Balancing Act Online Tool Pilot Application

Introduction: Local jurisdictions are required by state law to engage the public on their housing elements, including site selection and options to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH). This outreach work is already under way in many local jurisdictions, but some lack the bandwidth and/or financial resources to design and deliver meaningful and equitable opportunities for public engagement.

ABAG is contracting with an outside consultant to provide local governments with an interactive public engagement tool to assist with discussions about which areas of a city could be rezoned to meet their Housing Element Sites requirements or which types of housing (e.g. more single family homes, duplexes, large buildings, etc.) are preferred to meet the RHNA requirements. This tool can provide a focal point for public input and illustrate the complexity of the decision-making process. It has already been used by several California jurisdictions to do public outreach.

Local jurisdiction staff would need to work with the consultant to configure the baseline simulations tool for their jurisdiction. The contract is expected to be fully implemented by fully implemented in early September, with jurisdiction inputs needed by the end of the month.

Evaluation Criteria: ABAG will evaluate applications based on responses to this survey, specifically on how a local jurisdiction proposes to use the Balancing Act tool to enhance public engagement and affirmatively further fair housing, as well as how the online tool will be used to involve more members in the community who might not otherwise participate in the public conversation on housing. If we are oversubscribed, preference will be given to proposals offering specific, creative proposals on how the tool will be used to increase public engagement, as well as to local jurisdictions with funding gaps for public outreach on their housing elements.

We will need this information by: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 24, 2021. If you have any questions, please contact Leah Zippert, lzippert@bayareametro.gov.

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* 1. Name of Jurisdiction

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* 2. County

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* 3. Name of staffer authorized to submit this application

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* 4. Title

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* 5. Email

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* 6. Phone

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* 7. Please describe in no more than 500 words how your jurisdiction would use the Balancing Act tool to enhance public engagement, including the topic of advancing fair housing. Please include specific information on how your jurisdiction will use this tool to address past challenges in engaging a diverse cross section of your community on housing issues.

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* 8. If your jurisdiction has a funding gap for public outreach on its housing element, please state the amount of funding currently available for this purpose and describe how access to a free Balancing Act license would help address that funding gap.