To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vincent C. Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Michael Walker, Senior Planner
TITLE:
Title
Housing Element Adoption
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution adopting a General Plan amendment to repeal the Fifth Cycle Housing Element and adopt the Sixth Cycle Housing Element for the period of 2023-2031 in compliance with State Housing Element Law and determining that the actions authorized by this resolution are exempt from CEQA.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The City has prepared a draft update to the Housing Element of the General Plan to, among other policies, affirmatively further fair housing and accommodate the City’s 2,669 unit Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the 2023-2031 Sixth Cycle Housing Element. The City’s RHNA obligation and housing sites inventory is described more fully below.
The Housing Element is structured to satisfy the requirements set forth in state law. To meet this requirement, the Housing Element demonstrates the City has development capacity to meet the City’s local share of determined housing needs, and the City’s housing needs are further addressed through policies and programs outlined within the Housing Element. Public review and input have been a critical component of this 6th Cycle Housing Element Update.
This staff report provides a summary of the Housing Element requirements, an overview of the status of the City’s draft Housing Element, and the findings provided to the City by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on the first 90-day review of the draft (see Attachment 3).
The City has responded to HCD’s comments as outlined on the HCD Findings Tracking Sheet (see Attachment 5) and is confident that, as revised, the Housing Element draft substantially complies with state law.
HOUSING ELEMENT REQUIREMENTS
State law requires cities and counties to adopt a general plan containing at least seven elements, including a housing element. The housing element is required to be updated every eight years, following the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) adoption of its RHNA Plan, and its contents are subject to detailed statutory requirements and mandatory review by HCD.
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583, local governments are required to include the below items as components within their Housing Elements, and subsequent updates thereto. Newly required components introduced as part of the 6th Cycle are noted below and discussed in further detail within the “New Requirements for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update” Section below.
1. Housing Needs Assessment. Examine demographic, employment and housing trends and conditions and identify existing and projected housing needs of the community, with attention paid to special housing needs (e.g., large families, persons with disabilities). This section includes the City’s RHNA as determined by ABAG/MTC in partnership with HCD.
2. Evaluation of Past Performance. Review the prior Housing Element to measure progress in implementing policies and programs.
3. Housing Sites Inventory. Identify locations of available sites for housing development or redevelopment to demonstrate there is enough land zoned for housing to meet future need at all income levels. New component of state law: The standards for designating adequate sites were substantially changed for the 6th Cycle, particularly for non-vacant sites, which is further described below.
4. Community Engagement. Implement a robust community engagement program that includes reaching out to individuals and families at all economic levels of the community plus historically underrepresented groups.
5. Constraints Analysis. Analyze and recommend remedies for existing and potential governmental and nongovernmental barriers to housing development.
6. Policies and Programs. Establish policies and programs to be carried out during the 2023-2031 planning period to fulfill the identified housing needs.
7. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). New component of state law: Analyze and address significant disparities in housing needs and access to opportunity by proposing housing goals, objectives, and policies that aid in replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
New Requirements for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update
Pursuant to recent State legislation, the following items are now required as part of the Housing Element Update process:
• Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). Assembly Bill 686 (AB 686, 2018), passed in 2018, created new requirements for jurisdictions to affirmatively further fair housing. According to AB 686, affirmatively furthering fair housing means to take “meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, which overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics” and is Federally mandated by the 1968 Fair Housing Act. The four main goals are to:
o Address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, and
o Replace segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, and
o Transform racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and
o Foster and maintain compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws.
• Public Comment on Draft Revisions. Assembly Bill 215 (AB 215, 2021) requires local governments to make the first draft revision of their housing element update available for public comment for at least 30 days. Further, if any comments are received, a local government must take at least ten additional business days to consider and incorporate public comments into the draft revision before submitting to HCD. HCD must review the draft and report its written findings to the planning agency within 90 days of receiving the first draft submittal for each housing element revision or within 60 days of its receipt for a subsequent draft amendment or adoption. The City complied with these requirements when it first published its draft Housing Element Update on December 22, 2022, made revisions in response to public comments received, and then transmitted the draft Housing Element Update to HCD on February 16, 2023. Prior to each subsequent transmittal to HCD, the City must make the Housing Element Update available for public review for seven days.
• Housing Sites Inventory “No Net Loss Law”. Senate Bill 166 (SB 166, 2017) requires sufficient adequate sites to be available at all times throughout the RHNA planning period to meet a jurisdiction’s remaining unmet housing needs for each income category. To ensure that sufficient capacity exists in the housing element to accommodate the RHNA throughout the planning period, HCD recommends that jurisdictions create a buffer in the housing element inventory of at least 15 to 30 percent more capacity than required. See additional analysis in the “RHNA Buffer” section below in this report.
Housing Needs Assessment
As part of the Housing Element Update process, the City is required to analyze the existing and projected housing needs of the City, including its fair share of RHNA requirements. The City’s analysis of housing needs is required to include an assessment of detailed demographic data including population, age, size, and ethnicity; household characteristics; overpayment trends; housing stock conditions; units in need of replacement or rehabilitation; and needs of special needs populations including the elderly, persons with disabilities, unhoused persons, extremely low-income households, and farmworkers.
Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)
The RHNA is the State-required process that seeks to ensure cities and counties are planning to accommodate their fair share of housing for all economic segments of the community. The process is split into three steps:
1. Regional Determination: HCD provides each region a Regional Determination of housing need. The City of Napa is within the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) which has a Regional Determination of 441,176 units for the 6th Cycle RHNA (2023-2031), of which 2,669 units are required to be accommodated in the City of Napa pursuant to the process described below.
2. RHNA Methodology: ABAG develops a RHNA methodology for allocating the Regional Determination to each City and County within the region. More information regarding ABAG’s RHNA methodology may be found on ABAG’s website (link <https://abag.ca.gov/our-work/housing/rhna-regional-housing-needs-allocation>).
3. Housing Element Updates: Each City and County must adopt a Housing Element that demonstrates how the jurisdiction can accommodate its assigned RHNA through its zoning and other land use policy determinations.
The City of Napa’s share of the regional housing need was determined by a methodology prepared by ABAG as part of the Regional Housing Needs Plan adopted in December 2021. In accordance with ABAG’s Regional Housing Needs Plan, the City of Napa must plan to accommodate a total of 1,939 housing units between June 30, 2022, and December 15, 2030.
In addition, the City previously entered into an agreement with the County of Napa to take on 80 percent of County’s RHNA units (730 units) to facilitate the annexation of the 154-acre Napa Pipe site to the City of Napa. Therefore, as illustrated in Table 1 below, the City’s total effective RHNA for the 2023-2031 planning period across each income category is 2,669 units.
TABLE 1
RHNA Obligation
|
Income Category |
City RHNA |
County Transfer |
Total City RHNA |
% of Total |
|
Extremely Low & Very Low |
504 |
266 |
770 |
29% |
|
Low-Income |
291 |
153 |
444 |
17% |
|
Moderate-Income |
319 |
86 |
405 |
15% |
|
Above Moderate |
825 |
225 |
1,050 |
39% |
|
Total |
1,939 |
730 |
2,669 |
|
Income Categories
The income categories are evaluated annually and calculated as a percentage of Area Median Income (AMI) as outlined in the table below. According to HCD, the AMI for a for a four-person household in Napa County was $119,400 in 2022. Table 3-2 on page 24 of the Draft Housing Element has a complete table of income limits and household size for reference, also shown below in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Income Limits
|
|
Persons per Household |
|
Income Categories |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
Area Median Income (AMI) |
$83,600 |
$95,500 |
$107,450 |
$119,400 |
$128,950 |
|
Extremely Low (<30% AMI) |
$26,500 |
$30,300 |
$34,100 |
$37,850 |
$40,900 |
|
Very Low (31-50% AMI) |
$44,150 |
$50,450 |
$56,750 |
$63,050 |
$68,100 |
|
Low (51-80% AMI) |
$70,550 |
$80,600 |
$90,700 |
$100,750 |
$108,850 |
|
Moderate (81-120% AMI) |
$100,300 |
$114,650 |
$128,950 |
$143,300 |
$154,750 |
RHNA Buffer
New “no net loss” provisions of Government Code Section 65863 require the City to ensure an adequate supply of land resources to be made available for housing development throughout the duration of the 2023-2031 planning period. This means if housing sites identified within the City’s 6th Cycle housing element update are developed with non-residential uses, lower residential densities, or residential uses at affordability levels higher than anticipated by the Housing Element, the City’s Housing Element could be determined to be out of compliance. Accordingly, the City’s RHNA requirement is further buffered with 848 units to ensure compliance with “no net loss” provisions. This total unit capacity equates to a surplus of 10 to 64 percent by income category and a total surplus of 31.8 percent compared to the RHNA.
Housing Resources & Sites Inventory
As part of the 6th Cycle housing element update, the City is also required to identify resources available to the City for the preservation, rehabilitation, and production of housing throughout the community. This includes programmatic and financial resources, such as those offered locally or through State or Federal partners. These resources also include land resources within the City that were identified as eligible for accommodation of the City’s RHNA Requirements. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583(a)(3), the Housing Element contains an inventory of land suitable for residential development including vacant sites that can be developed for housing within the planning period and non-vacant (i.e. underutilized) sites having potential for redevelopment. State law also requires an analysis of the relationship of zoning and public facilities and services to these sites.
The City’s Housing Sites Inventory is described in greater detail - including a summary of how sites were determined - in Section IV of this report (below) and fully detailed in Appendix B of the Housing Element.
HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE - BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS
Housing Element Organization
The Housing Element and associated appendices have been prepared to satisfy the requirements of State Law and are organized as follows:
1. Section 1 - Introduction provides an overview of the Housing Element, State requirements, and a summary of the organization of the Housing Element.
2. Section 2 - Community Engagement describes the City’s efforts to engage all segments of the community during the preparation of the Housing Element, including the numerous individuals, organizations, and agencies with which the City consulted, and the methods of community outreach.
3. Section 3 - Summary of Land Available for Housing presents a summary of the City’s RHNA and the inventory of sites within Napa City Limits that are suitable for residential development during the planning period.
4. Section 4 - Goals and Policies contains the City’s housing goals and policies that provide direction to help the City meet its housing goals. The Housing Element includes eight (8) goals that create the framework for how the City will address housing needs.
5. Section 5 - Implementation contains implementation programs that the City and its partner agencies are committed to implementing over the planning period. A summary of the City’s quantified objectives for housing development, rehabilitation, and conservation is also included.
The following appendices contain important information and analysis to inform and support the Housing Element. They provide the foundation for the goals, policies, and implementation programs.
A. Community Profile describes the characteristics of Napa’s population and housing that are essential to understanding the City’s housing needs, including population and household characteristics, income and employment, housing costs and affordability, special housing needs, and at-risk housing.
B. Land Inventory details the inventory of sites within the City that are suitable for residential development during the planning period. It includes a description of the City’s RHNA, number of residential units in the pipeline of approved projects, and an analysis of capacity on vacant and underutilized sites where housing is an allowed use.
C. Fair Housing Assessment provides an assessment of fair housing practices in Napa, an analysis of the relationship between available sites and areas of high or low opportunity in the City, and a summary of strategies to affirmatively further fair housing.
D. Housing Program Resources presents information on staff resources and funding available to support City housing programs.
E. Constraints identifies nongovernmental and governmental constraints that inhibit the development, maintenance, or improvement of housing.
F. Opportunities for Energy Conservation summarizes the ways the City is currently addressing the conservation of energy resources as part of larger climate action and adaptation planning processes.
G. Evaluation of Past Housing Element summarizes the City’s achievements in implementing programs under the 5th Cycle (2015-2023 Housing Element)
H. Public Engagement Summary includes the compilation of community input and feedback received during various meetings and engagement events.
I. Glossary and References provides terminology and acronym definitions.
J. Comment Tracking provides detailed tracking of public and stakeholder comments on the Housing Element.
K. Zoning Ordinance Diagnostic Report provides a comprehensive analysis and guide for updating the City’s zoning regulations to align them with the 2040 General Plan, updated Housing Element, and state housing law, while recommending strategies to resolve inconsistencies and enhance usability.
Summary of Community Engagement
The Housing Element has been prepared with extensive community input and a robust public participation plan to ensure a wide range of input and feedback was received on key components. Throughout the development of the Housing Element, the City fostered a transparent and participatory process that has resulted in a plan that is informed and reflects input received at each major phase of the process.
The full community engagement process is detailed in the Background and Policy Chapter of the Housing Element and is summarized below.
• Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing - This analysis (AI) was completed in January 2020 and included the 2019 Fair Housing Survey, two Fair Housing Forums (English & Spanish), and a public review meeting. The data, analysis, and community input from the AI was used to aid in the development of the Housing Element fair housing assessment and the policies and implementation programs.
• General Plan Update - Prior to the initiation of the Housing Element Update, the City also embarked on a four-year, comprehensive update to the General Plan, which resulted in the City’s adoption of the City of Napa 2040 General Plan in October 2022. The General Plan Update included a robust community outreach component and housing issues were at the forefront of the Update process.
• Online Content - The Housing Element project website, www.NapaHousingElement.com <http://www.napahousingelement.com/>, provides information on the Housing Element including background information, project overview, news & events, FAQs, resources and access to the Balancing Act application.
• Balancing Act - Balancing Act is an online simulation that allows users to provide input on where they would like to see new housing in the City.
• Housing Week - The City hosted in-person public outreach events in July 2022 including: tabling sessions at the Napa Farmer’s Market, Focus Groups with representatives from the City’s Latinx Community, working sessions with housing collaborators, and informal presentations to area community groups.
Sites Analysis
Appendix B of the Draft Housing Element presents an inventory of sites within Napa City Limits that are suitable for residential development during the planning period. The Housing Element is required to identify and describe land available for residential development to meet the City’s RHNA for the planning period. The City plans to accommodate the RHNA using a combination of:
• Sites with planned and approved residential development (“Pipeline”);
• Vacant sites;
• Underutilized sites with buildout capacity as defined in the 2040 Napa General Plan; and
• Projected ADU construction based on production history.
The analysis presented demonstrates there is an adequate supply of suitable land to accommodate the City’s RHNA of 2,669 units, including housing at all income levels. The analysis is described fully in Appendix B and summarized in Table 3 below.
Note: Sites identified in the Site Inventory are only used to reflect a realistic capacity to meet the RHNA during the planning period. Sites not identified in the Site Inventory are fully eligible to develop and contribute to meeting the City’s RHNA obligations.
TABLE 3
RHNA and Income Level
|
|
Lower Income |
Moderate Income |
Above Moderate |
Total Units |
|
RHNA |
1,214 |
405 |
1,050 |
2,669 |
|
“Pipeline” |
337 |
135 |
1,412 |
1,884 |
|
Vacant Sites |
579 |
74 |
147 |
800 |
|
Underutilized Sites |
202 |
137 |
128 |
467 |
|
ADU Projection |
220 |
110 |
36 |
366 |
|
Total Capacity |
1,338 |
456 |
1,723 |
3,517 |
|
Surplus (+) |
+124 |
+51 |
+673 |
+848 |
|
Surplus (%) |
10.2% |
12.6% |
64.1% |
31.8% |
Timeline
The Draft Housing Element was released for public review on December 22, 2022, which began a 30-day Public Review period. Upon completion of the 30-day Public Review period, the City considered Public Comments received and made necessary revisions to the Draft Housing Element prior to submitting the Draft Housing Element to HCD for review on February 16, 2023. The City received formal comments back from HCD on May 17, 2023 (see Attachment 3 - HCD Initial Findings Letter). In order to efficiently address the comments received, the City met with representatives of HCD on June 2, 2023 and July 20, 2023. Additional informal comments were received from HCD on August 7, 2023.
A redline version of the Housing Element showing the revisions that have been made to address HCD’s comments was published to the project website on August 11, 2023. A subsequent draft (Revision No. 5, September 15) of the Housing Element, incorporating changes requested by HCD and recommended by the Planning Commission was formally resubmitted to HCD on Friday, September 15. Due to staffing changes at HCD, the City is now working with the reviewing supervisor who had some additional comments on the draft submitted. The City met with HCD on September 28, 2023 to address specific comments regarding analysis of Extremely Low-Income households, Farmworker Housing needs unique to Napa County, and fine-tuning of other programmatic items. The current draft of the Housing Element (Revision 6, October 6) incorporates these changes as recommended by HCD.
While staff is presenting the City’s Housing Element for review and adoption to the City Council prior to HCD’s certification, staff does not anticipate that HCD will request any major modifications to the Housing Element. However, if additional modifications to the Housing Element are required following HCD’s review, staff will prepare an amended version of the Housing Element for City Council’s review and adoption.
Responses to HCD Comments
As noted above, City staff has been engaged with HCD to ensure that the City’s proposed revisions to the draft Housing Element Update sufficiently address the issues identified in HCD’s written findings. The HCD Findings Tracking Sheet (see Attachment 5) contains specific responses to HCD’s comments and identifies the sections of the Housing Element Update that have been revised to address HCD’s comments. Summaries of key changes to the Housing Element that the City has made since its February 2023 submittal to HCD are provided below.
HCD Comment: Accessory Dwelling Units (Comment No. 13) - The element projects 366 ADUs to be constructed over the planning period, averaging approximately 46 units per year. This projection was based on annual permit data from 2018-2021.
However, Annual Progress Reports submitted by the City indicated building permit figures of 20, 34, 45, and 60 for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. The element should reconcile these figures and adjust assumptions as appropriate.
City Response: To complete the housing sites inventory analysis, clarification was added that ADU projection is based on the adoption of loosened regulations in 2019, allowing the City to use permit numbers from 2019 to 2021 as the baseline average, consistent with accepted projection methodology. (Appendix B, Section B.4, pg. B-37)
HCD Comment: Land Use Controls (Comment No. 24) - While the element lists some development standards for each zone, it should also list lot coverage requirements for each zone. In addition, the element should independently and cumulatively evaluate the impact of development standards on housing supply (number of units), cost, feasibility, and ability to achieve maximum densities. For example, the analysis should address the combination of floor area ratios, setbacks, heights, lot coverage, and other bulk standards for impacts on achieving maximum densities. The element may utilize input from the development community and past projects to address these requirements.
City Response: Added lot coverage to Table E-3: Summary of Development Standards. Additional narrative has been added under Section E.1.1.1.2.1 regarding cumulative impacts of development standards (pg. E-13), including discussion of recent trends seen in Napa to develop sites at the maximum density, use density bonuses, and add units to ongoing projects where GP updates have increased the maximum density. A list of Pipeline Projects developing at or above the maximum density allowed is also provided in this section as evidence of recent trends.
HCD Follow-Up Comment: Needs stronger analysis… would be helpful to include table with sample project(s) over prior planning period and can use trends from pipeline projects. Compare site characteristics between projects (size, zone, density, actual number of units constructed).
City Response: To complete the analysis of potential governmental constraints on housing development, lot coverage was added for all districts where it applies and additional discussion was provided describing the cumulative impacts of the City’s development standards. Discussion includes recent trends seen in Napa to develop sites at the maximum density, use density bonuses, and add units to ongoing projects where recent General Plan updates have increased the maximum density allowed, as evidenced by several current projects developing at or above the maximum density. (Appendix E, Section E.1.1.2.1, pp. E-9 to 10, Table E-3, and pp. E-13 to 14)
HCD Comment: Local Processing and Permit Procedures (Comment No. 25) - While the element includes some information about permit processing procedures and processing times (pp E28-33), it should also describe approval procedures including the number of public hearings, approval findings, and any other relevant information for a typical single-family and multi-family development.
In addition, the element should address public comments on this draft submittal and discuss compliance with the Permit Streamlining Act and intersections with CEQA and timing requirements, including streamlining determinations and add or modify Programs H3-1.2 (Design Standards) and H3-2.2 (Design Review Guidelines) as appropriate.
Finally, the element should discuss whether procedures and provision comply with Senate Bill 9 (SB9) (Chapter 162, Statutes of 2021) which generally, among other provisions, requires ministerial approval of a subdivision of a parcel in a single-family zone into two parcels.
City Response: To complete the analysis of potential governmental constraints on housing development:
Additional details were added about development review procedures and processing times, approval findings, and the City’s Design Guidelines. Program H3-1.2 calls for the Design Guidelines to be updated by 2025 to ensure they are objective, support review outcome certainty, and support the community’s housing needs.
Additional details were added about SB 35, including that the City was only subject to SB 35 starting in 2022 and has not seen any qualifying applications since. It was also clarified that Napa currently complies with SB 9 and Program H202.1 will codify existing procedure.
A new section regarding CEQA requirements was added, including timing, costs, and examples of required environmental review for recent projects.
(Appendix E, Section E.1.3.1, pgs. E-29 to 34; Table E-6 and Section E.1.3.2, pg. E-35; Section E.1.3.3, pg. E-36; and Housing Element, Section 5, pgs. 53 and 62, Programs H2-2.1 and H3-1.2)
HCD Comment: Special Housing Needs (Informal comment, 9/20/23) - Should add actions to address the housing needs of farmworkers.
City Response: We have strengthened the language and actions in Program H2-4.2 related to farmworkers and added more details to the narrative.
(Housing Element (redline) Section 5, pg. 59; and Appendix A (redline) Section A.5.6, pg. A-39)
HOUSING ELEMENT WEBSITE
The Housing Element project website, www.napahousingelement.com <http://www.napahousingelement.com> has served as the documents repository for public outreach throughout the Housing Element Update process. In addition to all previous drafts of the Housing Element, the “Documents <https://napahousingelement.com/documents/>” page of the website contains the following current documents and resources, as required by HCD:
• Current Housing Element Draft (Revision No. 6 - October. 6)
• Current Draft w/Redlines
• HCD Submittal Cover Letter
• HCD Comment Tracking
• Digital Site Inventory
• Initial HCD Findings Letter
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on the Housing Element Update at their September 7, 2023 meeting. After receiving public comments and deliberations, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the Housing Element Update, subject to further evaluation of timelines for policies and programs relating to sustainability. The Commission recommended moving up target dates to the 2025-26 timeframe.
Staff has updated the target date for Program H4-1.1 - Sustainability Standards from 2030 to 2025. The target date for Program H5-1.3 - Affordable Housing Database was moved to 2026 to accommodate staff time to implement Program H4-1.1.
In addition to changes to the above target dates, the Housing Element draft submitted to HCD (and presented to the City Council) includes additional analysis in Appendix K (new Section K.3.6) related to how the City intends to comply with Emergency Shelter requirements in accordance with AB2339.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
Funds for the Housing Element Update were budgeted through the Local Early Action Planning Grants Program (LEAP), approved by City Council in June 2020 and will have no impact on the City of Napa budget or fund balances. The LEAP Grant awarded by the Department of Housing & Community Development was made available for the preparation and adoption of planning documents, process improvements that accelerate housing production, and facilitate compliance in implementing the sixth cycle of the regional housing needs assessment (RHNA). The LEAP Grant awarded to the City is in the amount of $300,000.
CEQA:
To comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000-21189.70.10) (“CEQA”) and its implementing regulations (California Code of Regulations §§ 15000-15387) (the “CEQA Guidelines”), on September 20, 2022, by City Council Resolution R2022-085, the City Council certified that certain Environmental Impact Report for the City of Napa 2040 General Plan (SCH #2021010255) (the “General Plan EIR”), and on October 18, 2022, by City Council Resolution R2022-098, the City Council approved and adopted an Addendum to the General Plan EIR and adopted the City of Napa 2040 General Plan (“2040 General Plan”).
Public Resources Code Section 21083.3 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 allow a streamlined environmental review process for projects that are consistent with the densities established by existing zoning, community plan, or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified (the “Community Plan Exemption”).
To document eligibility for the Community Plan Exemption, the City caused the preparation of a CEQA analysis that includes both a discussion of physical environmental effects associated with each Housing Element policy and program (to the extent any physical effects would occur) and an initial study checklist that compares the Housing Element’s impacts to those impacts that were analyzed in the 2040 General Plan.
The pipeline projects and opportunity sites identified in the Housing Element for housing development are consistent with the 2040 General Plan’s land use and density designations. The potential environmental effects of the Housing Element were adequately analyzed in the 2040 General Plan EIR and, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 20183.3 and Sections 15183 and 15168 of the CEQA Guidelines, no additional environmental review is required for the Housing Element because the Housing Element is consistent with the development density and use characteristics established by the 2040 General Plan and there are no potentially significant environmental effects that (1) are peculiar to the Housing Element, (2) were not analyzed as significant effects in the 2040 General Plan EIR, (3) are potentially significant off-site impacts and cumulative impacts which were not discussed in the 2040 General Plan EIR, or (4) are previously identified significant effects which, as a result of substantial new information which was not known at the time the 2040 General Plan EIR was certified, are determined to have a more severe adverse impact than discussed in the 2040 General Plan EIR. The 2040 General Plan EIR is available for public review here <https://www.cityofnapa.org/259/General-Plan> (https://www.cityofnapa.org/259/General-Plan), and the Housing Element CEQA Analysis is provided as Attachment 4 to this Staff Report.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Draft Resolution with Exhibit “A”
EX A - HCD Initial Findings Letter, May 17, 2023
ATCH 2 - 2023-2031 Housing Element (Revision No. 6 - October 6, 2023)
ATCH 3 - Initial HCD Findings Letter
ATCH 4 - CEQA Analysis
ATCH 5 - HCD Findings Tracking Sheet
NOTIFICATION:
Notice of the scheduled public hearing was published in the Napa Valley Register on September 23, 2023 and October 7, 2023, and provided to people previously requesting notice on the matter at the same time notice was provided to the newspaper for publication.