Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: March 19, 2024
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: sunayana Thomas, director of community and economic development PREPARED BY: chris schaefer, aicp, pLANNING mANAGER
SUBJECT: aNNUAL HOUSING ELEMENT ProgRess REPORT FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2023
SUMMARY
California Government Code Section 65400 requires all local planning agencies prepare an Annual Housing Element Progress Report (“Annual Report”) to report progress of General Plan Housing Element implementation for each calendar year.
PROPOSED MOTION
Receive and file.
Authorize Director of Community and Economic Development to submit Report to the California Department of Housing and Community Development and Office of Planning Research.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
This is the annual Housing Element Progress Report required by the California HCD.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability
Public Safety
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
The department budgets for Annual Progress Report preparation and submittal. The State may withhold grants and other funding should the City fail to submit the report to OPR and HCD by the April 1, 2024 deadline and continue withholding funds until the City submits the report.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
California required all local governments (cities and counties) to adequately plan for community housing needs since 1969. Local governments adopting housing plans (housing elements) as part of the “general plan” (also required by the state) meet this requirement. General plans provide the local government "blueprint" for city and/or county growth and development through the following elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety and housing.
City Council adopted the Fullerton Plan (the City General Plan) on May 1, 2012. Government Code Section 65400 requires all California cities and counties to submit a General Plan annual progress report to their legislative bodies (City Council), the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The annual report must describe progress made toward goal and policy implementation contained in the document.
The Annual Progress Report (Attachment 2) covers the 2023 calendar year and demonstrates City progress toward General Plan implementation, more specifically, the Housing Element. City Council and Planning Commission policy decisions must have consistency with General Plan goals and policies, including all zoning, subdivision and land use approvals as well as Public Works projects in the City Capital Improvement Program. The Annual Progress Report provides a tool for City Council to gauge established goals, policies and programs implementation.
Progress Towards the Regional Housing Needs Assessment
The Housing Element, a required section within the General Plan, includes policies for preservation and production of all types of housing. State law requires the City to update the Housing Element every eight years and report on several housing metrics for the stated policies in the document, including new unit construction, and electronically submit the information to HCD.
The City entered the sixth cycle of the Housing Element three years ago, which runs from October 2021 to October 2029. The City must plan for developing the 13,209 unit Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation for this eight-year planning period. The following provides a breakdown of the number of units the City must plan for based on affordability level as well as the credits (residential units) the City requested for the 6th RHNA cycle Years 1, 2 and 3:
RHNA (6th Cycle) for City of Fullerton
Income Level
RHNA Allocation
Year 1 - 2021
Year 2 - 2022
Year 3 - 2023
Unmet RHNA
Very Low
3,198
-
10 34
3,154
Low
1,989
-
46 28
1,915
Moderate
2,271
-
11 13
2,247
Above Moderate
5,751
41 6
383
5,301
TOTALS
13,209
41 73
458
12,617
The table depicts unit reporting requirements based on affordability levels (very low, low, moderate, etc.). Staff provided the affordability levels for Orange County for reference (Attachment 3). The APR spreadsheet, the City reporting mechanism to request annual unit credits from the State, depicts various unit types such as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), single family residences and multi-family residences. The RHNA has no unit type minimum threshold that the City must meet. The following provides a breakdown of units receiving building permits, by year.
Units by Type Permitted
Units Permitted by Type
Year 1 - 2021
Year 2 - 2022
Year 3 - 2023
Accessory Dwelling Unit
60 64
69 Single Family
1 7
6 Multi-Family
2 383
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) accounted for most of the credits requested for Years 1 and 2, including all types of ADUs such as new construction, conversions and junior ADUs. HCD requires the City submit a spreadsheet (Attachment 2) to claim unit credit towards the RHNA. The credits depict building permits issued by the City along with additional reporting information such as: permit number, date of issuance, address, Assessors Parcel Number and affordability level. The City cannot claim entitled projects or projects in plan check without building permit issuance for credit.
The developer for The Hub (2601 East Chapman Avenue) project pulled building permits in early 2023, adding 377 credits to the Year 3 RHNA totals. Planning Commission and City Council have approved several multiple family projects which have not pulled building permits (see following table). These nine projects total 1,513 potential new residential units.
Residential Project – Permits Not Issued
Location
Number of units
Affordability
Status
215-229 East Orangethorpe Avenue
(Streetlights Mixed-Use)
329 units
19 Very Low
310 Above Moderate
Permit Ready
1144 West Rosecrans Avenue
(The Pines at Sunrise Village)
113 units
113 Above Moderate
In Plan Check
1600 West Commonwealth Avenue
(Pointe Common)
65 rental units
30 Very Low
7 Low
27 Moderate Income
1 Manager
In Plan Check
Highland Avenue/Valencia Avenue
(Casa Bella)
20 units
1 Very Low
19 Above Moderate
Permit Ready
2701 West Rosecrans Avenue
(West Coyote Hills)
760 for-sale units
760 Above Moderate
Final Vesting Map
245 North State College Boulevard
(Name TBD)
25 units
25 Moderate
In Plan Check
Santa Fe Avenue / Lemon Street
(Parkwest)
140 rental units
17 Low
123 Above Moderate
Pending Plan Check
737 North Highland Avenue
(Name TBD)
13 units
13 Above Moderate
Pending Planning Commission
321 East Amerige Avenue
(Name TBD)
8 units
2 Moderate
6 Above Moderate
Pending Planning Commission
Several developers have reported they have not pulled building permits due to unfavorable financing conditions and high costs of construction. A developer proposing a 20-unit multiple family development pulled the entitlement application due to this issue and stated that they might return in the future when the project makes sense financially.
Staff recommends City Council receive and file this report and authorize the Community and Economic Development Director to submit to HCD and OPR.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Annual Progress Report of the Housing Element for CY2023 Attachment 2 – Orange County Income Limits 2023
cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
Annual Housing Element Report for 2023
March 19, 2023 - Page 2