JUNE 1, 2022
CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP AGENDA
*IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT PUBLIC COMMENTS AND MEETING PARTICIPATION* UPDATED, MAY 27, 2022
Consistent with Contra Costa County Health orders, and in accordance with California Government Code Section 54953(e) concerning teleconference meetings, this City Council meeting will be held exclusively via teleconference, using the Zoom video conferencing system. At this time, public participation will be available exclusively via telephone or teleconference, using the Zoom video conferencing system.
How to View and Participate
The public is invited to participate in the City Council/Planning Commission meeting and offer comments of up to 3 minutes (or as may otherwise be determined by the Council) using any of the following methods:
1. Zoom: www.brentwoodca.gov/vcc or Zoom Webinar ID: 760 1397 0037 Phone Numbers:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 720 707 2699 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or 888 788 0099 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0276 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0282 (Toll Free) or 877 853 5247 (Toll Free)
As the City Council Chamber will not be open to the public, individuals may view and participate in the meeting with this link. During the meeting, each period for public comment will be announced, and participants may use the “Raise Hand” feature on Zoom to request to speak. The meeting host will call on you, by name, and enable your microphone when it is your turn to speak. In order to ensure the orderly administration of the meeting using this method, providing your name is encouraged, but is not required. (If you need instructions on how to use this feature, please contact the City Clerk by noon of the meeting date at [email protected] or 925.516.5182.)
The public may view the meeting via one-way video feed by selecting the video option at the City Council Agendas’ link on the City webpage at www.brentwoodca.gov
2. Telephone
If you wish to comment during the meeting via telephone, you may “raise your hand” virtually on most devices by pressing *3, and you will be called upon when it is your time to speak. After speaking, please press *3 again to remove the “raise your hand” feature. If that feature does not work on your device, please email [email protected] in advance of the meeting where possible. The request must contain in the subject line “Request to Speak – Agenda Item #” and should include name and full phone number that will be used to call in. In order to ensure the orderly administration of the meeting using this method, providing your name is encouraged, but is not required.
3. E-mail
Public comments can also be submitted via e-mail to [email protected]. Any public comments received up until 3:00 p.m. of the meeting date will be:
§ distributed to the Council/Planning Commission via email before the meeting, § posted online for public inspection at https://www.brentwoodca.gov/councilmeetingonline, and
§ later summarized in the meeting minutes.
Public comments received after 3:00 p.m. of the meeting date, but prior to the start of the meeting, will be emailed to the City Council/Planning Commission, posted online within one day following the meeting, and will be summarized in the meeting minutes. The City cannot JUNE 1, 2022
CITY COUNCIL/PLANNING COMMISSION WORKSHOP AGENDA
guarantee that its network, website, and/or the Zoom system will be uninterrupted. In the event of an interruption to the broadcasting of the meeting using the telephone or internet-based options listed above, the City Council will take no further action on items on the agenda until public access to the meeting via either option is restored. To ensure that the City Council/Planning Commission receives your comments prior to taking action, you are strongly encouraged to submit them in advance of the meeting by 3:00 p.m.
As e-mails containing public meeting comments are part of the official record, note that personal contact information may be published if it is included with your e-mail.
The Closed Captioning provided via Zoom is auto generated. It is not the official record and is provided as a convenience
Pursuant to Section 54956 of the California Government Code, a special joint meeting for a workshop of the
City Council and the Planning Commission
is hereby called for:
5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Immediately following the staff presentation,
public comment will be taken.
WORKSHOP
1. Call to Order/Roll Call: A Workshop of the City Council and Planning Commission
2. Update and discussion of the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update, Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) sites strategies, and implications of new State legislation on the City’s policies and programs (Alexis Morris/Jennifer Hagen)
3. Adjournment
Any disclosable public records related to an agenda item for the open session of this meeting distributed to all or a majority of the City Council/Planning Commission less than 72 hours before this meeting will also made available for review on the City’s website at www.brentwoodca.gov/councilmeetingonline.
NOTICE
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you are a person with a disability and you need disability-related modifications or accommodations to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk's Office at (925) 516-5440 or fax (925) 516-5441. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. {28 CFR
35.102-35, 104 ADA Title II}
POSTING STATEMENT
On May 27, 2022, a true and correct copy of this agenda was posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board, outside City Hall, 150 City Park Way, Brentwood, CA 94513 and at our website www.brentwoodca.gov A complete packet of information is available for public review at City Hall or on our website at www.brentwoodca.gov
JOINT WORKSHOP AGENDA ITEM NO. 2
Meeting Date: June 1, 2022
Subject Title: Update and discussion of the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update, Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) sites strategies, and implications of new State legislation on the City’s policies and programs.
Prepared By: Ines Galmiche, Kimley Horn
Jennifer Hagen, Senior Planner
Submitted By: Alexis Morris, Community Development Director Erik Nolthenius, Planning Manager
PURPOSE AND RECOMMENDATION
This workshop includes an update and summary of RHNA and the sites strategies being used to identify sites to accommodate the City’s “fair share,” as well as a brief summary of key changes in Housing Element Law and possible implications as to City programs. The workshop will include a staff presentation, as well as public comments and City Council/Planning Commission discussion. No direction or action is being requested as part of this workshop.
PREVIOUS ACTION
The City Council authorized execution of an agreement for consulting services with Kimley-Horn to assist with preparation of the 2023-2031 (6th RHNA Cycle) Housing Element Update on October 12, 2021.
On April 14, 2022, staff presented an introduction to the Housing Element Update at a joint City Council/Planning Commission workshop.
BACKGROUND
The Housing Element is part of the City’s General Plan and is a comprehensive statement by the community of its current and future housing needs, including proposed actions to facilitate the provision of housing to meet those needs at all income levels. State law requires periodic updating of the Housing Element; and thus, the element reflects the State’s housing goal of "attaining decent housing and a suitable living environment for every California family," as well as incorporating the unique concerns of the community. The current Housing Element, which was adopted by the City Council and certified by the State in 2015, covers the planning period from 2015 to 2022 (5th Cycle). The next Housing Element Update (the 6th Cycle) must be adopted by January 2023, to address the 2023-2031 planning period.
DISCUSSION
6th Cycle RHNA Process and Status
As part of the update, HCD requires each jurisdiction in the State to demonstrate capacity to meet their local “fair share” of the assigned Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), including total housing units across a series of affordability categories. The RHNA is then determined and assigned through a process led by HCD and regional Councils of Governments (for the Bay Area, this is ABAG/MTC). The City of Brentwood has been allocated 1,522 units at various income levels for the upcoming cycle.
As a key component of the updated Housing Element, the City must document, through a detailed, parcel-specific inventory, that there are sufficient sites available at the time of adoption of the element to accommodate the entirety of its RHNA. The adequacy of the sites inventory will be evaluated by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Although HCD will review the entire inventory, it pays particular attention to sites identified to accommodate the City’s lower-income RHNA, based on criteria intended to show the various sites’ realistic capacity to develop residential uses during the eight-year planning period of the Housing Element.
It is important to note that identifying sites to accommodate the RHNA is a planning requirement; it is not a mandate or quota for the City to construct housing units. While the City must report annually on production of housing relative to its RHNA numbers, there are no direct penalties at this time for failing to meet the allocation. That being said, there are more indirect consequences. For example, recent State law has implemented streamlining requirements and reduced local discretion over approval of housing projects, some of which is specifically targeted at jurisdictions whose housing production has fallen short of the RHNA.
Table 1 summarizes the 6th Cycle RHNA for the City of Brentwood. The RHNA is distributed among the following income categories, each of which represent relative affordability to households as a proportion of the Countywide Area Median Income (AMI).
Table 1: RHNA Allocation Breakdown
Income Category Percentage of Area
Median Income
Brentwood RHNA
Extremely Low Income (ELI)* <30% 402 Very Low Income (VLI)* 31-50% Low Income (LI) 51-80% 232
Moderate Income (MI) 81-120% 247
Above-Moderate Income (AMI) >120% 641
Total 1,522 Units
* The RHNA does not split out Extremely-Low and Very-Low Income Units; however, jurisdictions are required to account for both categories in the Housing Element’s Quantified Needs Assessment, typically assuming an even split between units in each income category.
Analysis of Existing/Baseline Zoning Capacity
In order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the City’s existing zoning capacity, staff has identified the following components to address the City’s 6th Cycle RHNA, discussed in further detail below.
· Existing Residential Zoning - This includes parcels zoned for residential uses with capacity to add new housing units within the City’s single-family and multi-family residential zoning districts.
1 · Capacity in existing Specific Plans - This includes parcels within the PA-1 Specific Plan, Brentwood Boulevard Specific Plan, and Downtown Specific Plan that allow for residential uses with capacity to add new housing units. 1 Although all vacant or underutilized residential parcels may be included within the inventory, the focus will be on sites that can accommodate the largest number of below market rate housing at the highest densities. Therefore, not all residentially zoned sites will be listed. · Pipeline Projects - The “pipeline” of residential projects already entitled or expected to be entitled in the coming one- to two-year period, including projects under construction but which would not have building permits finaled by June 30, 2022.2 This includes new projects to be approved under the City’s revised Affordable Housing Ordinance. · ADU Production - Other anticipated housing production, including ADU’s. HCD has issued a determination to allow local jurisdictions to “count” ADU production as a component of the sites inventory, based on a formula that considers the average annual number of ADU permits issued in the city over the last three years, multiplied over the Housing Element’s eight-year planning period.3
Together, existing residentially-zoned properties, pipeline projects, and ADUs constitute a baseline of zoned capacity that can accommodate the City’s RHNA. The difference between this number, and the RHNA in each category, represents the “buffer” in each category. Table 2 below summarizes the results of staff’s initial evaluation of existing residential development capacity and the difference between that number and the RHNA.
While changes may still be made before finalizing the baseline number of units and overall capacity, the initial analysis indicates that the City’s existing land use and zoning regulations allow adequate housing development to meet the full RHNA and that the City may thus not need to rezone any parcels. This initial analysis will be confirmed as staff finalizes the sites inventory.
If rezoning is determined to be needed, it is likely to be a small number of parcels.
Table 2: Summary of Preliminary Analysis of RHNA and Sites Strategies Summary of Preliminary Analysis of RHNA and Sites Strategies Very LowIncomeLowIncomeModerateIncome
Above
ModerateIncomeTotal
2023-2031 RHNA
Allocation 402 232 247 641 1,552
RHNA Strategies Under Existing Zoning
Projects Currently in
the Pipeline 17 39 1,481 1,537
PA-1 (Innovation
Center) 498 1,024 429 1,951
Vacant Residential
Land 134 44 835 1,013
Projected ADU
Production 80 41 14 135
Total Unit Potential 729 1,148 2,759 4,636
Buffer 15% 365% 330% 199%
2 The Housing Element 6th RHNA Cycle reporting period technically begins on July 1, 2022, meaning that units for which building permits are finaled (i.e., approved for occupancy) on or after this date, can be included in the 2023-2031 inventory.
3 ABAG has prepared a preliminary ADU Affordability Report, currently under review by HCD, intended as a basis to allocate ADU production into the various RHNA affordability categories. If HCD accepts the report’s analysis, ADU’s would be permitted to be counted at the following income levels: 30% Very Low Income, 30% Low Income, 30% Moderate Income, 10% Above Moderate Income. The inventory assumes this allocation, but it may need to be adjusted based on HCD’s direction.
Policies and Program Considerations and Implications of New State Law As part of the Housing Element Update, staff will provide an evaluation and review of the existing policies and programs, which will provide the implementation status of the current Housing Element programs. The purpose of this is to evaluate which programs have been successful and should be continued, and which programs have been ineffective and should be eliminated or modified. The evaluation is required by state law and will also include a comprehensive review of existing policies and programs to determine if there are any gaps to be addressed, or programs that could be considered for inclusion in the Housing Element to better meet community housing goals and to verify that all new legislative requirements are being addressed and are integrated into the Housing Element update.
In recent years, the State has adopted a significant amount of new housing-related legislation, which will influence and shape the current Housing Element Update. These include but are not limited to the following:
· Housing Crisis Act (SB 330) - Makes changes to land use and zoning law to encourage housing production, by, among other things, limiting the scope of local review of qualifying housing projects to objective standards only, limiting the number of public hearings for projects, and shortening review timeframes. · Adequate Housing Element Sites (AB 1397) - Strengthens local governments’ obligation to identify a supply of adequate sites available to meet their share of regional housing needs at all income levels, and make those sites available early in the housing element planning period with access to public infrastructure.
· No-Net-Loss (SB 166) - Requires jurisdictions to maintain adequate sites to continuously accommodate its remaining regional housing needs allocation throughout the housing element planning period.
An initial analysis of the existing programs indicate that some modifications or additions to our current goals and policies will be required to reflect changes in State law and provide more specificity in terms of City actions. Modified or new program actions that will need to be addressed in the Housing Element will include the following:
· Facilitation of Accessory Dwelling Unit production and monitoring – New legislation (AB 68, AB 881, SB 13, AB 587, AB 670, AB 671) requires Cities to promote the development of ADUs and establish streamlined approval processes for ADU applications. As future ADU development is proposed as a strategy to accommodate RHNA, the City must establish specific actions to facilitate development over the next eight years.
· Farmworker and Employee Housing – California Health and Safety Code Sections 17021.5 and 17021.6 require agricultural employee housing to be permitted by-right, without a conditional use permit (CUP), in single-family zones for six or fewer persons and in agricultural zones with no more than 12 units or 36 beds. · Senate Bill 35 Streamlining Procedures - Streamlines multifamily housing project approvals, at the request of a developer, in a city that fails to issue building permits for its share of the regional housing need by income category. In an SB 35 City, approval of a qualifying housing development on qualifying site is a ministerial act, without CEQA review or public hearings.
· Safety Element Update and Environmental Justice Policies – SB 1035 requires that the City revise the Safety Element to identify flood hazards and address the risk of fire hazards in certain lands upon each revision of the Housing Element. SB 1000 requires that the City incorporate environmental justice policies within the General Plan. · Density Bonus Ordinance Update – AB 2753 requires local governments to provide determinations to developers regarding the amount of density bonus for which a development is eligible, all reductions in parking requirements for which the applicant is eligible and whether the applicant has provided adequate information for the local government to make a determination regarding any requested incentives, concessions, waivers or reductions in required parking. AB 2372 authorizes cities or counties to grant a developer of an eligible housing development under the State Density Bonus Law a floor area ratio bonus in lieu of a bonus based on dwelling units per acre. Additionally, SB 1227 allows student housing projects where at least 20 percent of the units are affordable for lower income students to receive a 35 percent density bonus, as well as requires the development to provide priority to students experiencing homelessness. · Affirmatively Further Fair Housing – AB 686 requires a public agency to administer its programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing and not take any action that is inconsistent with this obligation. Additionally, an assessment of fair housing practices must now be included in upcoming housing elements.
· Low-Barrier Navigation Center – AB 101 requires local governments to provide “by right,” CEQA-exempt approvals to certain qualifying navigation centers that move persons experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, as well as creates additional incentives for cities to comply with their mandates to plan for sufficient housing under Housing Element law.
NEXT STEPS
As noted, the creation of the sites inventory is an important initial step in the Housing Element process. Following this meeting, staff and the consultant team will continue to develop and refine the analysis of existing sites and solidify the existing capacity that can be used to address our RHNA.
Staff also notes that in addition to working on reviewing the sites inventory and goals and policies, staff and the consultant team are continuing to advance other components of the Housing Element. These include:
· Conclusion and summary of input from the initial on-line community survey. The survey will continue to be posted through Friday, June 10th and staff encourages everyone who wished to participate to please visit https://brentwood.info/housing_element_survey As of Friday May 27th, there have been 459 submissions of the Community Survey. · Completion of the Public Review Draft of the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update that will address all of the mandatory informational requirements and analyses supporting the Housing Element, including findings of the required housing needs assessment; analysis of constraints to housing; and evaluation of existing Housing Element policies and programs. This draft report is anticipated to be published and presented to the City Council and Planning Commission in July ahead of submission to California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
CONCLUSION
Staff is recommending that the City Council and Planning Commission review, discuss, and receive public comments on the Housing Element Update RHNA sites strategies, and implications of new State legislation on the City’s policies and programs. No direction or action is being requested as part of this workshop.