| Affordable Housing Project |
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CRLAF’s Affordable Housing Project focuses on statewide housing policy and its affect on low-income households, seniors, farmworkers and others in need of affordable housing. The Project provides technical assistance and education on housing policy to legal services attorneys, housing developers and others to ensure that they are aware of the most recent changes to the law, and to gather first-hand feedback on what works and what is broken in California's housing regulatory environment. For example, in the fall, CRLAF coordinates regional meetings in Northern and Southern California among housing providers, legal services programs and other housing professionals to review recent developments in the law. The Project also provides advice and assistance to local legal services attorneys working to solve housing problems for their clients, to help craft solutions that protect and expand the supply of affordable housing.
Brian Augusta, Esq., Project Director Brian Augusta, Director, Housing Project Brian is a staff attorney and legislative advocate with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, where he focuses on statewide land use and affordable housing policy. Brian began working on affordable housing issues in 1991, as the director of the Sacramento Housing Alliance, a position he held for four years. In 1999, after graduating from Santa Clara University School of Law, Brian joined the staff of Legal Services of Northern California, where he worked for six years as a staff attorney. During his tenure with LSNC, Brian's worked focused on land use and housing element litigation and advocacy. Among other contributions, Brian’s advocacy helped win adoption of inclusionary housing policies in Folsom, Sacramento County and the City of Sacramento. The most recent effort, a two-year campaign to win passage of the policy in the County of Sacramento, resulted in the only known ordinance to include extremely low income households, those making less than 30% of the median income. Just prior to working with CRLAF, he served two years as staff to Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-San Jose), most recently as her Legislative Director. He currently serves as on the board of the Sacramento Housing Alliance and the California Institute for Rural Studies. |