CC SR 20231205 03 - Housing Element Update Staff Report 2023-12-05_Updated
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 12/05/2023
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to receive a status report on the City’s 6th Cycle
Housing Element Update.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file a status report on completing the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element
Update.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Octavio Silva, Deputy Director of Community Development
REVIEWED BY: Brandy Forbes, AICP, Director of Community Development
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
The following attachments can be viewed via the links embedded in the staff report:
• Resolution No. 2022-49 – City Council-adopted Housing Element
• 6th Cycle Housing Element and associated Negative Declaration
• Potential Housing Sites Inventory
• October 2022 HCD letter finding the 6th Cycle Housing Element to be noncompliant
• September 2023 Draft Revised 6th Cycle Housing Element (Redlined Version)
• Responses to HCD Comment Letter
• Potential Housing Sites Inventory Site-By-Site Analysis
• May 2023 HCD Letter of Inquiry
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
The following discussion provides an update on the status of the City’s adopted 6th Cycle
Housing Element including associated rezoning and housing program implementation
efforts as well as consequences for non-compliance.
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RANCHO PALOS VERDES
Adopted 6th Cycle Housing Element
Each city, pursuant to Government Code §65300, is required to prepare and adopt a
General Plan for its jurisdiction with certain mandatory elements, including a Housing
Element. The Housing Element, which is required to be updated every eight years,
consists of: (a) an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs,
including the local government’s share of the regional housing needs; (b) an inventory of
resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs; and (c) a p rogram showing a
five-year schedule of actions to be taken to implement the Housing Element, including
how the local government plans to meet its share of the regional housing needs.
In August 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2022-49, adopting the City’s
new 6th Cycle Housing Element and associated environmental review, which included a
Negative Declaration pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).The
Housing Element includes the policies, strategies, and actions to facilitate the
construction of new housing and the preservation of existing housing throughout the City
for the planning period of 2021-2029 (6th cycle). More specifically, the document outlines
the plan to accommodate the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)
allocation of a total of 639 new housing units in various income categories over the
planning period. In addition, the Housing Element accommodates eight lower -income
units that that were carried over from the previous planning period (2013-2021), for a total
of 647 new housing units throughout the City. The housing unit breakdown by income
category is as follows:
• Lower 400 units (minimum 30 dwelling units (d.u)/ acre required)
• Moderate 125 units (Higher density sites)
• Above Moderate 122 units (Sites zoned for densities less than30 d.u./acre)
It is important to note that the Housing Element only provides the regulatory framework
to accommodate and support the construction of new housing units . The document does
not propose or approve any site construction. Future development of any housing will
require site-specific analysis and environmental review.
The adoption of the Housing Element was a result of a comprehensive process that
involved a joint study session with the City Council and Planning Commission in August
2021. The study session was followed by the completion of an extensive community
outreach effort that included both in-person and virtual events along with the issuance of
a community-wide survey. The input collected from this process assisted in the
development of the Housing Element’s Potential Housing Sites Inventory, which is a
listing of 30 properties in the City that can accommodate the City’s RHNA allocation. The
Potential Housing Sites Inventory includes properties throughout the City including
commercial corridors and vacant/underutilized lots, so as to avoid the concentration of
new housing units in any one area of the City.
The adopted Housing Element was subsequently forwarded to the California Department
of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for compliance review with state housing
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law. In October 2022, HCD notified the City’s Community Development Department via
letter that although the adopted Housing Element met many of the statutory requirements ,
the document was ultimately not found to be in compliance. As part of its review, HCD
outlined additional document corrections required to be completed to achieve compliance.
HCD corrections included, but were not limited to, providing support information related
to affirmatively furthering fair housing efforts and clarifying the realistic capacity of
residential redevelopment outlined in the City’s Housing Element. Based on this
determination, the City’s Housing Element update process for the 6 th Cycle is not yet
complete.
On September 14, 2023, after several consultation meetings with HCD, City Staff
submitted a revised draft of the City’s Housing Element (Redlined Version) to HCD for an
informal 60-day review of the document. HCD requested an informal review occur before
an updated version of the Housing Element is presented to the City Council again for
adoption, to ensure that their comments were sufficiently addressed. The revised draft
included updates addressing HCD’s requested corrections, which were summarized in
the corresponding “Responses to HCD Comment Letter Dated October 14, 2022” letter.
A key component of the revised draft included the preparation of a detailed site-by-site
inventory analysis that studied the physical development feasibility of the City’s Potential
Housing Sites Inventory, which was included as part of the City’s adopted 6th Cycle
Housing Element. The analysis included some hypothetical residential site layouts based
on physical site and area constraints that were studied, which in some cases resulted in
updates to the developable area and proposed density of a potential housing site.
On November 17, 2023, City Staff met with HCD representatives to discuss the review of
the City’s revised draft Housing Element. Based on HCD’s review of the document, a
short list of additional corrections was identified and relayed to City Staff verbally. The
correction items include, but are not limited to, clarifying Affirmatively Furthering Fair
Housing compliance and Housing Program implementation measures. As of the
preparation of this report, City Staff is working to prepare the requested information to the
HCD corrections.
Adopted 6th Cycle Housing Element- Rezoning and Housing Program Implementation
A consequence of not having an adopted housing element within the statutory deadline
of October 2021 is that cities must rezone to accommodate RHNA within one year of the
deadline. As such, the rezoning of the City’s Housing Sites Inventory must be completed
prior to HCD deeming the resubmitted housing element to be in compliance with state
housing law. Staff is also working with the City’s housing consultant firm, Dudek, on the
preparation of compliance measures associated with the 20 housing programs identified
in the City’s adopted Housing Element, two of which require rezoning activities. More
specifically, Dudek will be completing the Mixed-Use Overlay District along some of the
City’s commercial corridors and zoning districts, and the rezoning of vacant/underutilized
properties throughout the City to accommodate for more housing density as outlined in
the City’s adopted Housing Element and subsequently revised document. Dudek will also
complete any additional environmental analysis required pursuant to CEQA, which upon
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initial evaluation may warrant the preparation of an addendum to the previously adopted
Negative Declaration for the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element.
The Planning Division anticipates presenting draft rezoning information to the public this
spring, followed by formal consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council as
part of public hearings, and possibly a joint meeting to expedite the process. When the
rezoning of the properties is completed, the revised Housing Element is anticipated to be
resubmitted to HCD for a formal 60-day review of the document in the summer of 2024.
Consequences of Noncompliance
Local governments have much to lose if they fail to bring their housing elements into
compliance with state requirements. With a staff of 25 in its new Housing Accountability
Unit, HCD is resourced and ready to enforce state mandates on local housing plans and
policies. In May 2023, HCD issued a Letter of Inquiry regarding the status of the City’s 6th
Cycle Housing Element, which included a discussion of the consequences of not having
a housing element in compliance with state housing element law. The letter highlighted
financial and legal ramifications for noncompliance including possible actions from the
California Office of the Attorney General along with court-imposed penalties for persistent
noncompliance including financial penalties. Other consequences of noncompliance
include the loss of local land use authority to a court appointed agent and ineligibility to
receive state funds that require a compliant housing element as a prerequisite.
CONCLUSION:
The 6th Cycle Housing Element Update has proven to be an arduous process unlike any
of the previous planning periods, with many local governments in the region still
navigating their way to achieving compliance. The City continues to demonstrate a good-
faith effort to comply with state housing law via ongoing discussions with HCD and the
contracting of services to complete housing program requirements. Staff is confident that
the plan outlined above paves an expedited way for compliance with HCD and for the
future of housing in the City.
ALTERNATIVE:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative is available for the City
Council’s consideration:
1. Provide Staff with additional information and direction to incorporate into the
preparation of the revised Housing Element.
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