Housing Affordability — The Alameda Marina Battle & Tenant Protections

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Two housing decisions coming before the City Council on June 16, 2026 crystallize Alameda's affordability tensions perfectly. The first involves the Alameda Marina: the City Council is considering amending the Alameda Marina Master Plan to reduce the affordable housing requirement for Phase III — a 259-unit apartment building known as The Foundry — from 43 to 21 deed-restricted affordable units, in order to advance construction of a project stalled by financial challenges tied to economic conditions. The second is an ordinance that would prohibit landlords from using Ratio Utility Billing Systems (RUBS) — a controversial utility-cost allocation method that tenants say can lead to unpredictable, opaque charges, and that advocates argue creates a potential loophole in the city's rent control system. Together, the two decisions represent the core dilemma of housing policy in a desirable city: how to keep development financially viable while protecting tenants from displacement and maintaining the affordability commitments that give housing policy its meaning.

Related cause: Housing Affordability

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