise for moving the needle.”

Russ Levanway REACH Executive Vice President

“Local government can’t fix this problem all by themselves so that’s why we came together to look at it on a regional scale.”

Sara Sanders Transportation Planner, San Luis Obispo Council of Governments

“I’m really happy with the way this has come out. It’s a really good planning tool that the builders and the planners can start using right away.”

Supervisor Debbie Arnold San Luis Obispo County

Who's involved

Led by SLOCOG, developing the framework was a wide-ranging project involving elected officials, city managers and planning/community development staff, builders, developers and housing advocacy groups.

REACH and Carolyn Berg — a primary architect of the 2020 compact — supported SLOCOG in building the cross-sector engagement crucial to the framework’s success.

A multi-stakeholder steering committee guided progress and broader engagement.

 

A graphic showing the stakeholder groups involved in the plan creation
HIP Steering Committee

  • Heather Moreno, City of Atascadero
  • Andy Pease, City of San Luis Obispo
  • Trevor Keith, County of San Luis Obispo
  • Matthew Bronson, City of Grover Beach
  • Courtney Howard, SLO County

  • Aaryn Abbot, Abbott | Reed
  • Lenny Grant, RRM Design
  • Jeff Eckles, SLO County Housing Trust Fund
  • Anthony Palazzo, Cal Poly
  • Jorge Aguilar, Wallace Group