To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vincent Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Michael Walker, Senior Planner
TITLE:
Title
Housing Element Update Introduction
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Receive a report on the Housing Element Update process.
Body
DISCUSSION:
State law requires cities and counties to adopt a general plan containing at least seven elements, including a housing element. Unlike other mandatory general plan elements, the housing element is required to be updated every eight years, corresponding with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), and are subject to detailed statutory requirements and mandatory review by the Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD). Housing elements for Bay Area jurisdictions must be updated by January 31, 2023 and must:
• Provide goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs to preserve, improve, and develop housing;
• Identify and analyze existing and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community;
• Identify adequate sites that will be zoned and available within the eight year housing cycle to meet the City’s fair share of regional housing needs at all income levels;
• Be submitted to the Department of Housing & Community Development for review and certification that the housing element is in compliance with state law; and
• Be internally consistent with other parts of the General Plan.
In December 2021 the City Council approved a contract for consultant services with Dynamic Planning + Science. Since that time, the Consultant Team and City Staff have begun the background word needed to initiate the Housing Element Update process including the Project Kickoff, Evaluation of the existing Housing Element, and other pertinent document review.
As the City prepares to launch the Community Engagement portion of the Housing Element Update, the Consultant Team will provide City Council an overview of the process, including:
• How the increased RHNA Housing Allocation makes this planning cycle so important;
• How the soon-to-be completed General Plan serves as a catalyst to plan housing in opportunity areas identified on the Land Use Plan; and
• Upcoming Outreach Events, including the Balancing Act online engagement tool, Open Houses, and Pop-Up Events and how the City Council can participate
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:
The Community Development Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not a project (pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378) since it does not result in a physical change in the environment. However, the Recommended Action is part of a larger project that will be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA at the earliest feasible time prior to approval consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15004 and 15352. The larger project is the Housing Element Update for which an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration would be prepared for certification prior to adoption of the Housing Element.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None.
NOTIFICATION:
None.