May 14, 2025
The Honorable Diane Papan
Member, California State Assembly
1021 O St, Suite 4220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 650 (Papan) Planning and Zoning: Housing Element: Regional Housing Needs Allocation - Notice of SUPPORT (As Amended 04/24/25)
Dear Assembly Member Papan:
The City of Cupertino is pleased to support your Assembly Bill (AB) 650, which would allow local governments to begin the housing element update process six months early, provide greater certainty and reduce ambiguity in the housing element review process, and ensure that local governments have adequate time to respond to the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) review letters.
Since 1969, California’s local governments have planned and selected sites for housing at all income levels through the housing element portion of a local government’s general plan. Every five to eight years, local governments are required to adopt a blueprint outlining where developers can or cannot build residential developments within their respective communities and obtain certification from HCD. Local governments plan for their fair share of housing development as determined through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process. As part of this complex process, local governments submit in their housing elements a variety of essential data, actions, and programs to promote fair, equitable, and affordable housing in their community. Currently, local jurisdictions are planning and zoning for nearly 2.5 million additional homes statewide.
During the 6th RHNA cycle, local governments experienced various challenges in obtaining certification from HCD. Some of the challenges include a short timeline for completing these complex documents and responding to HCD’s feedback, a lack of clarity regarding what the state expects from local governments when reviewing additional housing element drafts, and the introduction of new requirements late in the housing element review process.
AB 650 would address these issues by allowing local governments to begin updating their housing element six months earlier. This bill would also require HCD to provide specific text and analysis that must be included in the housing element to remedy deficiencies, ensuring that local governments are not penalized when HCD identifies additional deficiencies not previously identified in prior review letters.
For these reasons, the City of Cupertino is pleased to support AB 650.
Sincerely,
Liang Chao
Mayor
City of Cupertino
cc: The Honorable Josh Becker
The Honorable Patrick Ahrens