PREPARED BY: Elizabeth Tyler DATE OF MEETING: 08/30/22
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING AND PROVIDE COMMENT, DIRECTION AND RECOMMENDATions ON A FIRST DRAFT HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE FOR THE CITY OF SAN PABLO THAT IS SUBJECT TO PUBLIC REVIEW PRIOR TO SUBMITTAL TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR A 90-DAY REVIEW PERIOD. THIS IS A CITY INITIATED PROJECT AND IT APPLIES TO THE ENTIRE SAN PABLO PLANNING AREA
Label
Location: San Pablo Planning Area includes the corporate limits and adjacent unincorporated areas in Rollingwood and Hasford Heights.
APN: All APNs in Planning Area
Zoning: Refer to San Pablo and Contra Costa County zoning maps
CEQA: CEQA review of General Plan Update/Housing Element is underway
Owner: City of San Pablo
Applicant: City of San Pablo
Staff Contact: Elizabeth “Libby” Tyler, Ph.D., FAICP, Community Development Director
Recommendation
Conduct public hearing; provide direction
Body
REQUESTED ACTION
This is a City-initiated request to have the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing and provide comment on a First Draft Housing Element Update for the City of San Pablo, pursuant to the Government Code Sections 65350-65362 and the procedures of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). A public hearing and opportunity to provide comment will also be conducted by the San Pablo City Council at its regular meeting on September 19, 2022. HCD requires that a First Draft Housing Element be available for 30 days of public review, followed by a 10-day period in which to incorporate public comments, prior to the First Draft being submitted to HCD for a 90-day review period. Once HCD has completed its review, the Housing Element will be brought back to the Planning Commission and City Council for further review and adoption in early 2023.
The First Draft Housing Element was made available on the City’s website on August 19, 2022 at <https://www.sanpabloca.gov/2804/General-Plan-Housing-Element-Update>.
Public comments on the First Draft Housing Element may be presented at the Planning Commission hearing and/or submitted to: generalplan@sanpabloca.gov <mailto:generalplan@sanpabloca.gov>.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
Environmental review of the Housing Element pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is underway and will be completed and presented for review and approval prior to the City’s adoption of the Housing Element Update in early 2023, following review by of the First Draft by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
BACKGROUND
The City’s General Plan is a state-required long-range policy document that provides guidance to decision makers regarding the allocation of resources, and the future physical form and character of development for the City. San Pablo’s General Plan was last comprehensively updated in 2011 by the Oakland-based consulting firm of Dyett & Bhatia. The plan has served as a critical policy planning document for the City over the past 10 years, helping to set the stage for subsequent actions such as the Climate Action Plan, San Pablo Avenue Strategic Plan, and Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Updates to the General Plan are currently underway to recognize the community progress that has been made since 2011 and to outline future land use and growth strategies, to ensure consistency with other planning documents and initiatives, and to allow for increased focus in the areas of housing production, reductions to vehicle miles traveled, environmental justice, and updates to land use planning along the Rumrill Boulevard and 23rd Street corridors and other key locations.
The Housing Element is one of several mandatory elements of the General Plan. Under state law, the Housing Element is required to be updated every eight years in accordance with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) eight-year cycle. The RHNA process, in turn, is used to determine how many new homes, and the affordability of those homes, each local government must plan for in its Housing Element. This process is repeated every eight years, and for the current cycle the Bay Area is planning for the period from 2023 to 2031.
The San Pablo Housing Element, was last updated in 2015 with the assistance of the Berkeley-based firm of Baird + Driskell. The due date for certification of the Housing Element update for all Bay Area communities is January 31, 2023. For San Pablo, this Housing Element Update will be focused on updated policy and planned housing development sites to help ensure that the City meets its current and expected RHNA allocation.
It is anticipated that the City will be required to carry over a substantial portion of its current RHNA cycle numbers (i.e., up to 350 units of the previously allocated 449 new housing units) in addition to the 6th cycle allocation of 746 new units to allow for at least 1,096 new housing units by the end of the next RHNA cycle in 2031. The Housing Element identifies appropriate locations and densities for housing development which will work in concert with the land use map changes and subsequent zoning map amendments from the General Plan Update to facilitate the necessary housing production.
San Pablo initiated the General Plan/Housing Element Update process in late 2019/early 2020 by applying for and receiving substantial grant funds from HCD in the form of Senate Bill (SB) funds and Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grants and from ABAG/MTC in the form of Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grants and Priority Development Area (PDA) grants which have been combined with previously allocated general funds to assist the City with completing the General Plan/Housing Element Update as part of a multi-year capital planning project. On March 15, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution 2021-025 accepting the HCD SB2 and LEAP planning grants, waiving the requirement for a competitive proposal process, and authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Dyett & Bhatia for planning services related to the General Plan and Housing Element Updates (copy attached).
Since commencing work on the General Plan/Housing Element Update, the Consulting team along with City staff have completed several milestones, including:
• Completed a Draft Existing Conditions/Key Trends Report
• Prepared draft future land use and housing site maps
• Conducted a review of existing policies
• Prepared a Public Engagement Strategy
• Conducted an on-line and pop-up Community Survey
• Publicized updates in El Portal, on the City website, and social media
• Conducted an Affordable Housing Developer’s Forum (January 20, 2022)
• Completed Draft reports on Housing Needs Assessment and Assessment of Fair Housing
• Completed Housing Site Selection Maps
• Completed a Draft Profile report for the Rumrill Priority Development Area (PDA)
• Completed a Draft Market Conditions & Trends Report for the Rumrill PDA
• Established a Technical Advisory Committee for the Rumrill PDA
Presentations to the Planning Commission on progress on the General Plan/Housing Element Update were made on January 25, 2022 and on July 26, 2022.
HOUSING ELEMENT CONTENTS
The First Draft Housing Element follows the content requirements established by HCD. It includes the following Chapters:
1. Introduction
Description of purpose, relationship to General Plan, public involvement, sources of information, and report organization
2. Community Profile
Location and context, demographics, housing development trends, constraints and barriers
3. Housing Resources
RHNA, Available Sites, Pipeline Projects, Projections, and Fair Housing Assessment
4. Housing Action Plan
Goals for Housing Supply and Choice, Affordability and Housing Security, Equal Access to Housing, Neighborhood Quality, Energy Conservation and Waste Reduction, and Local Government Capacity
Appendices include:
A. Sites Inventory
B. Housing Needs Assessment, including at-risk affordable
C. Constraints Analysis
D. Fair Housing Assessment
E. Fifth Cycle Accomplishments
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission review the attached draft of the First Draft Housing Element, hold a public hearing to receive public comment, provide feedback to staff, and make recommendations to San Pablo City Council regarding the First Draft Housing Element to be considered by the City Council at a public hearing at the September 19, 2022 meeting of the San Pablo City Council prior to staff’s submission of a First Draft Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for its 90-day review.
ATTACHMENTS
A) Planning Area Map
B) City Council Resolution 2021-025
C) Public Hearing Notice
D) First Draft Housing Element (separate document posted online) at:
<https://www.sanpabloca.gov/2804/General-Plan-Housing-Element-Update>.