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Home My WebLink About9.1 PCSR Update to Hsng Element to GP OF DU��ti 1 M X82 STAFF REPORT PLANNING COMMISSION DATE: May 13, 2014 TO: Planning Commission SUBJECT: Update to the Housing Element of the General Plan (PLPA-2013-00031) Prepared by, Mamie R. Delgado, Senior Planner EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The State of California requires that the City Council adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan for the physical development of the City. The Housing Element is one of seven mandated elements of the General Plan and must address the existing and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community. State law requires that Housing Elements be updated and certified no later than January 31, 2015. The City of Dublin has contracted with Veronica Tam & Associates to assist Staff with the update to the City's Housing Element. The purpose of the meeting is to review the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element and solicit feedback from the Planning Commission and interested parties. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission, 1) Receive Staff's presentation, 2) Receive comments from the public, and 3) Adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council direct Staff to submit the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development for review. recto Submitted By e ' ed By Senior Planner Assistant Community Development Director COPIES TO: File n ITEM NO.: +I' Page 1 of 6 DESCRIPTION: The State of California requires that the City Council adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan for the physical development of the City. The Housing Element is one of seven mandated elements of the General Plan and must address the existing and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community. State law requires that Housing Elements be updated and certified by January 31, 2015. Having a certified Housing Element is not only required by State law but also enables the City to be more competitive for grant funding. Several housing, community development and infrastructure funding programs include housing element compliance as a rating and ranking requirement. The City of Dublin has contracted with Veronica Tam & Associates to assist Staff in updating the City's Housing Element for the 2015-2023 planning period. BACKGROUND: The City's current Housing Element was adopted by the City Council on March 2, 2010 and was subsequently certified by the State of California Department of Housing and Community development on May 12, 2010. The current Housing Element covers the planning period of 2009-2014. Staff and the consultant team have reviewed existing programs; evaluated the amount of land remaining for residential development; and, collected data on housing needs, housing constraints and housing resources. On February 25, 2014, a public meeting was held with the Planning Commission to provide an overview of the Housing Element including the review process with the State Department of Housing and Community Development. A public meeting notice was sent to developers, service providers, housing advocates, human services task force members, current Human Services Commission members and interested parties who requested notification of public meetings related to the Housing Element update. There were no members of the public in attendance at the public meeting. This is the second public meeting on the update to the General Plan Housing Element. The Planning Commission and interested parties are being asked to review the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element (Attachment 1) and provide feedback. The Planning Commission is also being asked to adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council direct Staff to submit the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development for review (Attachment 2). ANALYSIS: Goals and Policies The draft 2015-2023 Housing Element is substantially the same as the 2009-2014 Housing Element. The goals and policies (Attachment 1, page 5) remain the same and address the following: 2of6 46 Ensure that a broad range of housing types are provided to meet the needs of existing and future residents; Alk Encourage and facilitate the development of lower and moderate income housing; 44 Maintain and enhance the quality of residential neighborhoods in Dublin; *# Promote equal opportunity for all residents to reside in housing of their choice, and, +lip Increase energy efficiency and conservation in residential developments. One minor addition to the goals and policies is including persons with developmental disabilities as a special housing needs population within the larger category of persons with disabilities. One minor deletion to the goals and policies is removing Policy B.6 related to the redevelopment of the Arroyo Vista site (now Emerald Vista). This policy is no longer relevant as the project has been completed. All other goals and policies remain substantially the same as the current 2009- 2014 Housing Element. Housing Programs The Housing Programs (Attachment 1, page 8) implement the goals and policies of the Housing Element and are grouped into the following six categories: 46 Housing Conservation We Production of Housing &W Provision of Adequate Housing Sites Removal of Governmental Constraints Promotion of Equal Housing Opportunity Green Building Programs Changes to the Housing Programs include establishing new objectives for the 2015-2023 planning period and removing existing programs which have been completed. Completed programs include redevelopment of the Arroyo Vista site; implementation of the Dublin Transit Center master plan; adoption of a reasonable accommodation procedure; adoption of amendments to the emergency shelter and transitional housing regulations; and, adoption of regulations for supportive housing and single room occupancy units. Appendices The draft 2015-2023 Housing Element also includes a number of appendices. Appendix A includes a summary of public participation in the update process. Appendix B includes a review of accomplishments for the previous 2009-2014 planning period. Appendix C is the technical background report and includes a housing needs assessment; analysis of housing constraints; and, analysis of housing resources. Appendix D is an inventory of vacant and underutilized properties that could contribute to meeting the City's regional housing need obligation. 3 of 6 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) The State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is required by law to determine the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), by income category, for each Council of Governments (COGs) including the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). The RHNA is based on Department of Finance population projections and regional population forecasts used in preparing regional transportation plans. ABAG is required to allocate to each locality within its region a share of housing need totaling the RHNA for each income category. Localities are required to update their housing element to plan to accommodate its entire RHNA share by income category during the specified planning period. Under the current Housing Element, which covers the 2007-2014 planning period, Dublin's share of the RHNA is 3,330 units. Dublin's share of the RHNA for the 2015-2023 planning period has been reduced by 1,045 units and is as follows: Table 1. Dublin's Re ional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) Income Category Number of Units Assumed Densities 2007-2014 2015-2023 Very Low 1,092 796 Min. 22 du/acre Low 661 446 Moderate 653 425 10-21 du/acre Above Moderate/ 924 618 Less than 10 du/acre Market Rate Total 3,330 2,285 In order to meet Dublin's share of housing need, the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element must show that there is an adequate amount of land at appropriate densities to achieve 2,285 housing units by income category (see Table 1 above). State law has established that lower income units are achievable on land designated for 30 dwelling units per acre or more. However, the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element demonstrates that lower income units can also be achieved at 22 dwelling units per acre; moderate income units are considered achievable at 10-21 dwelling units per acre and densities less than 10 dwelling units per acre are considered above moderate/market rate. As of February 2014, seven development projects have been approved, but are not yet under construction, totaling 1,215 units of which 76 are low income and the remaining 1,139 units are above moderate/market rate (see Table 2 below). Additionally, an inventory of vacant residential sites without an approved development project have the potential to provide an additional 965 units of which 448 are at densities considered affordable to moderate income households and 517 are at densities considered affordable to above moderate/market rate households. Between the approved development projects and vacant residential sites, all of Dublin's above moderate/market rate RHNA obligation (618 units) has been satisfied and a small portion of Dublin's lower income RHNA obligation (76 of the 446 units) has been satisfied. The remaining RHNA obligation for very low (796 units), low (370 units) and moderate income (425 units) units is proposed to be satisfied-within the -Downtown Dublin Specific Plan area. Amendments to the Specific Plan are currently proposed that would increase the residential development potential within each of the three Specific Plan Districts and establish minimum development densities of 22 dwelling units per acre within the Retail District and 30 dwelling units to the acre in the Transit Oriented District. The existing development density in the Village 4of6 Parkway District is a maximum of 15 dwelling units per acre and is not proposed to be changed. By increasing the residential development capacity and establishing minimum density thresholds, the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan area can meet the City's remaining RHNA obligation. Table 2. Dublin's RHNA Sites Invento ry Very Low Moderate Above Total Low Moderate RHNA 796 446 425 618 2,285 Approved Pro'ects 0 76 0 1,139 1,215 Vacant Sites 0 0 448 517 965 DDSP TOD 891 0 0 891 Retail 400 0 0 400 Village Pkwy 0 0 200 200 Surplus/Shortfall +125 +23 1 +1,238 1 +1,386 Streamlined Review In December 2012, the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) published their Housing Element Update Guidance to assist local governments with a streamlined update and HCD review. The Update Guidance is designed to create efficiencies and clarity in the housing element update process; reduce the number and scope of housing element submittals per jurisdiction; and, provide for a 60 day review with priority given to jurisdictions utilizing the streamlined review process. The streamlined review process is designed for jurisdictions that have a certified housing element and much of the information from the previous planning period is still current and/or particular conditions and circumstances have not significantly changed since the last update. While the entire Housing Element must still be updated, HCD review will be limited to changes that have occurred since the prior planning period. HCD will not review areas that have not changed since their content continues to be sufficient to meet statutory requirements. Staff will be submitting the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element for the streamlined review process. Next Steps The draft 2015-2023 Housing Element is being presented to the Planning Commission and interested parties for feedback. The Planning Commission is also being asked to adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council direct Staff to submit the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for review. Should the Planning Commission adopt the Resolution, Staff would present the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element to the City Council. If authorized by the City Council, Staff would then initiate the State's streamlined review of the Housing Element. The State would review the draft 2015- 2023 Housing Element and provide comments to Staff within 60 days of receiving the draft document. While the State is reviewing the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element, Staff would begin the environmental review process. Once the State determines that the City's Housing Element is certifiable, Staff would return to the Planning Commission and City Council for formal adoption of the 2015-2023 Housing Element. 5 of 6 NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: A public notice was mailed to developers, stakeholders, service providers and interested persons who have expressed an interest in receiving notices regarding the Housing Element update. The public notice was also published in the Tri-Valley Times and posted at several locations throughout the City. A copy of this Staff Report has been posted to the City's website. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), together with the State guidelines and City environmental regulations require that certain projects be reviewed for environmental impacts and when applicable, environmental documents prepared. Staff is recommending that the review of the draft 2015-2023 Housing Element be found Categorically Exempt from the CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15306, Class 6 (Information Collection). ATTACHMENTS: 1) Draft 2015-2023 Housing Element. 2) Resolution recommending that the City Council direct Staff to submit the Draft 2015-2023 Housing Element to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development for review. 6of6