What is Measure A1?

Measure A1 is a program funded through a countywide parcel tax and administered by the Alameda County Department of Housing and Community Development (Alameda HCD). In 2016, Alameda County residents voted to adopt Measure A1, a $580 million property tax revenue bond for affordable housing. At the last Housing Element annual progress report hearings at the Planning Commission (March 2020) and City Council (April 2020), the staff reports discussed Measure A1. The City of Piedmont was initially allocated $2.4 million in Measure A1 funds for development of affordable housing in Piedmont, which was subsequently reduced to $2.2 million when the County determined that nine large affordable housing developments in Oakland were at risk of failing after changes to the federal corporate tax rate. City of Piedmont property owners will be taxed approximately $17 million over the life of the Measure A1 property tax increment. Measure A1 is a potential source of new incentives for construction of new ADUs and JADUs that are restricted to rents affordable to low- and very-low income residents, as well as other programs to construct new affordable rental housing including site acquisition. The City’s Measure A-1 allocation ($2.2 million) project application must be approved by the County of Alameda by December 31, 2021, and then the funds must be spent within five years after the application is approved. City staff have received an extension of the December 31, 2021 deadline to December, 2022.