While the regional housing needs debate drags on in the southern part of the state, the nine-county Association of Bay Area Governments is finalizing its Regional Housing Needs Determination for the 1999-2006 planning cycle. Although, ABAG's process of allocating 230,000 housing units to its jurisdictions has not been without bumps, it does not show signs of derailing. Only 10 jurisdictions appealed ABAG housing targets, with a decision due on those requests at the end of January. The apparent acquiescence of local planners could stem from ABAG's "blunt instrument" methodology, said Alex Amoroso, ABAG senior planner. "If you compare our process to what SCAG used, we didn't get off into a whole bunch of intricacies," Amoroso said. "In general, it was very straightforward. Jurisdictions new exactly where we were coming from." That does not mean local officials are satisfied. The Sonoma County Town of Windsor was among the appellants because ABAG did not consider local conditions, said Windsor Planning Director Peter Chamberlin. The city requested a housing target of about half its ABAG figure of nearly 2,100 units. The Town Council in Windsor, which incorporated in 1992, has made job growth a priority because Windsor is a bedroom community for Santa Rosa and Petaluma, Plus, voters have imposed a stringent urban growth boundary effective until 2017. "The citizens of Windsor want growth control. They want city-center development. They want to preserve the open space buffers and ag land around Windsor," Chamberlin said. The state Department of Housing and Community Development, however, does not acknowledge local growth controls. And planners at ABAG say they will grant appeals only if a jurisdiction finds another city or county willing to accept more housing units. "We're not going to take anyone else's numbers and we don't expect anyone else to take ours," Chamberlin responded. "They (ABAG) have steadfastly held the line because if they blink, then the whole house of cards falls down." Amoroso, a former local planner, is sympathetic. No one — from state officials to regional planners to local government leaders — likes the allocation process, he said. Still, planners need to decide how to accommodate growth that everyone knows is coming, especially in the Bay Area, where anti-growth sentiment runs hot, he said. Cathy Creswell, acting deputy director of HCD, said the issues are much more difficult in the ABAG region than in Southern California because the demand is overwhelming and the prices are sky high. Amoroso said his agency will help members prepare their housing elements before the state-mandated deadline of December 31. The organization is also working on establishing jobs-housing zones that could serve as examples for places that lack a good balance, he said. "I think there are a lot of jurisdictions that have not worked on their housing elements for a very long time," Amoroso said. Contacts: Alex Amoroso, Association of Bay Area Governments, (510) 464-7955. Peter Chamberlin, Town of Windsor, (707) 838-1021 Cathy Creswell, Department of Housing and Urban Development, (916) 323-3183. ABAG housing needs website: www.abag.ca.gov/planning/housingneeds/99rhnd.htm