Resolution/Housing Element Page 1 of 6
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RESOLUTION NO. _____
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
ADOPTING A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT TO UPDATE THE
HOUSING ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN FOR THE
PERIOD OF 2023 -2031 TO COMPLY WITH STATE HOUSING
ELEMENT LAW
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, the California legislature has found that “California has a housing supply and affordability crisis of historic proportions. The consequences of failing to effectively and aggressively confront this crisis are hurting millions of Californians, robbing future generations of the chance to call California home, stifling economic opportunities for workers and businesses, worsening poverty and homelessness, and undermining the state’s environmental and climate objectives.” (Gov. Code Section 65589.5.); and
WHEREAS, the legislature has further found that “Among the consequences of those actions are discrimination against low-income and minority households, lack of housing to support employment growth, imbalance in jobs and housing, reduced mobility, urban sprawl, excessive commuting, and air quality deterioration.” (Gov. Code Section 65589 .5.); and WHEREAS, the legislature recently adopted the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) which states that “In 2018, California ranked 49th out of the 50 states in housing units per capita… California needs an estimated 180,000 additional homes annually to keep up with population growth, and the Governor has called for 3.5 million new homes to be built ov er 7 years”; and WHEREAS, State Housing Element Law (Government Code Sections 65580 et seq.) requires that the City Council adopt a Housing Element for the eight-year period 2023-2031 to accommodate the City of Santa Clara ( City) regional housing need al location (RHNA) of 11,632 housing units, comprised of 2,872 very-low income units, 1,653 low-income units, 1,981 moderate-income units, and 5,126 above moderate-income units; and
WHEREAS, to comply with State Housing Element Law, the City of Santa Clara has prepared its Resolution/Housing Element Page 2 of 6
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Housing Element Update for the years 2023 -2031 (the Housing Element); and WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code Section 65350 et. seq., t he Housing Element constitutes a General Plan Amendment; and
WHEREAS, as provided in Government Code Sections 65352 – 65352.5, the City of Santa Clara referred the Housing Element to all California Native American tribes on the contact list provided by the Native American Heritage Commission, to cities abutting Santa Clara’s borders and to Santa Clara County; to local school districts; to the Santa Clara Valley Water District and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission ; and to other entities listed. No C alifornia Native American tribe requested consultation; and
WHEREAS, State law requires that the C ity take meaningful steps to promote and affirmatively further fair housing (Gov. Code Section 65583(c)(5)); and WHEREAS, State law requires that the City make zoni ng available for all types of housi ng, including multifamily housing (Gov. Code Sections 65583.2 and 65583(c)); and WHEREAS, the Housing Element must be adopted to comply with State law, accommodate the RHNA, affirmatively further fair housing, and facilitate and encourage a variety of housing types for all income levels, including multifamily housing (Gov. Code Sections 65583.2 and 65583(c)); and WHEREAS, the preparation, adoption, and implementation of the Housing Element and Zoning Code Update requires a diligent effort to include all economic segments of the community; and WHEREAS, the City conducted extensive community outreach over the last 20 months, including 27 meetings and activities that included community meetings/events, stakeholder worksh ops, meetings/interviews with residents, and City task force meetings and study sessions ; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Government Code Section 65585 (b), on August 22, 2022, the City submitted the draft Housing Element to t he State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for its review; and
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WHEREAS, on October 12, 2022, HCD and City staff had an introductory meeting, which included an informal conversation and feedback from HCD about the City ’s Initial Draft Housing Element; and
WHEREAS, on November 18, 2022, the City received a letter from HCD stating that while the draft Housing Element addresses many s tatutory requirements, revisions will be necessary to fully comply with State Housing Element Law (Article 10.6 of the Government Code); and WHEREAS, on November 29, 2022, HCD and City staff had a meeting to discuss HCDs findings letter; and
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2023, the City published a revised draft Housing Element with the changes required by HCD (see Exhibit A – HCD Comments and Reponses) and requested public comment on the draft; and
WHEREAS, a notice of the public hearing on the proposed General Plan Amendment was published in the Santa Clara Weekly, a newspaper of general circulation for the City, on December 11, 2022, for the January 11, 2023 Planning Commission Meeting and the January 31, 2023 City Council meeting; and
WHEREAS, on January 11, 2023, the Planning Commission opened the public hearing to consider the proposed General Plan Amendment, and then continued the hearing to January 23, 2023; and WHEREAS, on January 23, 2023, the Planning Commission resumed the previously-opened public hearing to consider the proposed General Plan Amendment, and then continued the hearing again to January 26, 2023; and
WHEREAS, the City has prepared an Addendum to the 2010- 2035 General Plan Environmental Impact Report adopted by the City Council on November 16, 2010, and to the environmental review documents that were prepared for subsequent amendm ents to the General Plan that affec ted housing development in the City, all of which provide environmental clearance for all of the units in the 6th cycle Housing Sites Inventory; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on January 26th, 2023, at Resolution/Housing Element Page 4 of 6
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the conclusion of which, the Planning Commission determined that the proposed 6th Cycle Housing Element would not result in any new or substantially more severe impacts than previously identified in the General Plan EIR and recommended that the City Council approve the Addendum to the 2010 - 2035 General Plan EIR prepared for the Housing Element Update; and WHEREAS, on January 31, 2023, the City Council conducted a duly and properly noticed public hearing, reviewed the Housing Element and all pertinent maps, documents and exhibits, including HCD’s findings, the City’s response to HCD’s findings, the staff report and all attachments, and oral and written public comments.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA AS FOLLOWS:
1. The foregoing recitals are t rue and correct and are incorporated by reference into thi s action.
2. General Plan Amendment Findings. That the City Council hereby finds and determines that the General Plan Amendment is in the interest of the public good for the following reasons:
A. The proposed Amendment is deemed to be in the public int erest, in that the proposed Am endment is consistent and compatible with the rest of t he Ci ty’s General Plan and any implementation programs that may be affected, in that the Housing Element is consistent with the General Plan’s Land Use and Circulation policies, and does not increase development capacity under the General Plan, as amended.
B. The proposed amendment has been processed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the California Government Code and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), in that the impacts of the Housing Element are disclosed by the General Plan EIR as addended by subsequent amendments to the General Plan that affected housi ng development in the City, including but not limited to the December 2013 Climate Action Plan Negative Dec laration; the February 2016 Resolution/Housing Element Page 5 of 6
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Mission Town Center EIR; the 2016 Related Santa Clara EIR; the November 2016 Lawrence Station Area Plan EIR; the July 2018 575 Benton Project Addendum; the July 2019 Gateway Cros sings EIR; the March 2022 Patrick Henry Drive Spec ific Plan EIR; the June 2022 Climate Action Plan Addendum; and the June 2022 Freedom Circle Future Focus Area EIR (collectively, the “Subsequent Documents”).
C. The potential impacts of the proposed General Plan Amendment have been assessed and have been determined not to be detriment al to the public health, safety, or welfare, in that the Housing Element creates a policy framework that provides opportunities for the development of housing in the City through the year 2031. The impacts of the Housing Element have been disclosed through the CEQA process, and the City Council has determined that any impacts from the Housing Element are within the scope of the General Plan E IR, as addended.
3. The City Council approves the 6
th Cycle Housing Element Update (2023-2031) in its entirety as provided in Attachment B, attached hereto, plus any non-substantive edits or corrections made as directed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development after their review of the adopted 2023-2031 Housing Element or Addendum to the 2010 Gene ral Plan Update EIR. //
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4. Effective date. This resolution shall become effective immediately.
I HEREBY CERTIFY THE FOREGOING TO BE A TRUE COPY OF A RESOLUTION PASSED
AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, AT A REGULAR MEETING THEREOF HELD ON THE 31st DAY OF JANUARY, 2023, BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: COUNCILORS:
NOES: COUNCILORS:
ABSENT: COUNCILORS:
ABSTAINED: COUNCILORS:
ATTEST: ______________________________
NORA PIMENTEL, MMC
ASSISTANT CITY CLERK
CITY OF SANTA CLARA
Attachments incorporated by reference:
1. 2023-2031 Housing Element
S:\Attorney\RESOLUTIONS\Form Resolution-City.doc