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INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION ON PENDING GRANT-FUNDED PLANNING EFFORTS TO INCREASE HOUSING PRODUCTION
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Planning Commission receive a presentation from City staff on upcoming City initiated efforts to encourage new housing production.
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Background
Due to housing production (supply) not keeping pace with housing demand, the California legislature and Governor have declared the State to be in a housing crisis. To encourage increases in housing production, the State passed a series of bills to allocate funding to jurisdictions. This funding is to be used by jurisdictions for performing planning activities that accelerate housing production and implement process improvements that facilitate housing production. This can include conducting studies, removing governmental constraints (regulations), and creating pro-housing policies to encourage local housing development. From 2019 to the present, the Stockton City Council has authorized Staff to apply and receive roughly 1.9 million dollars in grant funding to conduct housing-related planning and policy development efforts. Due to State requirements, the City has until mid-2023 to submit invoicing for the seven (7) listed efforts to receive reimbursement.
Present Situation
From 2019 to the present, the Stockton City Council authorized Staff to apply and receive funds for the following grants:
• $625,000 for Senate Bill 2 (Building Homes and Jobs Act) Grant Funding from the State. City Council approved October 8, 2019.
• $750,000 for Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grant Funding from the State. City Council approved June 9, 2020.
• $621,150 for Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant Funding from the State but administered by the San Joaquin Council of Governments (COG). City Council approved May 11, 2021.
The following table summarizes seven (7) City initiated efforts that correspond to the approved grant funds and are either underway or soon to be underway.
|
Grant Fund Type |
Effort |
Description |
Fiscal Year |
Scope |
|
SB2 |
Rezones for consistency with General Plan and Code Amendment efforts. |
Reimbursement or payment for City-initiated "Series" Rezones and "Phase" Code Amendments. |
2020-2021; 2021-2022 |
Efforts: public outreach, inter-departmental and public comment, webpage, best practice research, and public hearings. Action: Consultant acquired, and workshops and hearing conducted. Requires Planning Commission recommendation to City Council. |
|
SB2/LEAP |
Development Code Overhaul |
Comprehensive Update to Title 16 of the Stockton Municipal Code (Development Code) |
2021-2022; 2021-2022; 2022-2023 |
Efforts: public outreach, inter-departmental and public comment, best practice research, webpage, and public hearings. Action: Consultant under review now to assist with workshops, analysis, and public hearings. Requires Planning Commission recommendation to City Council. |
|
LEAP |
Housing Strategic Action Plan |
Action Plan to facilitate housing production. |
2021-2022; 2022-2023 |
Efforts: public outreach, inter-departmental and public comment, best practice research, and public hearings. Action: Consultant needs to be acquired to assist with workshops, analysis, and public hearings. Requires Planning Commission recommendation to City Council. |
|
LEAP |
Housing Element Update |
Required per State Law for 2023-2031 period. |
2021-2022; 2022-2023 |
Efforts: public outreach, inter-departmental and public comment, webpage, best practice research, and public hearings. Action: Consultant needs to be acquired to assist with workshops, analysis, and public hearings. Requires Planning Commission recommendation to City Council. |
|
LEAP/REAP |
Objective Standards |
Includes zoning code standards for specific areas and updates to Design Guidelines to expedite reviews. |
2022-2023 |
Efforts: Public outreach, inter-departmental and public comment, best practice research, and public hearings. Action: Consultant needs to be acquired. Final action depends on scope of work. Staff anticipates Planning Commission recommendation to City Council. |
|
REAP |
Permit System Updates |
Updates to the City's permit software to expedite reviews and organize data. |
2022-2023 |
Efforts: Review of the City's current Permit System and possible improvements to software and hardware. Action: Procurement or contract amendment may be needed. May require City Council or City Manager approval for new contracts. |
|
REAP |
Neighborhood Planning |
Area-specific analysis resulting in shovel-ready catalytic areas. |
2022-2023 |
Efforts: Public outreach, inter-departmental and public comment, best practice research, analysis of past growth patterns, and public workshops. Action: Scope and areas need to be defined and consultant needs to be acquired. Final action depends on how each area will be analyzed (i.e., Entitlements, Special Plan, Specific Plan, etc.) |
While the scope of work and budgets are still under review for most of these efforts, Staff would like to inform the Planning Commission on the proposed scope of work before initiating planning efforts scheduled to begin within the current fiscal year budget (2021-2022). These efforts include the City initiated rezones, comprehensive update of Development Code, preparation of Housing Strategic Action Plan, and a Housing Element Update.
Environmental Analysis
This Planning Commission informational presentation on grant-funded housing efforts will not result in action by the Commission or require analysis and is not considered a discretionary "project" under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Public Comment
Staff has not received public comment on this or any of the other Grant funded applications presented before the City Council. Any input received at this informational presentation will be used by Staff to perform further analysis and to develop recommendations for pending City housing efforts.
This staff report was prepared by Matt Diaz, (209) 937-8598; matt.diaz@stocktonca.gov.