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Anaheim, CA 92805
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT
DATE: MARCH 28, 2023
FROM: PLANNING AND BUILDING DEPARTMENT AND HOUSING
AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: ANNUAL HOUSING ELEMENT PROGRESS REPORT FOR
THE 2022 REPORTING PERIOD
ATTACHMENTS (Y/N): YES ITEM # 12
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council review the 2022 Annual Housing Element Progress Report (Annual Report) and, by Motion, direct the Planning and Building Director to submit the report to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
DISCUSSION:
The Housing Element is one of the required chapters of the City’s General Plan and addresses present and future housing opportunities for Anaheim residents. State law requires local jurisdictions to update the Housing Element every eight years and to file the Annual Report to HCD and OPR by April 1 of each year. State law also requires the City Council to consider these Annual Reports during a public meeting so that members of the public may provide oral testimony or written comments.
This is the first full reporting year for the sixth cycle Housing Element which began October 15, 2021 and continues until 2029. The Annual Report, which is prepared on forms provided by HCD, identifies the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation and self-stated housing production goals (referred to as the “Quantified Objective”). Although the City’s sixth cycle Housing Element is still in draft form, this annual report is based on the draft policies. The completed Annual Report (Attachment 1), describes the following:
Progress made towards meeting the housing goals, qualified by the total number of permits issued for new housing units during the reporting year, and the total number of housing units entitled and completed (HCD Table A, A2, B and F); and
Status of other action items outlined in the Housing Element’s Implementation Program (HCD Table D).
Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
In addition, HCD requires jurisdictions to provide the following information, as applicable:
A list of sites that the City has identified or rezoned to accommodate any shortfalls from the projected unit yields of the current Housing Element cycle, as required by the “No Net Loss” State law (HCD Table C; N/A for 2022);
A report on development bonuses granted for commercial development in exchange for providing housing, as permitted by the State law (HCD Table E; N/A for 2022); A report on above moderate units converted to moderate income, pursuant to State law HCD Table F2; N/A for 2022)
A report on any sales, leasing, or disposition of sites owned by the City that were included in the Housing Element Sites Inventory (HCD Table G);
An inventory of locally owned or controlled lands declared as surplus lands or identified as excess lands (HCD Table H);
A report on units constructed and applications for lot splits, pursuant to SB9 (HCD Table I; N/A for 2022);
A report on student housing development for lower income students for which a density bonus was granted, pursuant to State law (HCD Table J; N/A 2022); and A report on Local Early Action Planning Grant progress (HCD LEAP Reporting).
RHNA and Quantified Objective
The City’s RHNA allocation represents the number of housing units that the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) estimates will be necessary to accommodate the City’s projected population growth for the 2021-2029 planning period. SCAG allocated a RHNA obligation of 17,453 residential units to Anaheim during the 2021-2029 planning cycle, divided into four income categories as indicated in Table 1 below:
Table 1: 2021-2029 RHNA by Income Categories
Income Category Income Range for a Household of
Four** 2021-2029 RHNA
Very Low-Income
(< 50% of AMI*) < $67,750 3,767
Low-Income
(51% to 80% of AMI) $67,751 – $108,400 2,397
Moderate-Income
(81% to 120% of AMI) $108,401 – $142,900 2,945
Above Moderate-Income
(>120% of AMI) > $142,901 8,344
Total RHNA Allocation 17,453 units
*Orange County’s 2022 Area Median Income (AMI) for a family of four is $119,100. **Updated to reflect 2022 income ranges based on The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data.
Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
In addition to reporting progress made towards meeting Anaheim’s RHNA allocation, this report illustrates the City’s progress towards achieving its Quantified Objective, an important component of the Housing Element. The Quantified Objective represents what the City has determined to be a reasonable number of building permits that the City can anticipate it will issue for housing units during the planning period, when taking into consideration factors such as available funding, infrastructure, and current market conditions. HCD reviews the City’s Quantified Objective as part of its Housing Element certification process.
For the 2022 reporting year (January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022), the City issued 480 building permits for new housing units. Table 2 below provides a breakdown by unit type.
Table 2: Building Permits Issued - By Type
Single-
Family
Single-
Family
Attached
Multi-
Family
Accessory
Dwelling
Unit
Total
Permitted
Units
Total 3 147 162 168 480
Percent of Total 1% 31% 34% 35% 100%
Projects for which building permits were issued in 2022 included:
Miraflores Apartments (DEV2021-00059) – A project of 86 multi-family units for workforce rental housing at a property known as the Matrix site, located at the southwest corner of Midway Drive and Anaheim Boulevard. The project includes 28 extremely-low, 39 very-low, and 18 low income units, along with one manager’s unit, and sets aside eight units for homeless individuals.
Center of Hope (DEV2019-00111) - A project of 72 multi-family units for permanent supportive rental housing at the existing Salvation Army facility located on Lewis Street, south of Ball Road, which will provide long-term housing solutions for individuals exiting chronically homeless conditions. The project will be 100% affordable with rents set at levels that are deemed affordable to persons with incomes that fall within the extremely-low income category.
DEV2018-00112 – A project of 4 multi-family units located at the southeast corner of North Carleton Avenue and Diamond Street.
Avanti Anaheim (DEV2018-00081) – A project of 292 single-family attached units of which 30 are affordable (moderate income) located at the southwest corner of Cerritos Avenue and Anaheim Boulevard. The building permits for the final 16 units were issued in 2022. A-Town: Area H (DEV2018-00034) – A project of 84 single-family attached units located at the northeast corner of Gene Autry Way and Westside Drive in the Platinum Triangle. The building permits for the final 12 units were issued in 2022. Nolin at 39 Commons (DEV2019-00120) – A project of 65 single-family attached units Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
located on the north side of Lincoln Avenue, east of Beach Boulevard. The building permits for the final 60 units were issued in 2022.
Lincoln at Euclid (DEV2019-00037) – A project of 115 single-family attached units located on the north side of Lincoln Avenue, east of Euclid Street. In 2022, building permits for the first 26 units were issued.
Towns at Broadway (DEV2020-00180) – A project of 112 single-family attached units located on the north side of Broadway, west of Brookhurst Street. In 2022, building permits for the first 33 units were issued.
Table 3 below provides the RHNA income categories, respective RHNA allocation, permits issued, and remaining RHNA allocation, along with City’s Quantified Objectives by income category and the progress made towards meeting these objectives. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) were assigned an income category consistent with the methodology utilized in the Housing Element.
Table 3: Building Permits Issued
Income
Category
RHNA
Allocation
for 8-Year
Planning
Period
Quantified
Objective
for 8-Year
Planning
Period
Permits
Issued 2022
(Current
Reporting
Year)
Total
Permits
Issued in
6th Cycle*
Remaining
RHNA
Allocation
Remaining
Quantified
Objective
Very Low-
Income 3,767 754 197 197 3,570 557
Low-
Income 2,397 168 72 72 2,325 96
Moderate-
Income 2,945 8 51 51 2,894 (43)
Above
Moderate-
Income
8,344 7,000 159 206 8,138 6,794
TOTAL 17,453 7,930 480 526 16,927 7,404
* Building permits issued from October 15 through December 31, 2021 were reported in the 2021 Annual Progress Report, but are applied to the 6th Cycle.
Additional Units
The City continues to pursue rehabilitation opportunities to provide affordable housing for extremely-low, very low- and low-income households. The figures provided in Table 3 exclude these units because current State regulations do not provide a mechanism by which these activities can be counted towards meeting RHNA obligations. Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge these types of units as they play a vital role in preserving and increasing affordable Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
housing stock in the City. In 2022, the City rehabilitated 289 income-restricted residential units and extended the affordability for these units to 55 years. These include:
The 112-unit Hermosa Village Phase II Rehabilitation Project located at 1515 South Calle Del Mar extended the term of affordability for 101 very-low and 10 low income units from 38 years to 55 years.
The Housing Authority approved a transfer of ownership for Jonathan Rose Companies and Jamboree Housing Corporation and a minor rehabilitation and extension of the affordability term for the Bel'Age Manor Senior Apartments, a 179-unit senior rental housing project consisting of 59 very-low, 119 low income units, and one manager’s unit.
Additionally, in November 2022, 87 units of interim housing for homeless persons opened at the former Studio 6 Motel at 1251 North Harbor Boulevard.
Housing Policy Program
In addition to housing production targets, the Housing Element includes a Housing Policy Program (HPP) that identifies a variety of policy actions necessary to ensure that the City meets its present and future housing needs. Certain policy actions are ongoing while others are scheduled to begin at varying intervals following Housing Element certification. The Annual Report illustrates the progress towards achieving various policies and programs. The following list highlights key housing accomplishments achieved in 2022:
The City continues its efforts to revitalize the Avon Dakota Neighborhood, involving the acquisition of market-rate apartments for the purposes of rehabilitating and converting them to long term affordable housing. The developer completed the Phase I Rehabilitation project consisting of 16 units in 2013. The Phase II rehabilitation project consisting of 21 extremely low, very low and low-income units was completed in December 2018. The City is currently pursuing additional site acquisition for a future Phase III project and, to date, has acquired 10 properties.
The Anaheim Housing Authority owns a 3.62-acre property located at the southeast corner of Beach Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue. In order to comply with the Surplus Land Act, which requires a 60-day period to solicit competitive offers to sell the property, the Anaheim Housing Authority (AHA) released a Notice of Availability (NOA) on February 1, 2022.
Although AHA was not obligated to sell the property, it was required to enter into at least 90 days of negotiations with developers pursuant to Surplus Land Act Law for potential development of the property with a mixed-use, mixed-income project. The AHA received five competitive proposals for the property and conducted an internal evaluation and selection process, which was completed in December of 2022 and was submitted to HCD for final approval. On February 7, 2023 the AHA received authorization from HCD to allow the AHA to move forward and finalize negotiations with the selected developer. The development will provide a 47-unit senior and transitional age youth housing project consisting of 46 extremely-low income units, a manager’s unit, and 59 homeownership units, including moderate income units.
Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
Staff is preparing an RFP for the property at 212 South Beach Boulevard for the development of an approximately 80-unit workforce family rental housing project that will provide a mix of extremely-low, very-low and low-income units.
On January 25, 2022, the City Council approved a Preliminary Funding Commitment with Linc Housing and America Family Housing to submit an application for Homekey funds to HCD to finance the acquisition and rehabilitation of an existing 119-room motel (Studio 6 Motel Interim Housing Project). The project will include 87 units of interim housing for homeless persons for two to five years and will subsequently be converted into a permanent supportive housing development consisting of 87 extremely-low, 15 very-low and 12 low income units, including two manager's units, for a total of 116 units. The Interim Project was completed and fully occupied in November 2022. Staff is currently working on the next phase of the project involving the conversion of the units to a Permanent Supportive Rental Housing Community.
In 2019, the City opened a 325-bed emergency shelter operated by the Salvation Army located on Lewis Street, south of Ball Road. In 2022, the City continues to average 280 people receiving shelter nightly.
The Housing and Community Development Department currently implements a residential rehabilitation loan program for income-qualified single-family detached, attached and mobile home households to assist with home improvements. The program is administered by Habitat for Humanity, an affordable housing non-profit organization, in partnership with the City. In 2022, three homes, including two mobile homes, were rehabilitated. The Housing and Community Development Department anticipates rehabilitating five homes in 2023. The Housing and Community Development Department continues to administer its Down Payment Assistance Program for low and moderate-income first time homebuyers. The Department committed Down Payment Assistance for 29 of the 292 units at the 100 West Townhomes located at 100-394 West Cerritos Avenue, as well as 6 of the 54 units for the Magnolia Townhomes located at 227 North Magnolia.
The Housing and Community Development Department partners with the Fair Housing Council of Orange County (FHCOC) to provide individual counseling, mediation, and low- cost advocacy with the expressed goal of eliminating housing discrimination and guaranteeing the rights of all people to freely choose the housing for which they qualify in the area they desire. In 2022, 2,364 households were served. The Anaheim Housing Authority administers four federal voucher programs annually based on HUD funding availability. In 2022,
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers – 5,737 leased;
Section 8 Mainstream Housing Program Vouchers – 312 leased; Section 8 Homeless Preference – 94 leased; and
Project Based Voucher Program – 700 leased with 70 committed.
Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
The Anaheim Housing Authority administers federal Emergency Solution Grant (ESG) funds to assist people that are homeless or those who are at-risk of becoming homeless. In 2022, $259,000 in ESG program funds were distributed to local non-profits to support street outreach, homeless prevention, rapid rehousing and emergency shelter activities with 2,567 homeless persons assisted.
The Code Enforcement Division implements the City’s Quality Rental Housing Program (QRHP) to proactively identify substandard conditions on residential and motel properties throughout the City. To date, the QRHP includes over 3,991 properties comprising 47,923 rental units (approximately 40% of all units in the City) in addition to 27 motels. The Planning Services Division, as part of the Code Streamlining and Improvement Program, annually evaluates existing requirements and permitting processes to identify potential changes to increase efficiency, improve service delivery, and respond to the changing regulatory and market demands. The 2022 amendments include changes to implement State density bonus and ADU law updates identified in the Housing Element policy actions.
Additionally, amendments include modifications to the multiple-family zone development standards, provide for caretaker units on office properties, and facilitate completion of Anaheim’s proportional share of the County’s supportive housing units. These proposed amendments will be brought before City Council on March 28, 2023.
Status of Housing Element Update Project
State Law requires the City to update its Housing Element every eight years in order to remain relevant and reflective of the community’s changing housing needs. As California entered its sixth cycle (covering a period between 2021 and 2029), staff began the preparation of an update to the 2014-2021 Housing Element in January 2021 and conducted extensive public outreach activities throughout several months. Such outreach activities included workshops with City Council, Planning Commission, and Housing and Community Development Commission, three Community Workshops, and seven Housing Element Update Committee (HEUC) meetings, all of which were open to the public; an on-line community survey; and e-mail and social media blasts.
In August 2021, the City released the draft 2021-2029 Housing Element (Draft Document) for public review, and subsequently updated the Draft Document to include minor clarifications and revisions, along with new strategies identified by the Housing Affordability Working Group. At its October 5, 2021 meeting, the City Council reviewed the Draft Document and directed the Planning and Building Director to submit the Draft Document to HCD. Staff submitted the Draft Document to HCD on October 15, 2021.
On December 14, 2021, HCD issued a comment letter after completing its review of the City’s Draft Document. In summary, HCD requested that the City provide additional analysis and data on certain topic areas to meet the requisite analysis required by State law, review the City’s existing regulations on certain land uses to ensure compliance with the State law, provide additional information on pipeline projects and candidate sites to further substantiate their suitability, and update some of the proposed housing programs to demonstrate stronger Annual Housing Element Progress Report
March 28, 2023
commitment. Staff and the City’s consultant revised the Draft Document, and, on June 21, 2022, the City Council voted to approve its transmittal to HCD.
On June 24, 2022, the revised Draft Document was sent to HCD. HCD sent the City a comment letter on August 23, 2022. City Staff and consultant are revising the Draft Document to address HCD’s comments and expect to resubmit the revised version to HCD in early 2023. Staff is hopeful that that the upcoming third HCD review will provide resolution of outstanding items.
Other Related Projects
In order to obtain certification of the 2021-2029 Housing Element, amendments to the General Plan Land Use Element, the Zoning Code, and the Zoning Map are necessary to reflect potential housing sites and implement Housing Policy Programs. While the Housing Element is a policy document that in of itself would not create a new physical impact on the environment, these changes to the land uses have potential to create an impact on the environment. Therefore, City staff is in the process of preparing a Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) to analyze these changes, as well as a Climate Action Plan, to streamline future environmental review. In addition, City staff is currently preparing an amendment to the Circulation Element of the General Plan and creating a new Environmental Justice Element, pursuant to State law.
To date, the City issued a Notice of Preparation on February 16, 2022 and held an on-line public scoping meeting on March 2, 2022 to solicit comments and suggestions regarding the scope and contents of the PEIR to be prepared. Staff is currently working with the City’s consultant to complete technical analysis required for the preparation of the draft PEIR. Staff anticipates that the draft PEIR will be available for public review in summer 2023.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
Funding for the preparation of the Housing Element Annual Progress Report and associated activities is included in the Planning and Building Department’s FY 2022/23 General Fund Budget and the Housing and Community Development Department’s FY 2022/23 Low and Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund Budgets.
Respectfully submitted, Concurred by,
Ted White Grace Ruiz-Stepter
Planning and Building Director Housing and Community Development Director Attachment:
1. Housing Element Annual Progress Report Form