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
1,6...
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