TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
John Jalili, Interim City Manager
FROM:
Richard Thompson, Director of Community Development
Laurie Jester, Planning Manager
Michael Rocque, Assistant Planner
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of the Planning Commission Recommendation to Approve and Adopt the City's General Plan Housing Element for the 2013-2021 Planning Period (Community Development Director Thompson).
a) CONDUCT PUBLIC HEARING
b) ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 14-0005
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council CONDUCT THE PUBLIC HEARING and ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 14-0005 approving the 2013-2021 Housing Element, with a finding that the proposed action is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no direct fiscal impacts as a result of the adoption of the Housing Element.
BACKGROUND:
Last year the City's current 2008-2013 Housing Element was adopted by the City Council and found by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to be in full compliance with State law. The 2013-2021 update is a fine-tuning process with no major changes to City policies and HCD has also found that the draft update is in full compliance with State law.
The Housing Element is one of seven mandated elements that must be included in a city's General Plan in accordance with State law. State law also requires that local governments review and update their Housing Elements periodically. State law requires all jurisdictions in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region to prepare updates for the 2013-2021 planning period. The legislative purpose of a Housing Element is to ensure that cities assist in implementing State-wide housing goals and that local government adequately plan to address the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The law also acknowledges that, in order for the private market to adequately address housing needs and demand, local governments must adopt land use plans and regulations that provide opportunities for, and do not unduly constrain, housing development. The Housing Element also functions as the City's long-range plan for housing.
Housing Element law also requires HCD to review local housing elements for compliance with State law and to report its written findings to the local government prior to and after adoption. The Manhattan Beach Housing Element was submitted to HCD for review and on December 10, 2013 and HCD issued a letter (Attachment 3) finding that the 2013-2021 Housing Element addresses the requirements of State law. Subsequent to adoption the Housing Element must be submitted to HCD for final review and certification.
On October 9, 2013 the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing and adopted Resolution No. 13-12 (Attachment 2) recommending City Council approval of the Housing Element update.
DISCUSSION:
The City's current 2008-2013 Housing Element was adopted by the City Council on January 15, 2013, and was found by the HCD to be in full compliance with state law. The 2013-2021 update is a fine-tuning process with no major changes to City policies. The following discussion summarizes the proposed changes contained in the draft 2013-2021 Housing Element (Attachment 4).
Chapter I: Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the Element and reflects current data sources and a summary of the public participation process.
Chapter II: Housing Needs Assessment
This chapter has been revised to reflect more recent demographic data, trends and special housing needs. Most of the demographic information is based on the 2010 Census or the American Community Survey. This chapter also includes the new Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), which describes housing growth needs for the new planning period.
Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)
Housing Element law requires a quantification of each jurisdiction's share of the region's housing need as established in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). The RHNA is prepared by SCAG in consultation with member jurisdictions and sub-regional councils of governments. The RHNA is based on forecasted population growth during the new planning period, and the number of additional housing units needed to accommodate additional household growth at all income levels. The income categories and affordable housing costs (Attachment 5) are summarized in Table II-16, page II-24 of the Housing Element.
The RHNA allocation for Manhattan Beach during the new planning period (2013-2021) is 38 units, distributed among the following four income categories:
Very Low: 10
Low: 6
Moderate: 7
Above Moderate: 15
It is important to note that the RHNA establishes a planning goal, and cities are not required to build, subsidize or issue permits for the number of housing units allocated by the RHNA. Rather, cities are required to demonstrate there are adequate sites with appropriate zoning available that could accommodate the amount of new housing described in the RHNA, if property owners and developers choose to pursue such development opportunities. Under State law, properties with zoning that allows residential development at a density of at least 30 units/acre are considered suitable for low- and very-low-income housing. As discussed in Chapter III and Appendix B, the City has sufficient land with appropriate zoning to fully accommodate the RHNA allocation at all income levels.
Chapter III: Resources and Opportunities
This chapter describes the City's land resources that are available to accommodate the RHNA, as well as financial and administrative resources, and opportunities to foster energy conservation. Most of the City's future residential development potential exists in the Commercial Downtown (CD), Commercial Local (CL) and Commercial North End (CNE) commercial zones. The inventory of potential development sites in these three zoning districts (summarized in Housing Element Table III-1, page III-1 and Attachment 5 of this report) was determined by HCD to be sufficient to accommodate the needs identified in the RHNA, thereby avoiding the requirement to rezone additional land for high-density housing.
Chapter IV: Constraints
This chapter analyzes the City's plans and regulations that guide housing development. The most noteworthy changes in this Chapter reflect the completion of several state-mandated Code amendments related to housing for persons with special needs that were implementation programs of the 2008-2013 Housing Element.
Chapter V: Housing Plan
This chapter presents the City's goals, policies and programs for the 2013-2021 planning period. The most noteworthy changes in this Chapter reflect the completion of the state-mandated Code amendments related to housing for persons with special needs. Due to time constraints, two programs from the prior Housing Element have not been completed and are recommended to be continued to the new planning period, as described below.
Program 3d: CD and CNE Residential Development Standards
In order to facilitate the provision of smaller units for single persons and seniors, the City will evaluate the feasibility of a Code amendment to eliminate the current requirement for a maximum number of units per lot in mixed-use developments, so long as all other standards are satisfied.
Program 5e: Second Units
State law requires cities to adopt regulations that allow construction of second residential units subject to certain limitations. A Code amendment to establish regulations and procedures for second units will be evaluated.
Appendix A: Evaluation of the 2008-2013 Housing Element
This appendix contains a review of the goals, policies and programs from the previous element and identifies the City's accomplishments as well as changes that are appropriate for the new planning period based on changed circumstances.
Appendix B: Residential Land Inventory
This appendix includes a parcel-specific listing of sites where housing development could occur, and compares the inventory to the City's RHNA allocation. The City has very little vacant land available for new housing, and the CD, CL and CNE commercial zones provide the majority of future capacity for residential development. These sites provide sufficient capacity to accommodate the RHNA allocation at all income levels for the new planning period.
Appendix C: Public Participation Summary
This appendix describes opportunities for public involvement in the 2013-2021 Housing Element update process.
Environmental Review
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), environmental review of the proposed amendments to the Housing Element has been conducted, and it has been determined that the proposed amendment is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3).
Public Notice
A notice of tonight's hearing and availability of the draft Housing Element was published in the Beach Reporter on January 23, 2014. No comments have been received at this time. Project files are available for review at the Community Development Department at City Hall.
CONCLUSION:
The primary purpose of the Housing Element is to identify the City's policies and programs to address the housing needs of persons of all income levels, as well as persons with special housing needs. Most of the policies and programs in the new draft Housing Element represent a continuation of current City policy. Programs related to residential development standards in the CD and CNE zoning districts, and regulations for second units are recommended to be evaluated during this planning period. These programs would involve subsequent public review and hearings regarding potential amendments to the Zoning Code.
Attachments:
1. Draft City Council Resolution No. 14-0005
2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 13-12
3. HCD review letter dated December 10, 2013
4. Draft 2013-2021 Housing Element Update
5. Income categories and Affordable Housing costs, RHNA allocation, and Land Inventory Tables