Housing Element Implementation
City Council
March 10, 2026
Planning and Economic Development Department
Christian Candelaria
City Planner
Background
The Housing Element is a state-mandated component
of the General Plan that outlines the City’s housing
needs through goals, policies, and programs in an 8-
year cycle (2023-2031).
This project is focusing on implementing two Housing
Element programs and complying with State law.
Background
H-6 Innovative Housing Options
Tiny Homes on Wheels
Housing Co-ops
H-38 Zoning Code Amendments
State Law Consistency
Group Homes & Care Facilities
Accessory Dwelling Units
State Law Consistency
Clarity of Zoning Code
Zoning Code Consistency
Glossary Updates
Section Consistency
Timeline
February 14, 2023
Housing Element Adopted February 14, 2023
June 3, 2025
Revisions adopted with the General Plan 2050
H-6 Innovative Housing Options
Explore innovative and alternative housing options that provide greater flexibility and affordability in the
housing stock.
• Tiny Homes on Wheels
• Housing Cooperatives
Tiny Homes on Wheels
Independent living quarters mounted on a wheeled trailer chassis that includes a bathroom, a kitchen, and a sleeping area
• Requires a Minor Conditional Use Permit and DMV licensing • Design Standards to look like conventional residential structures • Maximum of 400 Square feet and 14 feet in height
• 1 Tiny Home on Wheels allowable per property
• Allowable in Rural Residential (RR) and Single-Family (R-1) Zoning Districts • Existing Single-Family residence is required
• Not allowable on properties with a detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) • Utilize parking from existing residence
Housing Cooperatives
Democratically controlled corporations established to provide housing for members. Each household owns a share in the corporation, which entitles the member to occupy a unit of housing.
• Housing type and not a land use
• Currently is allowable for Single Family and Multifamily projects • Adopting definitions to promote lower cost home ownership options • Types of housing cooperatives depend on shareholder requirements and type of entity participating in ownership
H-38 Zoning Code Amendments
Amend the Zoning Code to meet State Government Code requirements to facilitate the development of housing for all income groups. This is achieved through updates to various Land Uses and Definitions.
• Farmworker Housing
• Residential Care Facility
• Medical Service-Health Care Facility
• Reasonable Accommodation
• Supportive Housing
• Low-Barrier Navigation center
• Definition updates to Family, Group Homes, Shared Living Residences, Transitional Housing, Target Populations, Adult Day Programs • Updates to Accessory Dwelling Units
Farmworker Housing
The Agriculture Employee Housing term is proposed to be updated to align with state law through new land use types and a new Zoning Code section dedicated to Farmworker Housing
Farmworker Dwelling Unit
• A single-family type of residential use
Farmworker Housing Complex
• A larger housing development that is considered an agricultural use and is also allowable in zoning districts that allow multi-family Temporary/Seasonal Farmworker Housing
• Temporary and accessory residential and agricultural land use that requires the primary land use to be “Crop Production, Horticulture, Orchard, Vineyard.”
Residential Care Facility
Residential Care Facilities focus on 24-hour non-medical residential care and contains three categories. These facilities are most commonly in single-family residences.
Residential Care Facility (Licensed – Large)
• A licensed facility with 7 or more patients
Residential Care Facility(Licensed – Small)
• A licensed facility with 6 or less patients
Residential Care Facility (Unlicensed)
• A facility that does not require a license to operate and does not have a patient limit
Residential Care Facility
Incidental Medical Services are a type of non-medical care allowed by state law in licensed Residential Care Facilities This care consists of
• Obtaining medical histories
• Monitoring health status of patients
• Testing related to detoxification
• Providing alcohol or other drug recovery treatment
services
• Overseeing patient self-administered medications
• Treating substance use disorders
• Detoxification treatment
Residential Care Facility (Licensed – Large)
The Government Code requires Residential Care
Facilities (Licensed – Large) operating as a Community
Care Facility to be located 300 feet in all directions away from another Community Care Facility to reduce
overconcentration.
The overconcentration requirement does not apply to
• Assisted Living Facility or Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE)
• Alcohol or Other Drug (AOD) Facilities
• Foster family homes
• Temporary shelter care facilities
• Transitional shelter care facilities
Medical Services-Health Care Facility
Medical Services-Health Care Facility was updated to include smaller and larger facilities to clarify permitting requirements.
This use focuses on long-term residential medical care that requires specific licenses. These facilities are operated as a residence and are not hospitals.
Medical Services-Health Care Facility (Large)
• For facilities with 7 or more patients
Medical Services-Health Care Facility (Small)
• For facilities with 6 or fewer patients
Medical Services-Health Care Facility (Large)
The Government Code has overconcentration
requirements at 300 feet and 1,000 feet for Medical
Services-Health Care Facility (Large) that provide specific services.
The 300-foot overconcentration requirement applies to:
• Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally
Disabled-Habilitative or Nursing
• Pediatric day health and respite care facility
The 1,000-foot overconcentration requirement applies to • Congregate living health facilities serving persons who are terminally ill, diagnosed with a life-threatening
illness, or catastrophically and severely disabled
Other Land Use Updates
Reasonable Accommodation
• Updates proposed to reduce barriers to housing for
persons with disabilities by reducing requirements and
expanding on those eligible for the application process.
Supportive Housing
• Updated to indicate use permit and design review
requirements to incorporate state law for this low-income housing type that provides services and case
management
Low-Barrier Navigation Center
• Type of Emergency Shelter that operates on providing
services and resources for people to get permanent
housing and employment
Definition Updates
Terms were updated to updated to address how modern-day housing is utilized by multiple unrelated people. Additional changes are to align with state law.
• Family
• Transitional Housing
• Shared Living Residences
• Group Homes
• Target Populations
• Adult Day Program
Accessory Dwelling Units
Zoning Code Clarification
• Clarifying the number of allowable ADUs for Single Family and Multifamily Zoning Code Amendment for H-38
• Allow ADUs on properties listed on the historic register State Bills
• AB 462 – Allow ADUs to be granted occupancy during a natural disaster prior to a Single- Family dwelling being a constructed
• SB 543 – Updates to square footage calculations for ADUs and JADUs and implements new timelines as well as procedures for appealing application completeness or denials • AB 1154 – Removal of Owner-Occupancy requirement for JADUs with their own bathroom
Zoning Code Consistency
Sections proposed to be amended to help implement this project • Parking updates
• Land Use Tables for Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Special Purpose
• Temporary Use Permits
Amendment for Title 21 of the Municipal Code
• Adding an Inclusionary Housing Exemption for Tiny Homes on Wheels
Public Noticing & Comment
Newspaper Ad: In compliance with Zoning Code §20-
66.020(D) and state law, a 1/8-page ad was published in the Press Democrat as an alternative to mailing over 1,000
notices.
No public comment has been received at this time.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
• Amendments are analyzed by the Addendum to the Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan 2035, certified by Council in February 2023.
• Amendments are statutorily exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15183 in that the amendments are consistent with the 2050 General Plan, for which an EIR was certified by Council on June 3, 2025, and do not involve any peculiar site-specific impacts or new significant environmental impacts beyond those analyzed in the General Plan 2050 EIR. • Statutory Exemption for Accessory Dwelling Units pursuant to Section 15282(H) and Government Code Section 66333
• CEQA Section 15061(b)(3) Common Sense Exemption in that amendments do not have the potential to cause a significant effect on the environment and are not subject to CEQA review. The proposed amendments are necessary to conform the Code to State law and the City’s Housing Element, and any conceivable impact of the proposed amendments would be speculative in the absence of specific development proposals. A future application for a project will be reviewed for CEQA.
Recommendation
The Planning Commission and the Planning and Economic Development Department recommend that the Council approve the first reading and introduce an ordinance entitled Ordinance of the Council of the City of Santa Rosa amending Title 20 and Title 21 of the City Code to implement the 2023-2031 Housing Element and State Law – File Number PLN25-0397
It is further recommended by the Planning and Economic Development Department that the Council, by resolution, establish planning application fees for Tiny Homes on Wheels.
This item has no impact on current fiscal year budget.
Questions?
Christian Candelaria, City Planner
[email protected]
(707) 543-3232