REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Joint City Council and Planning Commission Study Session on the Housing Element Update
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
BACKGROUND
State law requires that local jurisdictions, such as Santa Clara, maintain a General Plan with a Housing Element that is periodically approved and annually reviewed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). For Bay Area towns, cities, and counties, the next Housing Element, covering the years 2023-2031, must be approved by HCD by January 2023 or be considered out of compliance and subject to penalties. The State assigns a specific amount of new housing development for each jurisdiction to address in the Housing Element, identified as the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The City's RHNA for 2023-2031 is 11,632 units with more than half of these units distributed into three categories of designated affordability and the remainder market rate. Santa Clara, with help from the City's planning consultant, MIG, Inc., is currently preparing a comprehensive update of the City's General Plan Housing Element to fulfill the State requirements.
The Housing Element has several required components, including an available sites inventory and sections that address: policies and strategies to promote housing development; Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) requirements; and community outreach. These elements collectively must identify sites planned for new housing and support pro-housing policies and strategies to demonstrate that Santa Clara can potentially achieve the development of the City's RHNA by the end of the 6th Housing Element Cycle in January 2031.
Public participation in the update process is a critical component of achieving a Housing Element that reflects the values and preferences of the community and will be approved by the State. In addition to targeted outreach to numerous housing stakehold...
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