TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Carrie Tai, AICP, Community Development Director
Nhung Huynh, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Approving the 2019 Annual Progress Report as Required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (Community Development Director Tai).
APPROVE
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council consider and approve the Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) for calendar year 2019, and direct Staff to file the report with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the State of California Office of Planning and Research (OPR). Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action. By filing the reports with HCD and OPR, the City will be in compliance with Government Code Section 65400 and is eligible to apply for housing related grants through HCD.
BACKGROUND:
Government Code Section 65400 requires that every City prepare and submit a Housing Element Annual Progress Report. Prior to filing the report with HCD and OPR by April 1 of each year, the report must be approved by the City Council at a public meeting where members of the public can provide oral testimony and written comments. The State uses the information submitted by the City to identify statewide trends in the land use decision making process, and to determine how local planning and development activities relate to statewide planning goals and policies, and housing needs.
DISCUSSION:
On February 4, 2014, the City Council adopted the current 2013-2021 General Plan Housing Element, which was subsequently certified by the HCD. As previously mentioned, the City is required to submit an Annual Progress Report. As such, Staff has completed the submittal. The Annual Progress Report includes information related to building permits issued and approved for the demolition and construction of new housing, the submittal and approval of planning entitlements, and the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirements.
Each City’s RHNA in the region is established by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), which is based on statewide allocations, and the RHNA prescribes the number of additional housing units that will need to be accommodated at different income levels in the City to accommodate anticipated population growth. The 2014-2021 RHNA obligations, as prepared by SCAG, sets forth the planning period goal of 38 units for Manhattan Beach, as divided into the following four household categories:
Very-Low Income - 10 units
Low Income - 6 units
Moderate Income - 7 units
Above-Moderate Income - 15 units
Between 2014 and 2019, the City issued 419 building permits for new residential construction, all at above-moderate income level. While the City has not issued any permits for new residential construction at extremely-low, very-low, and moderate income levels during this time period, the City continues to encourage and promote the development of affordable housing in order to meet the goals of the City, SCAG, and HCD, as detailed in the certified Housing Element Program, which include, but are not limited to:
• Implementation of the mansionization ordinance and minor exception process which promotes the preservation of smaller legal non-conforming homes.
• Refraining from the approval of lot mergers that would result in a reduction in the number of residences allowed.
• Continuing to facilitate infill development in residential areas.
• Preserving existing affordable senior housing.
• Providing incentives for low-income and senior housing development.
• Encouraging the development of second units (Accessory Dwelling Units) in residential areas.
• Processing and approving requests for Reasonable Accommodations for persons with disabilities.
• Enforcing green building techniques and encouraging water conservation.
In total, the Housing Element includes 12 programs that cover various areas to continue to encourage and promote the development of affordable housing.
In 2021, cities and counties in California will update their Housing Elements for the next cycle. This cycle entails a new methodology developed by California Housing and Community Development and SCAG to determine RHNA numbers for each jurisdiction. Currently, the estimated RHNA number for Manhattan Beach is 791 units. SCAG has established a process for jurisdictions to appeal the methodology (and the resulting RHNA number), which begins in April. Staff is preparing for and intends to submit an appeal.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENT:
1. 2019 Annual Progress Report