California Affordable Housing Policies Fail in Wealthy Towns: A Case Study of the CityWalk Project

Abstract

To remedy its lack of affordable housing, the state of California has passed legislation aimed at implementing fair housing principles, including rules that require the creation of low-income housing in cities throughout the state. In San Ramon, a new development plan has been approved which will create thousands of housing units, retail developments, parks, a new hotel, and parking amenities. Called CityWalk, the new development projects a vision of a “walkable city,” one in which people can live and work in the same district, never having to commute by car again. The reality, however, is that San Ramon’s housing prices are likely inaccessible for the workers that CityWalk is hoping to attract -- the labor force composed primarily of retail salespeople, restaurant cooks and servers, hotel maids and janitors, among other low-wage employees, who might actually work in the immediate vicinity. CityWalk meets the state’s 15% affordable housing allocation requirements, but upon further inspection, it may not meet the needs of the workers who need housing. Did San Ramon build housing units affordable enough to not only satisfy the state government’s mandates on low-income housing but also make workers of CityWalk residents of San Ramon? Do affordability thresholds based on relatively high percentages of area median income make sense in the context of highly polarized, post-industrial economies? CityWalk is a case study for the state of California that suggests policy makers and citizens alike may need to think deeper about both the execution and impacts of affordable housing in wealthy California towns.