AGENDA ITEM
TO:
HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
COLLEEN T. DOAN
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
title
6TH CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE
summary
Summary:
Community Development Director will provide an update on the City’s progress on the completion of the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update (HEU).
recommendation
Recommendation:
Receive and file.
body
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action.
Strategic Plan Objectives:
N/A
Background:
The Housing Element is one of the State’s seven mandated Elements of the City’s General Plan. It is the only element required to be certified by the State. The California Government Code requires cities to update their Housing Elements every eight years. The Housing Element identifies and discusses constraints and opportunities to creating housing and serves as a comprehensive strategy for goals, policies, and programs to preserve, upgrade, and create housing for all income levels.
On September 15, 2021, the City submitted the Draft 6th Cycle HEU to HCD for review and comments. It identifies four housing sites and demonstrates that development of these sites, as proposed in conceptual site plans for each site, will accommodate the required 517-unit Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), including surplus housing (Attachment A).
In September 2021, after preparing the draft document that was submitted to HCD, the City’s HEU consultant reported he would no longer be able to provide services.
On September 28, 2021, Governor Newsom signed AB 1398 approving an extension of the submittal deadline for 6th Cycle HEUs from February 1, 2022, to October 15, 2022.
On November 5, 2021, the City executed a contract with MIG Inc., to assist with responses to anticipated comments from HCD and to revise the Draft HEU document as necessary for resubmittal.
On November 9, 2021, the City received comments from HCD. The comments were generally regarding the programs for affirmatively furthering fair housing and meeting the City’s RHNA.
Analysis:
MIG Inc., is currently reviewing and assisting with responses to HCD comments. It is estimated this task will be completed and the document will be re-submitted by the end of February 2022. The consultant has advised that the current trend for HCD review is to engage in several rounds of comments before indicating that the draft document is ready for HCD certification. HCD is typically completing their reviews within 60 days; therefore, a second set of comments is expected no later than the end of April 2022. At that point staff and the consultant should be able to estimate whether any additional substantial changes to the document are likely.
Next Steps
• Staff has scheduled the public hearings for the Zoning Ordinance Amendments (ZOAs) to rezone the four housing sites and establish specific plans for each of the sites to proceed, first to the Planning Commission in April 2022, then to City Council in May 2022.
• The Commission will also review the most current version of the HEU document and will include it in their recommendation to City Council.
o If the comments from HCD are not substantial, staff will bring the ZOAs and the HEU to Council on May 24, 2022.
o If the comments from HCD are substantial, staff will proceed with the ZOAs and bring the HEU document back to Commission and Council once HCD has indicated it is ready for certification, prior to the October 15, 2022, deadline.
• The anticipated timeline for review is attached (Attachment B).
Approved:
_________________________
Hannah Shin-Heydorn
Attachments