City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 1
# Comment Response
1 Racially Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAA): The
element was revised to include maps for local and
regional RCAA and included some high-level data
regarding the City's RCAA census tracts. However, as
found in HCD's prior review, the element must
analyze these areas for trends, conditions,
coincidence with other fair housing factors (e.g., race, highest resource, overpayment), effectiveness or
absence of past strategies (e.g., lack of publicly
assisted housing and lack of multifamily zoning), local data and knowledge and other relevant factors.
Based on the outcomes of this analysis, the element
should include significant and meaningful programs
to promote housing mobility (not limited to the
regional housing need allocation (RHNA)).
We have expanded the analysis of RCAAs within
the AFFH Analysis (see pages A-24 and A-25) and
included new meaningful actions in the
contributing factors table that respond to the
revised analysis (see pages A-61 and A-62).
We also made slight revisions to Program I and
Program T to target higher resource areas.
Finally, we have revised Program F and Program FF
to include new actions and/or objectives that work
to overcome fair housing issues related to
concentrated areas of affluence.
1 Increasing Housing Choices and Affordability in Areas of Opportunity: The element was revised to include
some actions with geographic targeting and metrics
for programs in low-density and higher opportunity
neighborhoods. However, the revised analysis
demonstrated that the City is majority RCAA and a
large portion of the City’s lower-income RHNA has
been identified outside of these areas. These
conditions and circumstances warrant significant and
robust actions (not limited to the RHNA) to promote
housing mobility and increasing housing choices and
affordability in higher income, higher resourced and
lower-density neighborhoods. The element should be
revised with aggressively numeric targets and
geographic targets that include RCAA, higher
resourced and lower-density neighborhoods.
Examples include creating more housing choices and
affordability in single-family neighborhoods beyond
complying with law (e.g., SB 9, ADUs), targeting
affordable housing funding, homesharing programs,
more than one junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU)
(per single family structure, enhancing capacity,
affordability, and housing choices on religious
institutional sites beyond the RHNA and other
alternative land use strategies. Lastly, the element
must be revised to include quantified metrics
(beyond the RHNA) programs focused on housing
mobility and increased housing opportunities and
affordability.
This was the original goal of Program F, however,
previous HCD comments indicated that the rezone
requirements to meet the RHNA shortfall should be
included there. The rezone requirements have now
been moved to Program C to remove the confusion
between the goals of each program.
We have revised Program F to identify the City’s
efforts to promote housing mobility and increasing
housing choices and affordability in low-density
RCAAs.
Since 2019 the City has worked with the
community and the General Plan Advisory
Committee to create new multifamily and mixed
use designations and to identify parcels for
redesignation to achieve increased density in key
Focus Areas with high potential for redevelopment
as part of a comprehensive General Plan Update.
This update was recently completed in May 2023,
and included the new designations and
redesignated parcels within the Focus Areas (as
noted above). Program F now identifies the new
designations established in the Update to increase
residential density, as well as the acreage of parcels
that will be rezoned in RCAAs (beyond the RHNA)
based on the changes to the Land Use diagram. The
program commits the City to adopting
corresponding zoning districts and completing
rezonings within two years of the Housing Element
adoption deadline. These efforts will create
additional capacity for more than 2,700 new units
in RCAAs, and the City has set an aggressive target
of encouraging 500 net new multifamily units on
these parcels in the planning period through these
changes.
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 2
# Comment Response
1 Place-Based Strategies for Community Revitalization:
The element was not revised to address this finding.
As found in HCD’s prior review, the element must
include place-based strategies for neighborhoods
considered low and moderate resource and have
coincidences of fair housing issues such as higher
concentration of lower-income households and more
disparate access to opportunities compared to other
parts of the City.
We have revised several programs to respond to
this comment, including:
Program Z
Program BB
Program LL
Program MM
Program NN
Program OO
Program UU
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 3
# Comment Response
2 Morello Terraces and Paso Nogal: The element now
identifies two vacant sites in higher income and highmoderate resourced communities. While the location of these sites can help foster inclusive communities
and create housing opportunities and affordability in
higher-income and higher-resourced areas, HCD
received public comments indicating that these sites
may be unsuitable due to sloping conditions, local
ordinances prohibiting development and
infrastructure constraints. The element should
evaluate any potential constraints related to
infrastructure (water and sewer capacity),
environmental issues (sloping conditions) or any
other site-specific conditions that would preclude
development on these sites. The element could
discuss any outreach with developers regarding the
potential of developing on these sites. Based on a
complete analysis, the element may need to add or
revise programs to remove or mitigate any identified
constraints.
We have expanded the description of each site to
include analyses of infrastructure constraints
(water and sewer capacity), site-specific conditions
and constraints (including local ordinances), and
outreach to property owners. We have also
expanded the existing discussion of environmental
constraints on each site to include further analysis
of issues related to sloping conditions. See Pages 4-
139 to 4-148
Additionally, Program EEE incentivizes development
on these two sloped sites. The program commits
the City to:
• providing incentives related to
development standards, including
additional density bonus beyond State
law, additional height, FAR, or lot
coverage allowances, and reduced
setback requirements;
• providing direct financial assistance to
offset the costs of grading; and
• partnering with affordable housing
developers and/or non-profit agencies to
pursue funding in support of
development on each site.
Beyond these efforts, we have expanded the
program to include:
• a commitment to amend municipal code
sections related to sloped sites, including
18.20.120, 18.35.040, and 18.35.050, to
remove constraints to the development
of multifamily structures on the Morello
and Paso Nogal sites,
• engagement with property owners
annually to discuss potential
development and the various programs
incentivizing housing production on the
site, and
• a specified goal for various State and
Federal grant funding pursuits in
partnership with local affordable housing
developers ($200,000 per site).
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 4
# Comment Response
2 Suitability of Nonvacant Sites: The prior review found that the element must describe redevelopment
potential of nonvacant sites and clarify how the
various factors utilized is indicative of redevelopment potential. The element was revised to adjusts the
sites inventory to reduce the reliance of nonvacant
sites and provide some additional information about
the factors utilized to determine the degree of
underutilization. However, as found in HCD’s prior
review, the element must support these factors. For
example, the element relies on the Choice in Aging
and 85 Cleveland projects as past examples of
redevelopment trends on underutilized sites.
However, the analysis does not provide any details to
describe how these projects relate to the identified
criteria. To clearly support and relate project
examples to the redevelopment criteria, the element
could include a listing of local and regional projects
that have redeveloped with similar criteria
(improvement to land value, building age, etc.,).
We have expanded our analysis under the heading
“Underutilized Sites and Redevelopment Trends”
including the addition of an inventory of regional
development trends and analysis to clearly support
and relate project examples to the redevelopment
criteria. See pages 4-154 to 4-160
We have also revised the underutilized site
descriptions to more precisely identify the criteria
by which sites are compared to the local Choice in
Aging and 85 Cleaveland multi-family residential
projects.
2 Program O (Municipal Code Updates – Supportive
Housing): While the element was revised committing
to allowing transitional and supportive housing byright, this action must explicitly commit to revising the zoning code to comply with AB 2162
(Government Code section 65651) which includes
supportive housing provisions related to approval
timelines and parking requirements. For additional
information, please see AB 2162 Fact Sheet.
We have revised the relevant action in Program O
as follows:
Allow transitional and supportive housing in
compliance with AB 2162 (Government Code
Section 65651), including, but not limited to,
allowing these uses by-right (without discretionary
action) in zones where multifamily and mixed uses
are permitted.
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 5
# Comment Response
2 Program O (Municipal Code Updates – Accessory
Dwelling Units (ADU)): While the element now
commits to allowing ADUs consistent with state law
and contacting HCD to identify ADU compliance
issues, as found in HCD’s prior review, the element
must include a specific commitment to revising the
City’s ADU ordinance to comply with state law.
Program O currently achieves this. The first line of
the program commits the City to amending the
Municipal Code to comply with State law related to
all listed actions. We have included the program
text below. Although redundant, we have added
the text shown in track changes.
Program O
Municipal Code Updates
The City shall review and amend the Municipal
Code, to comply with State law to:
…
Allow Accessory Dwelling Units in compliance with
all recent state laws, including but not limited to,
AB 3182 (2020), AB 345 (2021), AB 2221 (2022), SB
897 (2022), and AB 345 (2022). The City shall
immediately contact the California Department of
Housing and Community Development to identify
compliance issues and shall adopt further changes
to the Municipal Code to achieve full compliance
with State law.
2 Shortfall of Sites – Program F (Increase Allowable
Densities): As found in HCD’s prior review, the
element is showing a shortfall of sites and must
include a program committing to adopting zoning
changes and comply with housing element rezone
requirements pursuant to Government Code section
65583.2 (h) and (i). While the element was revised
with a commitment to comply with some of these
provisions, for sites to accommodate the lowerincome RHNA, it must also commit to requiring a minimum density of 20 units per acre and rezoning
sites by-right (without discretionary action) for
multifamily developments in which 20 percent or
more of the units are affordable to lower-income
households. Additionally, as the City failed to adopt a compliant housing element within 120 days of the
statutory deadline, this program must be completed
no later than one year from the statutory deadline.
This program should be revised with an updated
timeline (e.g., completion by January 31, 2024) to
reflect these statutory requirements.
Please note, the rezone requirements have been
moved to Program C: Available Sites Inventory.
The required text is now included in the listed
actions for Program C, as shown below.
Program C: Available Sites Inventory
…
Lower-income sites included in the sites inventory
with a proposed zoning change to meet the RHNA
shortfall, as well as vacant sites identified in two
previous housing elements and non-vacant sites
identified in the previous housing element, shall be
rezoned, incompliance with Govt. Code Section
65583.2(h) and (i), to:
• permit owner-occupied and rental multifamily
uses by-right (without discretionary approval) for
developments in which 20 percent or more of the
units are affordable to lower income households.
• accommodate a minimum of 16 units per site;
and
• require a minimum density of 20 units per acre.
Timeframe: “Rezone to meet RHNA shortfall: within
one year of the statutory deadline (January 31,
2024).”
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 6
# Comment Response
3 Constraints on Housing for Persons with Disabilities – Reasonable Accommodation (RA): The element was
revised to now include a description of the City's RA
process including the required findings to approve an
RA request. The analysis indicated that the City's
process does not subject RA requests to discretionary
findings related to compatibility with surrounding
uses. However, the listing of required approval
findings (pp. 4-112) indicated that the City must find
that the request included measures to reduce impact
on surrounding uses and the physical attributes of
the property. However, granting a reasonable
accommodation based on findings related to impacts
on surrounding uses is essentially a conditional use
permit (CUP) finding. A reasonable accommodation
should be a unique exception process from a CUP,
especially given its importance in addressing barriers
to housing for persons with disabilities. The element
should include a program to amend the reasonable
accommodation ordinance and remove constraints,
namely approval findings related impacts on
surrounding uses.
We have identified these findings as constraints in
the Constraints Analysis under the heading
“Reasonable Accommodation.” (see page 4-114)
We have provided a new action in Program WW as
follows:
Program WW: Reasonable Accommodation
By 2025, the City shall amend the Municipal Code
to remove constraints from the reasonable
accommodation ordinance imposed by approval
findings related to impacts on, or compatibility
with, surrounding uses including, but not limited to:
18.112.060(B)(3)(e) and (f).
3 Program H (Development Standards): HCD’s prior
review found that the City's development standards
are a constraint to providing a variety of housing
choices and facilitating maximum densities including
but not limited to heights, parking, lot coverage,
setbacks and minimum unit sizes. The element was
revised with a program committing to remove
standards constrain the production of lower-income
housing. However, the element should commit to
removing or reducing standards that pose a
constraint on housing regardless of income levels and
not limited to accommodating the RHNA.
We have removed the reference to “lower-income”
housing within the program. The change is shown
in track changes below.
Program H: Development Standards
To ensure that development standards do not pose
an unreasonable constraint to achieving the City’s
housing objectives, the City shall continue to
monitor development and report in its Annual
Progress Reports required pursuant to Government
Code Section 65400. The City shall evaluate
development standards within the 2040 General
Plan Update and subsequent Zoning Code Update
and shall amend or remove any provisions that
constrain the production of lower-income housing,
including but not limited to height, lot coverage,
parking for small units and multifamily
developments, and setbacks along scenic routes.
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 7
# Comment Response
3 Program O (Municipal Code Updates – Group
Homes): The element was revised with a
commitment to allowing group homes in all zones
similar to other uses of the same form. However, as
found in HCD’s prior review, the element must
commit to allowing these uses in the same manner
as similar residential uses (e.g., single family home).
We have revised the relevant action within
Program O to meet this requirement, as shown
below.
Program O: Municipal Code Updates
The City shall review and amend the Municipal
Code, to comply with State law to:
…
• Permit small residential care facilities (licensed
and unlicensed), as well as large care facilities in all zones allowing residential uses with objectivity to
facilitate approval certainty similar toand in the
same manner as residential uses other residential
uses of the sameof similar type and form.
3 For your information, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1398
(Chapter 358, Statutes of 2021), as the City failed to
adopt a compliant housing element within 120 days
of the statutory deadline (January 31, 2023), Program
F (Increase Allowable Densities) to rezone 967 units
to accommodate the RHNA must be completed no
later than one year from the statutory deadline.
Otherwise, the local government’s housing element
will no longer comply with State Housing Element
Law, and HCD may revoke its finding of substantial
compliance pursuant to Government Code section
65585, subdivision (i). Please be aware, if the City
fails to adopt a compliant housing element within
one year from the statutory deadline, the element
cannot be found in substantial compliance until
rezones to accommodate a shortfall of sites pursuant
to Government Code section 65583, subdivision
(c),paragraph (1), subparagraph (A) and Government
Code section 65583.2, subdivision (c) are completed.
As stated above, program actions related to
rezoning to meet the RHNA shortfall have been
moved to Program C. The timing for these actions
has been revised to the following:
Timeframe:
Rezone to meet shortfall: within one year of the
statutory deadline (January 31, 2024).
City of Pleasant Hill 2023-2031 Housing Element Update HCD Comment Matrix – Draft Response to 60-day Review
September 2023 8
# Comment Response
3 Chapter 654, Statutes of 2022 (AB 2339), adds
specificity on how cities and counties plan for
emergency shelters and ensure sufficient and
suitable capacity. Future submittals of the housing
element may need to address these statutory
requirements. For additional information and timing
requirements, please see HCD’s memo at
https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/plan
ning-and-community/ab2339-
notice.pdf.
We have revised the analysis of constraints related
to emergency shelters to include a discussion of
AB 2339, a capacity analysis based on current
zoning, and the identification of constraints
imposed by the zoning code that conflict with State
law. (see pages 4-100 and 4-101)
In response to the State law compliance issues
identified in the revised analysis, we have added
actions to Program O committing the City to
revising the Municipal Code to allow for emergency
shelters in compliance with recent amendments to
Government Code section 65583 subdivision (a)(4),
including:
• Allowing emergency shelters in a zone
allowing residential uses with sufficient
capacity to meet or exceed the most-recent
point in time count; and
• Revising the definition of emergency shelter
to include interim interventions, including,
but not limited to, navigation centers, bridge
housing, and respite or recuperative care.
The program also commits the City to complete a
capacity analysis at the time of the Municipal Code
amendment to ensure that the identified zone
includes sufficient available sites appropriate for
development as an emergency shelter.
3 Public participation in the development, adoption
and implementation of the housing element is
essential to effective housing planning. During the
housing element revision process, the City must
continue to engage the community, including
organizations that represent lower-income and
special needs households, by making information
regularly available while considering and
incorporating comments where appropriate. Please
be aware, any revisions to the element must be
posted on the local government’s website and to
email a link to all individuals and organizations that
have previously requested notices relating to the
local government’s housing element at least seven
days before submitting to HCD.
Response to this comment requires the team to
post the revised document for seven days before
resubmitting and to notify those on the mailing list,
as well as local organizations/agencies.