REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Accept the 2023 General Plan Annual Progress Report
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
BACKGROUND
California State Law requires local jurisdictions, including Santa Clara, to maintain a General Plan to guide the orderly, long-term use of lands within the City through policies and General Plan Land Use designations. The General Plan communicates the City’s long-term vision for future growth and land use and establishes a policy framework to govern decision-making concerning the physical development of the community. The seven major strategies of the General Plan, along with their implementing goals and policies, define and communicate the City’s overarching vision for the community in relation to physical development patterns. The City’s seven major General Plan strategies are:
1. Enhance the City’s High Quality of Life
2. Preserve and Cultivate Neighborhoods
3. Promote Sustainability
4. Enhance City Identity
5. Support Focus Areas and Community Vitality
6. Maintain the City’s Fiscal Health and Quality Services
7. Maximize Health and Safety Benefits
The General Plan further establishes multiple goals and policies to guide decision making to be consistent with the realization of these strategies.
The Housing Element is a required component of the General Plan and, per State law, must demonstrate the City’s ability to support residential development capacity consistent with the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).
The City is required to provide three annual reports to the State to demonstrate the City’s progress toward implementation of its General Plan:
• General Plan Annual Progress Report (GP APR)
• General Plan Housing Element Annual Progress Report (Housing Element APR)
• Housing Successor Agency Annual Report regarding the Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund (LMIHAF)
The GP APR and Housing Element APR respond to the obligations of the 6th cycle RHNA, which was adopted by the City Council on January 31, 2023 and subsequently re-adopted on June 27, 2023 in response to comments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
These reports are due on April 1st of each calendar year and the Housing Element APR and LMIHAF must be submitted to HCD using the forms and definitions adopted by HCD. These two documents must also be posted on the City’s website.
Historically the City has submitted three reports to the State on an annual basis, in conformance with these requirements. Staff is preparing all three documents to submit to the State prior to April 1, 2024.
Beginning in 2020, the State further mandated that all cities, including Charter cities such as Santa Clara, and all 58 counties, submit the GP APR to their legislative body as well as to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) (Government Code Section 65400). This report is being submitted to the City Council to fulfill this requirement.
DISCUSSION
Annual Progress Reports (APRs) provide local legislative bodies with information regarding the implementation of the General Plan for their city or county. The Annual Progress Report is strictly a reporting document and does not create or modify any City of Santa Clara goals or policies found within the General Plan. APRs must be presented to the local legislative body for review and acceptance. Once approved, the General Plan APR must be filed with the Governor’s OPR and the Housing Successor Agency Annual Report must be posted on the City’s Website.
This report includes four attachments documenting the City’s implementation of the General Plan over the last calendar year. As described in these documents, the City’s General Plan is consistent with State law, and has been successful in creating market-rate housing, especially in the City’s General Plan Focus Areas.
Attachment 1 is a fact sheet that includes relevant milestones for the General Plan. A summary of the Housing Element APR, including housing production numbers for the year and Housing Element implementation actions, is included as Attachment 2. In 2023, a total of 2,667 units were issued Planning entitlements, with building permits for 916 units issued. A total of 241 units were issued certificates of occupancy in 2023.
The Housing Successor Annual Report regarding the LMIHAF has been prepared pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 34176.1(f). The report sets forth details of the City of Santa Clara Housing Successor activities in Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and is included for reference as Attachment 3.
A list of all General Plan Amendments filed since the adoption of the 2010-2035 General Plan is included as Attachment 4. Five amendments were adopted to the General Plan in 2023, (1) the Housing Element Update adoption, and (2) the Housing Element re-adoption following comments from the State Department of Housing and Community Development; (3) a General Plan Amendment for 2655 The Alameda, from Neighborhood Commercial to Very High Density Residential; (4) a General Plan Amendment for the Downtown Precise Plan from Community Mixed Use and Medium Density Residential to Downtown; and (5) the adoption of General Plan text amendments in combination with the adoption of the City’s Zoning Code Update.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered is simply to accept an annual report on the City’s General Plan and as such does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5), in that it is a governmental administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
This report has no fiscal impact in that it simply reports housing production for the prior calendar year and gives the Council a report on the status of the implementation and upkeep of the General Plan.
COORDINATION
This report has been 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.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Accept the General Plan Annual Progress Report as presented by staff.
Staff
Reviewed by: Reena Brilliot, Acting Director of Community Development
Approved by: Jovan Grogan, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Santa Clara General Plan 2010-2035 Fact Sheet
2. 2023 Housing Element Annual Progress Report Summary Data
3. FY 2022-2023 Successor Agency Annual Report
4. Amendments to the General Plan, 2010-Present