Agenda Item #4.1
For Council Meeting of: June 2, 2026
CITY OF SANTA ROSA
CITY COUNCIL
TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GABE OSBURN, DIRECTOR
PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: SANTA ROSA HOUSING STRATEGY
AGENDA ACTION: STUDY SESSION
RECOMMENDATION
The Planning and Economic Development Department presents this study session to provide Council with information regarding housing regulations associated with State legislation. Council will take no action except for possible direction to staff. This item has no impact on current fiscal year budget.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2016, the City adopted the Housing Action Plan, which was a comprehensive strategy to meet local unmet housing needs, focusing on accelerating production, affordability, and development readiness. In February 2023, the City adopted the 2023-2031 Housing Element, which identifies the City’s housing conditions and needs, evaluates the City’s ability to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), and establishes goals, policies and programs related to housing development. The Housing Element, which is part of the City’s 2050 General Plan, serves as the foundation of the City’s housing strategy. As part of its overall housing strategy, the City has developed numerous implementation tools, policies, and resources to support housing production and preservation. Each year, the State adopts legislation intended to streamline housing development, including both mandatory requirements and optional provisions for local jurisdictions. Two recent optional laws include Assembly Bill (AB) 1033, which allows local governments to opt into a program to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to be sold separately from the primary residence, and Senate Bill (SB) 10, which authorizes local governments to voluntarily adopt an ordinance allowing up to 10 housing units per parcel in transit-rich or urban infill areas.
GOAL
This item relates to Council Goal #5 - Plan for and Encourage Housing for All and Reduce Homelessness.
BACKGROUND/PRIOR COUNCIL REVIEW
In 2016, the City adopted the Housing Action Plan, which is a comprehensive strategy that focused on five core areas: increasing inclusionary housing, promoting "affordability by design," public land development, streamlining permits, and expanding funding partnerships.
In February 2023, the City adopted the 2023-2031 Housing Element, which establishes the goals, policies, and programs that are the foundation of the City’s housing strategy. The Housing Element identifies the City’s regional housing obligations (RHNA) over the eight-year Housing Element period.
In January 2022, SB 10, which allows local governments to upzone parcels for up to 10 units, became effective.
In January 2024, AB 1033, which allows local agencies to opt into a program that permits ADUs to be sold separately from the primary residence, became effective.
ANALYSIS
Housing Element – Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) The Housing Element is a State-mandated component of the City’s General Plan that identifies policies, programs, and sites to accommodate existing and projected housing needs for all income levels. State law requires local jurisdictions to adopt a compliant Housing Element to demonstrate how they will plan for and facilitate housing development consistent with RHNA and State housing goals. RHNA is the process that requires local governments to plan for the development of adequate housing that accommodates all income levels. The State sets the number of housing units that each region must plan for over an eight-year period.
The following table illustrates Santa Rosa’s RHNA requirements for the current 6th Cycle, along with the remaining needs through 2031:
* The Housing Element 6th Cycle period for RHNA began June 30, 2022, and includes units that were issued up until January 31, 2023. Units permitted during this timeframe count toward the 6th Cycle RHNA.* The Housing Element 6th Cycle period for RHNA began June 30, 2022, and includes units that were issued up until January 31, 2023. Units permitted during this timeframe count toward the 6th Cycle RHNA. * The Housing Element 6th Cycle period for RHNA began June 30, 2022, and includes units that were issued up until January 31, 2023. Units permitted during this timeframe count toward the 6th Cycle RHNA. * The Housing Element 6th Cycle period for RHNA began June 30, 2022, and includes units that were issued up until January 31, 2023. Units permitted during this timeframe count toward the 6th Cycle RHNA.
For the 5th Cycle RHNA, which covered the planning period from 2015 to 2023, Santa Rosa was allocated a total of 5,083 housing units. The 2016 Housing Action Plan was developed to help facilitate meeting the City’s RHNA. The following charts show City housing production by housing type and income category between 2016 and 2025:
NEW HOUSING BY UNIT TYPE
HOUSING PRODUCTION BY INCOME CATEGORY
Investments in Housing
As reflected in the table above, noteworthy progress was made towards the City’s RHNA goals between 2002 and 2025. While the City provides annual funding to support development and rehabilitation of income-restricted housing, much of this progress is attributable to the significant financial resources made available following the 2017 wildfires. The City received $38.5 million in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funding (CDBG-DR) that was put towards five income restricted affordable developments. Additionally, the federal government provided the State of California with an additional $100 million in tax credits that provided additional funding for a variety of affordable housing projects in Santa Rosa. In the absence of an unprecedented influx of funding, the City’s Housing Authority has between $3 million to $5 million a year to put towards affordable housing projects that address the RHNA goals. With financial assistance from the Housing Authority, projects are able to apply for and compete for additional funding and tax credits at the State level.
Affordable Housing Preservation and Housing Services
The City’s Department of Housing and Community Services (HCS) administers the City’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, a federally funded program, that provides rental assistance for income eligible tenants. On a monthly basis, over 1,700 households in Santa Rosa benefit from the HCV program. HCS also administers the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Act (HOME) funding, and a variety of state and local resources to provide long term financial assistance, in the form of loans, to developers for the development and rehabilitation of rental housing and to homeowners for downpayment assistance and specific rehabilitation activities.
Incentives and Policies to Enable Housing
Policy development to increase available housing options and streamline processing is ongoing. Recent work completed includes development and adoption of the Missing Middle Housing program, which developed standards to accommodate a range of multi-unit, house-scale building types, such as duplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts and townhouses, that fit into walkable residential neighborhoods; standards to allow tiny homes on wheels; and by-right approvals for small residential developments, including duets and duplexes.
The Planning Division’s Advance Planning team focuses on new policy development and implementation. Over the years, State mandates, which typically require yearly updates to the City’s Municipal Code and development of new internal processing procedures, have increased substantially. The long-range planning team, which 20 years ago included one to two full time Planners and focused almost entirely on development and implementation of the City’s General Plan and Housing Element, now includes a dedicated team of four Planners (including one supervisor) that work on State mandated initiatives, policy development that creates eligibility for grant funding, policy work related to Council goals, as well as other policy work that does not fit into the aforementioned categories. It should be noted that, given the current Advance Planning workload, Planners from the Development Review team, who process the new development applications, are currently assisting with some of the policy work. A chart showing the current workload of the Advance Planning team is included as Attachment 3 to this staff report.
Based on current workloads, the capacity to implement non-mandated State housing initiatives is limited. Below are two, optional, State housing laws that recently went into effect:
Senate Bill (SB) 10:
SB 10, which became effective on January 1, 2022, is an "opt-in" law that allows local governments to streamline the zoning process for up to 10 residential units per parcel in high-opportunity, transit-rich, or urban infill areas. It aims to increase housing density and reduce California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) related delays, while leaving adoption decisions to local jurisdictions.
The law applies to parcels in transit-rich areas (within 0.5 miles of major transit) or urban infill sites (a parcel within an urbanized area where at least 75% of the perimeter adjoins parcels developed with urban uses), but does not apply to parcels within a very high fire hazard severity zone or any open space, park or recreational land approved by voters. An ordinance adopted pursuant to SB 10 would be exempt from CEQA. While the rezone is exempt, the actual development projects built under the new zoning may still require CEQA review, unless the City establishes a ministerial approval process.
Since it went into effect, the City is not aware of any jurisdictions within the State that have opted in to SB 10, and, as such, there are no ordinance examples to refer to. It is anticipated that development of zoning regulations, identification of applicable areas within the City, and community engagement would take approximately 12 months and would commit about 30% of a Planner’s time.
Assembly Bill (AB) 1033:
Effective January 1, 2024, AB 1033 allows local jurisdictions to adopt an ordinance permitting property owners to sell ADUs separately from the primary residence. The ADUs would be treated as condominiums, thereby enabling individual, separate titles and financing. A homeowners association (HOA) would be required to manage shared elements, such as utilities and driveways, when the units are separated.
Other jurisdictions within the State have adopted ordinances under AB 1033, so examples exist, and staff would have the opportunity to gather feedback and lessons learned. Based on the reading of the legislation, and review of example ordinances, it is anticipated that development of a policy would take approximately 6 months and would commit about 15% of a Planner’s time.
FISCAL IMPACT
This study session does not have a fiscal impact on the General Fund. Any direction for future policy or Municipal Code amendments that may have an impact on the General Fund will be analyzed at that time.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, the recommended action is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because this is a study session and discussion item only and does not have a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. In the alternative, the recommended action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the recommended action may have a significant effect on the environment. Any direction for future policy or Municipal Code amendments resulting from this study session will be analyzed, as appropriate for compliance with CEQA.
NOTIFICATION
Not applicable.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Senate Bill 10
Attachment 2 – Assembly Bill 1033
Attachment 3 – Current Workload of Advance Planning
PRESENTER(S)
Gabe Osburn, Director of Planning and Economic Development Megan Basinger, Director of Housing and Community Services
SANTA ROSA HOUSING STRATEGY
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