Coachella City Council
September 13, 2023

Item 27.

SECTION 6. Adoption of a Negative Declaration. The City Council hereby adopts the Negative Declaration, Exhibit A, prepared for the Project and finds that the proposed 2021-2029 Housing Element update project has been analyzed in accordance with the statutes and guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act.

SECTION 7. Custodian of Records. The documents and materials that constitute the record of proceedings on which these findings are based are located at Coachella Civic Center. City Clerk is the custodian of the record of proceedings.

SECTION 8. Execution of Resolution. The City of Coachella Mayor shall sign this Resolution and the City Clerk shall attest and certify to the passage and adoption thereof.

Item 27.

PASSED APPROVED and ADOPTED this 13th day of September 2023 by the following vote:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:
___________________________________
Steven A. Hernandez
Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Angela M. Zepeda
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:

Carlos Campos
City Attorney

Item 27.

Resolution No. 2023-61

STATE OF

CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF

RIVERSIDE

CITY OF COACHELLA
)
) ss.
)
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution No. 2023-61 was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Coachella at a regular meeting thereof, held on this 13th day of September 2023 by the following vote of Council:

AYES:

NOES:

ABSENT:

ABSTAIN:
___________________________________
Delia Granados
Deputy City Clerk

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 1 Initial Study/Negative Declaration

INITIAL STUDY/NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Coachella Housing Element Update
Applicant:

City of Coachella
53990 Enterprise Way
Coachella, CA 92236
Lead Agency:

City of Coachella
53990 Enterprise Way
Coachella, CA 92236

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 2 Initial Study/Negative Declaration

CITY OF COACHELLA
CEQA Environmental Checklist & Environmental Assessment

INITIAL STUDY/NEGATIVE DECLARATION
Project Title: Coachella Housing Element Update
Case No. GPA 21-02
Assessor’s Parcel No. All
Lead Agency Name and
Address:

City of Coachella – Planning Division
53990 Enterprise Way
Coachella, CA 92236
Project Location: City-wide
Project Sponsor’s Name and
Address:

City of Coachella 53990 Enterprise Way
Coachella, CA 92236
General Plan Designation(s): All
Zoning: All
Contact Person: Gabriel Perez, Development Services Director City of Coachella
53990 Enterprise Way
Coachella, CA 92236
Phone Number: (760) 398-3502
Date Prepared October, 2022

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 3 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS POTENTIALLY AFFECTED:

The environmental factors checked below would be potentially affected by this project, involving at least one impact that is a "Potentially Significant Impact" as indicated by the checklist on the following pages.

Aesthetics Agriculture and
Forestry Resources Air Quality
Biological Resources Cultural Resources Energy
Geology /Soils Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
Hazards & Hazardous
Materials
Hydrology / Water
Quality
Land Use /
Planning Mineral Resources
Noise Population /
Housing Public Services
Recreation Transportation Tribal Cultural Resources
Utilities/Service
Systems Wildfire Mandatory Findings of Significance

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 4 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
DETERMINATION: (To be completed by the Lead Agency) On the basis of this initial evaluation:

X I find that the proposed project COULD NOT have a significant effect on the environment, and a NEGATIVE DECLARATION will be prepared.

I find that although the proposed project could have a significant effect on the environment there will not be a significant effect in this case because revisions in the project have been made by or agreed to by the project proponent. A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION will be prepared.

I find that the proposed project MAY have a significant effect on the environment, and an ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT is required.

I find that the proposed project MAY have a “potentially significant impact” or “potentially significant unless mitigated” impact on the environment, but at least one effect 1) has been adequately analyzed in an earlier document pursuant to applicable legal standards, and 2) has been addressed by mitigation measures based on the earlier analysis as described on attached sheets. An ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT is required, but it must analyze only the effects that remain to be addressed.

I find that although the proposed project could have a significant effect on the environment, because all potentially significant effects (a) have been analyzed adequately in an earlier EIR or NEGATIVE DECLARATION pursuant to applicable standards, and (b) have been avoided or mitigated pursuant to that earlier EIR or NEGATIVE DECLARATION, including revisions or mitigation measures that are imposed upon the proposed project, nothing further is required.

Gabriel Perez
City of Coachella
Date
Gabriel Perez
10-18-22
Digitally signed by Gabriel Perez
DN: C=US, [email protected], O=City of
Coachella, OU=Planning Division - Development
Services Dept, CN=Gabriel Perez
Date: 2022.10.18 11:38:19-07'00'
rn

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 5 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:
1) A brief explanation is required for all answers except “No Impact” answers that are adequately supported by the information sources a lead agency cites in the parentheses following each question. A “No Impact” answer is adequately supported if the referenced information sources show that the impact simply does not apply to projects like the one involved (e.g., the project falls outside a fault rupture zone). A “No Impact” answer should be explained where it is based on project-specific factors as well as general standards (e.g., the project will not expose sensitive receptors to pollutants, based on a project-specific screening analysis).
2) All answers must take account of the whole action involved, including off-site as well as on-site, cumulative as well as project-level, indirect as well as direct, and construction as well as operational impacts.
3) Once the lead agency has determined that a particular physical impact may occur, then the checklist answers must indicate whether the impact is potentially significant, less than significant with mitigation, or less than significant. “Potentially Significant Impact” is appropriate if there is substantial evidence that an effect may be significant. If there are one or more “Potentially Significant Impact” entries when the determination is made, an EIR is required.
4) “Negative Declaration: Less Than Significant With Mitigation Incorporated” applies where the incorporation of mitigation measures has reduced an effect from “Potentially Significant Impact” to a “Less Than Significant Impact.” The lead agency must describe the mitigation measures, and briefly explain how they reduce the effect to a less than significant level (mitigation measures from “Earlier Analyses,” as described in (5) below, may be cross referenced).
5) Earlier analyses may be used where, pursuant to the tiering, program EIR, or other CEQA process, an effect has been adequately analyzed in an earlier EIR or negative declaration. Section 15063(c)(3)(D). In this case, a brief discussion should identify the following:
a) Earlier Analysis Used. Identify and state where they are available for review. b) Impacts Adequately Addressed. Identify which effects from the above checklist were within the scope of and adequately analyzed in an earlier document pursuant to applicable legal standards, and state whether such effects were addressed by mitigation measures based on the earlier analysis. c) Mitigation Measures. For effects that are "Less than Significant with Mitigation Measures Incorporated," describe the mitigation measures, which were incorporated or refined from the earlier document and the extent to which they address site specific conditions for the project.
6) Lead agencies are encouraged to incorporate into the checklist references to information sources for potential impacts (e.g., general plans, zoning ordinances).

Reference to a previously prepared or outside document should, where appropriate, include a reference to the page or pages where the statement is substantiated. 7) Supporting Information Sources: A source list should be attached, and other sources used or individuals contacted should be cited in the discussion. 8) This is only a suggested form, and lead agencies are free to use different formats; however, lead agencies should normally address the questions from this checklist that are relevant to a project’s environmental effects in whatever format is selected.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 6 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
9) The explanation of each issue should identify:
a) The significance criteria or threshold, if any, used to evaluate each question; and b) The mitigation measure identified, if any, to reduce the impacts to less than significance.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 7 Initial Study/Negative Declaration

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Housing Element is a mandatory Element of the City’s General Plan. It analyzes the City population and existing housing stock, evaluates efforts in the previous Housing Element, identifies housing constraints, and considers the future needs for housing in the City, with a particular focus on affordable housing and housing for special needs households, including seniors, disabled persons, large families, single parent households, farmworkers and the homeless. It also provides the City’s decision makers with Goals, Policies and Programs intended to facilitate the development and preservation of adequate housing supply to meet these needs. This Update addresses the sixth cycle from 2021 to 2029. During this timeframe, the City has been allocated the following housing units under the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) developed by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG):

Table 1
Regional Housing Needs Allocation, 2021 to 2029
Income Category Number Of Units
Extremely low income 516
Very low income 517
Low income 999
Moderate income 1,367
Above moderate income 4,487
Total 7,886
Note that the extremely low and very low income
categories are 50% each of the 1,033 units assigned
for the very low category.

Source: SCAG
This is a comprehensive Update that allocates sites available for the construction of housing for all income levels, provides Goals, Policies and Programs to assure that the City’s housing plan can be implemented, and provides direction for decision-makers and City staff in assuring that the City can facilitate the development of the units allocated in the RHNA. This Update added sites identified for future housing, based on criteria of being currently vacant, allowed for residential use under zoning and/or General Plan designations, not on tribal land, not zoned for agricultural or manufacturing use, and adjacent to existing infrastructure. In order to accommodate the RHNA, policies and programs are included that will require changes in the Zoning Map and Zoning text. The rezoning is necessary to assure consistency with the 2015 General Plan, and to prioritize lower income housing sites identified in the Element.

Other changes in policies and programs address changes in the requirements of law since the City last updated its Housing Element in 2013. These changes in law addressed various housingrelated issues. The most recent update to Housing Element law occurred in 2017, when a series of bills were passed into law to address the statewide housing crisis. For example, AB 686 was passed by California Legislature in 2018 requiring that all housing elements due on or after January 1, 2021 must contain an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) consistent with the core elements of the analysis required by the federal Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule (2015). This Update includes an AFFH analysis that covers, and is built upon, several other required components of the Housing Element, including the Needs Assessment, Site Inventory, and Constraints Assessment. The Update analyzes patterns of segregation and equal access to opportunity within the City, consistent with AFFH Final Rule.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 8 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Current Conditions
The current Housing Element of the City’s 2015 General Plan applies to the 2014-2021 planning period. The current Element facilitates housing development and preservation throughout the City consistent with residential land use designations in the Land Use and Community Character Element and Zoning Code, to meet the RHNA assigned to the City at the time.

Project Location and Limits
The City is in Township 5 South & Township 6 South, Range 7 East, Range 8 East & Range 9 East, San Bernardino Base & Meridian.

Surrounding Land Uses
Not applicable. The Housing Element applies to all lands throughout the City.

Item 27.
,... .., ®
~ ~TERRANOVA PLANNING & RESEARCH, INC.

City of Coachella Housing Element Update
Regional Location Map
Coachella, California
CN
CN
r-.:
,....

C\i
0 Exhibit

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 10 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
I. AESTHETICS
Except as provided in Public
Resources Code Section 21099,
would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Incorporated
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Have a substantial adverse effect
on a scenic vista? X
b) Substantially damage scenic
resources, including, but not limited
to, trees, rock outcroppings, and
historic buildings within a state scenic
highway?
X
c) In non-urbanized areas,
substantially degrade the existing
visual character or quality of public
views of the site and its surroundings?
(Public views are those that are
experienced from publicly accessible
vantage point). If the project is in an
urbanized area, would the project
conflict with applicable zoning and
other regulations governing scenic
quality?
X
d) Create a new source of
substantial light or glare, which would
adversely affect day or nighttime
views in the area?
X
Setting
The City of Coachella is located in the eastern Coachella Valley, which is a low desert basin flanked by the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains to the southwest and west, and the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the north and northeast. Scenic resources in the City mainly consist of mountain views of the Santa Rosa Mountains (up to 8,715 feet at Toro Peak) and Little San Bernardino Mountains (up to 5,267 feet), as well as the open spaces at the base of Mecca Hills.

Views from the valley floor also include several rock outcroppings in the hillside areas to the east.

There are no state designated or eligible scenic highways in the City. Locally recognized scenic corridors include sections of Dillon Road (old Highway 99), Harrison Street (old Highway 86), and Grapefruit Boulevard (old Highway 111).

Discussion of Impacts
a-d) No Impact. The Housing Element Update is a policy document and will have no impact on aesthetics, scenic vistas or light and glare. As individual housing projects are proposed in the future, they will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for potential effects on scenic vistas and scenic resources.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 11 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
The General Plan contains policies to limit development and their density/scale in the eastern City which is near scenic resources including open spaces and scenic roadways. Future projects will be required to adhere to applicable zoning and other regulations on scenic quality including building height limits, and this Update proposes no change to these regulations.

The Housing Element will have no impact on light and glare. The design of future projects consistent with the Element will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for consistency with City lighting standards. The City’s Zoning Code regulates lighting for all new development in Chapter

16.28.150(L) Improvements and Grading, Chapter 17.56.010(J)(2)(e) Signs, and Chapter

17.54.010 (K) Off-Street Parking and Loading. These regulations require shading of outdoor lighting and height limits for light poles. These are designed to limit illumination to only the site on which it occurs.

No impact is expected.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; Coachella Zoning Code; California State Scenic Highway System Map, Caltrans.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 12 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
II. AGRICULTURE RESOURCES
In determining whether impacts to agricultural resources are significant environmental effects, lead agencies may refer to the California Agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment Model (1997) prepared by the California Dept. of Conservation as an optional model to use in assessing impacts on agriculture and farmland.

In determining whether impacts to forest resources, including timberland, are significant environmental effects, lead agencies may refer to information compiled by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection regarding the state’s inventory of forest land, including the Forest and Range Assessment Project and the Forest Legacy Assessment project; and forest carbon measurement methodology provided in Forest Protocols adopted by the California Air Resources Board.

Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Convert Prime Farmland, Unique
Farmland, or Farmland of Statewide
Importance (Farmland), as shown on
the maps prepared pursuant to the
Farmland Mapping and Monitoring
Program of the California Resources
Agency, to non-agricultural use?
X
b) Conflict with existing zoning for
agricultural use, or a Williamson Act
contract?
X
c) Conflict with existing zoning for, or
cause rezoning of, forest land (as
defined in Public Resources Code
section 12220(g)), timberland (as
defined by Public Resources Code
section 4526), or timberland zoned
Timberland Production (as defined
by Government Code section
51104(g))?
X
d) Result in the loss of forest land or
conversion of forest land to nonforest use?
X
e) Involve other changes in the
existing environment which, due to
their location or nature, could result
in conversion of Farmland, to nonagricultural use or conversion of forest land to non-forest use?
X
Setting
Agriculture is integral to the City’s economy, and agricultural land accounts for approximately 29 percent of the General Plan Planning Area, though more than half of the agricultural land is in the Sphere of Influence (SOI). While the General Plan includes a comprehensive agricultural

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 13 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
conservation program with multiple avenues to protect agricultural resources and agricultural operations, buildout of the General Plan would still result in conversion of 5,662 acres of Prime Farmland, 587 acres of Unique Farmland, and 3,613 acres of Farmland of Local Importance to urban uses. The General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) determined that buildout of the General Plan would result in significant and unavoidable impacts on the loss and conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses.

The General Plan Planning Area contains approximately 994 acres of Williamson Act contracted lands, and an additional 1,480 acres under Williamson Act contracts that are set to expire. These expiring contracted lands are designated with urban uses in the General Plan, as part of the City’s strategy to manage the transition from agricultural to urban uses.

Discussion of Impacts
a-e) No Impact. All sites identified in the Site Inventory in this Housing Element Update are zoned for urban uses and designated for non-agricultural urban uses in the General Plan. All sites will be developed according to their General Plan designations.

According to the Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program (FMMP) by the California Department of Conservation, the Site Inventory includes some sites classified as Prime Farmland or Farmland of Local Importance. However, the Site Inventory contains currently vacant sites only and none of the sites are zoned for agricultural use. Because they have not been in agricultural production nor designated for such uses, but rather have been zoned for urban uses for many years, the loss of those sites as Prime Farmland or Farmland of Local Importance is considered to have already occurred. The Housing Element Update will not result in any new or increased impact regarding conversion of farmland to non-agricultural use.

According to the General Plan EIR, lands designated with urban uses may have expiring Williamson Act contracts, which would apply to future housing sites in the Site Inventory.

However, the Housing Element Update does not change agriculturally designations for any site and will not result in any new impact regarding Williamson Act contracts. No impact will occur.

Under the General Plan, future urban development may result in indirect impacts to adjacent farmland in the central City. However, the General Plan sets forth goals and policies to address such impacts, including right to farm and buffer requirements between agriculture and urban uses. According to the General Plan EIR, these policies will reduce indirect impacts from other changes on the conversion of farmland to less than significant levels. Future development under the Housing Element Update will be subject to all General Plan guidelines, and no new impact would occur regarding conversion of farmland due to other changes.

There is no land zoned for forest land or timberland in the City. There is open space in the eastern City; however, native vegetation consists primarily of Creosote Bush Scrub and Saltbush Scrub.

The arid desert climate does not support forest growth beyond the native shrubs, and there is no forestland or timberland in the City. No impact would occur regarding loss of forest land or conversion to non-forest uses.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 14 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014; California Important Farmland Finder, California Department of Conservation, https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/DLRP/CIFF/, accessed November 2021.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 15 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
III. AIR QUALITY
Where available, the significance
criteria established by the
applicable air quality
management district or air
pollution control district may be
relied upon to make the following
determinations.

Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Conflict with or obstruct
implementation of the applicable air
quality plan?
X
b) Result in a cumulatively
considerable net increase of any
criteria pollutant for which the
project region is non-attainment
under an applicable federal or state
ambient air quality standard
X
c) Expose sensitive receptors to
substantial pollutant concentrations? X
d) Result in other emissions (such as
those leading to odors adversely
affecting a substantial number of
people?
X
Setting
The City of Coachella is in the Coachella Valley portion of the Salton Sea Air Basin (SSAB) and governed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). All development in the Coachella Valley portion of the SSAB is subject to the 2016 SCAQMD Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) and 2003 Coachella Valley PM10 State Implementation Plan (SIP).

The subject portion of SSAB is currently a non-attainment area for PM10 and ozone. The Coachella Valley is designated as a serious nonattainment area for PM10 and is subject to the 2003 SIP and local dust control regulations and guidelines.

The SCAQMD works directly with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), county transportation commissions, and local governments, and cooperates actively with all state and federal government agencies. At the time the 2016 AQMP was developed, its land use and transportation controls were based on the Growth Management chapter of the 2016- 2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (2016 RTP/SCS) adopted by SCAG to comply with metropolitan planning organization (MPO) requirements under the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act. Projects that are consistent with the projections of population forecasts are considered consistent with the AQMP.

In 2020, SCAG adopted the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (2020 RTP/SCS) that will form the basis for land use and transportation controls of the

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 16 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
2022 AQMP, which has yet to be adopted. However, the 2016 RTP/SCS is consistent with the current 2016 AQMP and thus is the appropriate document to reference for air quality analysis at this time.

Discussion of Impacts
a-d) No Impact. The Housing Element Update will have no direct impact on air quality. The Update is a policy document and will not generate any construction or development. To meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 7,886 units in the next planning period by 2029, the Housing Element Site Inventory identified sites for future housing that will be developed according to their General Plan designations.

In 2021, the City’s population was 47,825, with an average 4.66 persons per household. SCAG projects the City’s population will grow to 129,300 in 2045. The addition of 7,886 units would increase the population by 36,749 to a total of 84,574, which is under the 2045 forecast.

Therefore, the Housing Element is consistent with the 2 RTP/SCS projections, and thus consistent with the growth assumptions in the 2016 AQMP. The Update will not conflict with or obstruct implementation of the AQMP.

When individual housing projects are proposed, the City will undertake CEQA review, and assess potential impacts for each project, including emissions of criteria pollutants, pollutant concentrations near sensitive receptors, and emissions of odors. All future projects will be required to adhere to SCAQMD rules and regulations and City requirements for construction related activities to ensure compliance with the 2016 AQMP and 2003 SIP. Typical measures include, but are not limited to, the implementation of fugitive dust control measures (SCAQMD Rule 403.1, Municipal Code Chapter 8.20 and Section 15.40.010) and the use of low VOC content coatings (SCAQMD Rule 1113).

The City’s General Plan Sustainability and Natural Environment Element Goal 11 and associated policies require a minimum distance of 500 feet between sensitive receptors and potential polluters, mitigation of potentially significant air quality impacts through the CEQA process, and health impact assessments for sensitive land uses in proximity to highways. The Housing Element Update will facilitate development and rehabilitation of residential units, which typically do not emit odors that would adversely affect a substantial number of people. Mitigation measures will be implemented, where necessary, in accordance with SCAQMD rules and City requirements to reduce potential impacts of specific projects to less than significant levels when the impacts of those projects can be quantified.

Overall, no impact associated with adoption of the Housing Element is expected.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: SCAQMD AQMP, 2016; Coachella Valley PM10 SIP, 2003; South Coast Air Quality Management District CEQA Handbook, 1993; E-5 City/County Population and Housing Estimates, California Department of Finance, January 1, 2021; 2020 RTP/SCS, Demographics and Growth Forecast Technical Report, Southern California Association of Governments, adopted September 3, 2020; 2021-2045 RTP/SCS.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 17 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
IV. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES
Would the project:

Potentiall
y
Significan
t Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Have a substantial adverse effect,
either directly or through habitat
modifications, on any species
identified as a candidate, sensitive, or
special status species in local or
regional plans, policies, or regulations,
or by the California Department of Fish
and Game or U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service?
X
b) Have a substantial adverse effect
on any riparian habitat or other
sensitive natural community identified
in local or regional plans, policies,
regulations or by the California
Department of Fish and Game or US
Fish and Wildlife Service?
X
c) Have a substantial adverse effect
on federally protected wetlands
(including, but not limited to, marsh,
vernal pool, coastal, etc.) through
direct removal, filling, hydrological
interruption, or other means?
X
d) Interfere substantially with the
movement of any native resident or
migratory fish or wildlife species or with
established native resident or
migratory wildlife corridors, or impede
the use of native wildlife nursery sites?
X
e) Conflict with any local policies or
ordinances protecting biological
resources, such as a tree preservation
policy or ordinance?
X
f) Conflict with the provisions of an
adopted Habitat Conservation Plan,
Natural Community Conservation Plan,
or other approved local, regional, or
state habitat conservation plan?
X

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 18 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Setting
The City of Coachella is in the eastern Coachella Valley in the Sonoran Desert subunit of the Colorado Desert. The valley floor experiences extreme heat and aridity, and hosts limited vegetation communities compared to the higher plant diversity and density in hillsides, alluvial fans, and mountainous areas. The City is bisected by the Whitewater River and Coachella Canal, both of which traverse generally northwest to southeast. The General Plan Planning Area consists of the urban core area in the City, agricultural land, and a few stands of undisturbed and disturbed Sonoran Creosote Bush Scrub and Colorado Saltbush Scrub.

Discussion of Impacts
a-f) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update, a policy document, will have no impact on biological resources. This Update does not expand new housing sites beyond what is currently allowed under the General Plan.

According to the General Plan EIR, there are limited areas of riparian habitat along the Whitewater River in the City. However, these habitats are too limited and dispersed to support any sensitive species. There are no other sensitive habitats in the City. The sites identified for housing in the Site Inventory do not contain wetlands or riparian habitats, nor will they encroach on the Whitewater River. The City will require sensitive species surveys if housing projects are proposed in certain areas of the City (generally west of and along the Whitewater River) and implementation of necessary mitigation measures if sensitive species are present. These measures would be prescribed by a qualified biologist in order to receive necessary City permits.

This standard requirement will ensure no significant impacts on sensitive species, their habitat and wildlife nursery sites will occur.

The General Plan EIR identified two migratory bird species that reside seasonally in the City, which migrate through undeveloped areas, grasslands and agricultural lands in the area. The parcels identified in the Sites Inventory do not occur on these lands. Rather, the General Plan concentrates development in urbanized areas, and the Housing Element proposes development within these areas for all types of housing. The General Plan will preserve a significant portion of open space for habitat protection and low impact recreation and promote land use efficiency within the developed areas, and no significant impact on wildlife migration would occur.

The City of Coachella is within the boundary of the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP). The City is required to assess development impact fees on new development to mitigate potential impacts to covered species. The Desert Tortoise and Linkage Conservation Area overlaps a small portion of the northeast City. This area is designated as Open Space under the General Plan. The sites identified for future housing are not located in or near the Conservation Area. Future housing projects will be required to pay the development fee imposed by the CVMSHCP, which will assure consistency with the Plan.

The City does not have a tree preservation or similar ordinance that protects trees or other biological resource. The General Plan has multiple policies that encourage preservation and use of native desert landscaping. With implementation of the CVMSHCP and other standard requirements, no new impact would occur as a result of this Update on biological resources.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 19 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014; Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP) and EIR/EIS, 2007.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 20 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
V. CULTURAL RESOURCES
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Cause a substantial adverse
change in the significance of a
historical resource pursuant to §
15064.5?
X
b) Cause a substantial adverse
change in the significance of an
archaeological resource pursuant to
§ 15064.5?
X
c) Disturb any human remains,
including those interred outside of
formal cemeteries?
X
Setting
In the City of Coachella, the only registered historical resource is the Coachella Valley Water District Building along Highway 111 and Grapefruit Boulevard, which is designated as a California Point of Historical Interest and a Riverside County Historical Landmark (General Plan EIR). Many other sites are considered eligible for formal designation. The City’s historic core is considered highly sensitive for historic resources, generally between Harrison Street and State Route 111 (EIR Figure 4.4-2).

Given the long history of Coachella as Native American land, the City contains significant archaeological resources, none of which are designated by any state or national register but may be considered eligible.

The Mecca Hills, Thermal Canyon, and washes north of Thermal Canyon host archaeologically significant trails, mining sites, and other artifacts from previous settlements. There are also possible sites along the west side of the Whitewater River, and in the downtown area.

Discussion of Impacts
a-c) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on cultural resources. The sites identified for future housing in the Site Inventory are vacant and do not contain historic structures.

Archaeological resources, located on the surface or below parcels identified in the Sites Inventory could occur. As individual projects are proposed in the future, the City will require sitespecific cultural resource surveys, and will consult with local interested tribes on potential cultural resources pursuant to AB 52 and/or SB 18. The results of these surveys will require proper preservation and mitigation of archaeological resources, if identified on a housing site. The consultation process for AB 52 and SB 18 is detailed in Section 18, Tribal Cultural Resources.

Should housing development be proposed on sites with archaeological resources in the future, any potential impact will be addressed in the project-level environmental review in compliance with standard requirements and General Plan policies.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 21 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
According to the General Plan EIR, there is potential for human remains to occur on Tribal Lands, which are in the SOI. There are no known burial sites or cemeteries on sites designated for housing, which are all within the City limits. The City will require future projects to abide by California law, should human remains be identified on a site being prepared for housing development. The General Plan Sustainability and Natural Environment Element Policy 12.6 supports the requirement of law regarding discovery of human remains. California Public Resources Code Section 5097.98 requires that if remains are uncovered, all work in the vicinity of the site should be stopped and that there will be no deposition of the remains unless proper procedures are followed as required by the law. These requirements of law apply to any development in the City.

Overall, no impact is expected.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 22 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
VI. ENERGY
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Result in potentially significant
environmental impact due to
wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary
consumption of energy resources,
during project construction or
operation?
X
b) Conflict with or obstruct a state or
local plan for renewable energy or
energy efficiency?
X
Setting
Primary energy sources include fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas), nuclear, and renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower. The City of Coachella is served by the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) for electricity. The Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) provides natural gas to the City. The City adopted its Climate Action Plan in April 2015, which provides additional measures on energy efficiency and conservation.

Discussion of Impacts
a-b) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update, a policy document, will have no impact on energy resources and energy efficiency. Construction and rehabilitation of housing are required to conform to the California Building Code, including the California Energy Code and California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen), which serves to ensure the economical and wise use of energy resources during construction and operational phases.

Future housing development will be required to conform to the Building Code standards in effect when development occurs, which currently require solar panels for residential development, and are aiming for zero-net energy for the future. These requirements will assure that future housing projects are energy efficient and do not waste energy.

The City’s energy providers, IID and SoCalGas, have both committed to increasing efficiency and renewable energy generation and enforce relevant state energy standards. The Housing Element identifies energy conservation opportunities for City residents and future housing development, including government and utility programs for energy efficiency upgrades and solar photovoltaic systems. Goal 3 and its associated policies and programs are specifically aimed at energy efficiency.

Future housing developments would generate traffic and require the consumption of petroleum-based fuels for vehicular travel. Although future housing projects have the potential to result in a direct increase in City VMTs, the Update will not interfere with evolving fuel efficiency standards and will not result in wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of transportation energy resources.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 23 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Implementation of the California Building Code and both voluntary and state-mandated energy efficiency and renewable energy programs will ensure that no wasteful, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy resources will occur. The Update promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy programs for future housing development and rehabilitation and will not conflict with or obstruct a state or local plan for energy efficiency or renewable energy.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 24 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
VII. GEOLOGY AND SOILS
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Directly or indirectly cause
potential substantial adverse effects,
including the risk of loss, injury, or
death involving:
i) Rupture of a known earthquake
fault, as delineated on the most
recent Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault
Zoning Map issued by the State
Geologist for the area or based on
other substantial evidence of a
known fault? Refer to Division of
Mines and Geology Special
Publication 42.

X
ii) Strong seismic ground shaking? X
iii) Seismic related ground failure,
including liquefaction? X
iv) Landslides? X
b) Result in substantial soil erosion or
the loss of topsoil? X
c) Be located on a geologic unit or
soil that is unstable, or that would
become unstable as a result of the
project, and potentially result in on-or
off-site landslide, lateral spreading,
subsidence, liquefaction or collapse?
X
d) Be located on expansive soil, as
defined in Table 18-1-B of the Uniform
Building Code (1994), creating
substantial direct or indirect risks to
life or property?
X
e) Have soils incapable of
adequately supporting the use of
septic tanks or alternative waste
water disposal systems where sewers
are not available for the disposal of
waste water?
X
f) Directly or indirectly destroy a
unique paleontological resource or
site or unique geologic feature?
X

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 25 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Setting
The City of Coachella is located in the eastern Coachella Valley, which forms the northerly part of the Salton Trough, a structural and topographic depression related to complex interactions with the San Andreas Fault system. The San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Whittier-Elsinore fault zones are seismically active and can generate strong ground shaking up to magnitude 7.9 within the Coachella area. Three Alquist-Priolo Earthquake fault zones traverse in a northwest to southeast direction in the eastern City and SOI.

The Coachella Valley is underlain by a thick sequence of sedimentary deposits from erosion of surrounding mountains, including the Indio and Mecca hills along with deposition from the Gulf of California and Colorado River. Soils of different ages and compositions have developed on these sedimentary units, and on the younger alluvial units filling the valley floor. Mountains surrounding the valley include the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the northeast, the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains to the northwest, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains to the southwest.

Discussion of Impacts
a-f) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update, a policy document, will have no impact on geology. The sites identified for future housing in the Site Inventory are not located in or near an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake fault zone. According to the General Plan EIR, implementation of the Alquist-Priolo Act, California Building Code (CBC), and General Plan policies will ensure that future development not be sited within the vicinity of a fault trace and be constructed with appropriate seismic upgrades if likely subject to fault rupture threat. These standard requirements will ensure that no significant impact will occur.

The City can also sustain considerable damage in structures not designed to withstand strong ground shaking caused by nearby active faults. The General Plan provides policies on more stringent requirements than the CBC for new development to adhere to and mitigation to protect people in buildings identified as most susceptible to earthquake damage. During the review of individual applications, the City will evaluate proposed housing projects against General Plan policies for consistency based on project vulnerability to seismic ground shaking and grant approval only upon adequate consistency.

The most destructive types of ground failure due to seismic shaking include liquefaction and slope failure. The valley portion of Coachella, west of the Whitewater River/Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel, is underlain by soils that could liquefy during an earthquake, generally due to an elevated groundwater basin. The City requires a site-specific analysis through the development review process, to determine if structures are allowable and to assess building design against existing regulations and applicable codes, as well as implementation of the engineering recommendations, such as foundation designs, to offset liquefaction impacts.

Slope instability, including landslides, would pose a potential hazard as development encroaches into the hills in the northeastern City. Overall, the probability for landslide, rock fall and debris flow is considered low in the City. The sites identified for future housing are not in or adjacent to hillside areas, and would not be impacted by landslides.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 26 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
The City will impose dust control/PM10 management and NPDES standards on all development in the future, which will mitigate for potential soil erosion from wind or flooding hazards, respectively. These standard requirements include the installation of wind fences and site watering to prevent wind erosion; and on- and off-site best management practices (BMPs) such as sand bags and bio-swales for water erosion.

Subsidence has been documented in other parts of the valley (Palm Desert, Indian Wells and La Quinta), but the potential for regional subsidence in the Coachella area is unclear. The General Plan includes policies to limit development in high-risk areas such as steep slopes and require site-specific studies to determine individual risk and develop appropriate design strategies. The General Plan also calls for groundwater resources protection to prevent overdrafting and regional subsidence due to excessive extraction. These General Plan policies assure that future projects for housing facilitated by the Housing Element will be applied to individual projects as they are proposed.

The valley portion of Coachella is underlain by unconsolidated, young alluvial deposits and artificial fill that are potentially compressible and/or collapsible. A small portion of the southeastern City is subject to potential expansive soil hazards in the vicinity of the airport and along the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. Future housing development in the City will be subject to the California Building Code to ensure structures are sound and engineered to reduce impacts from expansive soils. The General Plan includes policies that require site-specific geotechnical investigations to determine if the development site is subject to expansive soils and other geological/soil hazards and recommend measures to reduce potential impacts, such as structural mitigation or excavation and foundation improvements.

The Housing Element Update Program 1.2 requires that all new residential developments are provided with adequate public and private facilities and services through environmental and other development review procedures. Future housing development on sites in the Site Inventory will connect to municipal sewer infrastructure in the site vicinity and will not require any septic tanks or alternative wastewater disposal. No impact would occur.

According to the General Plan EIR, in general, the western and southern City have a low sensitivity, or probability, for having paleontological resources. The eastern City has high sensitivity for occurrence of paleontological resources, but much of this area is designated as Open Space under the General Plan, which limits or prevents development. State law prevents the removal or destruction of any resource without presenting the findings and restricting and preserving the resources, or determination of resources not being worthy of reporting (Public Resources Code Section 5097.5). The General Plan also requires reporting of any paleontological artifacts found within the City and subsequent procedures. None of the parcels on the Sites Inventory are located in an area of high sensitivity. Future development would be required to comply with the existing regulations and General Plan policies to obtain development permits. No new impact would occur under the Housing Element Update.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 27 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
VIII. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Generate greenhouse gas
emissions, either directly or indirectly,
that may have a significant impact on
the environment?
X
b) Conflict with an applicable plan,
policy or regulation adopted for the
purpose of reducing the emissions of
greenhouse gases?
X
Setting
Greenhouse gases (GHG), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride), are released into the atmosphere through natural and anthropogenic processes. These gases are termed “greenhouse gases” due to their common ability of trapping heat, and they are believed to be responsible for the global average increase in surface temperatures of 0.7-1.5°F that were observed during the 20th century. The quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased significantly over a relatively short period.

Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that has raised the most concern of atmospheric scientists due to current and projected emission levels.

State law mandates that all cities decrease their GHG emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020.

Executive Order B-30-15 set an interim target goal of reducing GHG emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 to keep California on its trajectory toward meeting or exceeding the long-term goal of reducing GHG emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, as set forth in Executive Order S-3-05.

The City of Coachella completed its first Greenhouse Gas Inventory in conjunction with the Climate Action Plan in 2015. The plan guides City policies and planning to achieve energy efficiency and comply with state mandates on emission reduction.

GHG Thresholds
On December 5, 2008, the SCAQMD formally adopted a greenhouse gas significance threshold of 10,000 MTCO2e/yr that only applies to industrial uses’ stationary sources where SCAQMD is the Lead Agency (SCAQMD Resolution No. 08-35). This threshold was adopted based upon an October 2008 staff report and draft interim guidance document that also recommended a threshold for all projects using a tiered approach. It was recommended by SCAQMD staff that a project’s greenhouse gas emissions would be considered significant if it could not comply with at least one of the following “tiered” tests:
• Tier 1: Is there an applicable exemption?
• Tier 2: Is the project compliant with a greenhouse gas reduction plan that is, at a minimum, consistent with the goals of AB 32?

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 28 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
• Tier 3: Is the project below an absolute threshold (10,000 MTCO2e/ year for industrial projects; 3,000 MTCO2e/year for residential and commercial projects)? • Tier 4: Is the project below a (yet to be set) performance threshold? • Tier 5: Would the project achieve a screening level with off-site mitigation? The City currently uses this approach in considering project-specific greenhouse gas emissions under CEQA.

Discussion of Impacts
a-b) No Impact. The Housing Element Update is a policy document and will have no impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The Update will not generate any construction or development, but rather identifies sites for future housing development, many of which are centrally-located near transit, shopping and employment. The Housing Element also identifies opportunities for energy conservation including government and utility programs that will help reduce GHG emissions under Goal C and its associated policies and programs.

When individual housing projects are proposed, the City will undertake CEQA review, and assess potential impacts for each project on greenhouse gas emissions with regards to GHG thresholds set by SCAQMD.

The City adopted a Climate Action Plan (2015) that establish energy efficiency and GHG reduction policies and implementation measures for development projects that are generally more stringent than building codes. These measures will effectively reduce City-wide GHG emissions including at the individual project level.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; SCAQMD AQMP, 2016; California Air Resource Board, website, http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/ccms/ccms.htm; Draft Guidance Document – Interim CEQA Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Significance Thresholds, South Coast Air Quality Management District, October 2008; City of Coachella Climate Action Plan, April 2015.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 29 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
IX. HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS

MATERIALS
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Create a significant hazard to the
public or the environment through
the routine transport, use, or disposal
of hazardous materials?
X
b) Create a significant hazard to the
public or the environment through
reasonably foreseeable upset and
accident conditions involving the
release of hazardous materials into
the environment?
X
c) Emit hazardous emissions or handle
hazardous or acutely hazardous
materials, substances, or waste within
one-quarter mile of an existing or
proposed school?
X
d) Be located on a site which is
included on a list of hazardous
materials sites compiled pursuant to
Government Code Section 65962.5
and, as a result, would it create a
significant hazard to the public or the
environment?
X
e) For a project located within an
airport land use plan or, where such a
plan has not been adopted, within
two miles of a public airport or public
use airport, would the project result in
a safety hazard or excessive noise for
people residing or working in the
project area?
X
f) Impair implementation of or
physically interfere with an adopted
emergency response plan or
emergency evacuation plan?
X
g) Expose people or structures, either
directly or indirectly, to a significant
risk of loss, injury or death involving
wildland fires.

X
Setting
In the City of Coachella, the use, storage, disposal, and cleanup of hazardous waste is regulated by an extensive framework of state and federal laws, such as those implemented by the US and California EPA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and regional agencies

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 30 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
including the Colorado River Regional Water Quality Control Board. Coachella Fire Services, as part of the Riverside County Fire Department supports the Riverside County Health Department in maintaining a permit program that applies to anyone operating a hazardous occupancy or using, storing, or transporting substantial amounts of hazardous materials.

Discussion of Impacts
a-g) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will not impact hazards or hazardous materials. Future housing development will be required to assess potential impacts as part of the CEQA process, but these impacts are likely to be negligible, since housing development does not generate significant use, storage or transport of hazardous materials.

There are many schools in the City, including adjacent to or near sites designated for housing.

However, as previously stated, housing development generates minimal hazardous materials which are governed by local and regional regulations.

The sites identified for housing in the Site Inventory do not occur on sites identified by the state as now having or previously having hazardous materials issues. There may be permitted underground storage tanks and other active cleanup sites in the vicinity, but such sites are under the jurisdiction of local agencies such as the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health and required to comply with requirements of law. No impact is expected regarding listed sites.

The Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport is located approximately one mile south of the City of Coachella. There are no private airstrips in and around the City. The airport is approximately 1.26 miles southeast of the closest housing site in the Site Inventory. Some of the housing sites in the southern City fall in the Compatibility Zone D/E on the airport compatibility map. None of the sites are located in or adjacent to the airport noise contours. The Riverside County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan Policy Document outlines compatibility policies on residential densities in Zone D, which future housing projects will be required to comply with. The General Plan Land Use and Community Character Element contains policies that require new development to conform to the airport land use and safety plans, facilitates regional coordination and Riverside County Airport Land Use Commission review of planning documents and regulations. No impact will occur regarding airport-related hazards.

The Housing Element Update will not impair or interfere with the City Fire and Emergency Medical Services Master Plan (2007), City of Coachella Emergency Operations Plan (2007), and the City of Coachella Annex Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (2012). Housing projects will occur on the City’s existing street system, which is already developed. For each individual project, a construction traffic control plan may be required in coordination with the City’s Engineering Department to ensure traffic safety and preservation of emergency/secondary access during all development activities. The site plans and emergency access for each individual project will be subject to approval by the Fire and Police Departments to ensure adequate emergency access. No impact to emergency access or evacuation routes is anticipated.

According to the Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps by CALFire, the City of Coachella consists of primarily local responsibility area (LRA) and some federal responsibility area (FRA). There is no designated fire hazard zone in or near the City. No impact is anticipated on wildfire hazards.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 31 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014; California Department of Toxic Substances Control “EnviroStor” Database, accessed November 2021; Riverside County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan Policy Document (Amended September 2006); Fire and Resources Assessment Program (FRAP) maps, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 32 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
X. HYDROLOGY AND WATER

QUALITY
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Violate any water quality standards
or waste discharge requirements or
otherwise substantially degrade
surface or ground water quality?
X
b) Substantially decrease groundwater
supplies or interfere substantially with
groundwater recharge such that the
project may impede sustainable
groundwater management of the
basin?
X
c) Substantially alter the existing
drainage pattern of the site or area,
including through the alteration of the
course of a stream or river or through
the addition of impervious surfaces, in
a manner which would:
(i) result in substantial erosion or siltation
on- or off-site; X
(ii) substantially increase the rate or
amount of surface runoff in a manner
which would result in flooding on- or
off-site;
X
(iii) create or contribute runoff water
which would exceed the capacity of
existing or planned stormwater
drainage systems or provide substantial
additional sources of polluted runoff; or
X
(iv) impede or redirect flood flows? X
(d) In flood hazard, tsunami, or seiche
zones, risk release of pollutants due to
project inundation?
X
(e) Conflict with or obstruct
implementation of a water quality
control plan or sustainable
groundwater management plan?
X
Setting
The dominant drainage feature in the Coachella Valley is the Whitewater River. The Whitewater River watershed is under the jurisdiction of the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). The Whitewater River has perennial flow in the mountains, but becomes

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 33 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
dry further downstream due to diversions and percolation into the groundwater basin. The Whitewater River is channelized downstream from La Quinta, and known as the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel (CVSC) and serves as drainage for irrigation return flows, treated community wastewater, and storm runoff.

Under the Clean Water Act, the Colorado River Basin RWQCB is responsible for regulating water quality and implementing the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.

The City of Coachella operates under a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit, which requires implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to reduce pollutants in urban storm water discharge and monitoring of ambient water quality to determine effectiveness of BMPs.

The Lower Whitewater River Basin water is extracted by the Coachella Valley Water District and other water agencies including the City’s Coachella Water Agency (CWA). CWA is the water supplier for the entire City of Coachella. The Valley Sanitary District (VSD) and Coachella Sanitary District (CSD) manage wastewater treatment facilities that serve the City and implement regulations imposed by the Colorado River Basin RWQCB. CSD covers the majority of the City except a small area in the northwestern corner.

Discussion of Impacts
a-e) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on water resources. The Update is a policy document and does not involve the construction of any new housing units. The City, CWA, VSD and CSD implement all water quality standards and waste discharge requirements to prevent contamination of water sources during construction and operation.

According to the City of Coachella 2015 Sewer System Master Plan, the existing sewer infrastructure does not cover the entire City, and many properties currently rely on septic tanks, which are regulated by the RWQCB to ensure they do not pollute the groundwater basin. The Housing Element Update Program 1.2 requires that all new residential developments are provided with adequate public and private facilities and services through environmental and other development review procedures, including sanitary sewer service. As described in the Housing Element, all parcels in the Sites Inventory are served by water and sewer. Future housing developments will be reviewed under CEQA to assure that they meet the standard requirements and connect to existing facilities, in order to assure compliance with waste discharge requirements.

According to the 2020 Coachella Valley Regional Urban Water Management Plan, available water supplies are sufficient to meet the anticipated demand for 2025 through 2045 during normal, single dry, and multiple dry years. Housing sites identified in the Site Inventory are consistent with the General Plan, on which the CWA bases its demand and supply projections.

Future projects will be required to comply with Title 24 provisions on efficient use of water.

Because the sites identified in the Update will be developed according to their General Plan land use designations, CWA will have adequate water supplies to serve those sites.

Prior to the issuance of any grading or building permit, the City will require all qualifying new and redevelopment projects to submit a water quality management plan (WQMP) for approval by the City engineer. The WQMP must identify all BMPs that will be incorporated into the project to

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 34 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
control stormwater and stormwater pollutants during and after construction and must be revised as necessary during the life of the project (Municipal Code Chapter 13.16). The General Plan Sustainability + Natural Environment and Infrastructure + Public Services Elements include policies to preserve natural land features and require drainage studies for new development to prevent on- or off-site flooding. Implementation of these standard requirements will prevent any significant impact on runoff and stormwater drainage.

Areas designated as a 100-year flood hazard zone in the City occur within the banks of the CVSC. Housing sites in the City are not located in the 100-year special flood hazard areas. The sites identified in the Site Inventory fall within Flood Hazard Zone X, which indicates areas of minimal flood hazard.

The City is located inland and would not be subject to tsunami. The City is located over 10 miles away from Salton Sea, the closest large water body, and is thus outside the area that could be affected by seiches. Minor seiches may occur within the City in smaller ponds or lakes, however the water level rise is unlikely to exceed 1.6 feet (General Plan EIR).

The City of Coachella Engineering Department manages levees, channels, and dikes within the City, including channelization and levees of the Whitewater River and the East Side Dike. The General Plan requires the City to carefully monitor and mitigate development in areas that are prone to flooding risks from possible infrastructure failure and create disaster response plans to protect users of critical facilities. Compliance with the standard requirements will minimize any potential impacts regarding hydrology and water quality, and no new impact would occur under the Housing Element Update.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014; 2020 Coachella Valley Regional Urban Water Management Plan, June 2021.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 35 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XI. LAND USE AND PLANNING
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
w/ Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Physically divide an established
community? X
b) Cause a significant environmental
impact due to a conflict with any
land use plan, policy, or regulation
adopted for the purpose of avoiding
or mitigating an environmental
effect?
X
Setting
The City of Coachella and SOI consist of urban settlement (residential, industrial, and commercial land uses), agricultural land, open space, and undeveloped land. The 2015 General Plan envisioned that the City would transform from a small town to a mid-sized city at buildout (2035).

Most of the urban and residential development is within the western City, including Coachella’s downtown, civic buildings, commercial corridors, and major residential development. The eastern City and SOI consist mostly of open space, agriculture, and tribal land.

Discussion of Impacts
a-b) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on land use and planning. The sites identified for future housing in the Sites Inventory are designated for residential uses in the General Plan and will be developed under the applicable provisions. The City has not conducted a comprehensive Zoning Code update to be consistent with the 2015 General Plan. Under Program 1.1 of the Housing Element Update, the City will update the Zoning Code to be consistent with the 2015 General Plan and prioritize creating zones and rezoning lower-income sites identified in the Site Inventory. Program 1.2 requires priority re-zoning for land on the Sites Inventory, to assure that these parcels are available for affordable housing.

The identified sites are currently vacant, either surrounded by independently operated uses or individual parcels in a larger residential neighborhood. The sites within existing neighborhoods are planned for development to build out these communities, not divide them. Future housing projects will not divide an established community, nor conflict with any plans, policy, or regulation on land use and planning.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 36 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XII. MINERAL RESOURCES
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Result in the loss of availability of a
known mineral resource that would
be of value to the region and the
residents of the state?
X
b) Result in the loss of availability of a
locally important mineral resource
recovery site delineated on a local
general plan, specific plan or other
land use plan?
X
Setting
The California Mineral Land Classification System, developed by the State Geologist, identifies Mineral Resources Zones (MRZs) for mapping and reporting purposes under the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA). The western portion of the City is classified as MRZ-1, where available geological information indicates that little likelihood exists for presence of significant mineral resources. The northeastern portion of the City is classified as MRZ-3, which indicates the area has known mineral deposits that may qualify as mineral resources (MRZ-3a), or the area may have inferred deposits which may qualify as mineral resources (MRZ-3b). Two permitted mining operations occur in the MRZ-2 area in the SOI, but none occur in the City.

Discussion of Impacts
a-b) No Impact. The adoption and implementation of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on mineral resources. No active mining or extraction sites occur in the City, nor are any proposed. None of the sites identified for housing in the Site Inventory occur on lands designated for mineral resource extraction.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 37 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XIII. NOISE
Would the project result in:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Generation of substantial
temporary or permanent increase in
ambient noise levels in the vicinity of
the project in excess of standards
established in the local general plan
or noise ordinance, or applicable
standards of other agencies?
X
b) Generation of excessive
groundborne vibration or
groundborne noise levels?
X
c) For a project located within the
vicinity of a primate airstrip or an
airport land use plan or, where such
a plan has not been adopted, within
two miles of a public airport or public
use airport, would the project expose
people residing or working in the
project area to excessive noise
levels?
X
Setting
The predominant noise source in the City of Coachella is traffic. Other major noise sources in Coachella include the railway, manufacturing processing and distribution facilities. Other, less significant noise sources in Coachella include aircraft overflights, air conditioning units and other mechanical equipment on buildings, and landscaping equipment. Title 7 of the City’s Municipal Code governs noise control in the City. The sound level limits for fixed noise sources are 55 dBA from 6 AM to 10 PM, and 45 dBA from 10 PM to 6 AM for all residential zones.

Discussion of Impacts
a-c) No Impact. The Housing Element Update is a policy document and would not generate construction or development. As future housing projects are proposed, they will be required to analyze noise impacts during the CEQA review and building permit processes. Project-level noise studies may be required by the City to assess impacts from roadway and surrounding development, where necessary. The City may require noise analysis to verify noise standard compliance with standards set in Title 7 of the Municipal Code and Land Use/Noise Compatibility Matrix (General Plan Figure 10-1) during building plan check reviews. Should noise levels at future housing sites exceed City standards, mitigation would be required through architectural features, building design and construction, rather than site design features such as excessive setbacks, berms and sound walls (General Plan Policy 1.2).

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 38 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Construction of future housing development will create temporary noise and/or vibration sources. Construction noise is exempt from the noise standards set forth in Section 7.04.030 of the Municipal Code; however, it is restricted to certain days of the week and times of day that are considered less sensitive (Municipal Code Section 7.04.070). As noted, under CEQA review, individual projects will need to assess whether their construction will potentially impact surrounding uses and any sensitive receptors. In the long term, housing development will be required to comply with the noise levels established for fixed noise sources in the Municipal Code for residential zones, and are not expected to cause significant impacts on noise and vibration.

The nearest airport to the City is Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport, located approximately one mile south of the City at its closest point. All sites identified for future housing development in the Housing Element are located well outside the noise contours of the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport. The Bermuda Dunes Airport is located at least four miles northwest of the City limits, and due to distance will not impact noise levels within the City.

No impact will occur regarding exposing people to excessive noise levels.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; Coachella Municipal Code.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 39 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XIV. POPULATION AND HOUSING
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Induce substantial unplanned
population growth in an area, either
directly (for example, by proposing
new homes and businesses) or
indirectly (for example, through
extension of roads or other
infrastructure)?
X
b) Displace substantial numbers of
existing people or housing,
necessitating the construction of
replacement housing elsewhere?
X
Setting
The City of Coachella has a population of approximately 42,178 persons, which is expected to grow to 129,300 in 2045.1 Currently, the City is composed of a mix of single-family, multi-family, and mobile home development, but the majority (73.9%) of housing units are single-family homes.

Discussion of Impacts
a-b) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on population and housing. The Element provides goals, policies and programs to facilitate housing development and preserve the existing housing stock, but does not create any immediate need for housing. As population grows in the City, demand for housing will increase and the sites identified for future housing in the Site Inventory will be developed under the provisions of the General Plan, including the Housing Element, and the Zoning Code.

The Housing Element will not induce substantial unplanned growth, insofar as the identified sites are located on existing streets, and utilities and public facilities are available in the immediate area. Because the identified sites are vacant, future housing development would not displace any existing housing or require replacement housing elsewhere. No impact will occur.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Source: State of California, Department of Finance, E-5 Population and Housing Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State — January 1, 2021-2022. Sacramento, California, May 2022. 1 2020-2045 RTP/SCS Demographics and Growth Forecast by Southern California Association of Governments.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 40 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XV. PUBLIC SERVICES
Would the project result in:

Would the project result in
substantial adverse physical
impacts associated with the
provision of new or physically
altered governmental facilities,
need for new or physically altered
governmental facilities, the
construction of which could
cause significant environmental
impacts, in order to maintain
acceptable service ratios,
response times or other
performance objectives for any of
the public services:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
Fire protection? X
Police protection? X
Schools? X
Parks? X
Other public facilities? X
Setting
Fire Protection
Fire protection services are provided by the Riverside County Fire Department and CALFire via a cooperative agreement. The Riverside County Fire Department Station 79 is a full-service public safety department which has provided fire suppression and emergency medical services to Coachella residents, businesses and visitors since 1990 from its location at 1377 6th Street. The City may consider new stations to serve the growing entertainment district and northern area as well as the central area in the future as development occurs.

Police Protection
The City of Coachella contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to provide comprehensive law enforcement services. The City Police Department is comprised of the Investigations, Patrol, Traffic, and Forensics Divisions with overlapping personnel. The Department consists of 32 sworn officer positions, 19 of which are dedicated to the Patrol Division with the remaining officers dedicated to special assignments such as the Community Action Team (C.A.T.), School Resource Officers, along with Gang and Narcotics Enforcement.

Schools
There are two school districts providing public education to students in kindergarten through 12th grade in Coachella: Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) and Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). The majority of the City occurs within CVUSD’s service area. Both

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 41 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
districts receive funding from state funds and local property taxes. The districts are authorized to collect school facilities fees as provided for in Government Code Section 53080 et. seq. and 65995 et seq. on a per square foot basis for new residential development.

Parks
The City of Coachella currently operates ten parks and recreational facilities that support uses such as sports, community activities and playground. The City’s Municipal Code Section

16.36.060 provides for the dedication of land or the payment of fees in lieu thereof for park and recreational facilities as a condition of approval of a tentative map or parcel map. All residential developments subdivisions containing five or more parcels are required to dedicate land, pay a fee, or both. Section 16.36.060 set a minimum of three acres per 1,000 population in a subdivision for neighborhood and community park and recreational facilities.

Discussion of Impacts
No Impact. The Housing Element Update is a policy document and will not directly generate any development. The adoption of the Update will have no impact on public services. As future housing projects are proposed, they will be reviewed to determine potential impacts on public services during the CEQA review process. Sites identified for future housing in the Site Inventory are mainly urban infill sites. All inventory sites will be developed under the allowable densities in the General Plan and Zoning Code. The majority of the City is well served by public services, and thus new development on the inventory sites are least likely to have significant impacts on public services.

The sites identified for future housing are not located in or near a fire hazard zone. As future housing projects are proposed, they will be required to provide adequate emergency access and safety design following the Riverside County Fire Department’s design guidelines.

Future housing development will be required to pay development impact fees toward fire, police, library and general government facilities upon development approval and school developer fees in place at the time development occurs. Future housing projects will also be required to dedicate land and/or pay an in-lieu fee for provision of park and recreational facilities, if they involve subdivisions containing five or more parcels. These standard requirements, including fee payments, will offset impacts associated with public services and facilities generated by new residents.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Source: City of Coachella General Plan 2015.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 42 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XVI. RECREATION
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Would the project increase the
use of existing neighborhood and
regional parks or other recreational
facilities such that substantial
physical deterioration of the facility
would occur or be accelerated?
X
b) Does the project include
recreational facilities or require the
construction or expansion of
recreational facilities which might
have an adverse physical effect on
the environment?
X
Setting
The City of Coachella provides a variety of recreation facilities and currently has eight parks that host various sports fields, a boxing club and swimming pools, as well as a tot lot and a community center, which total approximately 59.6 acres.

The Desert Recreation District (DRD) also provides recreational services throughout the Coachella Valley. DRD manages, maintains and assists in maintaining over 30 parks and recreation facilities in the valley. DRD also offers a variety of quality programs, services and classes on physical fitness, mental wellness and arts and crafts.

Discussion of Impacts
a, b) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update, a policy document, will not generate any new development or redevelopment directly. No impact on recreation will occur.

Future housing projects will be reviewed for their potential impacts on recreational resources during the CEQA review process. However, the City’s standards for private and common area open space will provide for on-site recreation options for most projects built in the future.

Applicable parkland dedication and/or in-lieu fees and development impact fees will be assessed on new housing development to cover the additional costs of providing recreational services to new residents. No impact will occur.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Source: City of Coachella General Plan 2015.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 43 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XVII. TRANSPORTATION
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Conflict with a program plan,
ordinance or policy addressing the
circulation system, including transit,
roadway, bicycle and pedestrian
facilities?
X
b) Would the project conflict or be
inconsistent with CEQA Guidelines
section 15064.3, subdivision (b)?
X
c) Substantially increase hazards due
to a geometric design feature (e.g.,
sharp curves or dangerous
intersections) or incompatible uses
(e.g., farm equipment)?
X
d) Result in inadequate emergency
access? X
Setting
The City of Coachella General Plan Mobility Element shows the City’s intended future roadway network and sets standards on various Street Typologies and the street network. The Mobility Element policies aim to achieve goals including complete streets, traffic calming, a pedestrian and bicycle trail network, and sustainable transportation. The General Plan Environmental Impact Report analyzed impacts on roadways and intersections using a threshold of Level of Service (LOS) D.

CEQA Guidelines section 15064.3 sets forth guidelines for implementing SB 743 (stats. 2013, ch. 386), which requires amendments to the CEQA Guidelines (pre-2019) to provide an alternative to LOS for evaluating transportation impacts. Changes to CEQA Guidelines were adopted in December 2018, which require all lead agencies to adopt vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a replacement for automobile delay-based LOS as the new measure for identifying transportation impacts for land use projects. This statewide mandate went into effect July 1, 2020. The City of Coachella has not adopted its own VMT policy yet; land use projects are analyzed using the County of Riverside’s Transportation Analysis Guidelines for Level of Service & Vehicle Miles Traveled (December 2020).

Discussion of Impacts
a-d) No Impact. The Housing Element Update is a policy document that will not generate any development directly or propose any changes to transportation in the City. No impact will occur regarding transportation.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 44 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
As future housing projects are proposed, they will be required to analyze potential traffic impacts and prepare traffic impact studies that include VMT analysis, where necessary. As currently adopted, affordable housing projects are assumed to have a less than significant impact on VMTs in the County’s policy, and therefore would not generate significant impacts.

Other projects for above moderate income households would be analyzed individually, but given the location of sites identified in the Housing Element, the majority are urban areas where efficiencies including proximity to employment and services will reduce potential impacts and shorten vehicle trips.

The projects will also be required to meet City standards on roadway improvements, parking, and emergency access through conditions of approval. The project site plan will be subject to review by both the Fire Department and Police Department on safety measures and design to ensure adequate emergency access and proper geometric design.

The sites identified for future housing occur on the City’s developed street system, and will not interfere with the system. Most sites are relatively close to bus stops served by SunLine bus routes, existing and proposed bicycle facilities, as well as multi-use trails. No impact is anticipated on alternative transportation.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 45 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XVIII. TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
a) Would the project cause a
substantial adverse change in the
significance of a tribal cultural
resource, defined in Public
Resources Code section 21074 as
either a site, feature, place,
cultural landscape that is
geographically defined in terms
of the size and scope of the
landscape, sacred place, or
object with cultural value to a
California Native American tribe,
and that is:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
i) Listed or eligible for listing in the
California Register of Historical
Resources, or in a local register of
historical resources as defined in
Public Resources Code section
5020.1(k), or
X
ii) A resource determined by the lead
agency, in its discretion and
supported by substantial evidence,
to be significant pursuant to criteria
set forth in subdivision (c) of Public
Resources Code Section 5024.1. In
applying the criteria set forth in
subdivision (c) of Public Resources
Code Section 5024.1, the lead
agency shall consider the
significance of the resource to a
California Native American tribe.

X
Setting
The Cahuilla Indians are the first known human inhabitants of the Coachella Valley. The Cahuilla were hunters and gatherers, generally divided into three groups based on their geographic setting: the Pass Cahuilla of the Beaumont/Banning area; the Mountain Cahuilla of the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains; and the Desert Cahuilla from the Coachella Valley, as far south as the Salton Sea. Today, Native Americans of Pass or Desert Cahuilla heritage are mainly affiliated with the Indian tribes of the Coachella Valley, including the Cabazon, Augustine, Torres Martinez, Twentynine Palms, Agua Caliente, and Morongo.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 46 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Discussion of Impacts
a) i, ii) No Impact. In the Coachella area, the Mecca Hills, Thermal Canyon, and washes north of Thermal Canyon host archaeologically significant trails, mining sites, and other artifacts from previous settlements. There are also possible sites along the west side of the Whitewater River, and in the downtown area. State regulations and General Plan policies protect against impacts to unique archaeological resources. The General Plan requires new development to implement strategies to protect or reduce impacts on archaeological resources.

The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on tribal cultural resources.

The City conducted AB 52 and SB 18 consultation and sent out letters to 12 tribes. The City received 1 response, and no consultation was requested.

As individual projects are proposed in the future, the City will conduct government-togovernment consultations with local tribes pursuant to AB 52 and SB 18 regarding potential tribal cultural resources that could occur on individual project sites.

There are no historic resources on sites identified in the Site Inventory. Should future housing development be proposed on sites with historic resources or potential tribal cultural resources, any potential impact will be addressed in the project-level CEQA process in accordance with state law and General Plan policies.

Overall, no impact is expected.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 47 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XIX. UTILITIES AND SERVICE

SYSTEMS
Would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Require or result in the relocation
or construction of new or expanded
water, wastewater treatment or
storm water drainage, electric
power, natural gas, or
telecommunications facilities, the
construction or relocation of which
could cause significant
environmental effects?
X
b) Have sufficient water supplies
available to serve the project and
reasonably foreseeable future
development during normal, dry and
multiple dry years?
X
c) Result in a determination by the
wastewater treatment provider
which serves or may serve the
project that it has adequate
capacity to serve the project’s
projected demand in addition to the
provider’s existing commitments?
X
d) Generate solid waste in excess of
State or local standards, or in excess
of the capacity of local
infrastructure, or otherwise impair the
attainment of solid waste reduction
goals?
X
e) Comply with federal, state, and
local management and reduction
statutes and regulations related to
solid waste?
X
Setting
The City of Coachella is served by the following utility providers:

Utility Service Provider(s)
Electricity Imperial Irrigation District (IID)
Natural gas Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)
Water Coachella Water Agency (CWA)

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 48 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
Wastewater Coachella Sanitary District (CSD) (majority of the City), Valley Sanitary District (VSD)
Solid Waste Burrtec
Telecommunications Spectrum, Frontier
Discussion of Impacts
a-e) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on utilities and service systems because it will not generate construction or development directly. Lands identified in the Housing Element are served by water and sanitary sewer lines. As future housing projects are proposed, their potential impacts on utilities will be considered during the entitlement process and CEQA review.

CWA is responsible, under the California Water Code, for analyzing its current and future water supply, and assuring that sufficient supply is available to serve land uses within its service area, through the preparation of an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). CWA participated in the 2020 Coachella Valley Regional UWMP, which used the City’s General Plan land uses as a basis for planning. CWA has demonstrated sufficient water supplies to serve the City through 2045 during normal, single dry, and multiple dry years.

CSD conducts long-range planning for sewer services based on the General Plan land uses in its Sewer System Master Plan (SSMP, 2015). CSD has indicated sufficient capacities at the wastewater treatment plant and force mains, although certain pipes and pump stations are identified for necessary upgrades to accommodate growth under the General Plan. The City and CSD are responsible for programming projects recommended in the SSMP, which are expected to be funded under a combination of development impact fees and rate increases.

Burrtec provides solid waste services to the City on a contract basis, and will charge a per unit fee on future housing units. Regional landfills have sufficient capacity to accommodate future development in the City.

The energy and telecommunications service providers also plan their infrastructure according to local development and population growth to provide adequate services. All future housing projects will be required to analyze their demand for utility services at the individual project level.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Sources: City of Coachella General Plan 2015; City of Coachella General Plan Update Final Environmental Impact Report (CGPU EIR, SCH No. 2009021007), October 2014; 2020 Coachella Valley Regional Urban Water Management Plan, June 2021.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 49 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XX. WILDFIRE – If located in or near
state responsibility areas or lands
classified as very high fire hazard
severity zones, would the project:

Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Substantially impair an adopted
emergency response plan or
emergency evacuation plan?
X
b) Due to slope, prevailing winds,
and other factors, exacerbate
wildfire risks, and thereby expose
project occupants to, pollutant
concentrations from a wildfire or the
uncontrolled spread of a wildfire?
X
c) Require the installation or
maintenance of associated
infrastructure (such as roads, fuel
breaks, emergency water sources,
power lines or other utilities) that may
exacerbate fire risk or that may result
in temporary or ongoing impacts to
the environment?
X
d) Expose people or structures to
significant risks, including downslope
or downstream flooding or landslides,
as a result of runoff, post-fire slope
instability, or drainage changes?
X
Setting
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) ranks fire hazards of wildland areas in the state using four main criteria: fuels, weather, assets at risk, and level of service. There are no state responsibility areas (SRA) or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) in or near the City.

Discussion of Impacts
a-d) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update will have no impact on wildfire.

The City of Coachella consists of primarily local responsibility area (LRA) and some federal responsibility area (FRA). There are no SRA, VHFHSZ, or any other designated fire hazard zones in the City. There is no substantial vegetation within the City to generate a high wildfire risk, nor are any sites identified in the Element near wildlands or forested lands. No impact will occur regarding wildfires.

Mitigation Measures: None required.

Monitoring: None required.

Source: Fire and Resources Assessment Program (FRAP) maps, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Item 27.

City of Coachella Coachella Housing Element Update
October, 2022 50 Initial Study/Negative Declaration
XXI. MANDATORY FINDINGS OF

SIGNIFICANCE
Potentially
Significant
Impact
Less Than
Significant
with
Mitigation
Less Than
Significant
Impact
No
Impact
a) Does the project have the
potential to substantially degrade
the quality of the environment,
substantially reduce the habitat of a
fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or
wildlife population to drop below selfsustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal
community, substantially reduce the
number or restrict the range of a rare
or endangered plant or animal or
eliminate important examples of the
major periods of California history or
prehistory?
X
b) Does the project have impacts
that are individually limited, but
cumulatively considerable?
(“Cumulatively considerable” means
that the incremental effects of a
project are considerable when
viewed in connection with the
effects of past projects, the effects of
other current projects, and the
effects of probable future projects)?
X
c) Does the project have
environmental effects, which will
cause substantial adverse effects on
human beings, either directly or
indirectly?
X
a-c) No Impact. The adoption of the Housing Element Update, a policy document, will not impact the environment. As discussed above, sites identified for future housing are not located within or near a CVMSHCP designated conservation area. The Update will not impact biological or cultural resources, nor human beings directly or indirectly.

The sites identified for future housing will be developed in accordance with General Plan designations and policies, and such development will not impact long term environmental goals. Cumulative impacts of future development have been addressed in the General Plan and its Environmental Impact Report where necessary, and will also be considered during CEQA review for individual projects as they are proposed under the Housing Element.

Item 27.

Item 27.

Item 27.
1 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing Element
Contents
Contents........................................................................................................................................1 Section I Introduction............................................................................................................3 I.A Community Context...............................................................................................3 I.B Housing Element Purpose.....................................................................................3 I.C Organization of the Housing Element....................................................................4 I.D Data Sources and Methods...................................................................................6 I.E Summary of Public Participation............................................................................6 I.F Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing ..................................................................12 I.G Relationship to Other General Plan Elements.....................................................14 I.H Other Statutory Requirements.............................................................................14 Section II Projected Housing Need .....................................................................................15 II.A Introduction/Overview of SCAG Methodology.....................................................15 II.B Riverside County Income Limits..........................................................................15 II.C Regional Housing Needs Allocation ....................................................................16 Section III Housing Resources .............................................................................................16 III.A Introduction..........................................................................................................16 III.B Land Resources ..............................................................................................1617 III.C Financial and Administrative Resources .............................................................18 III.D Opportunities for Energy Conservation ...........................................................2122 Section IV Housing Plan .......................................................................................................23 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................23 Goal A: Facilitate the Development of a Variety of Housing Types to Provide Adequate Housing in the City to all Households..............................................................2324 Goal B: Conserve and Improve the Condition of the Existing Housing Stock...................2729 Goal C: Encourage Energy Conservation to Reduce Housing Costs ...............................3131 Goal D: Promote Fair Housing Opportunity for All Persons [regardless of race, religion, marital status, age, sex, gender, nationality, physical or developmental disability, family size, and level and source of income]...................................................3232 Goal E: Remove Constraints to the Maintenance, Improvement, and Development of Housing ...........................................................................................................3333 Goal F: Promote Affordable Housing to Meet the Needs of Lower- and Moderate-Income Households .....................................................................................................3636

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 2
Goal G: Preserve Existing Affordable Housing Opportunities for Lower Income Residents of the City ............................................................................................................3838 Quantified Objectives........................................................................................................4139 Appendices
Appendix A: Housing Needs Assessment…………………………………………………….…..A-1 Appendix B: Sites Inventory and Methodology…………………………………………………...B-1 Appendix C: Housing Constraints………………………………………………………………….C-1 Appendix D: Existing Programs Review…………………………………………………………..D-1 Appendix E: Public Participation Summaries……………………………………………………..E-1 Appendix F: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing……………………………………………….F-1

Item 27.
3 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing Element
Section I Introduction
I.A Community Context
Founded in 1876 and incorporated in 1946, Coachella is a desert community located at the eastern end of the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California. The city is located southeast of the San Gorgonio Pass, east of the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains, and north of the Salton Sea. Interstate 10 runs the length of the Coachella Valley, connecting Coachella with nearby cities and the Southern California region.

Residential land accounts for 3% of the city, with the majority of its 47,000 residents concentrated west of State Route 111. The city’s two main retail and commercial corridors are Cesar Chavez Street (formerly U.S. Route 99) and Grapefruit Boulevard (State Route 111). Agricultural uses comprise about one-third of the city, while just over half of Coachella is undeveloped land. 98% of Coachella’s residents are Hispanic or Latino. The city is officially bilingual in both English and Spanish. Coachella celebrates a strong cultural identity and is a tightly knit community, one that played a key role in fostering parts of the farmworker revolution during the 1960s that shaped the agricultural industry in immeasurable ways. Coachella’s vision is to transform into a mediumsized, full-service city with a range of amenities and economic opportunities beyond its two main industries of agriculture and hospitality. The city is growing rapidly, but the community intends to maintain its social cohesion and sense of identity as the City expands.

I.B Housing Element Purpose
The State of California has stated that the availability of decent and suitable housing for every California family is “a priority of the highest order” (California Government Code §54220). This objective has become increasingly urgent in recent years as communities across the state, including Coachella, struggle to meet the housing needs of all their residents. State Housing Element Law, established in 1969, recognizes the vital role local governments play in the supply and affordability of housing and requires all cities and counties in California establish a long-range plan to meet their fair share of regional housing needs. Cities are charged with planning for the welfare of their citizens, including ensuring that the existing and projected demands for housing are adequately met.

High housing costs — and related housing instability issues — increase health care costs (for individuals and the state), decrease educational outcomes (affecting individuals, as well as the state’s productivity), and make it difficult for California businesses to attract and retain employees.
– State of California 2025 Statewide Housing Assessment

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 4
The Housing Element is the primary tool used by the State to ensure local governments are appropriately planning for and accommodating enough housing across all income levels. This Housing Element covers the planning period 2021-2029. The Housing Element is a mandatory part of a jurisdiction’s General Plan but differs from other General Plan elements in two key aspects. The housing element must be updated every eight years for jurisdictions within a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) on a 4-year regional transportation plan (RTP) cycle, such as the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). The housing element must also be reviewed and approved (i.e., certified) by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.

At the time of publication, the COVID-19 crisis has impacted Coachella in significant ways. This has made the issue of housing security even more acute as residents face job loss, housing cost pressures, and disparate health impacts from the pandemic. On a practical level, the housing element has had to respond to these conditions by transitioning the public outreach process to reflect the limitations brought on by COVID-19. These actions are detailed in this report. From a policy perspective, the impact on housing security has shown that many of Coachella’s residents have only tenuous access to housing and the need to secure more housing alternatives for all members of Coachella’s populations.

I.C Organization of the Housing Element
Per California Government Code §65580-65589, a housing element must consist of the following components:
• Review of the Previous Housing Element: An evaluation of the results of the goals, policies, and programs adopted in the previous Housing Element that compares projected outcomes with actual achieved results.

The results of this assessment are located in Appendix D. • Housing Needs Assessment: An analysis of the existing and projected housing needs of the community. It provides a profile of sociodemographic information, such as population characteristics, household information, housing stock, tenure, and housing affordability. The assessment also considers local special housing needs, such as, seniors, farmworkers, homeless, large households, and female-headed households. The analysis is provided in Appendix A.

Item 27.
5 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing Element
• Inventory of Adequate Sites: An inventory listing adequate sites that are suitably zoned and available within the planning period to meet the City’s fair share of regional housing needs across all income levels. The inventory is summarized in Section 3, with the detailed analysis in Appendix B.
• Housing Resources: An identification of resources to support the development, preservation, and rehabilitation of housing. Non-land resources are summarized in Section 3.
• Housing Constraints: An assessment of impediments to housing production across all income levels covering both governmental (e.g., zoning, fees, etc.) and nongovernmental (e.g., market, environmental, etc.). This analysis is provided in Appendix C.
• Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: This section provides an assessment of fair housing by identifying disparities in housing needs, unequal access to opportunity, and/or patterns of racial and ethnic segregation, a process referred to as affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH). See Section 1.F, below, and Appendix F. This assessment meets AB 686 requirements for all housing elements due to be revised on or after January 1, 2021 • Housing Plan: This section provides a statement of the community’s goals, quantified objectives, and policies to maintain, preserve, improve, and develop housing, as well as a schedule of implementable actions to be taken during the planning period to achieve the goals, objectives, and policies. Quantified objectives for new construction, rehabilitation, and conserved units by income category (i.e., very low, low, moderate, and above moderate) are included to make sure that both the existing and the projected housing needs are met, consistent with the City’s share of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).

Section II provides a summary of the projected housing need. Section III summarizes the adequacy of housing sites and identifies housing resources. Section IV contains the housing plan.

The comprehensive research and analysis supporting the development of Section IV, Housing Plan, are compiled in appendices to this Housing Element. These appendices contain the full set of information used to inform the City’s goals, policies, and programs:

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 6
• Appendix A: Housing Needs Assessment
• Appendix B: Sites Inventory and Methodology
• Appendix C: Housing Constraints
• Appendix D: Existing Programs Review
• Appendix E: Public Participation Summaries
• Appendix F: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
I.D Data Sources and Methods
This Housing Element was updated in accordance with California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) guidelines for the 6th Housing Element Cycle, incorporating additional considerations required under new State housing-related legislation. Specific documents are referenced throughout the Housing Element, including but not limited to the Coachella 2015 General Plan, Zoning Code, and the Vista Del Agua and La Entrada Specific Plans. The analyses and findings in this document relied on data compiled from various sources, including:
• US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
• California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) • California Department of Finance (DOF)
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
• Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) pre-certified data This document was also informed by information provided by residents, business groups, local institutions, City staff, and elected officials.

I.E Summary of Public Participation
Public participation is crucial in shaping Coachella’s housing strategy. Understanding the needs of the community enables the development of housing strategies that are most appropriate and effective. Public outreach also allows the City to identify concerns unique to certain stakeholders that may not have been initially apparent. As part of the development of this Housing Element, the City’s public participation program included two focus group meetings, four steering committee meetings, one community-wide meeting, one public hearing with the Planning Commission, and one public hearing with the City Council. For summaries of public outreach events including attendees, discussion topics, and meeting format, please see Appendix E.

Item 27.
7 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing Element
During the public outreach sessions, the City documented prominent comments and concerns.

These were taken into consideration when the goals and programs of the Housing Element were created. Concerns about resident displacement, inclusionary zoning, and climate change mitigation were expressed. These concerns were translated into action items seen in Program

7.1, Program 7.2, and Program 3.1.

Other concerns included workforce housing needs and efforts to streamline affordable housing development. Program 1.10 and Program 5.10 focus directly on workforce housing, specifically farmworkers. Developmental streamlines for affordable housing – in Program 6.2 and Program

6.7. The community outreach process also identified concerns regarding constraints that affect housing type and income diversity in the city. The community mentioned that sites should be chosen strategically to avoid creating income segregation, which prompted the City to reevaluate the site inventory and consider additional sites for housing. Affordable housing incentives and flexibility for developers were strategies to promote housing. In response, the City includes programs such as Program 1.8, Program 2.7, and Program 6.4. Website The Housing Element Update webpage (https://www.coachellahousingelement.com/) was used to provide an overview of the Housing Element update process and timeline, resources for Housing Element information (e.g., meeting notices, draft documents, etc.), and provide City contact information. Interested parties could sign up to receive information about upcoming meetings and documents. The website was available in English and Spanish (translated).

Focus Groups
The City conducted two focus group meetings in preparation of the Housing Element update:
• Focus Group #1: Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm • Focus Group #2: Friday, April 23, 2021, 1:30pm – 2:30pm Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the focus groups were held over webinar. Invitations were distributed to 51 individuals representing multiple stakeholder groups (See Appendix E for list of contacted groups). Of the 11 individuals who RSVP’d, 8 participants attended. Follow up meetings were offered to individuals who RSVP’d and did not participate, although no stakeholder responded to this offer. Comments received are documented in Appendix E and summarized below.
• Underserved groups tend to be low-income individuals, older individuals, full time and seasonal agriculture workers, Native Americans, and families and households with mixed immigration status.
• There is a need and an interest in creating workforce housing, especially housing for farmworkers to remain near the farms.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 8
• There needs to be a better integration of various income level housing opportunities throughout the City.
• Development standards need to be reevaluated to increase flexibility in housing production. Participants have shown desire to reduce setbacks, up zone areas, and create more mixed-use opportunities in the City’s Downtown.
• Affordable housing developers have difficulty meeting state and federal funding requirements because of the City’s density restrictions and other limitations (parking, height limits, Floor Area Ratio restrictions, etc.) as well as the availability of suitable sites in proximity to other factors (e.g., proximity to transit and services). • The City works well with non-profit developers to streamline approvals, when possible.

City has helped utilized SB35 streamlining.

Steering Committee
The City formed a housing steering committee consisting of eight members representing a variety of interests and expertise.

Meeting #1 (July 2021)
On July 26, 2021, the City conducted the first steering committee meeting via Zoom.

The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Housing Element update, outline the role of the steering committee, and facilitate a discussion regarding committee member concerns, observations, and goals for housing development in Coachella. Committee members are tasked with representing a variety of perspectives and interests; consensus housing goals, objectives, or constraints is not necessary. Initial comments included:
• Building denser, affordable housing is difficult given the higher cost of such development typologies
• Current market-rate rents are not high enough to absorb added costs without outside sources of funding
• Future projects would benefit from lowering development costs and increasing certainty for developers, e.g., shortening the entitlement timeline, streamlining the process, and allowing smaller lots by-right
Meeting #2 (August 2021)
On August 16, 2021, the City conducted the second steering committee meeting via Zoom. The City and Consultant team presented an overview of the technical requirements of the Housing Element and the draft goals and policies for the 6th Cycle Housing Element. The steering committee members were provided with memos with initial results from the needs assessment, governmental constraints assessment, draft sites inventory, and preliminary housing plan for review in advance of the meeting. The City and team facilitated discussions on the technical assessment findings and the draft implementation plan. Discussion included:

Item 27.
9 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing Element
• How to eliminate development constraints, such as minimum street widths and setback requirements
• Need for affordable housing incentives for both for-profit and non-profit developers (both developers should collaborate to access financing options) • Include a program or policy to reduce developer uncertainty through reducing/removing CEQA requirements, expediting the development review process, etc.
• The need for community amenities such as a senior center close to residential development
• What can the City do to be more competitive in federal funding for affordable housing projects (based on ranking criteria)?
• Meeting #3 (August 2021)
• On August 27, 2021, the City conducted the third steering committee meeting via Zoom.

The City facilitated a discussion with the committee and focused on Housing Element goals and policies and preparations for the upcoming workshop.

Community Events
The City conducted one community-wide event to solicit input on housing needs:
• Virtual Workshop, October 14, 2021
On October 14, 2021, the City of Coachella hosted a virtual public workshop for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update project. Gabriel Perez, Development Services Director, opened the meeting and explained the intent of the workshop is to provide information about the Housing Element Update process and answer questions. The presentation was available in English and live Spanish translation. Director Perez introduced additional City staff and the Consultant Team, Lisa Wise Consulting Inc. (LWC). The presentation addressed the following topics:

1. Housing Element Overview

2. Process and Public Outreach

3. Housing Needs and Conditions in Coachella

4. Public Review Draft Housing Element

5. Next Steps for the Coachella Housing Element Update

6. Questions and Discussion
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the community event was held as a webinar. Notifications of the community event were distributed in English and Spanish to the City’s email database.

Approximately 20 participants attended. Comments received are documented in Appendix E and summarized below.
• How can interested persons participate in the Housing Element Update process? There are many ways to participate in the Housing Element Update process. The steering committee meetings included non-profit and for-profit developers, faith-based groups, and the housing authority, among others.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 10
• What does “affordable housing” mean? “Affordable” is a technical term that refers to the amount of income spent on housing (no more than 30%) relative to income categories set by the State (e.g., Extremely Low, Very Low, Low, Moderate) based on a region’s Area Median Income (AMI), in this case, for Riverside County. • How is the City ensuring that Coachella residents won’t be displaced, including lowincome persons of color? The City should look at inclusionary zoning ordinances, rent control, land trusts, and types of anti-displacement strategies. The idea behind a housing element update is to ensure that cities have enough space available to produce housing attainable to persons at all income levels, including below market-rate housing.

Many of the sites identified by the City that will be used for complying with the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) are on vacant land, so they will not remove existing housing.
• How will the City prevent segregation of neighborhoods based on income levels and the concentration of poverty? The City is sensitive to this issue. Pursuant to state law, the City will conduct an analysis to “affirmatively further fair housing” and investigate areas that may be segregated by income, race, etc.
• The City should have its Code Enforcement Division help rehabilitate existing housing, such as small loans for residents to make repairs. The City does provide a Residential Rehabilitation Program to residents (as funding is available), and will continue to advertise this on its website, share information with service organizations, and post information in City Hall. Please also see Program 2.1 of the Housing Element Update. • Does the Housing Element Update consider climate goals and proximity to transit in its analyses? Yes, the Housing Element Update promotes housing near jobs and transit to reduce climate impacts that occur on account of commutes.

Public Hearings
The Housing Element was presented at three public hearings:

Planning Commission Study Session- November 2021
On November 8, 2021, the City hosted a hybrid in-person/virtual joint City Council/Planning Commission study session for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update project. Mayor Steven Hernandez opened the meeting and introduced Gabriel Perez, Development Services Director, who explained the intent of the study session was to review the draft Housing Element Update, as well as to receive comment and answer questions. The presentation was available in English and live Spanish translation. Director Perez introduced the Consultant Team, Lisa Wise Consulting Inc. (LWC). The presentation addressed the following topics:

1. Housing Element Overview

2. Process and Public Outreach

3. Housing Needs and Conditions in Coachella

4. Public Review Draft Housing Element

5. Public Workshop

Item 27.
11 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element

6. Next Steps for the Coachella Housing Element Update

7. Questions and Discussion
Due to COVID-19 conditions, the meeting was held virtually via Zoom with the option for in-person attendance at the Coachella City Hall Council Chambers. Public participants were able to access the meeting by computer or by phone in English or Spanish. Participants were encouraged to provide feedback on the presentation and Housing Element document verbally at the meeting or by Zoom comment box. Over 15 people attended the study session via Zoom.

Comments received are documented in Appendix E and summarized below. Three emails were also entered into the record.
• Does the fact that the median income in Riverside County is higher than the median income in Coachella present opportunities for Coachella? While grants and other funding for affordable housing are very competitive, the relative lower income of Coachella residents is a factor that could help proposed affordable housing projects in Coachella score higher for receiving funding or tax credits from programs through Riverside County or the State.
• The City should look at its last (5th cycle) housing element update to see how it has been recently promoting affordable housing. The City has 560 units in the pipeline; 106 currently under construction. Let’s promote our successes. The City does look at how it has performed over the last housing cycle through its current housing element update. The housing element update will highlight how many affordable units have been built since the start of the last housing cycle.
• Affordable housing units in the City should be high-quality. Coachella residents that live in affordable housing units should not feel inferior to other residents, especially because of the quality of their housing. We want residents to feel at home and not segregated. While capacity constraints such as lot coverage restrictions can negatively impact the profitability of housing projects, and therefore in part the type of materials used for construction of affordable housing units, the City can consider programs to require projects to provide the same type of fixtures and appliances for market rate and affordable units.
• The City needs to update its Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map to be consistent with its General Plan. The City currently is circulating a request for qualifications (RFQ) to this effect.
• The City should address senior housing needs, both in the short and long term.

Senior housing should be near amenities, as some senior may not have reliable transportation or may not be able to drive. The City should also streamline senior housing projects.
• The City should consider adopting an inclusionary zoning ordinance.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 12
• The City should encourage different types of housing (e.g., “missing middle” housing). This includes condominiums and fourplexes, etc. These types of housing should also be near amenities, such as access to medicine, jobs, churches, and counseling centers. We can look at the Zona Central between Avenue 50 and 52 to continue the grid. The housing element update promotes a diversified housing stock— everything from detached single-family housing to missing middle housing to federally subsidized, traditional affordable housing. The Housing Element acknowledges that access to amenities is an important factor in remaining competitive for subsidies and grant funds for affordable housing and will continue to work with developers to align sites for housing with high opportunity areas.
• Can the City require that first-time homebuyers have priority over others when submitting offers to purchase a home? The housing element team is not aware of any such programs in California. First-time homebuyer programs do exist where cities provide access to low interest rates or other types of funding, or education programs for first-time homebuyers. In some cities, first-time homebuyers experience difficulties in buying housing when they must compete with short-term rentals. The City does participate in a first-time homebuyer assistance program through Riverside County. • The City should streamline affordable housing projects (have a quick turnaround time for plan check and reviews).

Planning Commission Hearing- (TBD)
City Council Hearing- (TBD)
I.F Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Assembly Bill (AB) 686, signed in 2018, establishes new requirements to Government Code Section 65583 requiring cities and counties to take deliberate actions to foster inclusive communities through fair and equal housing choice by establishing policies to address disparities in housing needs, access to opportunity, and patterns of racial and ethnic segregation, a process referred to as affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH).

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released AFFH assessment guidelines on April 27, 2021. The AFFH analysis covers, and is built upon, several other required components of the Housing Element, including the Needs Assessment (Appendix A), Sites Inventory (Appendix B), and Constraints Assessment (Appendix C), and as such is provided for in a separate appendix, referencing other technical components as needed. The summary of findings is provided below, in Table 1-1. For the complete analysis, see Appendix F.

Appendix F was released for public review and posted to the project website in April 2022. Fair housing issues and topics were discussed at Focus group meetings and public workshops prior

Item 27.
13 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
to the release of the draft Appendix. Input from the community on fair housing programs and policies in included in Section IV.

Table 1-1: AFFH Issues and Meaningful Actions
Contributing
Factor
AFFH
Strategy Housing Implementation Programs
Land use and
zoning laws
Modify land
use and zoning
laws to be less
restrictive

1.5 Lot Consolidation

1.7 Large Sites

1.13 General Plan Map Amendments

4.2 Reasonable Accommodation

5.1 Zoning Code Constraints

5.2 Development Fees

5.3 Parking Requirements

5.4 Eliminate Minimum Dwelling Unit Size Requirement

5.5 Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

5.6 Transitional and Supportive Housing

5.7 Manufactured Housing

5.8 Group Homes

5.9 Single-Room Occupancy Housing

6.7 Streamlined Approvals
Displacement of
residents due to
economic
pressures
New Housing
Choices and
Affordability in
more areas of
the City

1.1 General Plan Implementation

1.2 Lower Income Site Rezoning

1.3 General Plan Text Amendment

1.4 Services and Facilities

1.14 AB2339 Code Amendments

5.11 Prioritize Sewer Hookups for Residential Development For Lowerincome

5.12 Objective Design Standards

6.1 Development Fee Deferral

6.2 Affordable Unit Financing

6.4 Density Bonus

6.6 Infrastructure Grants
Availability of
affordable units
in a range of
sizes
Provide Choice
of Different
Affordable
Housing Types

1.8 Variety of Housing Options for Special Needs Groups

1.9 Emergency Shelters

1.10 Farmworker Housing Support

5.5 Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

5.6 Transitional and Supportive Housing

5.7 Manufactured Housing

5.8 Group Homes

5.9 Single-Room Occupancy Housing

5.10 Farmworker Housing Strategies
Access to
financial services
Provide
Information
Regarding

1.12 Accessory Dwelling Units Outreach

2.1 Rehabilitation Programs

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 14
Table 1-1: AFFH Issues and Meaningful Actions
Contributing
Factor
AFFH
Strategy Housing Implementation Programs
housing and
funding options
to Educate
Community

2.7 Tenant Outreach

4.1 Fair Housing

6.5 Website Update

7.1 Housing Choice Vouchers

7.2 At-Risk Housing
I.G Relationship to Other General Plan Elements
The Housing Element is one of seven mandatory elements of the City’s General Plan, a longrange vision document that provides guidance for future development in Coachella. City Council adopted the Coachella General Plan Update in 2015. For the General Plan to provide effective guidance on land use issues, the goals, policies, and programs of each element must be internally consistent with other elements. This Housing Element builds upon the existing General Plan and is consistent with its goals and policies. In the event an element of the General Plan is amended, the City will consider the impacts of the amendment on the other elements to maintain consistency across all documents.

I.H Other Statutory Requirements
Water and Sewer Priority
Government Code §65589.7 requires each public agency or private entity providing water or sewer services to grant a priority for the provision of these services to proposed developments that include lower income housing units. In Coachella, sewer services are provided by the Coachella Sanitary District and water services are provided by the Coachella Water Authority.

The City has not denied, applied conditions, or reduced the amount of sewer service for a development that includes housing affordable to lower-income households consistent with State law. As part of this Housing Element, the City will adopt written policies and procedures that grant a priority for sewer hook-ups and service to developments that help meet Coachella’s share of the regional need for lower-income housing (see Program 5.11).

Government Code §65589.7 also requires adopted housing elements to be immediately delivered to all public agencies or private entities that provide water or sewer services for municipal and industrial uses, including residential. The City will provide the adopted Housing Element to the Coachella Sanitary District and Coachella Water Authority immediately upon adoption.

Item 27.
15 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
Section II Projected Housing Need
II.A Introduction/Overview of SCAG Methodology
State Housing Element law (Government Code §65580 et. seq.) requires regional councils of governments to identify for each member jurisdiction its "fair share allocation" of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment provided by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). In turn, each city and county must demonstrate the capacity to accommodate their local share of regional housing needs in the community’s housing element.

Each jurisdiction’s responsibility for meeting the overall regional housing need is established as a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the council of governments for the Coachella area, adopted its 6th Cycle RHNA allocation methodology in March 2020. SCAG considered several factors in preparing the methodology, which weighed both projected and existing need. Projected need was informed by household growth, future vacancy need, and replacement need, while existing need considered transit accessibility, job accessibility, residual need in disadvantaged communities. The distribution of the RHNA across the four income categories factored in a social equity adjustment, which allocated a lower proportion of lowerincome RHNA to jurisdictions that already had a high concentration of such households in comparison to the County, as well as the goal to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH), which adjusted the distribution of RHNA in jurisdictions considered either very low or very high resource areas.

II.B Riverside County Income Limits
The projected housing needs are broken down by income category based on definitions in the California Health and Safety Code (§50079.5). HCD calculates “extremely low”, “very low”, “low”, “median”, “moderate”, and “above moderate” income limits, and publishes these limits at the county level. Riverside County’s 2021 income limits for households of one to four persons are shown in Table II-1.

Table II-1: Riverside County 2021 Income Limits
Number of Persons in Household 1 2 3 4
Extremely Low (<30% of AMI) $16,660 $19,000 $21,960 $26,500 Very Low (30-50% of AMI) $27,650 $31,600 $35,550 $39,500 Low (50-80% of AMI) $44,250 $50,600 $56,900 $63,200
Median $54,250 $62,000 $69,750 $77,500
Moderate (80-120% of AMI) $65,100 $74,400 $83,700 $93,000

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 16
II.C Regional Housing Needs Allocation
The RHNA for Coachella is shown in Table II-2. The City has a total allocation of 7,886 units for the October 2021 to October 2029 planning period.

Table II-2: 6th Cycle RHNA
Coachella Riverside County SCAG
Area/Income Number of
Units
Percent Number of
Units
Percent Number of
Units
Percent
Total 7,886 100% 167,351 100% 1,341,827 100%
Extremely Low 1 516
13% 41,995 25% 351,796 26%
Very Low 517
Low 999 13% 26,473 16% 206,807 15%
Moderate 1,367 17% 29,167 17% 223,957 17%
Above Moderate 4,487 57% 69,716 42% 559,267 42%
1 Assumes 50% of Very Low-income households are Extremely-Low income.

The City of Coachella is not responsible for the actual construction of these units. Coachella is, however, responsible for creating a regulatory environment in which the private market could build unit types included in their State housing allocation. This includes the creation, adoption, and implementation of General Plan policies, zoning standards, and/or economic incentives to encourage the construction of various types of units.

Section III Housing Resources
III.A Introduction
There are a variety of resources available to support the City in implementation of its housing strategy, landowners and developers seeking to provide housing, and residents in need to housing assistance in Coachella. This section provides a summary of land available to accommodate future housing in the city. The full site inventory analysis is contained in Appendix B. This section also includes a list of local, regional, state, and federal programs that provide financial and related assistance to support the City in meeting its housing goals.

III.B Land Resources
A critical part of the Housing Element is the sites inventory, which identifies a list of sites that are suitable for future residential development. State law mandates that each jurisdiction ensure availability of an adequate number of sites that have appropriate zoning, development standards, and infrastructure capacity to meet its fair share of regional housing need (i.e., RHNA) at all

Item 27.
17 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
income levels. The inventory is a tool that assists in determining if the jurisdiction has enough land to meet its RHNA given its current regulatory framework.

Identification of Sites Suitable for Housing
The sites identified in the site inventory (Appendix B) are comprised of parcels located in various areas and zones within the City. Each site has undergone an assessment to determine development potential and residential unit capacity given zoning standards and development trends. For detailed information, please see Appendix B.

Summary of Adequate Sites
Table III-1 summarizes the City’s methods for satisfying its RHNA. Based on entitled and proposed projects, and available 6th Cycle sites under the General Plan scenario (Scenario #2, assuming a rezoning Program 1.1 and General Plan Amendments Program 1.13), the City has excess capacity in all income categories. Assumptions and methodology for this determination and a detailed list of sites are included in Appendix B.

Table III-1: Residential Development Potential and RHNA ExtremelyLow, Very
Low, and
Low
Moderate
Above
Moderate
Total
RHNA 2,032 1,367 4,487 7,886
Entitled/Proposed Projects1 273 835 1,108
Remaining RHNA 1,759 1,367 3,652 6,778
Site Inventory Results
Scenario 1 – Existing Capacity (Zoning Code) 2,212 3,211 5,423 Remaining- Zoning Scenario 1,759 -8452 441
Scenario 2 – Potential Capacity (General
Plan)3 2,345 1,468 6,190 10,003
Remaining- General Plan Scenario -586
2 -1012-2,5382-3,225
1 Considers net new units only.
2 Negative value indicates a surplus.
3 Requires rezoning, see Programs 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3.

Source: City of Coachella, LWC 2022

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 18
III.C Financial and Administrative Resources
There are a variety of resources available to support the City in implementation of its housing strategy, landowners and developers seeking to provide housing, and residents in need to housing assistance in Coachella. The following section contains a list of financial, administrative, and other resources to help the City address its housing needs. Availability of these resources is dependent on governmental priorities, legislation, and continued funding, which may be subject to change at any time.

City Resources
• Coachella First Time Homebuyer Program Down Payment Assistance Program: This program provides down payment assistance in the form of a deferred loan for low-income, first-time homebuyers.

Regional Resources
• Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC) Program
o Self Help Homeownership Program: This program consists of families helping other families achieve home ownership. Families form an informal association and agree to help each other build their homes with technical assistance provided by a competent construction supervisor. CVHC was recently awarded a $6 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in April 2021. • Riverside County Economic Development Agency Programs o First Home Buyer Down Payment Assistance (FTHB) Program: This program provides down payment assistance to lower income persons in the purchase of a home.
o Mortgage Credit Certification (MCC): This program allows home buyers to reduce the amount of their federal income tax liability by an amount equal to a portion of the interest paid on a home mortgage, qualifying them more easily for a loan by increasing the effective income of the buyer through a tax credit. • Housing Authority of the County of Riverside (HACR) Programs o Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program: This program assists families receiving rental assistance move to economic independence. This program includes workshops on financial assistance for higher education, credit repair/home ownership, self-esteem, resume writing, parenting, and stress management. o Homeownership (HOP) Program: This program assists with cleaning up credit problems for eligible residents and works closely with the FSS program to obtain the goal of homeownership while earning an escrow account.

State Resources
• Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC): Administered by the Strategic Growth Council, this program provides grants and/or loans to fund landuse, housing, transportation, or land preservation projects that support infill and compact development that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Item 27.
19 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
• CalHome: HCD provides grants to local public agencies and non-profit housing developers to assist first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance through deferred-payment loans, rehabilitation, homebuyer counseling, self-help mortgage assistance, or other technical assistance. $57 million available in State CalHome program. • California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH): This program provides funds for a variety of activities to assist persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness, such as housing relocation and stabilization services (including rental assistance), operating subsidies for permanent housing, flexible housing subsidies, emergency housing operating support, and homeless delivery systems.
• Homekey: This program provides funding to protect Californians experiencing homelessness who are impacted by COVID-19.
• Housing for a Healthy California (HHC) Program: This program creates supportive housing for recipients of or those eligible for health care provided through the California Department of Health Care Services’ Medi-Cal program.
• Housing Navigator’s Program: This grant program funds housing navigators to help young adults aged 18 to 21 years secure and maintain housing, with priority for individuals in the foster care system.
• Infill Infrastructure Grant Program (IIG): This program promotes infill housing development by providing grant funding, in the form of gap assistance, for infrastructure improvements required for qualifying multi-family or mixed-use residential development. • Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant (FWHG) Program: This program provides deferred payment loans for both owner-occupied and rental housing for agricultural workers, with a priority for lower income households.
• Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF) Program: This program provides matching funds to local or regional housing trust funds for the creation, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, transitional housing, or emergency shelters. • Mobilehome Park Rehabilitation and Resident Ownership Program (MPRROP): This program provides financing to support the preservation of affordable mobilehome parks through conversion of the park to an ownership model.
• Multifamily Housing Program (MHP): This program provides deferred payment loans for the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of permanent and transitional rental housing for lower-income households.
• National Housing Trust Fund: This program provides deferred payment or forgivable loans for the construction of permanent housing for extremely low-income households.

The covenant is for 55 years.
• Predevelopment Loan Program (PDLP): This program provides financing to cover predevelopment costs to construct, preserve, or rehabilitate assisted housing.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 20
• Supportive Housing Multifamily Housing Program (SHMHP): This program provides low interest deferred loan payments to developers building affordable rental housing that contain supportive housing units.
• Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Housing Program: This program provides lowinterest loans as gap financing for higher density affordable rental housing near transit. • Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program (VHHP): This program supports the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable multifamily housing for veterans and their families. • Golden State Acquisition Fund: This $93 million fund provides low-cost financing aimed at supporting the creation and preservation of affordable housing across the state. • California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA): CalHFA offers a variety of low-cost loan programs to support the development of affordable multi-family rental housing, mixedincome housing, and special needs housing. • California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), Mortgage Credit Certificate Program:

The MCC program is a homebuyer assistance program designed to help lower‐income families afford home ownership. The program allows home buyers to claim a dollar‐for‐ dollar tax credit for a portion of mortgage interest paid per year, up to $2,000. The remaining mortgage interest paid may still be calculated as an itemized deduction. • Elderlink: A senior care referral service licensed by the Department of Public Health. This organization provides independent and free personalized senior care placement services to fully screened and approved nursing home, board and care, and assisted living facilities.

Federal Resources
• HOME Program: Participating jurisdictions may use HOME funds for a variety of housing activities, according to local housing needs. Eligible uses of funds include tenant-based rental assistance; housing rehabilitation; assistance to homebuyers; and new construction of housing. HOME funding may also be used for site acquisition, site improvements, demolition, relocation, and other necessary and reasonable activities related to the development of non-luxury housing. Funds may not be used for public housing development, public housing operating costs, or for Section 8 tenant-based assistance, nor may they be used to provide non-federal matching contributions for other federal programs, for operating subsidies for rental housing, or for activities under the Low-Income Housing Preservation Act.
• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): Federal funding for housing programs is available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Coachella participates in the CDBG program through the County of Riverside, which applies to HUD for funds on behalf of the City and other non-entitlement jurisdictions. The City offers housing rehabilitation loan and grant programs funded with CDBG funds. The City’s CDBG allocation for the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 is $363,223. • Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program: Allows CDBG entitlement jurisdictions to leverage their annual grant allocations to access low-cost financing for capital improvement projects. Eligible activities include housing, economic development, public

Item 27.
21 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
facility, and infrastructure. This program is often used to catalyze private investment in underserved communities or as gap financing.
• Section 811 Project Rental Assistance: HUD offers long-term project-based rental assistance through a NOFA published by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA).
• Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program: This program provides funding for cities, counties, and states to (1) engage homeless individuals and families living on the street; (2) improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families; (3) help operate these shelters; (4) provide essential services to shelter residents, (5) rapidly rehouse homeless individuals and families, and (6) prevent families/individuals from becoming homeless.
• Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Program: HUD-VASH is a collaborative program between HUD and VA combines HUD housing vouchers with VA supportive services to help veterans who are homeless and their families find and sustain permanent housing.
• Low-Income Housing Preservation and Residential Home Ownership Act (LIHPRHA): This program requires all eligible HUD Section 236 and Section 221(d) projects at risk of conversion to market-rate rentals from mortgage pre-payments be subject to LIHPRHA incentives, which include subsidies to guarantee an eight percent annual return on equity.
• Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Administered through the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC), the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) subsidizes the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of affordable housing by providing a tax credit to construct or rehabilitate affordable rental housing for low-income households. • Continuum of Care (CoC) Program: The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment towards ending homelessness. It provides funding to nonprofits, State, and local governments to provide shelter and services to people experiencing homelessness.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Housing Programs: This program provides homeownership opportunities for individuals and below market-rate loans/grants to public and non-profit organizations for new construction, preservation, or rehabilitation of farmworker/rural multi-family rental housing.

III.D Opportunities for Energy Conservation
The cost of energy can greatly impact housing affordability, as energy costs can constitute a significant portion of total housing costs. High energy costs also particularly impact low-income households that are less likely to have the ability to cover increased expenses.

The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) provides electricity services for the City of Coachella. They assist low-income customers through several programs including:

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 22
Imperial Irrigation District (IID)
• Residential Energy Assistance Program (REAP): This program reduces energy bills for eligible participants by about 20 percent. IID also offers a 30 percent REAP discount to qualifying customers age 62 or older.
• Emergency Energy Assistance Program (EEAP): This program assists customers who face disconnection for non-payment. EEAP payment assistance is available quarterly to residents who participate in the REAP program. Customers may qualify for up to $75 on their electric bill during the 1st and 4th quarter, and up to $125 during the 2nd and 3rd quarter. • Medical Equipment Assistance Program (MEEAP): This program reduces the electrical rate for a defined quantity of electricity used to operate medical equipment by a household that has a full-time resident who requires specifically medically necessary equipment to sustain life or prevent deterioration of a person’s medical condition.

Additionally, the City has an Energy Action Plan (EAP), which was adopted in 2012. The EAP is intended to assist in meeting State and regional goals of greenhouse gas reduction and long-term energy efficiency, and it includes a strategy to meet the City’s energy reduction goals.

Other conservation programs available at the local, regional, state, and federal level are described below.

Regional Energy Resources
• Community Action Partnership of Riverside County Programs o Weatherization Assistance Program: This program provides free home energy conservation services to low-income Riverside County homeowners and renters. o Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program: This program provides grants and one-time assistance payments to moderate-income families and individuals for electric bills in Riverside County.

State Energy Resources
• California Department of Community Services & Development Programs LowIncome Weatherization Program (LIWP): California’s Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) provides low-income households with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy efficiency upgrades at no cost to residents. LIWP is the only program of its kind in California that focuses exclusively on serving low-income households with solar PV and energy efficiency upgrades at no cost. The program reduces greenhouse gas emissions and household energy costs by saving energy and generating clean renewable power. LIWP currently operates three program components: Multi-Family, Community Solar, and Farmworker Housing. According to CDS’s Nov. 2020 Low-Income Weatherization Program Impact Report, LIWP has received $212 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund since 2014. Note: The multi-family energy efficiency & renewables program component is estimated to end in June 2022. • California Public Utilities Commission Energy Savings Assistance Program (ESA):

ESA provides no-cost weatherization services to low-income households who meet the CARE income guidelines. Services provided include attic insulation, energy efficient

Item 27.
23 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
refrigerators, energy efficient furnaces, weatherstripping, caulking, low-flow showerheads, water heater blankets, and door and building envelope repairs which reduce air infiltration. • Federal Housing Administration Energy Efficient Mortgage Program (EEM): This program helps families save money on their utility bills by enabling them to finance energy efficient improvements with their FHA-insured mortgage. The EEM program recognizes that an energy-efficient home will have lower operating costs, making it more affordable for the homeowners. Cost-effective energy improvements can lower utility bills and make more income available for the mortgage payment.

Section IV Housing Plan
Introduction
The housing plan of the Housing Element serves as the City’s strategy for addressing its housing needs. This section describes the housing goals, policies, and programs of the Housing Element for the City of Coachella.

Goals are aspirational purpose statements that indicate the City’s direction on housing-related needs. Each goal encompasses several policies, which are statements that describe the City’s preferred course of action among a range of other options.

Each goal also includes programs, which are actionable steps taken to implement the policies and further the City’s progress towards its goals. Some programs contain quantified objectives, which refer to the number of units that are expected to be constructed, preserved, or rehabilitated through the program during the planning period. These quantified objectives represent measurable outcomes that can be used to benchmark the success of each program.

This Housing Element contains institutional changes intended to significantly increase the amount and type of housing for all income levels in Coachella. These efforts are expected to be initiated throughout the planning period, which is from October 15, 2021 to October 15, 2029. In accordance with State law, the City will also evaluate the progress and effectiveness of these programs on an annual basis. Together, these initiatives reflect the City’s commitment to increasing affordable housing and improve existing housing conditions.

Goal A: Facilitate the Development of a Variety of Housing Types to Provide Adequate Housing in the City to all Households
Policies
a) Land Use Controls. Use the Land Use Element of the General Plan and the Zoning Code to ensure the availability of adequate sites for a variety of housing types. b) Varying Densities. Employ a range of housing densities to provide housing for all economic segments of the community consistent with good planning practice.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 24
c) Infill and Contiguous Land. Maximize use of vacant land within the city and contiguous to existing development in order to reduce the cost of off-site improvements and create a compact city form.
d) Compatible Uses. Ensure the compatibility of residential areas with surrounding uses through the separation of potentially hazardous or damaging uses, construction of adequate buffers, and other planning and land use techniques. e) Housing Downtown. Promote higher-density and mixed-use redevelopment within the downtown area.
f) Services and Facilities. Require that adequate public and private services and facilities are or will be provided to all new residential developments as a prerequisite for their approval.
g) Adaptive Reuse. Investigate the adaptive reuse of vacant commercial structures in the downtown area for housing, possibly in a mixed-use fashion. h) Large Family Housing. Encourage developers to provide units with three or more bedrooms, suitable to house large households.
i) Emergency Shelters. Continue to actively support efforts of providers who establish short-term bed facilities for segments of the homeless population including specialized groups such as the mentally ill and the chronically disabled. j) Emergency Shelters Services. Assist and support local social service agencies in their applications for federal funds to provide emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families.
k) Special Needs Housing. Encourage the development of housing to meet the needs of special needs groups including the elderly, large families, farmworkers, homeless, and female-headed households, targeting locations in the City which have higher concentrations of special needs groups and are closest to City services and amenities. l) Unit Sizes. Promote the production of for sale and rental housing to meet the needs of families of all sizes.

Programs

1.1 General Plan Implementation. The City adopted the updated General Plan in 2015. To fully implement the policies outlined in the General Plan update, the City will review the prior completed study that analyzed changes needed to the Zoning Code and revise as necessary to complete a comprehensive Zoning Code update. The City will prioritize creating zones and rezoning lower-income sites identified in the Site Inventory, Scenario #2.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Compatibility Study revised and updated (as needed) and lowerincome sites rezoned by October 2022; Zoning Code updated within 3 years of Housing Element adoption.

Item 27.
25 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element

1.2 Lower Income Site Rezoning. The City will prioritize rezoning sites to accommodate the lower-income RHNA (Appendix B). These sites will be rezoned according to their General Plan designation, along with the following requirements:
• Allow Multifamily uses by-right for developments in which 20 percent or more of the units are affordable to lower-income households;
• Sites must accommodate a minimum of 16 units per site; • Establish a minimum density of 20 units per acre; and • Require residential use occupancy 50 percent of the total floor area of any mixeduse project on these sites.

The lower income RHNA is accommodated on approximately 136 acres of sites throughout the City. The City will amend the zoning regulations of approximately 136 acres of land identified for the lower income RHNA in the sites inventory as described in this program with development standards suitable to facilitate achievement of maximum allowed density (up to 65 du/ac) comply with California State law and meet RHNA targets. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Within 1 year of Housing Element adoption

1.3 General Plan Text Amendment. The City will amend the General Plan to allow 100% residential projects if the site is identified in the City’s Housing Element for lower-income development. This program applies to all designations, but specifically targets the NC, DC, and UE designations.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Within 1 year of Housing Element adoption

1.4 Services and Facilities. Continue to utilize environmental and other development review procedures to ensure that all new residential developments are provided with adequate public and private facilities and services. Require documentation of the adequate services and facilities that are or will be provided as a condition of approval. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing

1.5 Lot Consolidation. Evaluate opportunities for parcel assembly and the use of underutilized sites for high density and/or affordable housing. Discuss housing development potential with developers and property owners and consider relaxing development standards that constrain small lot development and prioritizing application processing to facilitate housing on these sites. Communicate with developers and owners regarding the variety of housing development options available for these sites. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing. Identify sites and meet with landowners every 3 years.

1.6 Housing Data. Upon request, provide housing data, such as information on building permits, vacancy rates, and availability of funding sources, to interested parties.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 26
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing

1.7 Large Sites. Facilitate development on large sites designated for high-density housing by communicating with developers regarding housing opportunities for these sites, providing priority subdivision processing, and utilizing the Master Plan review process (as described in the General Plan Land Use Element) to facilitate affordable unit development. Work with landowners and developers to create sites ranging from one to 10 acres in size that are feasible and appropriate for the development of affordable housing. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing. Identify sites and meet with landowners every 3 years.

1.8 Variety of Housing Options for Special Needs Groups. Identify incentives for development of needed housing typologies suitable for single-parent families with children (e.g., one or two-bedroom houses), households with family members requiring assistance (e.g., persons with disabilities), and multigenerational families (e.g. houses for large families or multiple units on one lot). Encourage, and where feasible, incentivize developers to construct new units that include a full bathroom and bedroom on the first floor (for seniors to age in place) and on-site second units that can be rented. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: December 2022

1.9 Emergency Shelters. Evaluate the adequacy of land that can accommodate emergency shelters in the city and, if needed, identify additional sites for rezoning to provide greater opportunity for these sheltersAmend the Zoning Code parking and separation regulations for emergency shelters to comply with Government Code Section 65583(a)(4)(A),. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: December 20222023

1.10Farmworker Housing Support. Leverage existing relationships in the local non-profit and private sector to identify specific policy levers (such as expedited permitting, fee waivers, etc.) that will have the greatest impact on easing and increasing the development of farmworker housing. Meetings to discuss these constraints will be pursued alongside ongoing assistance given to local farmworker advocacy groups and developers with site identification and technical assistance. The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition (CVHC) is the leading developer of farmworker housing in the City of Coachella and the City commits to meeting annually with CVHC and other potential affordable housing developers to identify development opportunities for farmworkers and provide concession, incentives, and assistance with funding for affordable housing opportunities in the City as appropriate. As constraints are identified, the City will modify the Zoning Code (beyond the changes in Program 5.10) or adopt ordinances to the greatest extent feasible while ensuring compliance with State law.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Departmental budgets and First Time Home Buyer Funds

Item 27.
27 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
• Time Frame: Meet with stakeholders CVHC and Habitat for Humanity by December 2023annually. Amend Code or adopt ordinances, as needed, within three years of Housing Element adoption. Assist farmworker advocacy groups and developers as needed throughout the planning period.

1.11Sites Monitoring. Consistent with SB 166 (No Net Loss), the City will monitor housing sites to ensure adequate sites to accommodate the remaining unmet RHNA by each income category are maintained at all times. The City will also review densities proposed for new development under all the General Plan land use categories and assess how the new densities (and development standards) are or are not working to facilitate housing development, particularly affordable housing units.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Annually

1.12Accessory Dwelling Units Outreach. Integrating accessory dwelling units (ADUs) into existing residential neighborhoods is a means for the City to accommodate additional affordable rental housing that supports multi-generational households and other special needs groups. Furthermore, new State laws have significantly eased ADU development standards and streamlined their approval process (see Program 5.5). To promote safe, legal ADU development, the City will create a dedicated page on its website informing residents of ADU regulations, the application process, and available funding for ADU construction, such as the CalHFA ADU Grant Program that provides up to $25,000 to reimburse homeowners for necessary predevelopment costs. The City will also work with owners of illegal and/or “unintended” accessory dwelling units to bring the unit into compliance with City standards. While promotion of materials and outreach will occur citywide, the City will enhance promotion efforts, either through additional outreach opportunities (e.g., in-person events, physical material posting or distribution, etc.) or more frequent outreach, in highest resource areas (see Appendix F). • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Informational materials on City website by 2024, ongoing advertising of materials in print and digital media. Contact and coordinate with known unpermitted ADUs throughout the planning period.

1.13General Plan Map Amendments. The City has identified four City-owned sites adjacent to Downtown along Grapefruit Boulevard (Consolidated Site G: APNs 763400016 and 763400017; Consolidated Site I: APNs 763131018 and 763131017) for affordable housing.

To facilitate this development, the City will amend the General Plan to redesignate said properties from Industrial to Urban Employment, which allows up to 65 units per acre. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Timeframe: Within 1 year of Housing Element adoption

1.14AB 2339 Code Amendments. The City will amend the Zoning Code to allow emergency shelters by right within one or more zones which also allow residential development and comply with GC 65583(a)(4). The shelter will be subject to the same development standards as other uses in that zone, in addition to any specific requirements for emergency shelters as allowed by law (see Program 1.9).

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 28
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Timeframe: Within 1 year of Housing Element adoption

Item 27.
29 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
Goal B: Conserve and Improve the Condition of the Existing Housing Stock Policies
a) Rehabilitation Funds. Continue to use available state and federal funds for housing rehabilitation, in a manner that will benefit the largest number of lower-income households, including those with extremely and very low income.
b) Overcrowding. Allow utilization of rehabilitation assistance funds to alleviate overcrowded conditions.
c) Unit Rehabilitation. Encourage the rehabilitation of substandard dwelling units instead of requiring their demolition, whenever possible, to preserve the existing affordable housing stock.
d) Neighborhood Enhancement. Utilize the neighborhood enhancement capabilities of the City to ensure that property owners renting unsanitary and unsafe housing units correct identified code violations.
e) Code Enforcement. Ensure that all new housing units constructed in the city are safe and livable through vigorous enforcement of the Uniform Building Code. f) Substandard Units. Pursue the removal and replacement of substandard units that cannot be rehabilitated.
g) Public Improvements. Prioritize public improvements (such as new streets and drainage, sidewalk parks, street trees, and other public amenities and infrastructure) to improve areas with the greatest need, including neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty and limited existing resources and amenities.

Programs

2.1 Rehabilitation Program. Continue to implement the City’s Residential Rehabilitation Program, as funding is available. Allow funds to be used to reconcile code violations, alleviate overcrowding, make improvements to accommodate the special needs of elderly and disabled residents, including persons with developmental disabilities, and improve energy efficiency. The City will continue to advertise the program on the City’s website, share program information with service organizations, and post program information in City Hall. While promotion of materials and outreach will occur citywide, the City will enhance promotion efforts and prioritize program funding in Racial or Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAPs) and older neighborhoods in the City which may be in need of more rehabilitation due to the age of the housing stock (see Appendix F). • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: CDBG and HOME
• Time Frame: Ongoing

2.2 Housing Condition Survey. Continue to monitor housing conditions throughout the city by reviewing code enforcement complaints and periodically conduct formal or informal housing condition surveys.
• Responsible Agencies: Development Services Department

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 30
• Funding: Department budgets (for housing condition surveys) and CDBG Planning/Technical Assistance Grants
• Time Frame: Ongoing. Conduct assessment of areas of concern every three years

2.3 Neighborhood Enhancement. Continue to implement the abandoned and vacant property ordinances and explore new methods of eliminating unsightly property conditions in residential areas.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing

2.4 Mobile Home Park Maintenance. Continue to monitor health and safety issues related to substandard mobile home parks located within the city limits and those within the City’s sphere of influence. Where the State is the permitting agency, refer maintenance and enforcement complaints to the appropriate State contact. For City managed sites, explore funding opportunities for a loan or grant program to assist with mobile home unit and park repairs and improvements as well as mobile home ownership. • Responsible Agency: Coachella Community Services Department • Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Explore funding opportunities by 2023, monitoring is ongoing

2.5 CVAG Representation. Continue to participate in housing-related discussions with CVAG. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department, City Council • Funding: General Fund
• Time Frame: Annually, or as meetings occur

2.6 Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUCs). To support disadvantaged unincorporated communities (DUCs) within the City’s sphere of influence (SOI), the City will:
• Work with Riverside County, Riverside County LAFCO, Coachella Valley Water District, the Coachella Valley Regional Water Management Group (CVWRMG), and local advocacy organizations to identify and address housing-related infrastructure needs in nearby DUCs
• Participate in outreach and information gathering events and strategy sessions • Contribute to efforts to identify and estimate the cost of potential infrastructure improvements including any preparation of the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (prepared by CVWRMG)
• Pursue funding sources to complete necessary upgrades. • Coordinate with agencies and community groups to explore annexation potential and timeframes.
• Consider requiring developers plan for and construct oversized facilities to create infrastructure connection opportunities for nearby disadvantaged communities as a condition of approval for development in new growth areas.

Riverside County LAFCO identified four “fringe” DUCs located in close proximity to Coachella, three of which are located within the City’s sphere of influence. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: General Fund

Item 27.
31 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
• Time Frame: Ongoing, pursuing funding as available and engage in ongoing dialogue (meet at least annually) to determine annexation potential and timeframes

2.7 Tenant Outreach. Conduct education and outreach to tenants regarding the City’s Code Enforcement program and their rights as a tenant to decent, safe, and sanitary housing.

While promotion of materials and outreach will occur citywide, the City will enhance promotion efforts in downtown and in areas of the City which have the highest concentration of renters (see Appendix F).
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Departmental budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing, prepare flyers for distribution at City Hall within one year of Housing Element adoption.

2.8 Home Enhancement. Fund home rehabilitation improvements for low income households utilizing CDBG funding.
• Responsible Agency: Economic Development Department
• Funding: CDBG funds
• Time Frame: Secure and distribute funds through Dec 2024 Goal C: Encourage Energy Conservation to Reduce Housing Costs Policies
a) Conservation Techniques. Encourage the use of energy-conserving techniques in the siting and design of new housing.
b) State Requirements. Actively enforce state energy conservation requirements for new residential construction.
c) Resource Reduction Education. Make local residents aware of the free home surveys performed by the Coachella Water Authority as a means to reduce water consumption and the rebate programs offered by the Imperial Irrigation District and Southern California Gas Company.

Programs

3.1 Energy Conservation Standards. Develop a menu of energy conservation techniques and establish minimum requirements for energy conservation when approving siting and design of proposed residences to minimize energy consumption as well as housing costs. • Responsible Agencies: Planning and Building Divisions of the Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budgets
• Time Frame: December 2023

3.2 Building Standards. Continue to require that, at a minimum, all new residential development complies with the energy conservation requirements of Title 24 of the California Administrative Code.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 32
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing, as project applications are reviewed

3.3 Water Conservation. Assist in distributing information to the public regarding free home water consumption audits of the Coachella Water Authority and rebate programs offered by Imperial Irrigation District.
• Responsible Agency: Imperial Irrigation District, Development Services Department
• Funding: N/A
• Time Frame: Ongoing. Send materials to residents once annually.

3.4 Energy Efficiency Programs. Assist in distributing information about energy efficiency retrofit rebates and financing opportunities available to the residents and property owners such as Energy Upgrade California, the New Solar Homes Partnership, and future CVAG programs, including energy partnerships with surrounding agencies such as West Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG).
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: N/A
• Time Frame: Ongoing. Send materials to residents once annually.

Goal D: Promote Fair Housing Opportunity for All Persons [regardless of race, religion, marital status, age, sex, gender, nationality, physical or developmental disability, family size, and level and source of income] Policies
a) Equal Opportunity. Advocate equal housing opportunity for all residents. b) Fair Housing. Utilize local fair housing agencies to investigate promptly and aggressively any complaints involving housing discrimination.
c) Tenant and Landlord Education. Promote greater awareness of tenant and landlord rights and target increased education in areas with the highest concentration of renters. d) Access. Promote reasonable accommodation in new housing developments and in existing housing.

Programs

4.1 Fair Housing. Continue to provide information on fair housing law on the City’s website, at City Hall, and at the local library. In addition, the City Clerk shall continue to include a statement in City utility bills which indicates that information on fair housing laws is available to the public without charge. Information will be provided in both English and Spanish. Complaints may be directed to the Development Services Department. • Responsible Agency: City Manager’s Office, Development Services Department, City Clerk
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Ongoing

Item 27.
33 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element

4.2 Reasonable Accommodation. Adopt a “Reasonable Accommodation” procedure, in accordance with SB 520, as part of the updated Zoning Code to allow for administrative processing of requests for features and accessibility for persons with disabilities and persons with developmental disabilities.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: City General Fund
• Time Frame: Within 3 years of Housing Element adoption Goal E: Remove Constraints to the Maintenance, Improvement, and Development of Housing
Policies
a) Building and Zoning Codes. Ensure local building and zoning codes do not overly constrain housing production or cause increases in construction or permitting costs without sacrificing basic health and safety considerations. b) Development Fees. Charge development fees that do not unreasonably contribute to the cost of housing.
c) Site Improvement Assistance. Continue to financially assist with land and/or off-site improvements costs for lower-income housing projects, as funds become available. d) Expedited Processing. Continue practice of expeditious processing of residential development proposals and permits by encouraging concurrent processing of entitlements, rather than requiring one process to be completed before beginning the next process. e) Objective Review. Encourage new high-quality rental and ownership housing through a clear and objective review process consistent with City adopted design standards.

Programs

5.1 Zoning Code Constraints. When undergoing the comprehensive Zoning Code update (Program 1.1), the City will ensure the Code update removes barriers to production of a variety of housing types and build on concepts outlined in the General Plan to incorporate the use of innovative land use techniques and construction methods such as clustering of units, density transfers, reduced setbacks/zero lot line development, reduced lot sizes, and others to minimize housing development costs and to maximize development opportunities.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Within 3 years of Housing Element adoption

5.2 Development Fees. Periodically survey other cities in the Riverside County area to ensure that the City’s development fees are commensurate to other communities using a cost-recovery model and do not pose an unreasonable constraint to housing development. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget; possible CDBG Planning/Technical Assistance Grant
• Time Frame: Every five years

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 34

5.3 Parking Requirements. Review revisions to the Zoning Code to evaluate implementation of reduced parking requirements (or no parking requirement) for residential projects serving special needs groups, including low-income households, or for projects located close to public transportation or commercial services.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Departments
• Funding: Department budgets
• Time Frame: Within 3 years of Housing Element adoption

5.4 Eliminate Minimum Dwelling Unit Size Standard. While the City’s minimum dwelling unit size standards have not proved to be a constraint on housing development based on market demand for larger units, they could potentially constrain housing development in the future depending on demographic and market trends for smaller units. The City will amend the Zoning Code to eliminate the requirement for minimum dwelling size by unit type.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budgets
• Time Frame: Within 3 years of Housing Element adoption

5.5 Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Amend the Zoning Code to remove references to second units and regulate with the City’s ADU ordinance, which complies with state law regarding ADUs.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: Within 3 years of Housing Element adoption

5.6 Transitional and Supportive Housing. Amend the Zoning Code to define transitional and supportive housing in accordance with Government Code Section 65582, AB 101, and AB 2162 and clarify that these types of housing are treated as residential uses of property, including allowing transitional and supportive housing and low barrier navigation centers in areas that allow multi-family and mixed use residential, subject to the same restrictions/regulations as other types of housing in the same zoning district. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: City General Fund
• Time Frame: December 2022

5.7 Manufactured Housing. Amend the Zoning Code to include manufactured housing as an approved housing type, as per State of California requirements. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department, Planning Commission • Funding: City General Fund
• Time Frame: December 2022

5.8 Group Homes. Revise the Zoning Code to regulate group homes, foster homes, residential care facilities, and similar facilities as follows (referred to below simply as “group homes”):allow State-licensed and unlicensed group homes, foster homes, residential care facilities, and similar facilities by right with six or fewer persons in any residential zone; and to allow with administrative approval for licensed group homes with greater than six persons in all high-density residential and mixed-use zoning districts subject to objective criteria and clear, specific-to-use regulations. Additionally, recognizing

Item 27.
35 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
that larger facilities provide necessary supportive environments for a variety of households, the City will amend the Zoning Code to allow unlicensed facilities of 6 or more persons in all zones which allow residential uses similar to other residential uses in the zone, subject to specific objective design standards and appropriate findings. o Permit by-right both licensed and unlicensed group homes (serving six or fewer residents) in all residential zones. The City will apply the same general zoning, building, fire, and other health and safety codes that apply to other uses of the same type that are allowed in that zone, subject only to the additional Health and Safety Code provisions specific to certain types of group homes (i.e., spacing requirements for licensed residential care facilities). o Permit by-right unlicensed group homes (serving greater than six residents) in all residential zones. The City will apply the same general zoning, building, fire, and other health and safety codes that apply to other uses of the same type. o Allow with a conditional use permit licensed group homes (serving greater than six residents) in all residential zones. The City will subject these only to specific, objective design and operational standards/findings and provide flexible and efficient reasonable accommodation in these permitting processes. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department, Planning Commission • Funding: Departmental budget
• Time Frame: December 2022 2023

5.9 Single-Room Occupancy Housing. Amend the Zoning Code to define single-room occupancy units (SROs) and identify zones in which SROs are allowed. Facilitate the development of SROs, or conversion of hotels, motels, or vacant apartment buildings into SROs, as appropriate housing type for persons with special needs and extremely low incomes.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department, Planning Commission • Funding: Departmental budgets
• Time Frame: Amend the Code within 3 years of Housing Element adoption.

Provide ongoing facilitation

5.10 Farmworker Housing Standards. Amend the Zoning Code to ensure that permit processing procedures for farmworker housing do not conflict with Health and Safety Code Sections 10721.5 and 17021.6. Additionally, the City will amend the Zoning Code to allow farmworker housing projects in residential areas (including areas formerly designated as agriculture prior to the 2015 General Plan update) that are currently used for agricultural production, or within close proximity to areas with active agricultural production, where farm worker housing is a desirable use. The City will also ensure that such procedures encourage and facilitate the development of housing for farmworkers. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department, Planning Commission • Funding: Departmental budgets
• Time Frame: December 2022

5.11 Prioritize Sewer Hookups for Residential Development for Lower-Income Housing. Adopt written policies that grant priority for water and service allocations to

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 36
proposed developments that include housing units affordable to lower-income households into the General Plan. The City will provide the adopted Housing Element to both the Coachella Water Authority and Coachella Sanitary District immediately upon adoption to promote collaboration on this effort.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budgets
• Time Frame: Amend the General Plan within two years of Housing Element adoption. Collaborate with water and sewer providers throughout the planning period.

5.12 Objective Design Standards. Develop objective design standards and clear findings to evaluate projects for compliance with the Architectural Review and Conditional Use processes. This effort will evaluate existing subjective standards required for approval in both the Zoning Code and specific plans. The purpose of these standards is to expedite the development review process and support the City in meetings its housing goals. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budgets
• Time Frame: Within 3 years of Housing Element adoption.

Goal F: Promote Affordable Housing to Meet the Needs of Lower- and ModerateIncome Households Policies
a) State and Federal Funding. Investigate and pursue state and federal programs and funding sources, such as CDBG and HOME funds, designed to expand housing opportunities for lower-income and special needs households, including extremely lowincome households, farmworkers, the elderly, and persons with physical and developmental disabilities.
b) On-site Affordable Units. Encourage the inclusion of lower-income units, including extremely low-income and moderate-income units, in privately sponsored multi-family housing developments.
c) Affordable Unit Financing. Work with local lending institutions to maximize private financing for the construction of new lower-income housing, including extremely lowincome units, and moderate-income housing.

Item 27.
37 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
d) Developer Marketing. Actively market Coachella to housing developers through appropriate advertisements in development publications and in metropolitan area newspapers.
e) New Assisted Units. Promote the construction of new assisted housing units in the city for lower-income households, including those with extremely and very low income.

Programs

6.1 Development Fee Deferral. When feasible, continue to defer development fees for housing units affordable to extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households. • Responsible Agencies: Development Services, Building, and Public Works Departments
• Financing: Department budgets
• Time Frame: Ongoing

6.2 Affordable Unit Financing. Continue to work with nonprofit and for-profit developers to apply for financing to fund the development of housing affordable to lower-income and special needs households, particularly housing that will serve persons with extremely low incomes, farmworkers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities and developmental disabilities. The City will be open to providing letters of support for funding applications; the City will also consider partnerships with nonprofits for utilization of City staff to help write and to review project applications. The City will take actions necessary to expedite processing and approvals for such projects prioritizing projects in Racially or Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAPs).
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: General Fund, HCD
• Time Frame: Assist with funding applications on an ongoing basis; annually review potential funding opportunities

6.3 CDBG and HOME Funds. Continue to pursue funding for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing, including annual applications for HOME and CDBG funds. The City will work with nonprofit and for-profit housing developers and will take actions necessary to expedite processing and approvals for such projects. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: HCD
• Time Frame: Annually

6.4 Density Bonus. AB 2345, which took effect on January 1, 2021, revised the State density bonus law (Government Code §65915-65918). It increases the maximum density bonus to up to 50 percent. The City will update its local density bonus provisions to be consistent with State law. Additionally, the City will consider modifying its procedures to eliminate City Council approval for density bonus requests.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Department budget
• Time Frame: 2023

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 38

6.5 Website Update. The City will include housing-related resources including information regarding the City’s housing rehabilitation program, first-time homebuyer loans, loans available through CalHFA, and other relevant links.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: CalHFA First-Time Homebuyer Program
• Time Frame: Annually review information

6.6 Infrastructure Grants. Infrastructure must be expanded to support future housing development opportunities for moderate and lower-income households. The City will pursue grant funding for infrastructure that facilitates development of moderate and lowerincome housing sites (e.g., Infill Infrastructure Grant, etc.) and increase the availability of developable land in highest resource areas (See Appendix F) and on sites designated in the General Plan for higher density multi-family or mixed-use development. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Grant funding
• Time Frame: Ongoing

6.7 Streamlined Approvals. Develop a written policy or project review and approval guidelines as appropriate to specify the SB 35 (2017) streamlining approval process and standards for eligible projects, as set forth under California Government Code, Section 65913.4.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Departmental Budget
• Time Frame: Within 12 months of Housing Element adoption

6.8 Place-Based Neighborhood Revitalization. The City will continue to carry out a variety of neighborhood improvement efforts to revitalize the Coachella community and promote fair housing and access to resources and opportunities in all parts of Coachella. The City will improve neighborhoods and places in Coachella in the most need of place-based planning and improvement strategies, as well as places with the greatest capacity for accommodating housing for lower income households. Efforts include, but are not limited to, the following:

Planning. The City will continue to implement the Downtown Specific Plan and other City specific plans which have targeted recommendations for infrastructure improvements and neighborhood revitalization. As needed, the City will modify adopted policies to continue to identify areas in need of improvement and additional resources.

Implementation. The City will continue to prioritize the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), annually, and seek additional funding and other resources toward community revitalization in targeted areas. Additionally, the City will continue to pursue concurrent efforts (Program 2.6 and Program 6.6) to improve infrastructure capacity in opportunity areas and in areas of need, including DUCs.

Partnerships. As part of ongoing and regular coordination with regional housing advocates, the City will seek new partnerships with agencies and grant funding opportunities to implement neighborhood improvements as part of new housing projects.

Item 27.
39 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: Departmental budget, grant funding (as available) • Time Frame: Identify priority specific plan programs for implementation by 2025, prioritize CIP funding annually.

Item 27.
2021-2029 Housing Element City of Coachella | 40
Goal G: Preserve Existing Affordable Housing Opportunities for Lower Income Residents of the City
Policies
a) Preservation Funding. Utilize federal, state, and local funding to preserve lower- income rental housing to the extent possible.
b) Preservation Cooperation. Work closely with nonprofit organizations and public agencies involved in the provision of affordable housing to preserve existing lower- income rental units in the city.
c) Displacement Prevention. Prevent the displacement of lower-income residents from assisted housing units that may convert to market-rate housing in the future targeting City efforts in areas subject to the greatest displacement risk (See Appendix F, Figure F-23:

Vulnerable Communities (2017).

Programs

7.1 Housing Choice Vouchers. Actively support the Riverside County Housing Authority’s attempts to secure additional Section 8 Housing Choice rental assistance for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income households.
• Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Financing: HUD Section 8 Certificate and Housing Voucher Programs • Time Frame: Ongoing

7.2 At-Risk Housing. Although there are not units at risk of converting to market rate during the 6th Cycle, the City will mMonitor and assist in the preservation of affordable units at risk of converting to market rate in the future as well as coordinate with local providers to maintain adequate conditions of existing affordable units to ensure they maintain available.. Actions will include:
• Monitor the Risk Assessment report published by the California Housing Partnership Corporation (CHPC).
• Maintain regular contact with the local HUD office regarding early warnings of possible opt-outs.
• Maintain contact with the owners and managers of existing affordable housing to determine if there are plans to opt out in the future and offer assistance in locating eligible buyers.
• Maintain the list of potential purchasers of at-risk units and act as a liaison between owners and eligible purchasers.
• Coordinate with CVHC to make necessary improvements to maintain and preserve existing affordable housing stock.
• Ensure that all owners and managers of affordable housing are provided with applicable state and federal laws regarding notice to tenants of the owner’s desire to opt-out or prepay. State law requires a 12-month notice. • Responsible Agency: Development Services Department
• Funding: HCD

Item 27.
41 | City of Coachella 2021-2029 Housing
Element
• Time Frame: Ongoing
Quantified Objectives
Table IV-1 presents the City’s quantified objectives for construction, preservation, and rehabilitation for the 2021 – 2029 planning period that will be achieved through the policies and programs described above.

Table IV-1: Quantified Objectives
Program Type/Affordability
Extremely
Low
Very Low Low Moderate
Above
Moderate
Total
New Construction 516 517 784 1,367 3,804 6,988
Rehabilitation 5070 5070
Conservation/Preservation 50 100 150 300
Total 516566 517617 8341004 1,367 3,804 7,038358

Item 27.

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-1
Appendix A:Housing Needs Assessment
Contents
Appendix A: Housing Needs Assessment............................................. A-1 Section A.1 Introduction and Summary ............................................................................... A-2 A.1.1 Introduction...................................................................................................... A-2 Section A.2 Population Characteristics ............................................................................... A-2 A.2.1 Population........................................................................................................ A-2 A.2.2 Age .................................................................................................................. A-3 A.2.3 Race/Ethnicity.................................................................................................. A-4 A.2.4 Employment..................................................................................................... A-4 Section A.3 Household Characteristics ............................................................................... A-6 A.3.1 Household Type............................................................................................... A-6 A.3.2 Household Size................................................................................................ A-6 A.3.3 Overcrowding................................................................................................... A-7 A.3.4 Household Income........................................................................................... A-8 A.3.5 Special Housing Needs.................................................................................. A-10 Section A.4 Housing Stock Characteristics ....................................................................... A-22 A.4.1 Housing Type and Vacancy ........................................................................... A-22 A.4.2 Housing Tenure ............................................................................................. A-23 A.4.3 Housing Units Permitted ................................................................................ A-25 A.4.4 Housing Age and Condition ........................................................................... A-26 Section A.5 Housing Costs and Affordability ..................................................................... A-27 A.5.1 Ownership Costs............................................................................................ A-27 A.5.2 Rental Costs .................................................................................................. A-28 A.5.3 Overpayment ................................................................................................. A-29 A.5.4 At-Risk Housing Assessment......................................................................... A-34

Item 27.

A-2 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Section A.1 Introduction and Summary
A.1.1 Introduction
This section forms the foundation for understanding Coachella’s housing needs. It analyzes a range of demographic, economic, and housing-related variables to determine the extent and context of the City’s housing-related need. Information gathered through this section provides a basis from which to build housing goals, policies, and programs to address those needs.

This section includes an analysis of the City’s population, special needs groups, employment, housing stock, and housing affordability.

The main source of data used to form the majority of this section is HCD pre-certified local housing data provided by SCAG, which relies primarily on the American Community Survey 2014-2018, California Department of Finance, HUD’s Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (“CHAS”) data, and California Department of Developmental Services.

Section A.2 Population Characteristics
A.2.1 Population
Coachella had a total population of 47,186 in 2020, according to the California Department of Finance. The chart below describes the population trend in Coachella over the past 20 years.

During this period, Coachella’s population grew by 108 percent while the SCAG region grew by 15 percent (or an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent compared to 0.7 percent for the region).

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-3
Figure A-1: Population Trend, 2000-2020
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (CA DOF E-5 Population and Housing Unit Estimates) A.2.2 Age
Age is an important factor that impacts a city’s housing needs, as needs and requirements change at different ages. In addition, different age groups will have different housing needs depending on a variety of factors, such as family status, household size, income level, and living preferences.

A city with a large population of children relative to the adult population will need more housing for larger households, while a city with a large population of young adults might require more affordable studio and one-bedroom units. Similarly, having a larger senior population may indicate the need for housing that is ADA accessible or smaller units for seniors who seek to down-size.

The share of Coachella’s population which is under 18 years of age is 26.1 percent, which is higher than the regional share of 23.4 percent. The seniors (age 65 and above) make up 7.3 percent of the population, which is lower than the regional share of 13 percent. The median age in Coachella is 33.5 years, lower than that of Riverside County (35.3 years). The population of Coachella is 48.2 percent male and 51.8 percent female.

Figure A-2: Current Population by Age and Sex
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates)

0.0 5.0

10.0 15.0

20.0 25.0

30.0 35.0

40.0 45.0

50.0 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Coachella 22,724 29,754 40,704 44,809 47,186
SCAG 16,516,703 17,541,873 18,051,534 18,731,901 19,021,787

15.0 15.5

16.0 16.5

17.0 17.5

18.0 18.5

19.0 19.5
Thousands
Millions
3,000
2,000
1,000
0 1,000
2,000
3,000
0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85+ Male Female

Item 27.

A-4 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
A.2.3 Race/Ethnicity
The largest racial group in Coachella is “Some Other Race”, representing 70 percent of the total population. Note that is a common occurrence in communities with large Hispanic populations, as the distinction between race and ethnicity is sometime unclear to census respondents. In Coachella, 98 percent of the population of is Hispanic or Latino (of any race), compared to 48 percent of the population of Riverside County.

Figure A-3: Race and Ethnicity
Note: “Hispanic or Latino” can be defined as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race
Source: American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates, DP05 A.2.4 Employment
There are 21,210 workers living within Coachella who work across 13 major industrial sectors made up of groupings of two-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

The chart below provides more detailed employment information. The most prevalent industries are Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, which includes Food Service and Accommodations, with 3,642 employees (17.2 percent of total) and Retail trade with 3,318 employees (15.6 percent of total). Information is the least prevalent employment industry, employing approximately 1 percent of employees.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
White Black or
African
American
American
Indian and
Alaska
Native
Asian Native
Hawaiian
and Other
Pacific
Islander
Some
Other
Race
Two or
more races
Hispanic or
Latino (of
any race)
Not
Hispanic or
Latino
Coachella Riverside County

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-5
Figure A-4: Employment by Industry
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates using groupings of 2-digit NAICS codes)
In addition to understanding the industries in which the residents of Coachella work, it is also possible to analyze the types of jobs they hold. Of all job types, the most prevalent occupational category in Coachella is “Services”, in which 7,553 (35.6 percent of total) employees work. The second-most prevalent type of work is in Natural Resources (including agriculture), which employs 4,916 (23.2 percent of total) residents of Coachella.

Figure A-5: Employment by Occupation
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates using groupings of SOC codes)
2,046
2,205
936
393
3,318
558
185
639
2,853
2,621
3,642
1,179
635
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000
Agriculture
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Rrade
Retail Trade
Transportation
Information
Finance
Professional Services
Education & Social Services
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation
Other
Public Admininstration
2,210
7,553
3,873
4,916
2,658
2,616,827
1,500,551
1,743,617
675,894
1,118,977

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%
Management Services Sales Natural Resources Production
Coachella 10.4% 35.6% 18.3% 23.2% 12.5%
SCAG 34.2% 19.6% 22.8% 8.8% 14.6%
Coachella SCAG

Item 27.

A-6 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Section A.3 Household Characteristics
A.3.1 Household Type
Of the 14,674 total households in Coachella, 5,789 (or 39 percent) consist of married-couple families, 2,845 (or 19 percent) consist of “Other” family, and 6,040 (or 41 percent) consist of nonfamily households. “Other” family represents households with one or more related persons with no spouse present. This can include single parent households or grandparents with children.

Figure A-6: Household Type
Source: ACS 5-year estimates (2018), S2501
A.3.2 Household Size
In Coachella, the largest share of households (39 percent) consists of a household with just one person, while the lowest share of households (12 percent) consists of three people. Coachella has a higher share of single-person households than the SCAG region overall (39 percent vs 23.4 percent). This is a considerably significant increase in single person households over the past 10 years. The average household size in 2018 was 4.65 persons. 39%
19%
41%
Married-couple family Other family Non-family household

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-7
Table A-1: Household Size
2010 2018
Total % Total %
1-person household 464 5% 5,718 39%
2-person household 1,007 11% 2,393 16%
3-person household 1,316 15% 1,775 12%
4- person household 2,017 22% 2,033 33%
5-or-more person household 4,194 47% 2,755 19%
Total occupied housing units 9,998 100% 14,674 100%
Source: ACS 5-year estimates (2018), S2501; US Census (2010) A.3.3 Overcrowding
Overcrowding is defined by the Census as a unit in which more than one person occupies a room (excluding bathrooms and kitchens), while units occupied by more than 1.5 people are considered severely overcrowded. These circumstances can occur due to a lack of adequate affordable housing and housing costs becoming greater relative to household income. Families, especially larger ones and those with lower incomes, may choose to double-up or rent rooms in order to alleviate the financial burden and allocate more income for other necessities. Overcrowding can result in poor living conditions and lead to more rapid deterioration of the property. Therefore, maintaining proper levels of occupancy by preventing overcrowding can improve overall quality of life for all residents.

In Coachella, renter-occupied households are more likely to be overcrowded than owner-occupied households. 9.8 percent of renter households are overcrowded, and 1.6 percent are severely overcrowded; while 6.3 percent of owner-occupied households are overcrowded, and 1.9 percent are severely overcrowded. Rates of overcrowding are lower in Coachella than the SCAG region across renter-occupied households, but higher across owner-occupied households.

Item 27.

A-8 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Figure A-7: Overcrowding by Extent and Tenure
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year) A.3.4 Household Income
Household income is a critical component of housing affordability. Income impacts the decision to rent versus own, the size of unit, and location of housing. Coachella’s median household income in 2018 was $33,870, which is 47 percent lower than the County’s median income of $63,948. The mean income in Coachella is 47 percent lower than in Riverside County.

Table A-2: Household Income
Coachella Riverside County
Median Income $33,870 $63,948
Mean Income $45,121 $84,391
Source: ACS 5-year estimates (2018), S1901
The RHNA addresses housing challenges for four income categories defined by their respective proportion of the county area median income (AMI). The below table defines these income categories.

Table A-3: Income Categories as a Percentage of AMI
% of AMI
Extremely Low 0-30%
Very Low 30-50%
Low 50-80%
Moderate 80-120%
Above Moderate > 120%
Source: Department of Housing and Community Development, 2020

6.3%

1.9%

9.8%

1.6%

4.9%

1.3%

15.6%

6.4%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

16.0%

18.0%

1.0+/room 1.5+/room 1.0+/room 1.5+/room
Owner Owner Renter Renter
Percent of Total Households
Coachella SCAG

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-9
The following table shows the 2020 income limits for the four income categories in Riverside County. The above moderate category includes all households earning above the upper limit of the moderate-income category.

Table A-4: Riverside County 2020 Annual Income Limits by Household Size Number of Persons in Household: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Riverside County Area Median
Income: $75,300
Extremely
Low
15,850 18,100 21,720 26,200 30,680 35,160 39,640 44,120 Very Low 26,400 30,150 33,900 37,650 40,700 43,700 46,700 49,700 Low 42,200 48,200 54,250 60,250 65,100 69,900 74,750 79,550 Median
Income
52,700 60,250 67,750 75,300 81,300 87,350 93,350 99,400 Moderate 63,250 72,300 81,300 90,350 97,600 104,800 112,050 119,250 Source: Department of Housing and Community Development, 2020 Using data from the American Community Survey (ACS), HUD compiles a dataset called the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) that allows local governments to analyze their regional housing issues. The most recently available CHAS dataset indicated that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of all households in Coachella earn less than 80 percent of AMI.

Figure A-8: Household Income Distribution
Source: HUD CHAS, 2012-2016
A.3.5 Extremely Low-Income
Because income is one of the main components of housing stability, ensuring adequate housing for households considered extremely low-income (below 30 percent of AMI) can be especially challenging. According to the CHAS data, approximately 19 percent of households in Coachella 2,145
2,405
2,810
4,020
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
Extremely Low (0-
30% AMI)
Very Low (30-50%
AMI)
Low (50-80% AMI) Moderate and
Above Moderate
(>80% AMI)

Item 27.

A-10 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
are extremely low-income. The race/ethnicity with the highest share of extremely low-income households is Hispanic, as 97 percent of ELI households are Hispanic, and 19.1 percent of Hispanic households are ELI. In the SCAG region, the race/ethnicity with the highest share of extremely low-income households is Black, non-Hispanic (27.1 percent versus 17.7 percent of total households). Note that the total number of households in the table below differs slightly because the CHAS data uses ACS 2012-2016 data while the rest of this appendix uses ACS 2014-2018 data.

ELI households have increasingly difficult housing challenges compared to other income categories, often unattainable without subsidy. The City has recently approved several affordable housing projects in recent years; however, these are often not at depths of affordability for ELI.

To continue to support these households, the City proposes Program 1.7 to continue to seek Housing Choice Vouchers for ELI households. Additionally, single room occupancy units, or SROs, may be a more affordable option for ELI households. Current zoning does not allow SROs.

To promote SROs, the City proposes Program 5.9 to amend the zoning ordinance and facilitate development of SROs.

Table A-5: Extremely Low-Income Housing Needs
Total Households Households below 30% HAMFI Share below 30% HAMFI White, non-Hispanic 325 55 16.9%
Black, non-Hispanic 70 0 0.0%
Asian and other, non-Hispanic 58 0 0.0%
Hispanic 10,940 2,090 19.1%
TOTAL 11,393 2,145 18.8%
Renter-occupied 3,990 1,260 31.6%
Owner-occupied 7,390 880 11.9%
TOTAL 11,380 2,140 18.8%
Note: HAMFI refers to Housing Urban Development Area Median Family Income Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (HUD CHAS, 2012-2016) A.3.6 Special Housing Needs
Certain segments of the population encounter more difficulty in finding decent, affordable housing due to special circumstances. Special needs may be related to one’s employment type and income, family characteristics, medical condition or disability, or household characteristics. These households may require special accommodations, such as on-site supportive services, unique building design, or spatial accommodations. The special needs categories assessed in this section include large families, seniors, female-headed households, people with disabilities, farmworkers, and people experiencing homelessness.

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-11
Large Families
Large families are family households that consist of five or more people. Larger households require larger dwelling, such as three-, four-, or five-bedroom units. Because this housing type is in shorter supply and costs more than smaller units, housing affordability can be a challenge.

Lower-income large families may also opt to live in smaller units to save money, putting them at risk of overcrowding.

The following chart illustrates the range of household sizes in Coachella by housing tenure. The most common household size consists of one person (39.0 percent) and the second-most common household consists of two people (16.3 percent). Coachella has a higher share of singleperson households than the SCAG region overall (39.0 percent vs. 23.4 percent) and a higher share of 7+ person households than the SCAG region overall (3.5 percent vs. 3.1 percent).

Figure A-9: Households by Household Size
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Per the chart above, 18.7 percent of all households in Coachella, or about 2,755 households, are considered large households (those that contain five or more members). As noted in Table A-1, this is a significant reduction in large family households than in 2010. Adequate housing for such households would consist of at least a 3-bedroom unit, assuming the unit has a living room and dining room. According to the table below, 79 percent of Coachella’s housing units are 3- bedrooms are more. Therefore, the housing mix in Coachella is considered adequate to accommodate larger household sizes, especially given the reduction in large families.

39.0%

16.3%

12.1% 13.9%

9.5%

5.7% 3.5%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7+
Households (% by size category)
Number of People per Household
Renter Owner Total

Item 27.

A-12 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Table A-6: Housing Units by Number of Bedrooms
Housing Units Percent
No bedroom 200 1%
1 bedroom 613 4%
2 bedrooms 2,401 16%
3 bedrooms 6,343 41%
4 bedrooms 4,313 28%
5 or more bedrooms 1,535 10%
Total 15,405 -
Source: American Community Survey 2014-2018, 5-year estimates, Table DP04 Senior Households
Elderly households are defined as households consisting of at least two people who are either or both at least 62 years of age. Senior households are defined as households with one or more persons over the age of 65 years. These households have particular housing needs, such as housing affordability, as the elderly typically live on a fixed or limited income and incur higher healthcare costs. Seniors are also more likely to have a physical disability and require specific accommodations. Adequate housing for these households includes housing that is:
• Safe
• Accessible
• Able to accommodate live-in caretakers or provide on-site services • In close proximity to shopping, medical services, and transportation There are several different types of housing appropriate for seniors, including:
• Senior Apartment: Age-restricted housing for older adults who are able to live without assistance.
• Independent Living: Housing that provides assistance such as meal preparation, housekeeping, and transportation. These facilities typically provide residents with convenient access to medical care if needed.
• Assisted Living: A residential community that provides similar services as above, as well as assists residents with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), such as bathing, dressing, and eating.
• Nursing Home: A licensed facility that provides 24-hour nursing care, room and board, and custodial care. Nursing homes typically provide the highest level of care outside of hospitals.

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-13
• Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF): A nursing home that provides in-patient rehabilitation staffed by trained medical providers. Patients do not typically require long-term care.

Although there are a variety of housing options, many of the choices that provide higher levels of care can be out of reach for people living on limited means. Therefore, lower-income seniors are more likely to live in housing that does not adequately meet their needs.

In Coachella, multi-generational household configurations serve the elderly by offering a stable living situation, often with the support of family members in the same household. As shown in Table A-6, a majority of the housing stock in Coachella is 3 or more bedrooms, which can serve larger multigenerational households. The La Serenas project is a Senior housing project consisting of 6 single family dwellings on .43 acres on 7th Street (APN 778-093-013).

To continue to ensure housing remains available and accessible for seniors, the City proposes Program 1.6 to encourage one first floor bedroom and a second unit in new projects.

Over eight in 10 seniors in Coachella are considered low-income. Of Coachella's 934 elderly households, 83.4 percent earn less than 80 percent of AMI. 32.1 percent of the elderly population are considered extremely low-income and earn less than 30 percent of AMI (compared to 24.2 percent in the SCAG region), while 68.0 percent of these households earn less than 50 percent of AMI (compared to 30.9 percent in the SCAG region).

Table A-7: Elderly Households by Income and Tenure
Income category, relative to surrounding area Owner Renter Total Percent of Total Elderly Households:
< 30% HAMFI 135 165 300 32.1%
30-50% HAMFI 255 80 335 35.9%
50-80% HAMFI 120 24 144 15.4%
80-100% HAMFI 65 10 75 8.0%
> 100% HAMFI 80 0 80 8.6%
Total 655 279 934 -
Note: HAMFI refers to Housing Urban Development Area Median Family Income Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (HUD CHAS, 2012-2016) Female-headed Households
Female-headed households are households that do not have a male adult present. They can consist of both family and non-family households and may or may not have children. Femaleheaded households are considered special needs because they are more likely than the overall population to be in poverty. Because income is typically lower than a two-parent household with two income earners, single-parent households can experience more challenges finding affordable housing for their family. Consequently, high-quality childcare can be more difficult to secure when household income is already limited.

Item 27.

A-14 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Because single parent households often operate on a more limited income, promotion of more affordable housing options will benefit female-headed households. The City proposes Programs

1.2, 1.8, and 5.1 to increase supply of housing, including affordable housing.

Coachella has a lower share of female-headed households than the SCAG region overall. Of Coachella's 14,674 total households, 12.5 percent are female headed, compared to 14.3 percent in the SCAG region. 7.5 percent are female-headed and with children (compared to 6.6 percent in the SCAG region) and 1.0 percent are female-headed and with children under six years old (compared to 1.0 percent in the SCAG region).

As shown in Table A-6, a majority of housing units in Coachella consist of 3 or more bedrooms.

While this is suitable for large families, the number of large families in Coachella is in decline.

Smaller one or two-bedroom units may better serve single parent households, as smaller units may also be more affordable than larger houses. To promote smaller units the City proposes Program 1.6.

Figure A-10: Female Headed Householders (FHH)
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Persons with Disabilities
People are considered to have a disability if they have one of more of the following:
• Difficulty seeing or hearing, such as blindness or deafness • Difficulty performing basic physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, and lifting • Difficulty learning, remembering, or concentrating
• Difficulty dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home • Difficulty going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor’s office • Difficulty working at a job or business
People with disabilities can face many barriers to securing accessible and affordable housing, including living on fixed and limited incomes, limited housing choices offering accessibility 14674

12.5%; 1834

7.5%; 1100

1.0%; 153
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000
Total Households
Total FHH
FHH w/children
FHH w/children under 6
Percent of total househods; Number of households

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-15
features, higher healthcare expenses, and potential discrimination. The need for adequate and accessible housing outstrips supply and availability. The majority of housing in most communities lack even basic mobility accessibility features such as ramps, extra-wide doors, raised toilets, and lowered counters.

Adequate housing for these households includes, but are not limited to, housing that is:
• Safe
• Accessible
• Able to accommodate live-in caretakers or provide on-site services • In close proximity to shopping, medical services, and transportation • Designed to facilitate mobility and independence
Disability data can provide valuable context for assessing current and future need for accessible housing units. Since some disability types are not recorded for children below a certain age, calculating disability as a percentage of total population may not be accurate. The most common types of disabilities in Coachella in 2018 were ambulatory disabilities followed by cognitive disabilities.

As noted above, housing design is an important factor in suitability of housing. Since the City does not have a reasonable accommodation ordinance to streamline housing modifications for persons with disabilities, including seniors, the City proposes Program 4.2 to develop a reasonable accommodation ordinance. When independent living is not the most appropriate choice, supportive living situations are an alternative housing choice. The City proposes Program 5.8 to clarify that residential care facilities are an allowed use, consistent with State law.

Figure A-11A: Disability by Type
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) 622
541
1,212
2,524
990
1,173
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000
Hearing
Vision
Cognitive
Ambulatory
Self-care
Independent Living

Item 27.

A-16 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Of the total senior population in Coachella, the most common types of disabilities in 2018 were ambulatory disabilities (36.3 percent of the total senior population) and independent living disabilities (19.0 percent of the total senior population).

Figure A-11B: Disability by Type – Seniors (65 and over) Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Persons with Developmental Disabilities
According to Section 4512 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, a "developmental disability" means a disability that originates before an individual attains age 18 years, continues, or can be expected to continue indefinitely, and constitutes a substantial disability for that individual, which includes cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism.

Many developmentally disabled persons can live and work independently within a conventional housing environment. More severely disabled individuals require a group living environment where supervision is provided. The most severely affected individuals may require an institutional environment where medical attention and physical therapy are provided. Because developmental disabilities exist before adulthood, the first issue in supportive housing for the developmentally disabled is the transition from the person’s living situation as a child to an appropriate level of independence as an adult.

The California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) currently provides communitybased services to approximately 350,000 persons with developmental disabilities and their families through a statewide system of regional centers, developmental centers, and community-based facilities. DDS also provides data on developmental disabilities by age and type of residence. These data are collected at the ZIP-code level and were joined to the jurisdiction-level by SCAG. Totals may not match as counts below 11 individuals are unavailable and some entries were not matched to a ZIP code necessitating approximation. According to DDS, there are about 784 residents with a development disability in Coachella, most of whom

9.8%

4.8%

7.5%

36.3%

11.1%

19.0%

13.1%

6.6%

10.1%

22.9%

10.5%

17.5%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%
Hearing Vision Cognitive Ambulatory Self-care Independent Living
Percent of Senior Population
Coachella Percent SCAG Region Percent

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-17
are able to live in their own home with their parent or guardian. The need for housing suitable for persons with developmental disabilities, especially those living at home, can be met.

Table A-8: Development Disabilities
Coachella
By
Residence:

Home of Parent/Family/Guardian 717
Independent/Supported Living 38
Community Care Facility 15
Intermediate Care Facility 0
Foster/Family Home 10
Other 5
By Age:
0 - 17 Years 402
18+ Years 382
Total 784
Note: This table has been modified to correct an error in the pre-certified data.

Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data
Understanding the employment status of people with disabilities may also be an important component in evaluating specialized housing needs. In Coachella, 35 percent of the population with a disability is employed, compared to 72 percent of the non-disabled population. Over half of people with disabilities (58 percent) are not in the labor force.

Table A-9: Disability by Employment Status
With a Disability Percent of Total No Disability Percent of Total Employed 644 35% 20,255 72%
Unemployed 126 7% 3,114 11%
Not in Labor Force 1,081 58% 4,628 17%
TOTAL 1,851 - 27,997 -
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Housing for People with Disabilities
The Inland Regional Center is one of 21 regional centers in California that provide point of entry to services for people with developmental disabilities in Riverside and San Bernadino Counties.

The center is a private, nonprofit community agency that contracts with local businesses to offer a wide range of services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

The Inland Regional Center designs programs according to age, specialization, and geographic location. Categories include Early Start/Prevention 0–3, School Age 3–15, Transition 16–22, Adult 23–59, and Senior 60+. These programs provide support for individuals, enabling them to live at

Item 27.

A-18 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
home. To become eligible for services, applicants must reside in either Riverside County or San Bernardino County and be diagnosed with a developmental disability.

Residents Living Below the Poverty Level
For individuals living below the poverty level, housing stability can be precarious as their low incomes make them very high risk for homelessness. Poverty thresholds, as defined by the ACS, vary by household type and size. In 2018, a single individual under 65 was considered in poverty with an income below $13,064 per year while the threshold for a family consisting of two adults and two children was $25,465 per year. In Coachella, 12.2 percent of total households are experiencing poverty, compared to 7.9 percent of households in the SCAG region.

Figure A-12: Households by Poverty Status
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Farmworkers
Agriculture is an important component of the local and regional economy. Farmworkers are generally defined as persons whose primary incomes are earned through permanent or seasonal agricultural labor. Permanent farm laborers work in the fields, processing plants or support activities on a generally year-round basis. When workload increases during harvest periods, the labor force is supplemented by seasonal workers, often supplied by a labor contractor. For some crops, farms may hire migrant workers, defined as those whose travel prevents them from returning to their primary residence every evening.

Farmworkers are considered a special needs group because these workers traditionally earn lowpaying wages while frequently live in overcrowded and substandard housing conditions. While only a small share of SCAG region jurisdictions has farmworkers living in them, they are essential to the region's economy and food supply. Coachella, however, has an especially large share of farmworkers compared to other SCAG jurisdictions. While farmworkers inhabit many housing types, such as mobile homes, single-family homes, and apartments, a large portion of farmworkers live in spaces not intended for human habitation, such as shacks and illegal garages.

This indicates a gap in farmworker housing supply, and a need for additional farmworker focused

12.2%; 1,787

4.3%; 635

3.7%; 537

1.9%; 275
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000
Total households in poverty
Female-headed
Female-headed with children
Female-headed with 3 or more children
Percent of total households; Number of households

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-19
housing development. Because of their predominantly low incomes, housing affordability and safety are acute needs for farmworkers. In addition, many permanent farmworkers live with children under the age of 18 or with other family members, indicating a need for traditional housing such as single-family homes and apartments.

Farmworkers account for 9.12 percent of all workers in Coachella in 2018, while employees in the agricultural industry overall account for 9.65 percent of total Coachella workers. Farmworker households are among the existing households counted as part of the CHAS housing needs and estimates of existing and projected housing needs produced by SCAG. Consequently, resident low-income farmworker households would be included among all households. Resident farmworker housing needs would be counted as part of lower income households experiencing problems of overpaying, overcrowding, and substandard housing, and as such programs to increase supply of affordable housing would benefit farmworkers as well. Outside of the City limits there are farms and farmworker housing developments. It is important that farmworkers have housing opportunities within close proximity to agricultural operations. As agricultural land transitions to other uses, the City shall continue to allow farmworker housing although no longer mandated by State law (see Program 5.10). Because of the observed need for continued support and housing resources for local farmworkers, the City includes Program 1.10 to support local farmworker advocacy groups and developers in identifying sites for farmworker housing. Currently 5 sites have been identified for farmworker housing. The following sites are home to rehabilitated and newly constructed residences:
• 52664 Harrison Street, Coachella, CA 92236
• 1492 Orchard Avenue, Coachella, CA 92236
• 84800 Bagdad Avenue, Coachella, CA 92236
• 84851 Bagdad Avenue, Coachella, CA 92236
• 84900 Bagdad Avenue, Coachella, CA 92236
Financed by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, these housing options are specifically tailored to farmworkers with families.

Table A-10A: Farmworkers by Occupation
Coachella Percent of total Coachella
workers
SCAG
Total
1,934 9.12% 57,741 Total jobs: Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations 1,066 7.18% 31,521 Full-time, year-round jobs: Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates using groupings of SOC codes)

Item 27.

A-20 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Table A-10B: Employment in the Agricultural Industry
Coachella Percent of total Coachella
workers:

SCAG
Total
2,046 9.65% 73,778 Total in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting 1,168 7.87% 44,979 Full-time, year-round in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates using groupings of NAICS codes)
Homeless Persons
People experiencing homelessness are one of the most vulnerable special needs groups assessed due to the diversity of causes and difficulty in providing sufficient and coordinated treatment. Homelessness can result from a wide range of factors, such as housing unaffordability, job loss, and lack of services and treatment for mental illness and/or substance abuse. Despite the variety of causes, the provision of affordable housing, especially subsidized units for single individuals, can greatly contribute to the long-term solution of addressing homelessness.

As part of a community-wide effort to address homelessness, Coachella is part the County of Riverside Continuum of Care (CoC), which is a regional planning body funded by HUD that coordinates housing and services funding across its partner jurisdictions. In order to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness in a region, HUD requires each CoC to conduct an annual or biannual count of its sheltered and unsheltered population known as the Point-in-Time (PIT) count. Though one of the most important tools in combatting homelessness, the PIT count is likely to undercount the number of people experiencing homelessness as this effort is volunteer-driven and the count may miss people who are not visible at the time of the survey.

Because of the precariousness of people experiencing homelessness, the count of these individuals can vary over the course of the year and over extended periods of time. According to the PIT count, there were an estimated 74 persons experiencing homelessness in Coachella in 2023, 67 which were unsheltered.

Emergency Shelters/Transitional Housing
At this time, there are currently no emergency shelters in Coachella. There are two shelters in the neighboring community of Indio, The Coachella Valley Rescue Mission and Martha’s Village and Kitchen. These are region serving facilities. With no local resources, there is a need for emergency shelters, SROs, and other temporary housing options in the City. See Programs 1.9 and 5.6. The Governmental Constraints section describes how the City permits emergency shelters in certain zones and any constraints to emergency shelter development.

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-21
Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness
The County of Riverside Continuum of Care (CoC) is a network of private and public sector homeless service providers, designed to promote community-wide planning and the strategic use of resources to address homelessness. The CoC seeks to improve access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by people who are experiencing or are at-risk of becoming homeless.

Additionally, the CoC seeks to improve and expand the collection of data countywide, develops performance measurements, and allows for each community to tailor its program to the particular strengths and challenges within that community.

Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities
Disadvantaged unincorporated communities (DUCs) are inhabited areas of 10 or more dwellings located adjacent to or in close proximity to the City’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) in which the median household income is 80% or less than the statewide median income ($48,706 according to Riverside County in 2018). DUCs may be classified as “island,” “fringe” or “legacy,” defined as follows (per the State of California Office of Planning and Research and Government Code Section 65302.10):
• “Island community” means any inhabited and unincorporated territory that is surrounded by or substantially surrounded by one or more cities.
• “Fringe community” means any inhabited and unincorporated territory that is within a city’s sphere of influence.
• “Legacy community” means a geographically isolated community that is inhabited and has existed for at least 50 years.

Without the benefit of political representation in a local jurisdiction, DUCs often suffer from poor access to services and resources, limited or no infrastructure improvements, environmental hazards, and generally unsafe and unsanitary living conditions.

To comply with SB 244, which requires analysis and planning for DUCs, Riverside County LAFCO the City identified and analyzed the needs of four DUCs located in close proximity to Coachella.

This analysis is provided in the City’s General Plan, adopted 2015. These areas are described in Table A-11 and mapped in Figure A-14.

As described in Program 2.7, the City is committed to continuing to coordinate with Riverside County, Riverside County LAFCO, and other interested parties to identify and address housing issues in nearby DUCs.

Table A-11: Coachella DUCs Analysis
Neighborhood Water Sewer Stormwater Fire
Shady Lane Y Y Y N
Cocopah N N Y N
Thermal N N Y N
Fillmore N N Y N
Source: City of Coachella General Plan, 2015

Item 27.

A-22 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Figure A-13: Coachella Area DUCs
Source: Riverside County LAFCO, 2021
Section A.4 Housing Stock Characteristics
A.4.1 Housing Type and Vacancy
The chart below provides information on the housing stock in Coachella, which has a total of 10,631 housing units. The most common housing type in Coachella is single-family detached with 7,509 units. The share of all single-family units in Coachella is 73.7 percent, which is greater than the 61.7 percent share in the SCAG region. Of the total housing units in Coachella, 10,126 are occupied, which equates to a 4.8 percent total vacancy rate. The average household size (as expressed by the population to housing unit ratio) is 4.7.

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-23
Figure A-14: Housing Type
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (CA DOF E-5 Population and Housing Unit Estimates) Over the past two decades, there has been substantially more construction of single-family residential units than multi-family residential units in Coachella. From 2000 to 2020, single-family residential units increased by 129 percent (or 4,419 units), multi-family residential units increased by 88 percent (or 1,014 units), and mobile units increased by 38 percent (or 174 units).

Figure A-15: Housing Type Trend
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (CA DOF E-5 Population and Housing Unit Estimates) A.4.2 Housing Tenure
Housing security can depend heavily on housing tenure (i.e., whether homes are owned or rented).

In addition, lower-income rental households tend to experience a higher degree of housing problems as defined by the Census, such as overpaying, overcrowding, and substandard housing.

Communities with higher rental populations should therefore consider the unique needs of renters versus owners.
7,509
329 1,002 1,162 629
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Single-Family
Detached
Single-Family
Attached
Multifamily, 2-4
Units
Multifamily, 5+
Units Mobile Homes
Coachella (%) 70.6% 3.1% 9.4% 10.9% 5.9%
SCAG (%) 54.4% 7.2% 7.5% 27.3% 3.5%
Percent of Total Units
3,419
1,150
455
4,589
1,846
537
7,221
2,053
629
7,634
2,113
629
7,838
2,164
629
0 1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
Single-Family Residential (SFR) Multifamily Residential (MFR) Mobile Homes Housing Units
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Item 27.

A-24 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Of Coachella’s total housing stock, 68.7 percent are owner-occupied and 31.3 percent are renteroccupied. Coachella has a lower share of renters than the SCAG region overall, which is expected given the City’s higher share of single-family homes.

Figure A-16: Housing Tenure
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) In many communities, housing tenure varies substantially based on the age of the occupants. In Coachella, owners outnumber renters in every age group. The age group in which owners most outnumber renters is 85+ (by 74.3 percent), and the least is 15-24 (2.6 percent).

Figure A-17: Housing Tenure by Age
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Across the SCAG region, the most common move-in period was 2010-2014 (31.9 percent) followed by 2000-2009 (26.1 percent). Similarly, in Coachella, the period during which most people started living in their current residence was 2010-2014 (36.6 percent) followed by 2000- 2009 (36.5 percent). As expected, the group with the most distant move-in period has the highest proportion of owners, who are less likely to move from home to home.

68.7%

52.5%

31.3%

47.5%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%
Coachella SCAG
Percent of Total Households
Owner (%) Renter (%)
0 500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-64 65-74 75-84 85+
Owner 159 1,758 2,137 2,676 1,359 609 1,005 289 88
Renter 151 883 1,422 1,296 270 263 223 73 13
Households

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-25
Figure A-18: Housing Tenure by Year Moved to Current Residence Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates A.4.3 Housing Units Permitted
Housing Units Permitted
From 2000 to 2018, Coachella permitted a total of 2,381 units, the majority of which were single family units. Total permits issued decreased during the Great Recession and have not recovered to similar levels of permit activity since. Compared to the larger SCAG region, Coachella permitted more units per 1,000 residents prior to the Great Recession, but has since permitted fewer units per 1,000 residents than the SCAG region overall. In 2018, the SCAG region had four times the rate of permit activity per 1,000 residents compared to Coachella.

Figure A-19: Housing Units Permitted
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (Core Logic/Data Quick)

9.5%

36.6%

36.5%

9.3% 8.1%
0 1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
2015 or later 2010-2014 2000-2009 1990-1999 1989 or earlier Renter 753 2,604 1,010 163 64
Owner 637 2,773 4,346 1,204 1,120
Households (% of total)
Owner Renter

0.0 5.0

10.0 15.0

20.0 25.0

30.0 35.0
0 200
400
600
800
1000
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Units permitted per 1000
population
Units Permitted in Jurisdiction
All Units Single-Family Units
Multifamily Units Coachella, all units per 1000 Pop.

SCAG, Units per 1000 Pop.

Item 27.

A-26 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
A.4.4 Housing Age and Condition
The age of housing stock is a key indicator of the community’s overall housing condition. As homes get older, there is a greater need for maintenance, repair, and/or replacement of key infrastructure systems. If not properly addressed, an aging housing stock can represent poorer living standards, incur more expensive repair costs and, under certain conditions, lower overall property values.

Only 7.1 percent of all units in Coachella are older than 60 years old, compared to 32.1 percent of units in the SCAG region. The greatest share of Coachella's housing units was built between 2000 to 2009, while in the SCAG region more units were built between 1970 to 1979 than any other time. Therefore, Coachella’s housing stock is generally newer than that of the overall SCAG region.

Figure A-20: Housing Units by Year Structure Built
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) The ACS includes surveys with three factors of what may be considered substandard housing.

Of all the housing units in Coachella, 0.82 percent (120 units) lack telephone service, 0.25 percent (36 units) lack plumbing facilities, and 0.24 percent (35 units) lack complete kitchen facilities.

In the past 5 years, Coachella has received approximately 201 code complaints based on housing conditions. The majority of the complaints (>90 percent) were related to illegal, nonconforming buildings rather than substandard housing conditions. Assuming some overlap between housing complaints, the City conservatively assumes approximately 10 housing units in need of rehabilitation, which is less than 0.1 percent of the total housing stock (10,631 units). Housing complaints were not localized in any one part of the City. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
2014 &
Later
2010-
2013
2000-
2009
1990-
1999
1980-
1989
1970-
1979
1960-
1969
1950-
1959
1940-
1949
1939 &
Earlier
Coachella (%) 0.9% 3.1% 46.1% 14.2% 13.4% 8.6% 6.5% 4.6% 1.6% 0.9% SCAG (%) 1.0% 1.5% 10.1% 9.5% 15.0% 16.3% 14.5% 15.9% 6.9% 9.3% Percent of Total Units Coachella (%) SCAG (%)

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-27
Table A-12: Code Enforcement Cases Related to Housing Conditions Year
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total
Illegal, Nonconforming Building or
Structure 63 58 36 30 1 188
Substandard Housing 4 1 6 2 0 13
Total 67 59 42 32 1 201
Figure A-21: Substandard Housing
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Section A.5 Housing Costs and Affordability
A.5.1 Ownership Costs
In 2018, Coachella’s median home sales price was $245,000. The highest home sale price between 2000 and 2018 was $353,000 in 2006. Between this time period, the median home sales price in Coachella increased 188 percent while median sales price in the SCAG region increased 151 percent. Compared to the SCAG region, prices in Coachella have ranged from a low of 38.1 percent of the region median in 2000 and a high of 64.3 percent in 2006, though prices have generally trended in the same direction.

0.82%

0.25% 0.24%

1.95%

0.39%

1.29%
0%
1%
1%
2%
2%
3%
No Telephone Service Available Lacking Plumbing Facilities Lacking Complete Kitchen Facilities Percent of Total Units
Coachella SCAG

Item 27.

A-28 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
Figure A-22: Median Homes Sales Prices for Existing Homes Note: SCAG median home sales price calculated as household-weighted average of county medians Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (SCAG Local Profiles, Core Logic/Data Quick) A.5.2 Rental Costs
Coachella rents are lower than rents in Riverside County. As shown below, the median rent paid in Coachella in 2019 was $879. These figures are supplied by the US Census and in some cases don’t capture current conditions. Over the past 10 years, rents in Coachella have increased 5.5 percent while rents in Riverside County have increased 23 percent.

Figure A-23: Median Rent
Source: ACS 5-year estimates, 2010-2019, DP04

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%
$-
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$600,000
Coachella SCAG Coachella Percentage of SCAG Price
$833
$879 $1,115
$1,375
$-
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Coachella Riverside County

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-29
A.5.3 Overpayment
A standard measure of housing affordability can be determined by comparing the cost of market rate housing versus the price residents can afford to pay for housing based on their income levels.

State and federal standards specify that households spending more than 30 percent of gross annual income on housing are considered to have a housing cost burden. Severe overpaying occurs when households pay 50 percent or more of their gross income for housing. When a household is overpaying for housing costs, the household has less disposable income for other necessities, including health care, food, and clothing. In the event of unexpected circumstances, such as loss of employment and health problems, lower-income households with a burdensome housing cost are more likely to become homeless or be forced to double-up with other households.

Homeowners with a housing cost burden have the option of selling their homes and becoming renters. Renters, on the other hand, are vulnerable and subject to constant changes in the housing market.

Coachella residents experience a higher rate of housing overpayment than the overall SCAG region. Seven out of ten renters in Coachella are housing cost-burdened. Across Coachella's 4,594 renter households, 3,230 (70.3 percent) spend 30 percent or more of gross income on housing cost, compared to 55.3 percent in the SCAG region. Additionally, 1,735 renter households in Coachella (37.8 percent) are severely cost-burdened and spend 50 percent or more of gross income on housing cost, compared to 28.9 percent in the SCAG region.

Figure A-24: Spending on Rent
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data
Housing overpayment can affect households across all income levels. However, a lower-income household spending the same percentage of income on housing as a higher-income household will likely experience a more acute sense of cost burden. The below table indicates the number of households in Coachella by their income category and their share of income spent on housing.

As expected, lower-income households are more likely to be housing cost-burdened than higherincome households, and extremely low-income renters are more cost burdened than extremely low-income homeowners. However; due to the large number of households in Coachella who own 25 178
346 275
394
528
388
579
1,735
146
0 200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
<10% 10-15% 15-20% 20-25% 25-30% 30-35% 35-40% 40-49% >50% Not Computed
Number of Households
Percent of Income Spent on Rent

Item 27.

A-30 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
their own home, there are more homeowners than renters that are cost burdened across all other income categories.

Table A-13: Cost Burden by Income
Households by Share of Income Spent on Housing Cost:

Income Bracket
>30% >50%
Renters Owners Renters Owners
< 30% HAMFI 1,145 615 840 535
30-50% HAMFI 900 950 315 655
50-80% HAMFI 405 1,245 135 445
80-100% HAMFI 80 385 0 90
> 100% HAMFI 30 420 0 60
Total 2,560 3,615 1,290 1,785
Note: HAMFI refers to Housing Urban Development Area Median Family Income.

Source: HUD CHAS, 2012-2016
The below chart provides an analysis of Coachella's renter households (for which income data is available) by spending on rent by income bracket. Similar to the above trends by income level, lower-income households spend a higher share of income on housing (e.g., over 50 percent) while high-income households are more likely to spend under 20 percent of income on housing.

Figure A-25: Spending on Rent by Income
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Less than
$20,000
$20,000 to
$34,999
$35,000 to
$49,999
$50,000 to
$74,999
$75,000 to
$99,999
$100,000 or
more
>50% 1,136 491 108 0 0 0
30-49% 367 903 188 37 0 0
20-29% 47 93 257 195 57 20
<20% 0 46 29 189 103 182
Number of Renter Households
Household Income
>50%
30-49%
20-29%
<20%

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-31
Figure A-26: Household Income by Total Rent (Cash)
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) While renter households receive much of the focus when it comes to housing cost analysis, owner households make up 68.7 percent of Coachella (compared to 52.5 percent in the SCAG region).

The most commonly occurring mortgage payment in Coachella is $1,500 to $2,000 per month (compared to $2,000 to $3,000 in the SCAG region).

Figure A-27: Monthly Owner Costs for Mortgage Holders
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data (American Community Survey 2014-2018 5-year estimates) Mortgage-holding households in Coachella can be broken down by income and the percentage of income spent on mortgage costs. As expected, lower-income owner occupied households spend a higher share of income on housing costs, while high-income households spend a lower share of income on housing. The income category representing the largest share of mortgageholders is $75,000 or more (1,886 households) and the most prevalent share of income spent on mortgage costs is over 30 percent (4,514 households), which means that a large share of 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Less
than
$20,000
$20,000
to
$34,999
$35,000
to
$49,999
$50,000
to
$74,999
$75,000
to
$99,999
$100,00
0 or
more
>$2000/mo. 27 0 0 0 0 12
$1500-2000/mo. 36 162 151 18 25 107
$1000-1500/mo. 208 509 136 176 111 58
$500-1000/mo. 1052 804 295 227 24 25
<$500/mo. 358 58 0 0 0 0 Renter Households
Household Income
>$2000/mo.
$1500-2000/mo.
$1000-1500/mo.
$500-1000/mo.
<$500/mo.

0.6%

8.0%

36.6% 39.7%

13.2%

0.5% 0.7% 1.2%

5.1%

13.7%

19.6%

33.4%

15.4% 12.3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
<$500 $500-$1000 $1000-$1500 $1500-$2000 $2000-$3000 $3000-$4000 >$4000 Pct. of mortgage-holders
Mortgage - Monthly Payment
Coachella SCAG

Item 27.

A-32 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
mortgage-holders are cost-burdened. This is consistent with the findings in Table A-12, showing the number of cost burdened owners, by income level.

Figure A-28: Costs for Mortgage Holders by Income
Source: SCAG 2020 Pre-Certified Local Housing Data
The table below outlines the affordable monthly payments (rental or owner) for households at all income levels. When comparing to the data above, it is clear lower income households have difficulty finding and securing housing at affordable prices. For example, a very low-income household of three earns less than $34,999 a year and can afford $848 a month on rent, and 90 percent of households in this income category are cost-burdened.

Table A-14: Coachella Ability to Pay for Housing for Extremely Low, Very Low-, Low-, and Moderate-Income Households and Fair Market Rents
Number of Persons in Households
1 2 3 4
Extremely Low
Annual Income Limit $15,850 $18,100 $21,720 $26,200
Monthly Income $1,321 $1,508 $1,810 $2,183
Max. Monthly Gross Rent $396 $453 $543 $655
Max. Purchase Price 5% down2 $69,750 $80,350 $97,250 $118,250 Max. Purchase Price 20% down3 $104,250 $104,250 $126,000 $153,250 Very Low
Annual Income Limit $26,400 $30,150 $33,900 $37,650
Monthly Income $2,200 $2,513 $2,825 $3,138
Max. Monthly Gross Rent $660 $754 $848 $941
Max. Purchase Price 5% down2 $119,000 $136,750 $154,250 $171,750 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Less than
$20,000
$20,000 to
$34,999
$35,000 to
$49,999
$50,000 to
$74,999 $75,000 or more
Over 30% 1035 1462 1152 685 180
20-29% 8 26 76 673 877
Under 20% 0 23 59 223 829
Mortgage-holding households
Household Income; Percent of income spent on mortgage costs

Item 27.

Housing Needs Assessment City of Coachella | A-33
Table A-14: Coachella Ability to Pay for Housing for Extremely Low, Very Low-, Low-, and Moderate-Income Households and Fair Market Rents
Number of Persons in Households
1 2 3 4
Max. Purchase Price 20% down3 $154,500 $177,250 $203,750 $227,750 Low
Annual Income Limit $42,200 $48,200 $54,250 $60,250
Monthly Income $3,517 $4,017 $4,521 $5,021
Max. Monthly Gross Rent $1,055 $1,205 $1,356 $1,506
Max. Purchase Price 5% down2 $195,500 $225,000 $254,500 $284,000 Max. Purchase Price 20% down3 $257,250 $296,000 $335,000 $373,750 Median
Annual Income Limit $52,700 $60,250 $67,550 $75,300
Monthly Income $4,392 $5,021 $5,629 $6,275
Max. Monthly Gross Rent $1,318 $1,506 $1,689 $1,883
Max. Purchase Price 5% down2 $247,000 $284,000 $320,000 $358,000 Max. Purchase Price 20% down3 $325,250 $373,750 $421,250 $471,250 Moderate
Annual Income Limit $63,250 $72,300 $81,300 $90,350
Monthly Income $5,271 $6,025 $6,775 $7,529
Max. Monthly Gross Rent $1,581 $1,808 $2,033 $2,259
Max. Purchase Price 5% down2 $298,750 $343,250 $387,500 $431,800 Max. Purchase Price 20% down3 $393,250 $452,000 $510,000 $568,500 Notes:
1 30% of income devoted to maximum monthly rent or mortgage payment, including utilities, taxes, and insurance 2 Assumes 95% loan (i.e., 5% down payment) @ 2.875% annual interest rate and 30-year term 3 Assumes 80% loan (i.e., 20% down payment) @ 2.875% annual interest rate and 30-year term Source: Zillow Mortgage Calculator

Item 27.

A-34 | City of Coachella Housing Needs Assessment
A.5.4 At-Risk Housing Assessment
“At-risk” assisted housing units are multi-family rental housing units that receive government assistance and are eligible to convert to market-rate units due to termination of a rent subsidy contract, mortgage prepayment, or other expiring use restrictions within 10 years of the beginning of the housing element planning period (2021–2031). According to California Housing Partnership (CHP), Coachella has 1,687 housing units assisted by public funds and none of the units are at risk of conversion to market rate housing during the 2021-2029 planning period and/or they are owned by an established non-profit, mission-driven developer and are considered low-risk for conversion. In June 2021, Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC), a non-profit affordable housing developer, was awarded $22.6 million of financing to construct the Coachella Valley Apartments, which will bring new affordable housing units to Coachella. The project will replace 20 existing units and add 36 new units on 2.97 acres at 84900 Bagdad Avenue in Coachella. The 56-unit project will include one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and will ensure the property is no longer at risk of being converted to market-rate apartments and remains affordable. Funding for the $35.3 million project comes from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC), the Joe Serna Farmworker Grant, Riverside County HOME Funds, and the City of Coachella CFD loan and USDA Rural Development financing.

Item 27.

Sites Inventory and Methodology City of Coachella | B-1 Appendix B: Sites Inventory &
Methodology
Contents
Appendix B: Sites Inventory & Methodology ......................................... B-1 Section B.1 Introduction...................................................................................................... B-2 B.1.1 Overview and Purpose..................................................................................... B-2 B.1.2 Regional Housing Needs Allocation ................................................................. B-2 B.1.3 Data................................................................................................................. B-3 Section B.2 Future Residential Development Potential ....................................................... B-3 B.2.1 4
th and 5th Cycle Shortfall ................................................................................. B-3 B.2.2 Accessory Dwelling Units................................................................................. B-4 B.2.3 Entitled and Proposed Developments .............................................................. B-4 B.2.4 Assumptions .................................................................................................... B-6 B.2.5 Methodology .................................................................................................... B-8 B.2.6 Suitability of Nonvacant Sites......................................................................... B-11 Section B.3 Adequacy of Residential Sites in Meeting RHNA ........................................... B-15 B.3.1 Summary ....................................................................................................... B-15 B.3.2 Housing Sites Map......................................................................................... B-16 B.3.3 Housing Sites Table....................................................................................... B-19

Item 27.

B-2 | City of Coachella Sites Inventory and Methodology Section B.1 Introduction
B.1.1 Overview and Purpose
According to California Government Code §65580-65589, the housing element must include an inventory of adequate sites that are zoned and available within the planning period to meet the jurisdiction’s fair share of regional housing needs across all income levels. The sites inventory, in addition to entitled development projects, assists in determining if the City of Coachella has enough developable land to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), given its current regulatory framework and market conditions. This Appendix details the sites inventory and supporting analysis methodology and assumptions.

B.1.2 Regional Housing Needs Allocation
Jurisdictions must provide sufficient land to accommodate enough housing for all economic segments of the community. Compliance is determined by the jurisdiction’s ability to provide adequate development capacity through appropriate development regulations and land use policies. The number of new units that must be accommodated is established through each jurisdiction’s share of the region’s projected housing needs for the planning period. This share for each jurisdiction is called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), a regional planning agency, is responsible for distributing the RHNA to each jurisdiction within its six-county region (including Riverside County).1 The RHNA is distributed by income category. For the 2021-2029 Housing Element update, Coachella is allocated a RHNA of 7,886 units as follows:
• Extremely-Low and Very-Low Income: 1,033
• Low-Income: 999
• Moderate Income: 1,367
• Above Moderate Income: 4,487
1 Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) covers a six-county region, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Imperial.

Item 27.

Sites Inventory and Methodology City of Coachella | B-3 B.1.3 Data
The sites inventory analysis used data provided by the City, such as GIS data and building permit/entitlement information. The following is an overview of the data used:
• Zoning information: Base Districts, Specific Plan Areas, and Overlays • General Plan Land Use Designations
• Citywide Parcels with Assessor Parcel Number (APN)
• Vacant Parcels
• 5th Cycle HEU Sites
• City Boundary
• Street Centerlines
• Water and Sewer Maps
Section B.2 Future Residential Development Potential
B.2.1 4
th and 5th Cycle Shortfall
HCD found that the City addressed the 4
th Cycle Housing Element shortfall of 1,916 units for
lower-income units by rezoning portions of “Zona Central” to RM-Urban and RM- General (ordinance no. 1143) and implementing the minimum density of 20 units per acre requirement in the RM – General and RM – Urban Neighborhood designations. The City received a letter from HCD dated April 7, 2020 indicating the City satisfied the requirements and met the 4th Cycle shortfall of 1,916 units. In addition, the City has also completed Program 1.3 from the 5th Cycle to rezone sufficient sites to accommodate the 5th cycle shortfall of housing need of 2,542 units for lower-income households. On June 23, 2021, the City adopted Ordinance No. 1183, rezoning

29.3 acres to RM-General and 22.6 acres to RM-Urban, for a unit potential of 1,314 (see Table B-1). On October 13, 2021, the City Council approved Ordinance No. 1187 for the Avenue 53 Rezone Project, which includes rezoning 50.6 acres to RM-Urban, with a unit potential of 1,467 (see Table B-2). As shown in Tables B-1 and B-2, the rezoning meets the State requirements as these sites allow for residential by-right, are established for primarily residential use, and accommodate at least 16 units per site at densities of 20 units per acre (or greater). There is no remaining shortfall to be accommodated in the 6th Cycle.

Item 27.

B-4 | City of Coachella Sites Inventory and Methodology Table B-1: Ordinance No. 1183 Rezone
Site Zoning Density Size (acres) Units
1 RM-General 20-25 du/ac 25.4 acres 571
2 RM-Urban 20-38 du/ac 22.6 acres 655
3 RM-General 20-25 du/ac 3.9 acres 88
Totals 51.9 1,314
Source: LWC, HCD
Table B-2: Ordinance No. 1187 Rezone
Site Zoning Density Size (acres) Units
1 RM-Urban 20-38 du/ac 4.8 acres 139
2 RM-Urban 20-38 du/ac 9.6 acres 278
3 RM-Urban 20-38 du/ac 31.5 acres 914
4 RM-Urban 20-38 du/ac 4.7 acres 136
Totals 50.6 1,467
Source: LWC
B.2.2 Accessory Dwelling Units
New State laws in effect since January 1, 2018 have significantly eased the development standards and streamlined the approval process for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). This has made the development of ADU’s easier over the past few years. Although ADU projections can be counted towards RHNA, Coachella does not rely on ADU production to meet the RHNA and has not made any projection estimates at this time.

B.2.3 Entitled and Proposed Developments
The RHNA projection period for the 2021-2029 Housing Element begins on June 30, 2021, and housing developments that have already been proposed or received entitlement but are not expected to be issued a certificate of occupancy until July 1, 2021 or after can be credited toward the 6
th Cycle RHNA. Table B-3 lists the information for those projects that can be credited toward the 6th Cycle RHNA. It is assumed most of these projects provide housing affordable to above moderate-income households. Pueblo Viejo Villas, approved in 2020 is a mixed-use project with one and two-bedroom units restricted to households earning 30-60% AMI, and is affordable to low-income households. The project was funded through a variety of sources, including lowincome housing tax credit equity, California Affordable Housing and Sustainable Community (AHSC) program, HOME funds and vouchers, and Infill Infrastructure Grant from HCD. This is the first project in the Coachella valley to utilize cap-and-trade funding. The project was developed in the Downtown Center land use designation (with a max density of 65 du/ac). The Tripoli

Item 27.

Sites Inventory and Methodology City of Coachella | B-5 Apartment project was approved in the Spring of 2022, and will be the second housing development downtown resulting from the City of Coachella and Chelsea Investment Corporation.

The proposed project sites on 2.8 acres of vacant land designed Downtown Center in the General Plan and includes 108 residential units of a variety of sizes affordable to residents with low and very low income – less than 60% of area median income. Coachella Valley Apartments was approved in 2020. Proposed by nonprofit Community Housing Opportunities Corporation (CHOC) and funded through sources including Joe Serna Farmworker Grant program, Coachella CFD loan, the project includes 50 replacement units and 60 new one, two, and three-bedroom units over two phases. The project is located in the Neighborhood Center land use designation (max density of 40 du/ac).

Table B-3: Entitled and Proposed Developments
APN Address Units Density Income Level Notes
612230014,
612230015,
612230016.

South side of Ave
48, west of Van
Buren St,
Coachella Village
352 25 du/ac Above Moderate
Two phases.

Phase 2 includes
gated units.
765070035,
765070065
NE Corner of
Cesar Chavez
Street, and 6th,
Pueblo Viejo
Villas.
105 53 du/ac Low
Restricted to 30-
60% AMI
Units reserved for
developmental
disabilities
768210026
84900 Bagdad
Avenue.

Coachella Valley
Apartments
110 (net 60) 19 du/ac Low
Affordable project
by CHOC.

Phase 1- 56 units
on 2.97 acres (at
19 du/ac)
768413010 52878 Calle
Camacho 1 7 du/ac Above Moderate Single Unit
765361001 51-704 Cesar
Chavez St. 8 16 du/ac Above Moderate
Multi-family in
Neighborhood
Center
601390020 Ave 44, West of
Dillon 322 5 du/ac Above Moderate Subdivision
768400001
84824 Calle Verde
(SW Corner of
Calle Techa &
Calle Verde)
152 16 du/ac Above Moderate
Villa Verde Apts.,
General Plan –
Neighborhood
General
778081001,
778081003
51392 Cesar
Chavez Street 108 39 du/ac Low Tripoli housing development Net New Total 1,108
Source: Coachella Development Status Report, 2021

Item 27.

B-6 | City of Coachella Sites Inventory and Methodology B.2.4 Assumptions
Table B-4 summarizes maximum density standards for zones and General Plan land use designations that allow for residential.

Table B-4: Maximum Density for Zones and General Plan Designations that Allow Residential Existing Zone Code Maximum
Density General Plan Designation Maximum Density
Agricultural Reserve (A-R) 1/lot
Agricultural Rancho (AR)
1/lot
Agricultural Transition (A-T) 1/lot
Residential Estate (R-E) 1/lot Rural Rancho (RR) 1 du/ac Single-Family (R-S) 6 du/ac
Suburban Neighborhood
(SN)
8 du/ac, with 5 du/ac average for
new projects
Residential Overlay Zone (RM-4300) 10 du/ac
Residential Overlay Zone (RO-6000) 7 du/ac
Residential Mobile Home
Park (R-MH) 9 du/ac
Multiple-Family (R-M) 20 du/ac
General Neighborhood
(GN)
25 du/ac, with 12 du/ac average
for new projects
Urban Neighborhood
(UN)
38 du/ac with 30 du/ac average
for new projects
Neighborhood Commercial
(C-N) 8 du/ac
Neighborhood Center
(NC) 40 du/ac
Downtown Center (DC) 65 du/ac
Urban Employment
Center (UE) 65 du/ac
Source: City of Coachella Zoning Code; City of Coachella General Plan (2015) The Zoning Ordinance provides flexibility for development within the required standards, such as density (see Table B-4) and other standards (see Appendix C). Certain factors, such as market demand and developer preference, influences the types of projects that are proposed in Coachella. Table B-5 summarizes assumptions for realistic residential development capacity based on minimum density requirements, understanding of capacity potential given zoning requirements estimated at 20% reduction, General Plan estimated new development averages, and recent development trends from approved, entitled, and/or permitted projects within Coachella (Table B-3).

Item 27.

Sites Inventory and Methodology City of Coachella | B-7 Although there are instances in which sites are developing above the realistic assumed densities (for example the Coachella Valley Apartments at 19 du/ac in the Neighborhood Center designation, and a recently approved subdivision in the Suburban Neighborhood at 5 du/ac), the analysis conservatively assumed no parcel would develop at greater than the capacity estimate.

When the Zoning Ordinance establishes minimum densities, the assumption is no project will be developed below the minimum. Other zones establish maximum densities for residential projects.

The Housing Element makes conservative assumptions on residential density, which accounts for the uncertainty of developer choice within the allowed range. Of the recently entitled projects (see Table B-3), no projects requested densities below the density assumptions for the site inventory (Table B-5). In addition, in zones that allow non-residential development, the City has only seen one 100 percent non-residential development in the past 10 years, as part of infill of an existing commercial shopping center property. The conditions of this development are dissimilar to the sites identified in the sites inventory, based on staff knowledge identified sites have a high likelihood of a residential component. Additionally, all recent projects have included a residential component. Further the city has a conservative assumption on density to account for the unlikely potential of 100 percent non-residential development For example, the 8-unit mixed-use project in the Downtown area is within the Neighborhood Center designation and proposed at 16 units per acre, which is greater than the assumed density of 15 units per acre. Additionally, as discussed above, the Pueblo Viejo Villas is an approved project in the Downtown Center designation, built at 53 units per acre, or 80 percent of the maximum density of 65 units per acre and the Tripoli Apartments are proposed at 38 units per acre, both over the 32 units per acre assumed in Table B-5, below. These projects demonstrate recent trends and the feasibility of affordable, residential development in mixed-use zones that allow 100 percent non-residential, and is built at densities in excess of the assumed density of 32 units per acre. Furthermore, as shown in Table B-5, the City is utilizing a conservative assumption ranging from only 25 to 50 percent of the maximum allowed density. Additionally, since more than 50 percent of the City’s lower income RHNA is accommodated on sites that allow mixed-use, the City proposes Program

1.2 to require residential use occupy 50 percent of the total floor area of a mixed-use project on mixed-use sites identified for lower income development in Table B-7.

Item 27.

B-8 | City of Coachella Sites Inventory and Methodology Table B-5: Realistic Residential Development Capacity Assumptions Scenario 1: Existing Capacity Scenario 2: General Plan Capacity Existing Zone Realistic Density General Plan designation Realistic Density Agricultural Reserve (A-R) 1/lot
Agricultural Rancho 1/lot
Agricultural Transition (A-T) 1/lot
Residential Estate (R-E) 1/lot Rural Rancho 1 du/ac
Single-Family (R-S) 80% of max 6 du/ac, but no
less than 1 per parcel
Suburban Neighborhood 80% of average 5 du/ac = 4 du/ac
Residential Overlay Zone
(R-M-4300) 80 % of max 10 du/ac
Residential Overlay Zone
(R-O-6000) 80% of max 7 du/ac
Residential Mobile Home
Park (R-MH) 80% of max 9 du/ac
Multiple-Family (R-M) 80% of max 20 du/ac
General Neighborhood 80% of average 12 du/ac = 10
du/ac
Urban Neighborhood Required minimum 20 du/ac
Neighborhood Commercial
(C-N) 6.4 du/ac N/A N/A

N/A N/A
Neighborhood Center Low end of density range = 15
du/ac
Downtown Center 50% max 65 du/ac = 32 du/ac
Urban Employment Center 25% max 65 du/ac = 16 du/ac
B.2.5 Methodology
To create the adequate sites inventory, the City developed a comprehensive methodology to screen parcels for near-term development. The methodology is comprised of the following steps described below. As the City has not completed a comprehensive rezone to implement the General Plan, the City anticipates a shortfall of sites under existing zoning regulations and has also analyzed the residential capacity using the distribution of land use under the General Plan, which expands residential opportunities into new portions of the City, and also increases maximum allowed density.

The inventory outlined in this Appendix does not represent all possible development opportunities and does not identify all vacant parcels in the City. Furthermore, the City has several adopted Specific Plans which have planned for new residential and mixed-use development. These Specific Plan areas offer additional capacity for housing development at all income levels. When