REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to the City of Santa Clara General Plan by Adopting an Updated Housing Element for the 2023-2031 Housing Element Cycle
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
BACKGROUND
The Housing Element, one of the required elements of the City’s General Plan, includes policies and programs intended to help the City meet the housing needs of all current and future Santa Clara residents. State law requires that local jurisdictions update their housing elements every eight years and that the housing element be reviewed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Housing elements are certified by HCD if found to be in substantial compliance with State Housing law.
The City’s current (5th housing cycle) Housing Element, which was adopted on December 9, 2014 and certified by HCD on February 13, 2015, covers the planning period that began on January 31, 2015 and ends on January 31, 2023. For Bay Area towns, cities, and counties, the statutory due date for submittal of an adopted Housing Element, covering the years 2023-2031 (6th housing cycle), is January 31, 2023.
The Housing Element update process begins with the assignment to each jurisdiction of a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), establishing a particular number of housing units at various affordability levels that must be accommodated by the local jurisdiction. On January 12, 2022, HCD approved the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Plan for distributing a share of the region’s housing need to each of the Bay Area’s towns, cities, and counties. Santa Clara’s RHNA for 2023-2031 is 11,632 units, with more than half of these units distributed into three categories of designated affordability as shown in the table below.
City of Santa Clara 2023-2031 RHNA
|
Very Low Income (<50% AMI) |
Low Income (50-80% AMI) |
Moderate Income (80-120% AMI) |
Above Mod. Income (>120% AMI) |
Total |
|
2,872 |
1,653 |
1,981 |
5,126 |
11,632 |
AMI = Area Median Income
Santa Clara, with help from the City’s planning consultant MIG, Inc., prepared a comprehensive update of the City’s Housing Element and posted a Public Review Draft Housing Element online from July 1 through August 1, 2022.
The Draft Housing Element was revised to address comments received during the 30-day public review period and on August 22, 2022, the City’s Initial Draft Housing Element was submitted to HCD for their 90-day review. Staff had an introductory meeting with HCD on October 12, 2022 to discuss their preliminary feedback on the Initial Draft. HCD provided their formal findings/comments (Attachment 1) on November 18, 2022 and City staff met subsequently with HCD staff on November 29, 2022 to discuss those comments.
A revised Draft Housing Element (Attachment 3) addressing HCDs comments and incorporating community feedback from the earlier drafts will be reviewed by Santa Clara’s Planning Commission and City Council, and after adoption by the City Council will be sent to HCD for review and certification.
DISCUSSION
State leadership continues to identify efforts to address the State’s housing crisis as a top priority for both legislative and administrative efforts. As a result, the State has significantly increased the requirements placed upon each jurisdiction as they update their local Housing Elements and added more stringent State oversight for the review and approval of each Housing Element. Local jurisdictions follow a staggered schedule for submittal to the State, and based on areas of the state with an earlier submittal deadline, a small minority of local jurisdictions have been able to complete the Housing Element update process, including State approval, prior to the assigned deadline. The lack of a certified Housing Element can reduce the ability of the local jurisdiction to regulate new housing development and also reduce access to State funds for as long as the City remains out of compliance.
City staff is working with the City’s consultant to complete the City’s Housing Element update in conformance with State requirements prior to the State’s deadline of January 31, 2023. To reach this goal, staff is asking that the Planning Commission review the proposed General Plan amendment, “draft Housing Element” (Attachment 3), provide input, and recommend approval to the City Council. Staff will then place the Housing Element update on the January 31, 2023 City Council meeting agenda to complete the City adoption process. Staff is working concurrently with the State to obtain their determination of substantial conformance. The intended goal for these efforts is for the City to have a State certified Housing Element in place by the State’s deadline.
Based on State law and guidance provided by HCD, the overall intent of the City’s Housing Element is to demonstrate that the City is capable of providing for the housing needs of the local community, both in terms of programs and development capacity. Housing element law requires local governments to assess the housing needs within the community and to adequately plan to meet their existing and projected housing needs, including their RHNA share. The Housing Element also includes a description of the programs operated by the City to support community housing needs. A complete analysis should include a quantification and a descriptive analysis of the specific needs and resources available to address these needs. More recently the State has added an Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirement to address potential historic inequalities in the local provision of housing. The State is also very interested in the community outreach that the City undertook to inform its Housing Element. These required components are further discussed below.
Housing Capacity
In assessing the City’s housing capacity, the City must identify constraints, as well as provide an inventory of sites that can be used to meet the City’s RHNA. The following discussion summarizes the information that is being provided within the Draft Housing Element to meet the legal requirements.
Constraints
The housing element must identify and analyze potential and actual governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels, including housing for people with disabilities. The analysis should identify the specific standards and processes of these constraints and evaluate their impact on the supply and affordability of housing. The analysis should determine whether local, regulatory standards pose an actual constraint and must also demonstrate local efforts to remove constraints that hinder a jurisdiction from meeting its housing needs.
Site Inventory
Local governments are required to prepare an inventory of land within the jurisdiction that is suitable for residential development, including vacant sites and sites having the potential for redevelopment, and an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites. The assessment of land parcels is based on current land use, zoning, and other factors that could affect its redevelopment to produce housing and/or affordable housing during the Housing Element time period. HCD has indicated that they will carefully review these sites, particularly when they are not currently vacant, to determine if they are in fact likely to be available for redevelopment in the next eight years. As Santa Clara is a built-out city, our inventory sites will require significant amounts of redevelopment.
Santa Clara has taken concrete steps, such as the recent adoption of multiple Specific Plans, to support housing development within the City and as a result is in the process of producing a significant amount of new housing. Jurisdictions may count pipeline projects toward their RHNA and the City’s current pipeline is thus very helpful towards this requirement. Pipeline projects include units that are approved, proposed, or under construction that are anticipated to be complete (i.e. have a Certificate of Occupancy) after June 30, 2022 (note this is six months before the beginning of the 2023-2031 Housing Element cycle). Staff has determined that Pipeline projects in Santa Clara can conservatively accommodate 12,712 total units, as shown in the table below. As is to be expected, the majority of these units will be market rate, with a percentage of affordable units brought forward either because of the City’s inclusionary requirements or the development of 100% affordable projects. The latter require public subsidy and so are constrained by the availability of funds for this purpose from either the local jurisdiction, the County or the State. Although the current pipeline exceeds the City’s total RHNA target, it does not fully meet the RHNA requirement within the affordable housing categories for very low, low, and moderate income categories.
In addition to the current housing production pipeline, the City’s housing inventory includes a projection for the construction of new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) based on historic production of these units. The City participated with other Santa Clara County jurisdictions in a survey to determine the typical rent and affordability levels for ADUs. Based on this historic data, new ADU production over the next eight years can be expected to fulfill a significant portion of the City’s RHNA obligation, particularly for affordable housing units.
Thirdly, the City prepared a site inventory that identifies other sites within Santa Clara that are anticipated to be developed with new housing units over the 6th housing cycle time period. Following HCD criteria, this capacity can be allocated to different income categories based on factors such as density.
To ensure that sufficient capacity exists in the housing element to accommodate the RHNA throughout the planning period, HCD recommends jurisdictions create a buffer in the inventory of between 15 to 30 percent more capacity than required, especially for capacity to accommodate the lower income RHNA. As shown in the table below, the combination of pipeline projects, ADU units and site identification are sufficient to meet the City’s RHNA requirements.
|
|
Total |
VLI |
LI |
Moderate |
Above Moderate |
|
Pipeline |
11,946 |
390 |
320 |
816 |
9,561 |
|
ADUs |
340 |
102 |
102 |
102 |
34 |
|
Sites |
9,808 |
3,049 |
3,049 |
3,354 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
22,094 |
3,541 |
3,471 |
4,272 |
9,900 |
|
RHNA |
11,632 |
2,872 |
1,653 |
1,981 |
5,126 |
|
Surplus |
10,462 |
669 |
1,818 |
2,291 |
4,774 |
|
Buffer |
90% |
23% |
110% |
116% |
93% |
Housing Programs
Each jurisdiction must identify specific pro-housing programs in its housing element that will allow it to implement the City’s stated policies and achieve the City’s stated goals and objectives for the provision of housing. Programs must include specific action steps the locality will take to implement its policies and achieve its goals and objectives. Programs must also include a specific timeframe for implementation, identify the agencies or officials responsible for implementation, describe the jurisdiction’s specific role in implementation, and (whenever possible) identify specific, measurable outcomes.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)
The AFFH is a new requirement for the current Housing Element cycle and is receiving considerable attention from HCD in the review process. An assessment of fair housing must identify and analyze patterns, trends, conditions, and practices that result in less fair housing choice and must address all of the following assessment components:
1. Summary of fair housing enforcement and outreach: This section describes the ability of a locality and fair housing entities to disseminate information related to fair housing and provide outreach and education to assure community members are well aware of fair housing laws and rights. In addition, enforcement and outreach capacity includes the ability to address compliance with fair housing laws, such as investigating complaints, obtaining remedies, and engaging in fair housing testing.
2. Integration and segregation patterns and trends related to people with protected characteristics: Housing elements must include an analysis of integration and segregation, including patterns and trends, related to people with protected characteristics.
3. Racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty: Housing elements must include an analysis of racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty.
4. Disparities in access to opportunity for people with protected characteristics including persons with disabilities: Housing elements must identify and analyze significant disparities in access to opportunity. Access to opportunity means both improving the quality of life for residents of low-income communities, as well as supporting mobility and access to “high resource” neighborhoods.
5. Disproportionate housing needs within the jurisdiction, including displacement risk: Housing elements must include an assessment of disproportionate housing needs, including displacement risk, on people with protected characteristics and households with low incomes. Categories of need are based on such factors as cost burden (housing cost, including utilities, exceeding 30 percent of gross income) and severe cost burden (housing cost, including utilities, exceeding 50 percent of gross income), overcrowding, homelessness, and substandard housing conditions. Displacement can be caused by disinvestment, investment-fueled gentrification, or a process combining the two.
Outreach
Jurisdictions are required to make diligent efforts to include all economic segments of the community and/or their representatives in the development and update of their housing elements. Based upon comments received from HCD, unlike in prior Housing Element cycles, this is a focus area for HCD.
Below is a list of outreach meetings and activities that helped promote and inform the development of the City of Santa Clara’s Housing Element Update. This outreach is described in more detail in Appendix A of the Adoption Draft Housing Element (Attachment 3).
2021
• March 12 - Stakeholders Meeting: Affordable Housing Ordinance
• April 6 - City Council Study Session
• August 30 - Community Meeting
• September 22 - Planning Commission Study Session
• November 9 - City Council Study Session: Homelessness
2022
• April 19 - Joint City Council & Planning Commission Study Session
• April 28 - Homelessness Taskforce Meeting #1
• May 5 - Stakeholder Listening Session: Development Constraints
• May 20 - 6th Annual “Be Strong, Live Long” Health & Wellness Fair
• May 26 - Homelessness Taskforce Meeting #2
• May-August - Stakeholder Interviews
• May-July - Housing Element Update Survey
• June - City Hall News
• June 14 - Library Pop-up Meeting (Central)
• June 17 - Library Pop-up Meeting (Northside)
• June - City of Santa Clara Inside Newsletter
• June 23 - Homelessness Taskforce Meeting #3
• July 12 - Joint City Council & Planning Commission Study Session
• July 22 - Interview with Housing Choices
• July 28 - Homelessness Taskforce Meeting #4
• August 1 - Community Meeting
• August 9 - Community Meeting/Forum on Homelessness
• August 12 - Residential Care Home Visit/Interview with Life Services
• August 23 - Regional Equity Advisory Group Meeting
• August 25 - Homelessness Taskforce Meeting #5
• September 17/18 - Art & Wine Festival
• September 19 - Meeting with Riverwood Grove Residents (family housing)
• September 20 - Meeting with Peacock Commons Residents (transition age youth)
• September 22 - Meeting with Liberty Tower Residents (seniors)
• October - Affordable Housing Developer Follow-up Questionnaire
• October - Farmworker Advocate Questionnaire
• October 27 - Homelessness Taskforce Meeting #6
• November 17 - Stakeholders Workshop
The City’s Housing Element Update GovDelivery topic currently has 1,535 subscribers. Subscribers have received updates throughout the Update process. In addition to the above, the City participated in the countywide HUD Assessment of Fair Housing from September 2019 through January 2020 to obtain input from community members and stakeholders through a series of community meetings, focus groups, and stakeholder meetings. These meetings provided important regional context for the required Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) analysis in the Housing Element.
The City also received comment letters on the Draft Housing Element posted during the public review period (July 1-August 1) from SV@Home; Housing Choices; Transform; Anne Paulson; Life Services Alternatives; Partnership for the Bay’s Future; Carpenters Local Union 405; and Housing Action Coalition. The comment letters have been posted on the Housing Element website (Housing Element Update (2023-2031) | City of Santa Clara (santaclaraca.gov) <https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-a-f/community-development/planning-division/general-plan/housing-element-update>). Staff has met with many commentors to earnestly incorporate feedback as feasible.
Specifically, input received through all outreach informed the creation of new efforts in the Housing Element including the following:
• Respondents to outreach and commentors were concerned that the designated levels of affordability in the city’s existing inclusionary ordinance are increasingly not affordable for many residents. The Housing Element includes a planned effort to update the inclusionary ordinance to increase a greater number of units in the deeper affordability categories and to redefine the City’s moderate affordability category to reflect a lower income range. Also proposed is including in the City’s Notice of Funding Availability specifications criteria that would prioritize City funding of Extremely Low Income and Very Low Income units.
• Consistent feedback was received through all outlets and demographics of respondents highlighting the need to better address homelessness. The City’s newly created Homelessness Task Force composed of service providers, advocates, and individuals with lived experience of being unhoused have provided recommendations that are being pursued through the creation in a Homelessness Plan with implementation actions.
• Commentors provided feedback on the need for more displacement prevention. The Housing Plan includes the City Council future consideration of new policies and programs that would require no net loss of income restricted units during construction or rehabilitation of existing housing; replacement of existing affordable housing units at the same or lower affordability levels; landlord and City notification and information for tenants affected by efforts that would cause relocation; require developers to provide relocation benefits beyond State requirements.
• Residents of affordable and special needs housing shared at listening sessions (September 19, 20, 22) that they have been particularly affected by heat waves and wildfire smoke. As part of the City’s CDBG program, the City will promote a Notice of Funding Availability process for installation of HVAC improvements for sensitive populations.
Consistency with General Plan
All properties and land uses in the City are governed by the City's General Plan. The General Plan describes the long-term goals for the City’s future and guides daily decision-making. The time frame of the General Plan is 2010-2035. The Plan contains the City’s official policies on land use and community design, transportation, housing, environmental resources, and health and safety.
The Housing Element is part of the General Plan, but operates on a state mandated schedule. The time frame for the Housing Element is 2023-2031, therefore it has been prepared to maintain internal consistency with the current 2010-2035 General Plan, as required by State law. Specifically, the sites inventory reflects the capacity under the General Plan Phase III land use designations, as amended.
The 6th-cycle Housing Element provides an opportunity to update the goals, policies, and actions identified in the 5th-cycle Housing Element 2015-2023, and with the increased focus on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, which has heavily influenced the document, will provide a framework for how the City evaluates future General Plan amendments and the next comprehensive General Plan update.
State (HCD) Review
On November 18, 2022 the City received HCD’s comment letter (Attachment 1) on the City’s Draft Housing Element. In general, HCD’s comments requested that the City provide additional analysis for specific topics within the Housing Element. HCD determined that the City’s Initial Draft Housing Element addresses many statutory requirements, but revisions are necessary to comply with State Housing Element law, in the following six areas:
A. Cumulative effectiveness of past goals, policies, and related actions in meeting the housing needs of special needs populations
B. Housing needs, resources, and constraints
C. Housing programs
D. Quantified objectives
E. General Plan consistency
F. Public participation
HCD staff also asked that the City follow up with community stakeholders that had submitted their own comments on the draft Housing Element. During and after HCDs 90-day review of the Initial Draft Housing Element, the City conducted additional outreach and received feedback that further informed revisions that are also captured in the Adoption Draft Housing Element (Attachment 3).
To facilitate their review, HCD will be provided a redlined version of the Adopted Housing Element, as well as a matrix showing each HCD comment and the City’s responses/revisions (Attachment 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City has prepared an Addendum to the 2010-2035 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (Attachment 4), which concluded that there is no substantial change to the General Plan that would require major revisions to the previous EIR; that there is no substantial change in circumstances as a result of modifications to the General Plan that would cause new or substantially more severe significant impacts; and, that there is no new information of substantial importance that identifies new or more intense significant impacts than those identified in the General Plan EIR.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report. On January 25, 2022, the City Council approved a consultant agreement with MIG, Inc. to update the City’s Housing Element and accepted $499,150 in reimbursable grant funding from the State’s Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant program. Of this grant funding, $199,968 will be used to fund MIG’s work and the remaining $299,182 will be used to fund City staff expenses. All grant funds must be expended on or before December 31, 2023.
COORDINATION
This report was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
On July 1, 2022, pursuant to Government Code Section 65352.3(a)(1), the City mailed letters to a list of tribes provided by the Native American Heritage Commission that included project information on the proposed Housing Element Update and offered an opportunity for the tribes to provide comment on the Draft Housing Element or request a consultation regarding historical resources or tribal cultural resources important to their community that could be impacted by the project. The City did not receive comments or requests for consultation.
On December 16, 2022, pursuant to Government Code 65352(a), the City mailed referral letters to tribes and outside agencies advising them of the City’s intent to take action on a General Plan Amendment to adopt the 2023-2031 Housing Element. The referral letters also included notice of the proposed Planning Commission and City Council Hearings.
On January 16, 2023, a GovDelivery bulletin was emailed to the City’s 1,535 Housing Element Update topic subscribers to let them know the availability of the Adoption Draft Housing Element on the Housing Element Update page and to remind subscribers of the proposed hearing schedule. This update was also posted on the City’s social media outlets.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Adopt a Resolution to Recommend the City Council Adopt the Addendum to the 2010-2035 General Plan Environmental Impact Report
2. Adopt a Resolution to Recommend the City Council Amend the General Plan by Adopting an Updated Housing Element for the 2023-2031 Cycle.
3. Adopt a Resolution to Recommend the City Council Amend the General Plan by Adopting an Updated Housing Element for the 2023-2031 Cycle with revisions.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Alternative : 1 & 2
1. Recommend the City Council Adopt the Addendum to the Environmental Impact Report
2. Adopt a Resolution to Recommend the City Council Amend the General Plan by Adopting an Updated Housing Element for the 2023-2031 Cycle.
Staff
Reviewed by: Andrew Crabtree, Director, Community Development
Reviewed by: Alexander Abbe, Assistant City Attorney
Approved by: Rajeev Batra, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. HCD Findings/Comment Letter on Draft Housing Element
2. HCD Comments/Response Matrix
3. Adoption Draft Housing Element
4. Addendum
5. Addendum Resolution
6. Planning Commission Resolution