Agenda #: 5.5
Meeting Date: March 21, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Fox, City Manager
TITLE: 2022 HOUSING ELEMENT ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT
STRATEGIC
GOAL: Open, Engaged & Responsive Government
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve the report for filing with the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65400, local jurisdictions are required to file a Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) by the first of April each year. Because HCD certified Diamond Bar’s Housing Element Update on October 15, 2022, the APR (Attachment 1) covers progress on the implementation of both the current and previous Housing Element cycles.
Tables A and A2 list approvals and permits issued in 2022 for housing units, categorized by income category. Table B counts those units toward the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) obligation for the 2021-2029 planning period. Table D outlines progress toward implementation of the City’s Housing Element programs.
ANALYSIS:
The City’s housing production for 2022 is summarized below:
• Nine entitlement requests were approved for new single-family residences;
• Two building permits were issued for new single-family residences; • Forty-two building permits were issued for new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); • Two building permits were issued for new Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs); • Two single-family residences received certificates of occupancy; and • Eight ADUs received certificates of occupancy.
The 2022 reporting period shows that there was a significant increase in the number of total building permits issued for new housing units compared to that of the previous year (a total of 20 building permits issued in 2021).
The number of permits issued for ADUs continue to increase, largely due to the passage of several bills: SB 13, AB 881, AB 68(1), AB 587, and AB 671, which were intended to address the State’s housing shortage by easing development restrictions that cities and counties may place on ADUs. These new laws took effect on January 1, 2020, and on July 20, 2021, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 01(2021), updating the City’s ADU regulations to comply with State law. Permits issued for ADUs will continue to increase, especially in light of more recent ADU legislation that took effect on January 1, 2023 (SB 897 and AB 2221). These bills made several changes to the existing law that clarifies certain provisions, further ease development restrictions, and facilitate more timely permitting.
Other housing legislation requires ministerial “by-right” approval of certain “two-unit housing developments” and “urban lot splits” in single-family zones. This legislation (SB 9) allows owners of lots in single-family zones to construct up to four (4) residential housing units on their existing lots by right, all with few, if any, off-street parking spaces, and without any environmental review, public hearings, or discretionary review by the City’s staff, Planning Commission, or City Council. The City adopted an urgency ordinance on December 21, 2021, so that rigorous, prescriptive standards to regulate these types of developments would be in place by January 1, 2022, in which these new laws took effect.
Future opportunities for housing production lie primarily with ADUs, SB 9 units, and development in the mixed-use districts created under current General Plan. In May 2022, the City entered into a Consultant Services Agreement with Torti Gallas + Partners to prepare the Town Center Specific Plan (TCSP) in one of those mixed-use districts, which is also one of the housing sites identified in the Housing Element to accommodate the RHNA. The TCSP is an important component of the City’s overall strategy to revitalize older areas and expand housing production.
The 17 housing programs identified in the Housing Element include efforts to remove constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, as listed under Table D of Attachment 1. All programs remained in effect during the reporting period.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Attachments:
1. 5.5.a 2022 Annual Progress Report