Attachment D
FINDINGS
Housing Element General Plan Amendment
Application No. 2104-12 (GPA21-001)
February 8, 2022
The Long Beach Municipal Code does not require specific findings for the adoption of a general plan amendment. The proposed Housing Element (HE), however, is consistent with State law and guidelines; consistent with other elements of the City’s General Plan; will not adversely affect the character, liv ability or appropriate dev elopment of the City; and is in conformity with public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good planning practice. The City of Long Beach makes these findings in support of its adoption of the proposed Housing Element.
The HE is consistent with California Government Code §65300 requirements for a local general plan. The statute requires the City to “adopt a comprehensive, long term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and of any land outside its boundaries which in the planning agency’ s judgment bears relation to its planning.
Chartered cities shall adopt general plans which contain the mandatory elements specified in Section 65302.” The proposed HE is a required element of the City of Long Beach general plan. The HE, as well as the combined elements of the general plan (Land Use, Urban Design, Historic Preservation, O pen Space, Housing, Ai r Quality, Mobility, Seismic Safety, Local Coastal Program, Nois e, Public Safety, and Conservation) meets the requirements of the af orementioned Government C ode and is consistent with applicable State Housing Law.
The HE is consistent wi th California Government Code §65580 requirements for Housing Elements . The statute declares that the av ailability of housing is of vital statewide importance, and the early attainment of decent housing and a suitable living environment for every Californian, is a priority of the highes t order. The statute requires that local governments use the powers vested in them to facilitate the development and improvement of housing to make adequate provision for the hous ing needs of all economic segments of the community. Consis tent with this requirement, the proposed HE update provides a suite of goals, polic ies and implementation programs designed to facilitate the development and improvement of housing affordable to various income levels. The Housing Element is designed to achieve several overarching goals, including:
Accommodating projected housing dem and, as mandated by the State; Increasing housing producti on to meet this demand;
Improving housing affordability;
Preserving existing affordable housing;
Improving the safety, quality and c ondition of existing housing; Facilitating the development of housing fo r all income levels and household types, including special needs populations; and,
Improving the livability and economic prosperity of all City residents; and promoting fair housing choice for all.
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The HE is also consistent with §65580 requirements for cooperating with other local governments as well as the stat e to address regional housing need . This includes a specific requirement that local jurisdictions designate and maintain a supply of land and adequate sites suitable, feasible, and available for the development of housing sufficient to meet housing need for all income levels. The City’s housing unit allocation, known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), is 26,502 units for the period between 2021 and 2029. The HE demonstrates the City’s ability to accommodate the projected number of housing units needed to house existing and future City residents for each income category (very low, low, moder ate and above moderate). The HE provides a detailed analysis of the Long Beach Comm unity’s housing needs across all income levels as well as a plan for how to fac ilitate housing development and improvement to meet those needs. One of the critical HE implementation programs is a rezoning program to create sufficient capacity for future housing development to meet the City’s demonstrated housing need articulated in its RHNA. The HE Site Inventory demonstrates the City’s compliance with this requirement and demonstrates sufficient capacity to accommodate the RHNA. State law requires general plans to be consistent across elements; the rezoning program is consistent with and helps implement the City’s adopted Land Use Element (LUE).
The proposed HE update contains a Fair Housing Assessment including all components required pursuant to Government Code Sections 8899.50, 65583(c)(5), 65583(c)(10), and 65583.2(a). The Housing Plan is contai ned within Chapter 6 of the Housing Element and is the guiding document that sets the City’s goals, policy and program direction related to housing. Goal 6 relates to ensuring fair and equal housing opportunity, as such, special attention has been paid to both analyzing issues of fair housing and to developing programs and strat egies to address impediments to fair housing. In response to new State require ments, the City devel oped a detailed Fair Housing Assessment appendix (see Appendix F of the proposed HE update) that informs the Plan. The assessment demonstrated that there is inequitable access and outcomes related to housing in Long Beach that can be predicted by race, class, ability status and more. The assessment finds that fair housi ng issues in Long Beach include racial segregation of housing, overcrowding, substandard housing, displacement risk, pollution burden, among others. The assessm ent also found that the site inventory reflects longstanding and prevailing ineq uitable zoning and land use patterns according to data the State requires to be analyzed. For exampl e, one of the key indicators the state requires cities to review is how much of the City’s inventory of sites is available to build housing within areas of “high opportunity”. Policies and programs are included in this plan to begin addressing these issues, but this is a multi-generational, complex challenge that will take a multitude of governmental and non-government strategies to address. Goal 6 is supported by the largest number of impl ementation programs of any goal in the plan and includes strategies for housing mobility enhancement, new housing choices and Attachment D
affordability in high opportunity areas, place-based strategies for community preservation and revitalization and displacement protection.
The general plan, as amended by the HE, is internally consistent, within and across elements pursuant to §65300.5. The HE builds upon and he lps implement the LUE through both policies and the site inventory that identifies opportunity sites based on LUE PlaceTypes. Promoting a diversity of housing types is a key strategy of both the HE and LUE. Increasing the feasibility of developm ent of underused sites throughout the City, particularly along commercial corridors serv ed by transit and focusing the greatest amount of new housing near trans it and jobs are some of the key strategies core to the HE, LUE, Urban Design Elemen t, Mobility Element and the pr oposed Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. By reducing the length of daily trips, these strategies help improve air quality and health. This furthers the goals of the Open Space and Conservation Elements by preserving parks and open space by prioritizing the reuse of infill sights and focusing development in built-out areas. The land us e policies and strategies of the LUE, which are furthered by the HE, ensure the preservation of historic resources consistent with the Historic Preservation Element. The HE was developed in consideration of safety concerns and is consistent with both t he Public Safety and Seismic Safety Elements. The HE update helps address the priority of housing, particularly affordable housing in the Coastal Zone. The HE update is consistent with t he Noise Element and the proposed Noise Element update which further implements the PlaceType strategies.
Public involvement in preparation of th e plan met the requir ements of §65351, which requires the planning agency to provide opportunities for the involvement of citizens, California Native American Indian tribes, public agencies, public utility companies, and civic, education, a nd other community groups, through public hearings and any other means the planning agency deems appropriate. A key component of the Housing Element update pr ocess was robust public engagement to inform the City’s housing plan, strategies and priorities. Although the COVID-19 pandemic precluded in-person events, the City hosted a variety of virtual community meetings, focus groups, stakeholder interviews, community presentations and capacity building activities.
This involvement included residents of Long Beach and surrounding cities, California Native American tribes, other public agencies, civic and advocacy organizations, as well as other stakeholders. Opportunities to provide virtual feedback on the Housing Element update began in summer 2020, including citywide virtual workshops and telephone town halls that were open to the public and available in both English and Spanish. Strategies for reaching communities most impacted by t he housing crisis included targeted mailers in multiple languages, and co llaborative community capacit y building activities in partnership with community-based organizations. Other strategies have included a multi- lingual virtual open house that participants can visit anytime at their convenience, and a call for residents to share their housing stor y in English, Spanish, Khmer or Tagalog through videos, photos and written submissions . Given the lack of equitable digital access, the City also conducted outreach through direct mailers and utility bill inserts.
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The City prepared an EIR Addendum to the previously certif ied Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the 2019 General Plan LUE Update and Urban Design Element (UDE). The Housing Element builds off the LUE goals, policies and strategies and provides a more detailed roadmap for creat ing sufficient capacity for needed housing in the City, including through zoning code am endments and rezoning of properties on the Housing Element Site Invent ory to be rezoned in alignment with and to implement the LUE. The update to the Housing Element and rezoning of specific properties do not result in any physical improvements but rather are planning actions, consistent with the adopted LUE, intended to: comply with State law, identify a plan to meet the housing needs of the City, and implement the Zone Change Program and intent of the adopted LUE. It should be noted that there are no notification or circulati on requirements or comment periods for an addendum to a previously certified Final EIR, pursuant to CEQA.
The City did not receive any requests for formal consultation with Native American Tribes pursuant to §65352.3. In accordance with Senate Bill 18 (SB 18) requirements, the City contacted Native Amer ican representatives in Apr il 2021. The representatives that were contacted were identified on a list of contacts provided by the Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC). As provided in the tribal notices, approval of the project would not include any physical improvements that would result in the disturbance of such resources. In accordance with SB 18 and Assembly Bill 52, the City will notify Native American representatives of future projects in the City that require a discretionary action.