Oakley Set to Review 2023-2031 Housing Element Update

On Tuesday, the Oakley City Council will review its draft 2023-2031 Housing Element Update which was released on Jun 29, 2022. The City has been seeking feedback from the public.

The 295 page document is available for public review: Click here

Editors Note – below are  portions from the report

Within the report, it highlights how According to ABAG, the population in Contra Costa County is projected to increase by 23 percent (or 258,635 people) between 2020 and 2040. Oakley is expected to add 19,075 new residents by 2040, representing the second to largest percent change in population of any City in the County (54 percent).

Householders by Type: the largest proportion of households in Oakley is married-couple family households at 67 percent of total households, which is higher than the percentage of married-couple households countywide (55 percent) and within the Bay Area (51 percent). Oakley has a lower proportion of single-person households (14 percent) in comparison to the County (22 percent) and the Bay Area (25 percent). Female-headed family households make up about 11 percent of all households in Oakley, similar to the percentage of female-headed households countywide (12 percent) and in the Bay Area (10 percent).

Housing Tenure:  In Oakley there are a total of 11,778 households and more residents own than rent their homes: 76.3 percent versus 23.7 percent (see Figure 2-9). Homeownership rates in the City have decreased since 2000 when the homeownership rate in Oakley was 85 percent. By comparison, 66 percent of Contra Costa County and 56 percent of Bay Area households own their home.

Overcrowding:  Overcrowding occurs when the number of people living in a household is greater than
the home was designed to hold. Additionally, the Census Bureau considers units with more than 1.5 occupants per room to be severely overcrowded.

Overcrowding is often related to the cost of housing and can occur when demand in a city or region is high. In many cities, overcrowding is seen more amongst those that are renting, with multiple households sharing a unit to make it possible to stay in their communities. In Oakley, 6.6 percent of renters experience moderate overcrowding and 8.3 percent are severely overcrowded. In comparison, 1.5 percent of homeowners experience moderate overcrowding and 0.9 percent are severely overcrowded (see Figure 2-14). The overall rates of overcrowding are similar between Oakley, Contra Costa County, and the Bay Area region. The percent of overcrowded households range from 3 to 4 percent, and the percent of severely overcrowded households ranges from 2 to 3 percent across the City, County, and region.

Home Values and Market Trends
In the Bay Area, housing costs have long been among the highest in the nation, yet home values in Oakley are affordable relative to the rest of the Bay Area. According to 2015-2019 ACS data shown in Figure 2-27, the largest proportion of homes in Oakley were valued between $250,000-$500,000 (60 percent). By comparison, 29 percent of homes countywide were valued between $250,000-$500,000 and only 6 percent of Bay Area homes fell into this range.

Figure 2-28 shows the change in home values in Oakley, Contra Costa County, and the Bay Area from 2001 to 2021 according to data available from Zillow. The region’s home values have increased steadily since 2000, besides the decrease that occurred during the Great Recession. The rise in home prices has been especially steep since 2012, with the median home value in the Bay Area nearly doubling during this time. Since 2001, the typical home value has increased 155.5 percent in Oakley from $247,150 to $631,480 in December 2020. While housing costs in Oakley have increased dramatically in recent years, Oakley has remained a relatively affordable place to live relative to the rest of the Bay Area. In December 2020, the typical home value was $772,410 in Contra Costa County and $1,077,230 in the Bay Area. According to more recent data obtained from Redfin, the median sale price for single-family homes in Oakley was $755,000 in April 2022; a 16.2 percent increase from the prior year.

Rent Values and Trends
Similar to home values, rents have also increased dramatically across the Bay Area in recent years. Many renters have been priced out, evicted, or displaced, particularly communities of color. Residents finding themselves in one of these situations may have had to choose between commuting long distances to their jobs and schools or moving out of the region, and sometimes, out of the state.

According to data from the 2015-2019 ACS, in Oakley, the largest proportion of rental units was in the $1500-$2000 category, totaling 31.6 percent, followed by 28.4 percent of units renting in the $500-$1000 category (see Figure 2-29). While the largest share of rental units in the County and region is also in the $1500-$2000 category, there is generally a broader range of rents in other parts of the Bay Area compared to Oakley

Since 2009, the median rent has increased by 17.6 percent in Oakley, from $1,280 to $1,540 per month (see Figure 2-30), yet rents remain lower than in other parts of the region. In Contra Costa County, the median rent has increased 28.8 percent, from $1,300 to $1,680, and the median rent in the Bay Area has increased significantly from $1,200 to $1,850, a 54 percent increase.

Entitled Single Family Lots: Beginning on Page 77, it highlights how there are 5,247 single-family lots that have been entitled, but have not yet been issued a building permit.

Local Trends / Schools (Page 141)The City of Oakley is served by the Oakley Union Elementary School District (OUESD), Antioch Unified School District (AUSD), and Liberty Union High School District (LUHSD). It is also worth noting that the Brentwood Union School District also operates within a small portion of Oakley, although not in any areas with existing housing as of 2022. OUESD operates six elementary schools, AUSD operates one K-8 school, and LUHSD operates one high school in Oakley.

OUESD ranks in the bottom 50 percent of public schools based on the district’s average testing ranking of 4/10 in math and English proficiency. Public schools in OUESD have a below average math proficiency score of 30 percent and reading proficiency score of 40 percent (compared to the County average of 45 percent and 55 percent for math and reading respectively).

Orchard Park School in AUSD places in the bottom 50 percent of all schools in California for overall test scores in the 2018-2019 school year. Similar to OUESD, math proficiency is at 30 percent and reading proficiency is at 43 percent.

Freedom High School in LUHSD has a math proficiency of 23 percent (bottom 50 percent in the state) and reading proficiency of 62 percent (top 30 percent in the state). Overall, Freedom High School placed in the top 50 percent of all schools in California for the 2018-2019 school year.

Unemployment

The City of Oakley had an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent at the end of 2021, higher than the County unemployment rate of 4.2 percent. Figure 4-28 shows the job proximity index by block group for the City of Oakley, where the entire City has the lowest score of less than 20, which indicates furthest proximity from jobs and longest commute times. Based on ACS 2015-2019 5-year estimates, only 38.97 percent of all residents in Oakley have a commute of less than 30 minutes. The majority of residents (21.06 percent) have a 60–89 minute commute, followed by a 45–59 minute commute (12.95 percent). 10.44 percent of residents have a commute of 90 or more minutes. According to the Contra Costa County AI, Oakley (amongst other cities like Clayton, Brentwood, Hercules, and Pittsburg) have some of the longest overall commutes in the Bay Area.

Oakley City Council Meeting
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
6:30 PM
Oakley City Council Chambers located at 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California 94561
Full Agenda: click here