Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: STUDY SESSION
To: City Council
Subject: Workshop on Draft Housing Strategy-2023 Housing Element Update Date: June 14, 2022
Written by: Noah Housh, Director of Community Development Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council and Planning Commission review the Draft Housing Strategy for the 2023 Housing Element Update, take public input, and provide direction to staff and consultants.
Background
The preparation of the Housing Element is required by California law, specifically Chapter(s) 10.6 and 10.7 of the Government Code. The City has contracted with 4LEAF, Inc. to prepare the required update to its 2015 Housing Element to cover the period between 2023-2031. The update of the Housing Element provides the opportunity for the City to review and update their existing housing policies and implementation measures to address the identified housing needs of the community, facilitate housing production and demonstrate how the City will accommodate its assigned housing allocation spread across different income levels.
The Housing Element is one of the eight mandated elements of the City’s General Plan. It is the only element of the General Plan required by the State to be updated on a set schedule, and to be reviewed by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) prior to adoption. The Housing Element is legally required to establish policies and programs that support the provision of an adequate housing supply for citizens of all income levels, as well as to provide an inventory of adequate sites with appropriate zoning to provide for the City’s share of the regional housing need. The intent of state law is to ensure that all jurisdictions in the state provide adequate housing to all members of their communities, including future community members.
While the State reviews the Housing Element to ensure compliance with housing law, each jurisdiction must identify its own specific housing needs to successfully address them.
As the City Council is aware, Cotati received a Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) of 234 units, including 94 units affordable to lower-income households and 39 units affordable to moderate-income households.
The adoption of new policies and programs to comply with all the new laws, including Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), will be necessary for the City to achieve an HCDcertified Housing Element. Certification is important because it provides the presumption of validity in the case of a legal challenge and ensures that the City will maintain local control of its land use, zoning, and project approvals. The deadline to adopt updated Housing Elements for the ABAG region is January 31, 2023.
In addition to identifying adequate sites to meet the city’s fair share of regional housing needs at all income levels, the Housing Element must also identify and analyze the projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The Housing Element consists of 7 main components:
• A summary and analysis of the population, demographic and housing characteristics that contribute to the present and future housing needs in Cotati; • A description of the constraints on the development of housing in Cotati; • An evaluation of the existing housing element and the City’s progress in implementing its policies and programs;
• An inventory of sites to accommodate Cotati’s identified housing needs, including its regional fair share (AKA Housing Opportunity Sites); • A statement of quantified objectives that estimates the number of housing units by income level to be provided for in the City of Cotati by 2031; • A summary of public input received during the housing element update process, and how that input has been incorporated into the document; and • A section containing the goals, policies, quantified objectives, and scheduled programs to preserve, improve and develop housing in Cotati. It is this Section that will be formed by the Draft Housing Strategy.
The Draft Housing Strategy sets forth the broad housing goals of the City and forms a “roadmap” of housing policy direction into the future. The Draft Housing Strategy, together with the comments resulting from its review, will be used to update the goals, policies, and programs section for the 2023 Housing Element. The Strategy incorporates the required new housing- related data, identified housing needs, and public input received to date, within the framework of the existing housing element. Possible changes and updates to existing policies and programs are suggested to respond to changing housing needs, community input, and new statutory requirements. The Housing Strategy is a working draft, and as such is a fluid document.
In addition to the increased RHNA numbers assigned to Cotati, several new state laws have been adopted since the last Housing Element update that will make this update cycle more complicated than in the past. A brief outline of applicable new laws is provided below.
AB 686 (2018), also known as the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) law, requires specific analysis around patterns of racial, ethnic, or economic concentration within the city, as well as an examination of past and current zoning, land use, funding, and other practices.
Because exclusive single-family zoning is known as an exclusionary land use practice, programs (such as the existing Cottage Housing Ordinance) must be included in the Housing Element to overcome this practice and to ensure that opportunities for housing choice in all parts of the City are available to all races, ethnic groups, income levels, and protected classes of people. The impacts of this legislation is discussed in more detail below.
AB 72 (2017) granted the state Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) authority to review any action or failure to act by a local government that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted Housing Element or Housing Element law, including failure to implement programs. HCD may revoke compliance status, leaving the housing element vulnerable to litigation under which a court may take over the City’s land use authority. HCD may also now refer violations to the state Attorney General’s office for enforcement.
AB 1397 (2017) requires that cities zone appropriately for their share of the regional housing need, and zoning for all types of housing – including multi-family, SROs, and supportive housing - is required. The new law requires strong justification when non-vacant sites are used to meet the housing need, especially for lower-income housing.
SB 166 (2017), the new “No Net Loss” law, requires that a city replace any site that was zoned for low-income housing and identified as available for low-income housing in the city’s site inventory if the site is developed with anything but low-income housing. The intent is to ensure that jurisdictions have adequate sites with appropriate zoning to accommodate their share of the regional housing need throughout the Housing Element period. A city that fails to replace the sites within 6 months can be referred to the Attorney General. For this reason, the city should ensure adequate sites with appropriate zoning are available to meet the city’s needs for the next 8 years.
SB 35 (2017) requires that jurisdictions that are not meeting their RHNA obligations have a “streamlined ministerial approval process” for housing when a specified amount of project units are provided as affordable and deed restricted; in Cotati, 50% of SB 35 units must be affordable. “Streamlined ministerial approval process” means that officials cannot exercise discretion over a qualifying project, but can only compare it against adopted, objective design and development standards. Without broadly applicable objective standards, a City could be forced to approve a qualifying project on the basis of the limited objective standards in place now and without regard for whether the decision-makers find that the project conforms (or does not conform) to subjective standards.
AB 101 (2019) established a Prohousing Designation Program for jurisdictions adopting local policy in accordance with State housing mandates and goals. The designation is not a state requirement, but a way that may be helpful for smaller jurisdictions often passed over for competitive State funding, as being designated as “Prohousing” is likely to increase competitiveness for State grant funds. The growing list of funding is not restricted to housing and would assist qualifying cities in meeting goals related to planning, infrastructure, and transportation. Jurisdictions need to qualify for 30 out of 69 available points in order to be competitive for the designation, and do not need to adopt every recommended program. A Prohousing Designation Matrix detailing standards for qualification is included as an attachment to this Staff Report.
Analysis/Discussion
Cotati’s existing (2015) Housing Element has 6 goal topic areas, as follows:
H-1) Conserve and Improve the Existing Housing Supply to Provide Adequate, Safe, and Decent Housing for all Cotati Residents
H-2) Provide Adequate Sites to Accommodate the Housing Needs of All Economic Segments of the Community
H-3) Expand Affordable Housing Opportunities for Lower Income Households and Persons with Special Housing Needs, including Seniors, Disabled Persons, Developmentally Disabled Persons, Large Households, and Homeless Persons and Families
H-4) Promote Housing Opportunities for All Persons Regardless of Race, Gender, Age, Marital Status, Ancestry, National Origin, Color, or Sexual Orientation H-5) Promote Energy Efficiency and Conservation in Residential Development H-6) Ensure Public Participation in the Development of the City’s Housing Policies As noted above, there have been several changes to state law since the 2015 Housing Element was prepared. Some of these changes and new state requirements will necessitate slight changes in the city’s Goals. A link to the current housing element is provided below to facilitate review of the current HE Goals, Policies and Programs-which start of page six of the document. https://cdn5-
hosted.civiclive.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_9669113/File/CotatiHousingElement.pdf Suggested New Goals:
H-1) Resilient & Safe Housing
H-2) Housing Production
H-3) Affordable, Attainable, & Accessible Housing H-4)
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
H-5) Community Engagement
In several areas, the goals, policies, and programs of the existing Housing Element have been combined and simplified. The Summary of Proposed Housing Strategy Program Changes provided as Attachment 2 is arranged under each of the suggested New Goals H-1 through H-5 above and is intended to provide additional nuance and details regarding the intention of each goal.
CITY COUNCIL AND GENERAL PLAN GOALS:
This action supports the following City Council Goals and General Plan Actions:
City Council Goals (FY 21/22)
1. Goal: Ensure long-term vitality for the City.
2. Goal: Actively work to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change, including wildfire preparation/adaptation, in accordance with adopted City Council policies.
3. Goal: Provide core services consistent with best-in-class community service levels.
4. Goal: Promote community engagement to inform and encourage participation
5. Goal: Promote an equitable, compassionate, and healthy community that honors diversity as a source of strength
Staff finds that the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element draft Policies and Programs would implement the City Council Goals in that providing housing for all members of the community will help to support the long term vitality for the City; planning for, and identifying the location of our preferred housing types and locations can help to mitigate the impacts of climate change on this housing; obtaining a State certified Housing Element allows the City to ensure our development review services remain best-in-class; prioritizing numerous and varied engagement efforts will help to ensure the adopted document meets the needs of the citizenry; and finally ensuring the 6th Cycle Housing Element implements all diversity and equity aspects required under the law will help to demonstrate the City’s commitment to an equitable and compassionate community that honors it’s diversity.
General Plan Goals
GOAL LU 1 Establish an Efficient, Harmonious, and Environmentally Sensitive Land Use Pattern That Enhances Cotati’s Small Town Character, Provides Adequate Space to Accommodate Sustainable Economic and Housing Growth, and Encourages Orderly Growth GOAL CSF 5 Provide Responsive and High Quality City Government Services to Residents and Businesses
GOAL CON 1 Protect and Enhance Cotati’s Ecosystem and Natural Habitats GOAL CON 3 Promote Conservation of Energy and Other Natural Resources Staff finds that the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element draft Policies and Programs will further implement the adopted General Plan goals in that their adoption, along with formalizing the housing opportunity sites, will provide some direction and support for developing future residential uses in areas the City has determined to be efficient, environmentally sensitive and which enhance the City’s “Small Town Character’; will demonstrate a responsive city government focused on meeting the needs of it’s residents; allow the City to preserve the natural ecosystem and habitat amenities available; and will also support implementation of conservation and efficiency improvements into the future housing stock through enhanced building code provisions.
AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHERING FAIR HOUSING
A key theme of changes to the State’s Housing Element statutes as well as HCD’s oversight and certification of Housing Element Updates, is the need for cities and counties to actively pursue and achieve adequate and fair housing in their respective jurisdictions.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) is a program intended to identify, reverse, and prevent housing segregation and discrimination. Originally established as a federal program within the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the law was activated as a HUD rule in 2015 for jurisdictions receiving federal housing funding, but reversed in 2020. Upon federal reversal, the State of California passed Assembly Bill 686 (2018) to codify AFFH in California Housing Element Law. This Housing Element Cycle is the first to implement AB 686, and implementation is a new process for both the jurisdictions conducting AFFH analysis and state regulators approving local plans.
AFFH law requires specific analysis around patterns of racial, ethnic, or economic concentration within the city, as well as an examination of past and current zoning, land use, funding, and other practices. Because exclusive single-family zoning is known as an exclusionary land use practice, programs (such as the existing Cottage Housing Ordinance) must be included in the Housing Element to overcome this practice and to ensure that opportunities for housing choice in all parts of the City are available to all races, ethnic groups, income levels, and protected classes of people.
The AFFH section will draw from several data sources. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has conducted a regional fair housing analysis and individual jurisdictional analyses for the sixteen jurisdictions of Sonoma and Napa Counties, supported by regional planning funding from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG/MTC). Regional data from the ABAG Housing Data Workbook has been pre-approved as a central data source for both the AFFH section and identification of housing needs and constraints. ABAG has also prepared a Regional Segregation Report with jurisdiction-specific findings, and California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD)’s AFFH Data Viewer provides mapping resources illustrating various AFFH requirements (https://affh-data-resources- cahcd.hub.arcgis.com/).
One key aspect of AFFH requirements is to ensure an equitable distribution of sites in the Housing Element Sites Inventory. Since Cotati is a community with confluence of both Low Resource and Moderate Resource communities as identified by HCD, the regional fair housing assessment will be supplemented by the local knowledge needed to shape a local plan for equitable distribution of sites, along with programs to ensure that sites in low-resource neighborhoods are supported by community amenities, and further programs to actively advance fair housing considerations in Cotati.
The suite of programs before the Council and Planning Commission this evening will likely be amended by HCD in their review of the City of Cotati’s Housing Element Update. Jurisdictions that have previously completed their 6th Cycle Housing Element Update have encountered the highest level of scrutiny and revision to the AFFH section. The City of Cotati can reasonably expect that even a robust submission to HCD is likely to encounter programmatic additions to the Housing Element that HCD believes will help ensure the City of Cotati is embedding the lens of fair housing and equity – racial, social, and economic – throughout the plan. At this stage, staff efforts will be best supported by local knowledge from the City Council identifying areas of focus and guiding how to best enhance the City’s practice of fair housing.
Given all of the context provided above, staff recommends that the City Council & Planning Commission consider the following questions as they review the draft Housing Strategy, and provide direction to further shape these programs and policies before they refined for inclusion within the Administrative Draft Housing Element:
• Should the Goals, Policies, & Programs be expanded? If so, where? • Can any Programs be eliminated or deprioritized?
• Where can the City prioritize resource allocation?
• How can we best continue to hear from Cotati residents? • Which fair housing issues present the most pressing need? • How can the City achieve compliance with state mandates while best serving Cotati’s unique community needs?
• What is your vision of Cotati’s housing opportunities and priorities over the next eight years?
The feedback received during this meeting will be incorporated into the final draft Housing Element, which will be published for a 30-day public review and comment period in midAugust. The draft will then be finalized and submitted to the HCD for their review.
Financial Considerations
There are no anticipated direct financial considerations beyond the City staff time and consultant contract costs for the completion and submission of the draft Housing Element to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). There are also no anticipated direct costs to obtain certification of the 6th Cycle Housing Element, barring any unforeseen requests by HCD.
However, implementation of some of the Programs and Policies will result in actual financial contributions by the City. Staff has tried to highlight the specific programs with an anticipated financial contribution using the $-$$$ symbology next to each of the programs to identify when such a cost is anticipated.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378. Adoption of the actual 6th Cycle Housing Element will require analysis and a determination under CEQA. This work is anticipated to begin in summer 2022.
Attachments:
Summary of Programs - Cotati (V2 - 2022-06-14)-PC & CC (DOCX) Draft Housing Strategy (DOCX)
Blank Prohousing Designation Matrix (PDF)
Cotati_Zoning Map-June 2020 (PDF)
HCD Examples of Contributing Factors by Issue Area Examples of AFFH Actions (PDF) Feb 22, 2022 PC-CC Staff Report (DOC)