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APPROVE A MOTION DIRECTING STAFF TO FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR SUBMISSION OF THE DRAFT 2015-2023 HOUSING ELEMENT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve a motion forwarding a recommendation to the City Council to direct staff to submit the “Draft 2015-2023 Housing Element” to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for the required review.
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Summary
Stockton’s Housing Element requires an update in compliance with California law. Government Code Section 66580 mandates that local governments must adequately plan to meet the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is responsible for the review and certification of Housing Element updates. The deadline for Stockton to submit a draft Housing Element to the HCD is December 31, 2015. The Housing Element update must address Stockton’s share of the regional housing need allocation for San Joaquin County, which the San Joaquin Council of Governments has determined to be a total of 11,824 new housing units (or 29%) of the total 40,360 countywide housing unit allocation. A draft Housing Element is proposed for review and comment by the Planning Commission and general public, and contains updates to policies, programs and statistical data, and an assessment of development opportunity sites in Stockton for meeting the regional housing needs allocation.
DISCUSSION
Background
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65302, the Housing Element is one of seven mandated elements of a General Plan. The six other required elements include land use, circulation, open space, conservation, safety and noise. California law mandates that local governments must adequately plan to meet the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community (Government Code § 65580). The Housing Element, unlike other elements of the General Plan, must be periodically updated and submitted to HCD for review and ultimate certification. This certification is to ensure a City or County is making incremental progress towards meeting their existing and projected housing needs, including their share of the regional housing need. Housing Element update cycles have traditionally consisted of a five year planning period. HCD has extended the planning period to eight years for this update, and for future updates thereafter. The deadline for Stockton to submit a draft Housing Element to HCD this cycle is December 31, 2015.
Each Housing Element update process begins with HCD initially allocating a region's share of the statewide housing need to the appropriate regional Council of Governments based on Department of Finance population projections and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans. HCD further breaks down the housing need into four income level types, including very low, low, moderate and above moderate. This division is to ensure there is adequate housing that is affordable for all income levels in the region.
In Stockton's case, the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) receives the housing need from HCD for San Joaquin County. SJCOG is then responsible for preparing a Regional Housing Need Plan (RHNP) that allocates the region’s share of the statewide need to the cities and county within the San Joaquin region. The RHNP is required to promote the following objectives to:
1) Increase the housing supply and the mix of housing types, tenure, and affordability in all cities and counties within the region in an equitable manner;
2) Promote infill development and socioeconomic equity, the protection of environmental and agricultural resources, and the encouragement of efficient development patterns; and
3) Promote an improved intraregional relationship between jobs and housing.
The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is a minimum projection of additional housing units needed to accommodate projected household growth of all income levels. For the 2014 - 2022 planning period, SJCOG received from HCD and allocated 40,360 new housing units countywide. Stockton's new housing unit allocation consists of 11,824 new housing units (or 29%) of the total new housing units countywide. Stockton's breakdown of housing units by annual income type is identified in Table 1 below, based on a formula and the median household income for San Joaquin County being $53,764:
Table 1
|
|
Extremely Low Income ($16,129 & below) |
Very Low Income ($16,130 to $26,882) |
Low Income ($26,883 to $43,011) |
Moderate Income ($43,012 to $64,517) |
Above Moderate Income ($64,518 & above) |
Total RHNA Unit Allocation |
|
Stockton |
1,675 |
1,482 |
2,004 |
2,103 |
4,560 |
11,824 |
Stockton’s Housing Element is to identify opportunity sites for housing development that can adequately accommodate the City's allocation of regional housing needs. Beyond these income-based housing needs, the Housing Element must also address special needs groups such as persons with disabilities, the homeless, and senior households.
The starting point for this update is Stockton's currently certified (by HCD) Housing Element, which was approved by the Planning Commission on March 11, 2010 and subsequently adopted by the City Council on May 28, 2010 (Resolution No. 10-10-0165). Stockton’s existing Housing Element consists of a Background Report and a Policy Document, which is the standard format required by HCD. The Background Report provides for the assessment of housing needs and an inventory of resources and constraints relevant to meeting those needs. It further provides the foundation for the goals, policies, implementation programs and quantified objectives. More specifically, the Background Report includes:
• Analysis of population and employment trends and projections
• Analysis and documentation of household characteristics
• Inventory of land suitable for residential development
• Analysis of potential and actual government housing constraints
• Analysis of potential and actual non-government housing constraints
• Analysis of special housing needs
• Analysis of opportunities for residential energy conservation
• Analysis of at-risk assisted housing developments
• Evaluation of previous housing accomplishments
Stockton’s existing Policy Document (Section 4: Housing in the 2035 General Plan) specifies the goals, policies, implementation programs, and quantifies objectives for the maintenance, improvement and development of housing based on the prior planning period (years 2010-2014). The existing Policy Document contains ten primary goal statements which are:
• Goal HE-1: Ensure the Adequate provision of sites for housing of all types, recognizing the importance of a jobs-to-housing ratio that encourages living and working in our community.
• Goal HE-2: Provide a range of housing types, densities, designs, and meet existing and projected housing needs for all economic segments of Stockton.
• Goal HE-3: Encourage and promote the construction of affordable housing within the City of Stockton.
• Goal HE-4: Enhance opportunities for infill development, including mixed-use, affordable housing, and transit-oriented development within the Downtown and Greater Downtown Areas, along the city's corridors, and within the existing City Limits.
• Goal HE-5: Address and, where feasible, remove governmental constraints to the development, improvement, and maintenance of Stockton's housing stock, and encourage higher-density development.
• Goal HE-6: Conserve and enhance existing housing in Stockton's neighborhoods.
• Goal HE-7: Provide a range of housing opportunities and services for households with special needs, including extremely low-income residents, farmworkers, persons with language barriers, seniors, large households, single mothers, persons with disabilities, persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and homeless persons.
• Goal HE-8: Promote housing opportunities for all residents and support the elimination of discrimination in housing.
• Goal HE-9: Prevent foreclosures, protect affected families, and stabilize neighborhoods impacted by foreclosures.
• Goal HE-10: Promote energy conservation and waste reduction in Stockton's existing and new housing.
Present Situation
Mintier Harnish was contracted to assist City staff with the update of Stockton’s Housing Element. On September 28, 2015, staff and Mintier Harnish hosted a stakeholder meeting with affordable housing developers, interest groups, and social service providers to solicit input on the current housing needs and constraints for building new housing units in Stockton. A separate community workshop was held later in the evening to gather input from the general public, including residents on the current housing needs and constraints with finding available affordable housing that is accessible to persons of all types (i.e. disabled, seniors, etc.). Both meetings were well attended and resulted in a good exchange of information and valuable feedback. Commentary from the meetings was utilized to shape the draft Housing Element and update policies and programs to support housing development.
Staff is recommending the Draft 2015-2023 Housing Element (Attachment A - Draft 2015-2023 Housing Element) to comply with the requirements of state law. The City is seeking comments from the Planning Commission and the general public, as well as the City Council, prior to submitting the Draft Housing Element to HCD for their required review period.
Revisions to the Background Report primarily consist of updating the background statistical data (i.e. population, household characteristics, etc.), accomplishments (i.e. affordable housing and market rate units constructed, housing program funds leveraged, etc.) during the prior planning period (2010-2014), and opportunity sites and potential constraints to address meeting the housing needs in the proposed eight year planning period of 2015-2023.
Textual revisions to the Background Report are intentionally identified in yellow highlight for ease of review and understanding where updates have been made. This format is accepted by HCD under a new streamlined review process, to avoid a lengthy review of the entire Background Report, which can significantly delay HCD's approval. HCD offers this streamlined review process for qualifying jurisdictions, which includes Stockton. In order for Stockton to qualify for the streamlined review, amendments to the zoning ordinance will be necessary to comply with current state housing law, which will be presented to the Planning Commission in a separate meeting in the very near future.
Of particular importance in the updated Background Report, is the identification of opportunity sites where new residential housing units, affordable for all incomes levels can be provided during the next eight years. This includes existing vacant and underutilized sites identified in Section 3: The RHNA and Sites Inventory, and more detailed in Appendix A: Residential Sites Inventory of the Draft 2015 Stockton Housing Element. In summary, the updated information indicates opportunity sites for new housing unit development are available to accommodate the City’s allocation of regional housing needs, and most notably the lower-income units exceed the required allocation by 1,862 units (refer to Table 4-50 in Background Report).
Updates to the Policy Document consist of newly proposed policies based on input received at the stakeholder meeting and public workshop, minor changes to existing policies, and deletion of some policies which were evaluated by staff and Mintier Harnish and considered weak or no longer relevant. The source of any new policies is identified in the draft document to provide a basis for where it was derived.
The draft Housing Element will be submitted to HCD by their required deadline of December 31, 2015, which will initiate a 60-day review period by their department. At the conclusion of their review, HCD will provide comments back to the City for addressing in the document. City staff and its consultant will typically consult with HCD staff to ensure comments are adequately addressed. Subsequently, City staff will bring back a revised draft Housing Element, with supporting environmental review, to the Planning Commission and City Council for adoption through public hearing processes. The adopted Housing Element will then be sent back to HCD for certification.
The City’s consultant, Mintier Harnish will be making a presentation on the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element at the Planning Commission Meeting and staff from the Community Development and Economic Development Departments will be on hand to answer questions and address comments.
Attachment A - Draft 2015-2023 Housing Element