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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBackground ReportAttachment 1 BACKGROUND REPORT The Housing Element of the General Plan is a state -mandated comprehensive strategy for promoting the production, preservation, and maintenance of affordable housing to meet current and future community housing needs. State housing law has declared that the availability of decent housing and a suitable living environment "is of vital statewide importance" and "a priority of the highest order." The Housing Element was last updated in 2007 and covered a five-year planning period from 2005 through 2009. The current proposed update is required by state housing law to be adopted by April 30, 2013 for an eight -year planning period through April 30, 2021. The Housing Element assesses current and future housing needs and constraints, and it establishes goals, policies, and programs to address these housing needs for the eight -year planning period. The City faces the challenges of high regional housing costs, relatively low household incomes, and of accommodating its share of the regional housing need given the limited availability of undeveloped, vacant land in a highly developed urban setting. The Housing Element consists of the following chapters: • Chapter 1, Introduction — The purpose and content of the Housing Element. • Chapter 2, Community Profile — A profile and analysis of the City's demographics, household characteristics, housing conditions, housing market, and existing and future housing needs for households of all income levels and special groups such as seniors, the disabled, large families, single -parent households, and other special needs groups. The community profile sets the context for the development of housing policy. Chapter 3, Constraints — An analysis of constraints to housing production and maintenance including market, governmental, infrastructure, and environmental factors that can limit the provision of housing in the community. These constraints may result in housing that is not affordable to lower and moderate income households, or may render residential construction economically infeasible for developers. Constraints to housing production especially impact households with low incomes and those with special needs. • Chapter 4, Resources — An assessment of resources available to accommodate and provide housing for al! income levels, including land available for new construction or redevelopment and financial and administrative resources available for housing. One of the more important resources is the supply of potential residential development sites. The Housing Element includes an inventory of vacant and under -developed sites that are suitable for residential development. ▪ Chapter 5, Accomplishments — A review of accomplishments and evaluation of previous Housing Element programs. which include home improvement, rehabilitation, repair, painting, lead hazard control, weatherization, and rental assistance. The programs included the adoption or revision of various policies to be consistent with housing law, including the density bonus ordinance, second unit provisions, transitional and supportive housing, and emergency shelters. Housing production was sufficient to meet the City's share of the regional housing needs. • Chapter 6, Housing Plan — The housing goals, objectives, policies and programs addressing the City's identified housing needs for the eight -year planning period. Many of the previous Housing Element programs are carried over into the housing plan. Several previous programs achieved their objectives and are no longer needed, such as the policies adopted or amended as described in Chapter 5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION The community outreach process for the Housing Element Update has included meetings and consultations with housing partnerships, organizations, and other stakeholders on programs and policies. Public comments were solicited through public workshops, meetings, and presentations, including a public workshop with the Planning Commission on January 14, a presentation to the City Council on January 15, and presentations to the three Neighborhood Councils in January and February. The 2011 strategic plan workshop resulted in a five-year plan that included housing objectives and action plans that helped to set the context for the development of housing policies. Outreach efforts have included the publication and posting of workshop and public hearing notices, media releases, email blasts, and maintaining a dedicated webpage. The Housing Element Update is an amendment to the General Plan, which requires public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council before adoption. RHNA ALLOCATION State housing law requires each city and county to accommodate its share of the regional housing needs, which are the housing units (by household income category) needed to accommodate growth during the planning period. A share of the regional housing needs is allocated to each city and county by each region's metropolitan planning organization. The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) for the San Diego region (county) was prepared by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAL). The Regional Housing Needs Assessment allocated 1,863 housing units to National City. The household income categories for these units are: 465 very !ow income, 353 !ow income, 327 ,moderate income, and 718 above moderate income. SITES INVENTORY The Housing Element includes an inventory of sites with the most likely potential for residential development during the planning period. The inventory includes vacant lands and under- developed sites that were determined to be suitable for residential development based on land use and zoning regulations, development standards, and other factors. The calculated production potential of the inventoried sites was estimated to total 4,359 net dwelling units. Approximately 4,100 units could be produced on sites that allow a density of 30 Page 2 units or more per acre —a sufficient density to allow for the production of housing for low- and moderate -income households. The City's higher density residential and mixed -use development zones provide the greatest potential for the production of affordable housing because economies of scale can be realized to reduce the costs of construction. The recent General Plan and Land Use Code updates increased allowable densities in multi -family residential zones, and also introduced high density mixed -use zones that replaced most of the commercial zones along major corridors. The following table iiiustrates how the City can accommodate its RHNA allocation for all income categories. Since the RHNA allocation is an estimate of needs from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020, units constructed since 2010 may be counted towards meeting the RHNA allocation. Household income (% AMI) RHNA Allocation Constructed Since 2010 Sites Inventory Remaining Need Extremely Low (0-30%) 233 0 4,100 0 Very Low (>30-50%) 232 6 0 Low (>50-80%) 353 23 0 Moderate (>80-120%) 327 0 259 0 Above Moderate (>120%) 718 20 0 Total 1,863 49 4,359 0 PROPOSED GOALS AND POLICIES Chapter 6 of the Housing Element contains the Housing Plan for the eight -year planning period. The Housing Plan includes the housing goals and policies that address the City's housing needs for the planning period. The six goals of the plan remain unchanged from the previous Housing Element as they continue to be relevant to the identified housing needs and provide the appropriate direction for the underlying policies. Most of the policies also remain unchanged with only minor technical revisions. Goal 1: Maintain and enhance the quality of existing residential neighborhoods. Policy 1.1: Promote the practice of effective management in all rental housing projects in order to maintain and improve the quality of the City's rental housing. Policy 1.2: Facilitate property conservation and community enhancement through implementation of Design Guidelines, land use regulations and programs, and State Housing iaw. Policy 1.3: Improve the conditions of existing housing by continuing to provide assistance for housing rehabilitation and home improvement. Goal 2: Conserve the affordability of the existing housing stock. Policy 2.1: Preserve "at -risk" affordable units through monitoring and partnering, working with nonprofits, and exploring funding sources available to preserve the at -risk units. Page 3 Goal 3: Increase the availability and affordability of safe and sanitary housing for all income groups, including providing adequate housing for households with special needs, such as the elderly, person with disabilities, large families, single -parent households, and military personnel. Policy 3.1: Implement existing and new housing assistance programs to meet the City's regional share for working class families. Policy 3.2: Provide housing opportunities for all income levels. Policy 3.3: Participate in regional planning strategies to imp_ rove housing opportunities for military personnel and their families. Promote a higher rate of homeownership in the City for all income levels. Revitalize neighborhoods by partnering with non -profits to acquire, develop, and rehabilitate housing. Support volunteer efforts to assist with housing repairs for special needs households. Policy 3.4: Policy 3.5: Policy 3.6: Goal 4: Provide a sufficient number of housing units and range of housing types to meet the current and projected needs of all economic segments of the community. Policy 4.1: Policy 4.2: Policy 4.3: Policy 4.4: Policy 4.5: Policy 4.6: Policy 4.7: Policy 4.8: Policy 4.9: Policy 4.10: Policy 4.12: Policy 4.13: Promote a full range of housing opportunities. Provide an adequate supply of land zoned for residential development to meet the projected housing need. Promote development that provides the optimum benefit to all neighborhoods. Encourage the production of new housing affordable to all income ranges. Facilitate the development of mixed -use residential projects. Implement the City's adopted Design Guidelines in all residential developments to ensure attractive, functional housing is built for residents of all income levels. Support programs that assist in the production of housing for lower income households. Encourage the development of larger sized rental units to reduce overcrowding. Facilitate urban infill development to promote higher rates of homeownership. Implement flexible, form -based development standards in the Downtown Specific Plan area to encourage residential and mixed -use developments. Support flexible development standards to facilitate the development of quality housing and improve the character of neighborhoods. Monitor the Housing Element to ensure goals and objectives are met. Facilitate the development of affordable housing through the Housing Authority of the City of National City (Housing Authority) and the Page 4 Policy 4.14: Policy 4.15: Successor Agency to the Community Development Commission as the National City Redevelopment Agency (Successor Agency). Encourage opportunities for fulfilling some of National City's affordable housing goals in the Westside (Old Town) Specific Plan Area. Emphasize developing affordable housing for families, and direct funding for affordable housing proportionate to the needs of the community. Goal 5: The City shall promote and implement fair housing practices and equal access to housing opportunities for all income levels. Policy 5.1: Policy 5.2: Policy 5.3: Policy 5.4: Support fair housing programs. Implement the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME (i.e. Home Investment Partnership Program) programs for fair housing. Inform the community of fair housing for low income properties. Promote available City, state, and federal housing programs through outreach programs to the development community. Goal 6: Enhance housing affordability through energy conservation techniques and design. Policy 6.1: Use the planning and development review processes to facilitate energy conservation. Policy 6.2: Encourage solar access for new residential development. Policy 6.3: Promote the use of operable windows, appropriate architectural element (e.g., overhangs, awnings and trellises) and energy efficient appliances where feasible. Policy 6.4: Promote the use of energy efficient green building techniques that will reduce the effects of global warming. PROPOSED PROGRAMS The Housing Plan for the eight -year planning period includes the housing programs that will implement the goals and policies that address the City's housing needs for the planning period. Many of the programs are carried over from the previous Housing Element, including rental and owner rehabilitation, code enforcement and housing inspection, at -risk monitoring, rental assistance (Section 8), new construction assistance, community housing development organizations (CHDO) funding, and fair housing programs. Some programs such as lead hazard control and weatherization have been combined into other programs or are implemented by other organizations. Several previous programs achieved their objectives and are no longer needed, such as the policies adopted or amended to be consistent with housing law, including the density bonus ordinance, second unit provisions, transitional and supportive housing regulations, and zoning for emergency shelters. One new program aliows the establishment of community land trusts to preserve the long-term availability of land for affordable housing. Page 5 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW An Environmental Impact Report (SCH No. 2010051009) was prepared for the Comprehensive Land Use Update (General Phan Update, Land Use Code Update, et al) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), The Final EIR was certified by the City Council on June 7, 2011. The Housing Element Update is consistent with policies of the adopted General Plan and Land Use Code. The Housing Element is a policy level document with no specific project funding, proposal, or commitment. The Element identifies the potential residential development that could occur during the planning cycle based on the land use regulations and development standards of the General Plan and Land Use Code. The potential development identified in the residential sites inventory merely reflects the residential growth and development envisioned in the General Plan and implemented by the Land Use Code. Consequently, no new projects or land use policies are proposed that are not contained in the General Plan or Land Use Code for which the EIR was prepared. Therefore, the certified EIR has adequately addressed the environmental and physical impacts that could occur with the adoption of the Housing Element as a part of the General Plan. Moreover, the Housing Element does not result in any effects on the environment that were not fully examined in the EIR and does not contain policies that could result in environmental impacts that were not otherwise addressed by the EIR. Page 6