Meeting our Housing Needs WHILE PROTECTING OUR OPEN SPACE AND OUR QUALITY OF LIFE

More Housing is Needed We need more housing of all types to support the many jobs that have been created over the past 10 years. It is estimated that for every 7-10 new jobs, we have only created one unit of new housing. That is why housing and rental costs continue to rise.

Housing Must be Built in the Right Places While we need more housing, the key is to build it where it’s appropriate. The County’s voter approved Urban Limit Line (ULL) should be adhered to. Supervisor Andersen was the only Supervisor who voted against approving the Tassajara Parks Housing Development in unincorporated Danville, outside the Urban Limit Line. Not only was the project outside the ULL, but East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), unequivocally stated that they could not provide water to the project.

Protecting scenic ridge lines and open space is something Supervisor Andersen has done as a County Supervisor, Mayor, and Councilmember.

Encourage More Jobs Where we Already Have Housing Long commutes and traffic continue to be a significant problem for our County. Encouraging job growth and employment where we already have housing, is something Supervisor Andersen continues to advocate for both locally within the County and regionally.

Supporting Local Control It is also critical that we support the local control of each of our City Council’s in Contra Costa County. They are directly elected by the citizens of their communities and should have control over all land use decisions within their city boundaries.

HELPING OUR HOMELESS IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

County government is the “safety net” for the needy living among us. Contra Costa continues to implement innovative programs to help our homeless population get the shelter they need and to be engaged in services that will lead to long term success and being permanently housed.

More information about Contra Costa County’s many services and programs can be found here.

Solutions to Traffic

Keep cars on the freeway moving, and not spilling on to our local roads. We need to continue to prioritize those projects that will reduce congestion on our freeways. As we continue to improve the convenience of our Contra Costa transit systems, including County Connection, we want more drivers to get out of their cars and rely upon public transportation or carpooling.

Improve our bicycle lanes and trails We need to continue improving safety for bicyclists which is another important way to reduce traffic and congestion. Supervisor Andersen had been a leading advocate for creating a separate “bicycle expressway” on the Iron Horse Trail, a separate paved path just for cyclists. The feasibility of this is currently being studied.

As road improvements are made in our communities we need to focus on “complete streets” to ensure that the roadways are safe not just for drivers of cars, but for bicyclists and pedestrians.