CITY OF SEBASTOPOL
CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ITEM
Meeting Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
Recommendation:
Funding:
March 1, 2022 (this item will not be heard until or after 8:00 pm as indicated on the agenda) Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
Kari Svanstrom, Planning Director
Workshop on Draft Housing Strategy
2023 Housing Element Update
Take Public Comment, Review Policy Options and Provide Direction Currently Budgeted: _______ Yes _______ No ___X__ N/A
Account Code/Costs authorized in City Approved Budget (if applicable) _____AK___ (verified by Administrative Services Department) INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE:
The item is to request Council review the Draft Housing Strategy for the 2023 Housing Element Update, take public input, and provide direction to staff and consultants.
BACKGROUND:
The preparation of the Housing Element is required by California law, Chapter 10.6 and 10.7 of the Government Code. The City has contracted with 4LEAF, Inc. to prepare the required update to its 2014 Housing Element to cover the period between 2023 – 2031. The update of the Housing Element provides the opportunity for the City to review and supplement their existing housing policies and implementation measures to facilitate housing production and demonstrate how the City will accommodate its assigned housing need spread across different income levels.
The Housing Element is one of the eight mandated elements of the City’s General Plan. It is the only element of the General Plan required by the State to be updated on a set schedule, and to be reviewed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) prior to adoption. The Housing Element is legally required to establish policies and programs that support the provision of an adequate housing supply for citizens of all income levels, as well as to provide an inventory of adequate sites with appropriate zoning to provide for the City’s share of the regional housing need. The intent of State law is to ensure that all jurisdictions in the State provide adequate housing to all members of the community, including future community members. While the State reviews the Housing Element to ensure compliance with housing law, each jurisdiction must identify its own specific housing needs to successfully address them.
As the City Council is aware, Sebastopol received a Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) from the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) of 213 units, including 86 units affordable to lower-income households and 35 units affordable to moderate-income households. Sebastopol has very limited vacant land and few sites large enough to facilitate the development of significant numbers of housing units. The adoption of new policies and programs to comply with all the new laws, including Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, will be necessary for the City to achieve an HCD-certified Housing Element. Certification is important because it provides the presumption of validity in the case of a legal challenge and ensures that the City will maintain local control of its land use, zoning, and project approvals. The deadline to adopt updated Housing Elements for the ABAG region is January 31, 2023.
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In addition to identifying adequate sites to meet the City’s fair share of regional housing needs at all income levels, the housing element must also identify and analyze the projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The housing element consists of 7 main components:
• A summary and analysis of the population, demographic and housing characteristics that contribute to the present and future housing need in Sebastopol; • A description of the constraints on the development of housing in Sebastopol; • An evaluation of the existing housing element and the City’s progress in implementing its policies and programs;
• An inventory of sites to accommodate Sebastopol’s identified housing needs, including its regional fair share;
• A statement of quantified objectives that estimates the number of housing units by income level to be provided for in the City of Sebastopol by 2031;
• A summary of public input received during the housing element update process, and how that input has been incorporated into the document; and
• A section containing the goals, policies, quantified objectives, and scheduled programs to preserve, improve and develop housing in Sebastopol. It is this Section that will be formed by the Draft Housing Strategy.
The Draft Housing Strategy sets forth the broad housing goals of the City and forms a “roadmap” of housing policy direction into the future. The Draft Housing Strategy, together with the comments resulting from its review, will be used to update the goals, policies, and programs section for the 2023 Housing Element. The Strategy incorporates the required new housing-related data, identified housing needs, and public input received to date within the framework of the existing housing element. Possible changes and updates to existing policies and programs are suggested to respond to changing housing needs, community input, and new statutory requirements. The Housing Strategy is a working draft, and as such is a fluid document.
In addition to the new, greatly increased RHNA numbers assigned to Sebastopol, several new State laws have been adopted since the last housing element update that will make this update cycle more complicated than in the past.
A brief outline of applicable new laws is provided below.
AB 686 (2018), also known as the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) law, requires specific analysis around patterns of racial, ethnic, or economic concentration within the city, as well as an examination of past and current zoning, land use, funding, and other practices. Because San Marino’s exclusive single-family zoning is known as an exclusionary land use practice, programs must be included in the Housing Element to overcome this practice and to ensure that opportunities for housing choice in all parts of the City are available to all races, ethnic groups, income levels, and protected classes of people.
AB 72 (2017) granted the State Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) authority to review any action or failure to act by a local government that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted Housing Element or Housing Element law, including failure to implement programs. HCD may revoke compliance status, leaving the housing element vulnerable to litigation under which a court may take over the City’s land use authority. HCD may also now refer violations to the State Attorney General’s office for enforcement.
AB 1397 (2017) requires that cities zone appropriately for their share of the regional housing need, and zoning for all types of housing – including multi-family, SROs, and supportive housing - is required. The new law requires strong justification when non-vacant sites are used to meet the housing need, especially for lower-income housing.
SB 166 (2017), the new “No Net Loss” law, requires that a city replace any site that was zoned for low-income housing and identified as available for low-income housing in the city’s site inventory if the site is developed with anything but low-income housing. The intent is to ensure that jurisdictions have adequate sites with appropriate zoning to accommodate their share of the regional housing need throughout the Housing Element period. A city Agenda Item Number 9
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that fails to replace the sites within 6 months can be referred to the Attorney General. For this reason, the city should ensure adequate sites with appropriate zoning are available to meet the city’s needs for the next 8 years.
SB 35 (2017) requires that jurisdictions that are not meeting their RHNA obligations have a “streamlined ministerial approval process” for housing when at least 10% of project units are provided as affordable and deed restricted. “Streamlined ministerial approval process” means that officials cannot exercise discretion over a qualifying project, but can only compare it against adopted, objective design and development standards. It will be important for Sebastopol to adopt such standards for all multi-family and mixed-use projects as soon as possible. Without broadly applicable objective standards, the City could be forced to approve a qualifying project on the basis of the limited objective standards in place now and without regard for whether the decision-makers find that the project conforms (or does not conform) to subjective standards.
DISCUSSION:
Please see the attached Policy Options Discussion Paper (Attachment 1) for the full discussion.
Sebastopol’s existing (2014) Housing Element has 8 goal topic areas, as follows:
A) Identify Adequate Sites
B) Conserve Existing Housing
C) New Housing Production
D) Housing Diversity and Affordability
E) Fair Housing
F) Energy and Natural Resource Conservation
G) Remove Governmental Constraints
H) Housing Policy Update and Program Administration
As noted above, there have been several changes to State law since the 2014 Housing Element was prepared. Some of these changes and new State requirements will necessitate slight changes in the city’s Goals; Table A-1 (Attachment 2) details the recommended changes to the Goals as well as the Policies and Program (Actions).
Suggested New Goals:
A) Identify and Maintain Adequate Sites for Housing
B) Facilitate Development of a Variety of Housing Types C) Remove Constraints to Housing
D) Preserve and Sustain Existing Housing Units
E) Ensure Fair Access to Housing
In several areas, the goals and sub-goals of the existing housing element have been combined and simplified. The Policy Options Discussion Paper provided as Attachment xxx is arranged under each of the suggested New Goals AE above.
GOALS:
This action supports the following City Council Goals and General Plan Actions:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
As of the writing of this staff report, the City has not received any public comment on the Draft Housing Strategy.
However, staff anticipates receiving public comment from interested parties following the publication and distribution of this staff report. Such comments will be provided to the City Council as supplemental materials before or at the meeting. In addition, public comments may be offered during the public comment portion of the agenda item.
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PUBLIC NOTICE:
This item was noticed in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and was available for public viewing and review at least 72 hours prior to schedule meeting date.
FISCAL IMPACT & PROCUREMENT REVIEW:
There will be no fiscal impact as a result of this report.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s office has reviewed and approved as to form.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the Sebastopol City Council:
1. Hear staff report and pose questions of staff;
2. Hear from the public on the matter of the Draft Housing Strategy; and
3. Reviewing the Policy Options in the Discussion Paper, provide direction to staff and consultants.
Attachments:
1. Policy Options Discussion Paper
2. Policy and Program Matrix
3. Program Disposition Table
4. Draft Housing Strategy with ☑denoting new or substantively changed Policies & Programs
5. Planning Commission Staff Report dated December 14, 2021
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Attachment 1: Discussion of Policy Options
State law requires Housing Elements to contain goals, policies, quantified objectives, and scheduled programs to preserve, improve and develop housing. The Draft Housing Strategy prepared for Sebastopol’s 2023-2031 Housing Element Update addresses these requirements in order to meet State law, obtain certification from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and address local needs as identified by community members, stakeholders, and demographic data.
As discussed in the staff report, the Draft Housing Strategy (see Attachment 4) consolidates and simplifies existing goal areas, policies, and programs, and includes proposed new policies and programs to comply with State law and address local needs. The Draft Housing Strategy includes the following suggested new goals:
A. Facilitate Development of a Variety of Housing Types B. Remove Constraints to Housing
C. Preserve and Sustain Existing Housing Units
D. Ensure Fair Access to Housing
This Policy Option Discussion paper details suggested new policies and programs within each of these goal areas and summarizes findings from demographic data, input from community members, and recommendations received from the Planning Commission where relevant. Each topic of discussion includes a reference to the related policy or program number. Proposed program language can be found using these references in the Draft Housing Strategy (Attachment 4).
Goal A: Facilitate the Development of Housing
Policies under this goal include those that promote and encourage a range of housing opportunities and affordability levels. Changes in the law that necessitate new policies and programs are AB 686, the AFFH law; the AB1397 requirements for zoning for all housing types; the SB 166 “No Net Loss” law; and the SB 35 streamlined ministerial approvals for developments that include an affordable component, including mixed use development. New policies and programs are also recommended to respond to the City’s housing needs as revealed by its demographic data, especially its growing senior population, its lack of housing options for younger families who cannot afford to live here, and the lack of smaller units for small households. Finally, suggested new programs incorporate the community input received to date.
Adequate Sites in Inventory
(Policy A-2, Program A-2.1)
SB 166 (No Net Loss Law) now requires jurisdictions to maintain sufficient sites in inventory at all times during the planning period. If a site identified as available for low-income housing in the City’s Sites Inventory is developed with anything but low-income housing, the City would need to add additional sites to their inventory before they could approve that project unless it makes findings that sufficient remaining sites to meet RHNA obligations are available.
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Policy Options:
1. Zone an excess of sites to accommodate future development. This is an approach taken by many jurisdictions, with a sites “buffer” of at least 30 percent recommended. Under this Option, the city would need to ensure that there are adequate sites to accommodate the RHNA for the entire 8 year planning period, considering any sites that may be developed for other uses or with less affordability than listed. The downside to this approach is that sites listed in the 6th cycle inventory will be difficult to re-use in the next Housing Element cycle.
2. Decrease development capacity assumptions and assumed affordability levels for all sites listed in inventory in order to better match inventory projections with the number of units that are actually likely to be developed on any given site Past development patterns in Sebastopol indicates that a 75% development capacity assumption should be appropriate.
3. Maintain an administrative list of additional sites with appropriate zoning that can be added to the City’s sites inventory when an analysis provided through the Annual Planning Report indicates that additional sites are needed. Under this Option, the City would still be able to approve projects that do not provide affordability as set forth in the Housing Element so long as they had sufficient other sites zoned for housing that could be added administratively added to inventory only when needed. This Option would avoid adding more sites than are necessary and triggering the difficulty in re-use for the next Housing Element.
Discussion: The Planning Commission was presented the above Policy Options related to No Net Loss during the December 14, 2021, Public Workshop. The Commission discussed that Policy Option 1 could negatively impact future Housing Elements and would not allow the City to prioritize the sites to be put into inventory. Policy Option 2 is based on historical trends and would allow for a more conservative approach that is acceptable to HCD. Policy Option 3 allows for a more dynamic inventory that would allow sites to be added as needed, without the threat of mandatory rezoning.
Recommendation: Options 2 and 3. Preliminary direction from the Planning Commission indicated support for this recommendation. This Option would direct staff to both utilize realistic development capacity assumptions based on previous development trends and to prioritize sites to be placed in inventory such that a “B list” of properly zoned sites should be maintained and placed into inventory only as needed during the next eight years.
Workforce Housing Overlay Zone
(Program A-3.4)
There are multiple examples in Sebastopol of underutilized commercial areas, parking lots, community facilities, and privately-owned buildings where additional housing units could be accommodated. The Workforce Housing (WH) Overlay Program is a market-driven way to better integrate housing into areas near jobs and transit. This is a market-driven approach that gives the City control over where housing can be allowed through the legislative process of City Council review. Once applied to a commercial or light-industrial parcel, the WH Overlay Zone would allow any of the uses allowed by the underlying zoning, multi-family housing (rental or ownership) at a density of 20 units per acre, or both. To qualify Agenda Item Number 9
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under HCD rules, the housing can only be subject to the same review process as the commercial and light-industrial uses allowed by the underlying zoning. Benefits of this approach include:
• Retention of the allowed uses in the underlying zone
• Market-based approach allows property owners to choose the development type most suitable for their needs
• Housing can be added horizontally or vertically to underutilized commercial sites • Business owners can choose to live on-site or provide on-site employee housing • Specific sites included in the zone are determined through the legislative process The disadvantages to this approach include the potential cost of implementation to process rezoning and the higher possibility that the “No Net Loss” law could come into play due to the numerous options for development.
Program Options:
1. Adopt the WH Overlay Zone in the Zoning Code and allow property owners to apply. To use this Option, the Housing Element would include a Program to adopt a new Workforce Housing (W-H) Overlay Zone into the Zoning Code. Interested property owners could then request application of the zoning designation to their properties.
2. Adopt the WH Overlay Zone in the Code and include a program to identify appropriate sites for its application. To use this Option, the City would adopt a new Workforce Housing (W-H) Overlay Zone into the Zoning Code concurrent with the Housing Element adoption. The Housing Element would then include a program to add the W-H Overlay Zone to sites that would be selected and rezoned by the City, which would absorb the costs of the rezoning and its related CEQA review. Sites could include empty parking lots, underutilized commercial areas, and/or parcels near jobs or transit.
3. Do not adopt the Workforce Housing Overlay Program.
Discussion: Support for infill and adaptive reuse development was indicated by both the community and in early conversations with the Planning Commission. Option 1 would create an additional set of development options that landowners can choose to exercise at their discretion through the application process. Option 2 would pro-actively apply the W-H designation to specific sites, with the main difference being the cost of implementation since under Option 1, property owners or applicants would bear the costs of the rezoning. Proactively applying the designation (Option 2) would better allow the City to direct housing opportunities to appropriate areas to meet AFFH (Fair Housing) requirements. In practice, even if Option 2 is chosen and the City designated and rezoned appropriate sites for this program, it is likely that additional rezoning will be sought by property owners in the future.
Recommendation: Option 1 or 2. The previous Housing Element contained a program to review Cityowned parking lots to determine their suitability for affordable and mixed use development. Because there are few city-owned parking lots without additional constraints, this Program was not Agenda Item Number 9
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implemented. The adoption of the WH Overlay Program provides an alternative option that will broaden the extent of the intended objectives of the previous program.
ADU Program Changes
(Program A-3.5)
Demographic analysis revealed the need for affordable housing options that would be suitable for the aging population, persons with disabilities, and younger people looking for entry-level housing choices.
Community input indicated robust support for ADU and JADU development to increase the housing supply.
Program A-3.5 Encourage the Development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs and JADUs) Action A-3.5.1 Promote ADUs and JADUs
The City anticipates developing ADUs in numbers that exceed what it has built, on average, over the last 4 years. To promote development, the City will make builders, property owners and members of the public aware of opportunities to facilitate ADU construction within the city by creating a dedicated ADU/JADU development website, and by featuring ADUs at the annual Housing Expo. Additionally, the City will streamline processing of applications for conforming ADUs by eliminating the planning entitlement process and relying instead on planning department review and sign-off of the building permit.
Action A-3.5.2 Legalize Existing Structures as ADUs
The majority of ADUs within the City to date have been conversions of existing structures into ADUs.
Staff have identified a way to facilitate the legalization of existing structures into converted, legal ADUs by reducing the need for qualified conversions to go through the planning commission process for determination of a non-conforming use. Rather, the City would establish a program that would allow this determination to be made at the Staff-level following a site visit, and consultation with the planning and building departments. In certain situations, code enforcement penalties would be reduced or waived.
In its 2024 APR, the City will evaluation its progress in achieving its increased production goals for ADUs and JADUs. If it is determined that the new numbers are not likely to be met, the City will put into place an additional action to better promote and facilitate their production, as follows:
Action A-3.5.3 Financial Support for ADUs
If the production of ADUs is falling behind projections by the end of the 2nd year on the planning period, the City will dedicate annual funding to the Napa-Sonoma ADU Center for the provision of services to facilitate ADU production to utilize their services beyond what is publicly available on their website including the provision of on-site ADU suitability evaluations, development of marketing materials, preapproved ADU plans and referrals to builders and financing for ADUs.
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Program Options:
1. Adopt the full program of actions into the Housing Element with a conditional financial commitment to the Napa Sonoma ADU Center. This option represents cost-effective way to implement the program and represents the best likelihood that HCD will accept the aggressive ADU numbers used in inventory. This Option would take the following actions:
• Promoting ADUs Eliminate the entitlement process for compliant ADUs, create a dedicated webpage to promote ADU and JADU development and advertise at the annual Housing Expo
• Legalizing ADUs Amend the ADU ordinance to allow for the conversion of nonconforming units into legal structures that can be permitted as additional dwelling units through a staff-level determination process and • Funding ADUs If by the end of 2024, ADU production is not achieving the numbers used in the City's Housing Element, the City will begin annual financial support to the Napa-Sonoma ADU Center in exchange for services
2. Adopt some, but not all, of the program’s three identified actions. The City will have to reduce the number of projected ADUs in the site inventory.
3. Do not adopt any programs beyond the statutory requirements. The City will not be able to extend the number of projected ADUs beyond the Safe Harbor Assumptions.
Discussion: Government Code 65583(c)(7), requires that cities and counties develop a plan that incentivizes and promotes the creation of ADUs that can be offered at affordable rent for very low- to moderate-income households. Additionally, ADUs are counted in the site inventory beyond Safe Harbor Assumptions. To maintain compliance with State law and reduce the likelihood of HCD refutation of the inclusion of ADU projections beyond Safe Harbor Assumptions the City should update the ADU program.
Recommendation: Option 1. Option 1 represents the best facilitation of the program while reducing the City’s upfront financial obligations. This Option addresses community and stakeholder identified needs.
Increased promotion of ADU development will help the City meet the aggressive targeted goals, and conditional financial commitment will increase the likelihood that HCD will accept the extended number of ADUs counted in inventory beyond HCD Safe Harbor Assumptions.
Density Bonus Incentives
(Program A-4.1)
The California State Density Bonus Law incentivizes affordable and other specialized housing production by requiring local agencies to grant an increase to the maximum allowable residential density for eligible projects, and to support the development of eligible projects at greater residential densities by granting incentives, concessions, waivers, or reductions to applicable development regulations.
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Program Options:
1. Establish a City Density Bonus Program. Under this Option, the City would incentivize its specified needs by establishing density bonus provisions greater than those included in the State Density Bonus Program. For instance, the City could provide a greater density bonus in exchange for more affordable units, a deeper level of affordability, the provision of fully accessible or universally designed units, or for providing childcare on-site. This program could also designate additional specific incentives or concessions for eligible projects, such as reductions in setbacks or other site development standards, parking concessions, or other concessions or waivers that might be needed to allow housing development on difficult sites.
2. Only implement State requirements. Under this option, the City would maintain compliance with the required State Density Bonus Program without taking action beyond those requirements.
Discussion: Density bonus programs can help incentivize developers to work locally by granting a larger bonus and/or greater incentives. The establishment of a City Density Bonus Program that goes beyond that required by state law for a project that meets the City’s identified housing needs could impart more certainty to the development process by providing clear criteria for the approval of requested incentives and concessions. Establishing a City Density Bonus Program would allow Sebastopol to target housing needs that are more specific than those provided by the State Density Bonus and could increase the type of development that the City needs.
Recommendation: Option 2. This Option would include a Program in the Housing Element to establish a density bonus program to better meet Sebastopol’s specific housing needs and to incentivize development by lowering costs and providing better certainty. Examples of needs that could be targeted by such a program include senior units or projects that set aside a percentage of their units for extremely low-income residents or those who are exiting from homelessness. At the December 14th Planning Commission meeting, Commissioners expressed support for exploring program options for a City Density Bonus Program.
Goal B: Remove Constraints to Housing
Housing Element law requires jurisdictions to address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing, including housing for all income levels and housing for persons with disabilities. New policies and programs under this goal are based on amendments to AB 602, Fee Mitigation and Transparency; existing Housing Element law, stakeholder input, and community input received to date.
Monitor the City’s Codes, Procedures, and Practices
(Policy B-1, Programs B-1.1, B-1.2)
The constraints analysis identified the City’s current code enforcement policies and its reasonable accommodation procedure as constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing for all income levels and for persons with disabilities.
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Policy Options:
1. Continually monitor the City’s codes, procedures, and practices to ensure they do not pose a constraint to the development and retention of housing for all income levels and for persons with disabilities and to ensure compliance with any applicable changes to State law.
2. The City will continue to enforce housing codes and regulations to correct code violations in the most expeditious manner to protect the integrity of housing while minimizing the displacement of residents. (Previous Policy B-1; see Table A-2).
3. The City will continue to enforce housing codes and regulations to correct code violations in the most expeditious manner to protect the integrity of housing while minimizing the displacement of residents and monitor the combined impact of the Growth Management Program and Design Review Process on the City’s ability to meet housing demand and to ensure they do not adversely affect the provision of housing units for all segments of the population (Previous Policies B-1, G-7, G-8; see Table A-2).
Discussion. While the previous policies mentioned displacement, the implementing programs did not include specific actions which would provide protection for vulnerable populations. To align with AB 686 requirements, new policies and implementing programs should incorporate anti-discrimination language and protections for special needs populations, including the disabled.
Recommendation: Option 1. Under Policy Option 1 the City would adopt a formal program to monitor and review the effectiveness of the Housing Element Programs and other City activities (including code enforcement) to address the City’s housing needs in a manner that does not discriminate. This would include developing a proactive and reasonable enforcement program that focuses residential code enforcement on activities that pose an imminent threat to public health and safety and would not include minor alterations without the benefit of permit when such alterations are made to accommodate the special need or disability of the resident(s). Current code enforcement is complaintbased and reactionary. By shifting to a proactive enforcement program, the City can educate residents and provide assistance to special needs households to reduce the impacts of potential code enforcement penalties, thus reducing displacement. This implementing program would include monitoring of all City activities and Housing Element actions, thereby reducing the number of programs the City is currently reporting out in the APR while ensuring compliance with State law and Fair Housing practices.
Additionally, under the recommended actions, the City would adopt a program to revise the reasonable accommodations practices and standards to bring costs and procedures into alignment with the State’s model ordinance. Doing so would remove constraints to housing for persons with disabilities, ensure the City is meeting statutory requirements, and Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.
Housing Trends, Laws, and Issues Education
(New Policy B-3; New Program B-3.1)
Stakeholders communicated that when proposing housing projects, they felt more confident when decision-makers possessed familiarity with current housing law and expressed that increased knowledge could help create a more neutral environment, which they felt would reduce risks and costs associated with development. This feedback supports the need for ongoing education of City staff and decisionmakers.
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Policy Options:
1. Take all efforts to ensure City staff and decision-makers with authority over land-use decisions have the most up-to-date knowledge about housing trends, laws, and issues. Ongoing efforts would include required attendance at housing and legislative review conferences, attending training workshops, participation in regional planning efforts coordinated by ABAG, and requiring all incumbent and new Planning Commissioners to complete a predetermined training course (e.g., Planetizen Online Planning Commissioner Training Course). This Option would be the most cost-intensive and might require Staff to take on additional roles, but it would best address stakeholder feedback.
2. Take some efforts to ensure City staff and decision-makers have the most up-to-date knowledge about housing trends, laws, and issues. This Option would entail only taking some of the steps identified above and would at least include bi-annual information presentations by the City Attorney. This Option could reduce budgetary obligations to the program but would not ensure the most up-to-date knowledge for staff and decision-makers.
3. Take no formal efforts to ensure City staff and decision-makers have the most up-to-date knowledge about housing trends, laws, and issues; allow individuals to inform themselves. This Option would save money, at least in the short term, but would not address the identified constraint.
Discussion: Housing Element law requires the consideration and incorporation of stakeholder feedback during the development of policies and programs. Stakeholders expressed a need for a mechanism to ensure elected officials, Commissioners, and others with authority over land use decisions maintain current knowledge about housing laws, issues, and trends. This practice would also assist the City to maintain compliance with the multitude of new State laws affecting housing and prevent the City from losing local land use authority through the allowances in AB 72 (see staff report for additional information).
Recommendation: Option 1, consider Option 2. Under Option 1, the City would adopt a formal, ongoing educational program for decision-makers to further learn about current housing needs, planning laws, trends, and issues. This could include attendance at webinars, conferences, or presentations related to relevant housing issues as well as a mandatory citizen planner course for new and incumbent decisionmakers.
Goal C: Housing Conservation
Housing Element law contains an edict not just to build new housing, but also to preserve existing housing and avoid displacement of residents. Because much of Sebastopol’s housing stock was constructed between 1960 and 1979, homes are aging and the need to maintain the existing housing stock will only increase. New policies and programs recommended under this goal respond to the City’s housing needs as revealed by characteristics of the housing stock, community input, and findings from the Analysis of Fair Housing.
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Maintaining Conditions of Housing Stock
(New Policy C-3, New Program C-2.1)
Data shows that Sebastopol has an aging housing stock. Older residential units typically require rehabilitation or repairs more frequently than newer units. Maintenance is an issue that is typically handled by the property owner and lower income property owners may face barriers to paying for necessary repairs to their home.
Policy Options:
1. Provide rehabilitation assistance to income-eligible homeowners for repairs related to safety, habitability, and/or accessibility standards to reduce the likelihood of substandard housing in the City. This Option would require a partnership with the Sonoma County CDC to seek funding to establish a rehabilitation assistance program. The City could also allocate funding from the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program to the Rehabilitation Assistance Program to further support the goal of housing preservation while mitigating the risk of displacement. Additionally, the City would promote the USDA 504 Home Repair Program in tandem with the Rehabilitation Assistance Program. This Option would require the most effort but has the potential to greatly reduce the risk of displacement while providing vulnerable households a valuable tool to improve quality of life.
2. Provide information about available home repair program grants and loans. This Option would promote the 504 Home Repair Program on the City’s website and to targeted households and neighborhoods. This Option would require less effort and would still lead to desirable outcomes; however, fewer individuals are likely to qualify for no-cost grants under this program.
3. Do not pursue a rehabilitation program but continue to monitor the need to replace infrastructure as needed to conserve older neighborhoods (5th Cycle Policy B-2). This Option would simply continue the current action to consider older neighborhoods in the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan. This Option would require the least effort; however, it should be noted that no housing projects were included in the most recent Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
Discussion: While Sebastopol does not have a significant issue with substandard housing, the City has an aging population as well as an aging housing stock. Seniors are more likely to live on fixed incomes and therefore may be less likely to address habitability issues, repairs, or upgrades that can improve their quality of life. Typically, substandard housing cases are handled by the Building Department through code enforcement. This has the potential to increase displacement risk and place undue hardship on residents when compliance measures are not economically feasible for property owners. To reduce the risk of displacement, the City should pursue grant opportunities to create a residential rehabilitation program for lower income residents.
Recommendation: Option 1, Consider Option 2. Under Option 1, the City would establish a rehabilitation program to provide grants to the most vulnerable homeowners in the City. The beneficial impact would be threefold, the existing housing stock would be improved, participating residents would have a higher quality of life, and the risk of displacement due to unaddressed code enforcement penalties would be reduced. Likewise, Option 2 could help vulnerable residents access useful information however the scope of the 504 Home Repair Loan Program is not as comprehensive as the Agenda Item Number 9
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program set forth under Option 1. AB 686 requires that goals and policies in the Housing Element must be created with the intention to have a beneficial impact during the planning period and should include commitments to measurable deliverables that occur early in the planning period. As the current FiveYear Capital Improvement Plan does not include any housing projects and does not expire until Fiscal Year 2026, it is unlikely that Option 3 would meet this requirement.
Goal D. Ensure Access to Fair Housing
Public agencies must consider and incorporate fair housing considerations, including race and equity, into regulatory and technical assistance functions by prioritizing assistance to combat segregation, foster inclusion, and eliminate disparities in access to opportunity. New policies and programs under this goal address new AB 686 requirements, demographic trends, and stakeholder and community input.
Pathways to Homeownership for Lower Income Households
(New Program D-3.1)
Policy Options:
1. First Time Homebuyer Program and Affordable Homeownership Resources (In Progress) Discussion: Census data collected as part of this housing element update indicates that the City is losing its young adult population; this is very likely because they cannot afford to live here. Community survey results seem to confirm this analysis, as they indicate that there are limited rental opportunities and no first-time ownership opportunities in Sebastopol. The provision of housing opportunities that are affordable to both an aging population and to young families are Sebastopol’s two of the greatest housing needs identified by census data and by the community.
Recommendation: Option 1. The City has already begun to establish this program in tandem with the Housing Land Trust of Sonoma County.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
2023 Draft Goals 2023 Draft Policies 2023 Draft Programs 2023 Draft Objectives Program A-1.1 No Net Loss of Residential Capacity to
Accommodate RHNA
(New, Responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
To ensure sufficient residential capacity is maintained to accommodate the RHNA for each income category, staff
will develop and implement a formal, ongoing (project-byproject) administrative evaluation procedure pursuant to Government Code section 65863 within six months of
adoption of the Housing Element.
Program A-1.2 No Reduction of Density without
Replacement Sites
(New, Responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
No project approval or other action that reduces the
density or development capacity of a site shall be
undertaken unless sufficient remaining sites are available or additional adequate sites are identified prior to
approval of the development and made available within
180 days of approval of the development. Implemented
Ongoing as needed
Program A-1.3 Inventory Monitoring
(Revises and combines previous actions A-1; A-2; A-3)
Monitor Annually; due at time of and reported out in
conjunction with APR;
Publish land supply in inventory on City’s website within 30 days of Housing Element adoption and update annually Policy A-2 Maintain an administrative list of additional sites with appropriate zoning that can be added to the
City’s sites inventory if and when an analysis provided through the Annual Planning Report indicates that
sufficient sites may not exist to accommodate the City’s remaining RHNA, by income level, for the planning period (New, Responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
Program A-2.1 Administrative List of Additional Sites
(New, Responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
Create list 3- 6 months following adoption; consider adding sites from this list to inventory as needed on an annual basis
Program A-3.1 Objective Design Standards Program
(New, Addresses stakeholder feedback and recent State
laws)
To facilitate non-discretionary permitting, the City will adopt Objective Design Standards within 8-14 months of
Housing Element Adoption
Program A-3.2 Support Efforts of Affordable Housing
Developers
(Revises and combines previous actions D-1, D-2, D-4 D-6, D-13, D-17, D-18)
Housing development in Sebastopol over the 5th planning cycle did not reach the lower and moderate-income
quantified objectives. In order to better match the City’s quantified objectives for the 6th Cycle planning period, the City will take more specific financial and supportive actions to promote the development, preservation, and provision of housing units affordable to lower and moderate-income households including special needs households. Ongoing, report efforts and successes in the APR
Program A-3.3 Missing Middle Housing
(Revises combines previous actions D-7, G-4, G-7)
The City will increase opportunities for small lot singlefamily homes, such as tiny homes and cottage housing developments by either by identifying additional sites for the R-5 zoning designation, or by amending the Code to
allow up to 3 units on qualifying single-family parcelsThe City will take XX action within 6 months of Housing
Element Adoption
Program A-3.4 Workforce Housing Overlay Zone
(New, incorporates previous action A-4)
The City will adopt a Workforce Housing Overlay Program as a market-driven way to integrate housing into areas
near jobs and transit. The program will allow housing to be added to underutilized commercial sites, empty parking
lots, and other parcels near jobs, transit, or both. The City will adopt program into Code by MONTH 20XX
Program A-3.5 Encourage the Development of Accessory
Dwelling Units
(New, addresses State law and community input)
In order to facilitate homeowners who are interested in developing the City shall take the following actions:
Promote ADUs, eliminate the entitlement process for
compliant ADUs, ammend the ADU ordinance to allow for
non-conforming structures to be permitted, if needed,
provide funding support to the Napa-Sonoma
Collaborative in exchange for services. Create and publish webpage by January 2024, Adopt conversion program
within 6-9 months of HE Adoption, Annually monitor and
report progress of production goals and if projections not met by end of 2nd planning period year, begin providing annual funding to Napa-Sonoma ADU Center in exchange
for services in 2025.
Program A-4.1 Density Bonus Incentives
(Revision of previous action D-9) To increase the amount of lower and moderate- income units created, the City will encourage affordable housing developers to request density bonuses and incentives by promoting them on the City’s website and at the bi-annual housing fair. The City will also explore the feasibility of adopting a local density bonus ordinance with incentives and bonuses beyond the current statutory requirements.
Program A-4.2 Fee Mitigation and Transparency
(Revision of previous action D-8, responds to AB 602
requirements)
Add publication of easily accessible fee information to City website by July 2023; Publish any updates within 30 days of a completed fee study with any new or revised fees,
update nexus study in 2029
Program B-1.1 Monitor and review the effectiveness of the Housing Element Programs and other City activities in
addressing the City's housing needs in a manner that does not discriminate
(Revises and combines previous actions B-1, B-2, F-2, G-3, G-10, G-12)
The City will develop a proactive and reasonable
enforcement program that focuses residential code
enforcement activities on situations that pose an
imminent threat to public health and safety. Program will be developed by MONTH 202X. Results of monitoring
reported annually in the APR thereafter
Program B-1.2 Revise Reasonable Accommodation
Procedures to Streamline and Reduce Barriers
(New, addresses identified constraint)
The City has established a Reasonable Accommodations
procedure, as required by the Acts, but the procedure and cost have been identified as constraints to the
development of housing and the provision of accessible
housing. The city will review its current practices and costs to bring them in line with the State’s model ordinance.
Complete review by the end of 2024; revise ordinance or procedures as needed by July 2025.
Goal A: Facilitate Development of a Variety of
Housing Type by maintaining adequate sites for
housing and encouraging production of housing to
meet diverse needs for all economic segments of
the population
(Combines previous goals A-1, D-1, G-1, G-3)
Policy A-4 Promote the development of new housing units affordable to extremely low, very low-, low-, and moderateincome households and housing units that are affordable to and appropriate for special needs households, including seniors, disabled persons, developmentally disabled
persons, farmworkers, large families, and persons
experiencing homeless.
(Revision of previous policy C-4, D-1 )
Policy A-1 Maintain a sufficient inventory of suitably zoned sites at all income levels throughout the planning period (Revises version of previous policy A-1)
Policy A-3 Encourage a variety of housing types such as multi-family units, mixed use housing, ADU and JADUs,
single-family attached (townhouses), and other typologies that make housing more affordable.
(Revision of previous policies C-4, G-1 )
Goal B: Remove Governmental Constraints to
Housing Opportunity
(Combines previous goals C-1, G-2)
Policy B-1 Monitor and review the effectiveness of the
Housing Element Programs and other City activities in
addressing the City’s housing needs.
(Revision of previous policy G-1, G-8)
Initiate partnership with Sonoma County Community
Development Commission within 19 months of Housing
Element Adoption; Report efforts and successes in APR
Program A-4.3 Affordable Housing Funding
(Revision of previous action C-3 )
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Policy B-2 Expedite application review, permitting, and inspection procedures for affordable housing projects
(Revision of previous policy G-9)
Program B-2.1 Expedite Processing for Affordable Housing Projects
(Revises and combined version of previous action G-14
and policy H-2)
The City will expand application of processing priority to projects providing housing for seniors and other special needs groups, including persons with physical and
developmental disabilities, large families, extremely-low income households, farmworker housing, and homeless.
Expedited processing includes one-stop preliminary
review, concurrent application review, designation of a primary contact, and fast-tracking of construction and
grading plan review, permitting and inspection and report efforts and successes in APR
Policy B-3 Take all efforts to ensure City staff and
decisionmakers have the most up-to-date knowledge
around housing trends, laws, and issues
(New, addresses stakeholder feedback)
Program B-3.1 Monitor Housing Trends, Laws, and Issues
(New, addresses stakeholder feedback)
Initiate Planning Commissioner Training by January 2023 of Housing Element Adoption; Report efforts and successes in APR annually thereafter
Policy C-2 Ensure safe, decent housing by enforcing
habitability standards that does not discriminate and that protects the occupant’s cultural, socio-economic, and/or accessibility needs
(Combines previous actions, addesses Fair Housing issues with enforcement of codes)
See Program B-1.1 Monitor and review the effectiveness
of the Housing Element Programs and other City activities in addressing the City’s housing needs in a manner that does not discriminate
The City will coordinate with owners of expiring subsidies to ensure tenants receive the required notices at three years, twelve month, and six months prior to the
scheduled expiration of rent restrictions, as described in Government Code 65863.10. The City will work with
tenants to provide education regarding tenant rights and conversion procedures pursuant to California law. Annual monitoring due at time of and reported in conjunction
with APR; Ongoing discussions with owners and partners
as needed based on expiration of subsidies
Policy C-3 Provide rehabilitation assistance to incomeeligible homeowners for repairs related to safety, habitability, and/or accessibility standards to reduce the likelihood of substandard housing in the City
(Revision of previous policy B-2)
Program C-2.1 Rehabilitation Assistance
(New, responds to findings in fair housing analysis,
demographic trends, and community input)
The City will pursue grant opportunities to create a
residential rehabilitation program. The City will apply for HOME, CalHome, and CDBG, as well as promote Section
504 Home Repair Program loans and grants to provide
housing rehabilitation loans. Starting in 2023, annually apply for funding as Notices of Funding Availability are released; meet with the County annually to assess
availability of redevelopment agency funds.
Policy D-2 The City will encourage long-term and
permanent affordability of extremely low, very low, low, and moderate income and special needs housing
(Revision of previous policy C-3)
See Program A-4.3 Affordable Housing Funding;
Program C-1.1 Safeguard Affordable Housing Inventory
Policy D-3 The City will educate and inform the community about the necessities of affordable housing options in the City
(Revises and combines previous policy D-5, D-8)
Program D-1.1 Administer Housing Services and Provide
Outreach and Education
(Revises and combines previous actions D-11, D-16, E-1, H3) the City will develop a Fair Housing section of their website that includes tenants’ rights information, direction to available legal resources, information on how to file a Fair Housing complaint, include a City-wide affordable rental registry, and a multilingual affordable housing fact sheet highlighting the needs of the community. The information will also be made available public noticing for project hearings in addition to posting on the City’s website.
Additionally, the City shall continue to coordinate housing activities with the Sonoma County Housing Authority or
other suitable organization to administer the City’s
affordable Housing programs for special needs
populations. Ongoing; report efforts and successes in APR Add Fair Housing information to City website by June 2023; Hold Bi-Annual workshops with advocates and service
providers;
Report efforts and successes in APR
Program D-2.1 Landlord Education
(Revises and combines previous actions E-2, E-3)
The City will work with the CDC to develop a landlord
education and outreach program that will include
information on source of income discrimination and
Housing Choice Voucher programs. Contact CDC about
ongoing efforts to educate landlords by end of 2023;
report efforts and successes in APR
Program D-2.2 By Right Permanent Supportive Housing
and Low Barrier Navigation
(New, Responds to AB 2162 Requirements, SB 48
requirements, and community input)
The City will amend the Code within 6 months of Housing Element Adoption to allow supportive housing by right in zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted,
including nonresidential zones permitting multifamily uses in compliance with GC 65651 (a).
Policy D-5 The city will support and promote programs
that offer low- and moderate-income housholds pathways
to homeownership
(New, responds to community input and demographic
trends)
Program D-3.1 First Time Homebuyer Program and
Affordable Homeownership Resources
(New, responds to community input and demographic
trends)
The City will establish a First Time Homebuyer Program in coordination with the Housing Land Trust of Sonoma
County (HLT). The City will publish resources to
prospective lower-income home buyers on the City
website. Adopt program within 6 months of Housing
Element Update; Add information to City website by July 2023
Goal C. Preserve and Sustain Exisiting Housing
Units
(Combines previous goals B-1, B-2, F-1, F-2, H-1)
Program C-1.1 Safeguard Affordable Housing Inventory
(Revision of previous action B-4)
Program C-3.1 Provide Information and Promote Energy
Conservation
Goal D: Ensure Fair Access to Quality Housing and
Services for All Members of the Community,
Including Those with Special Needs
(Combines previous goals D-2, E-1)
Policy D-1 The City will work to eliminate all unlawful discrimination in housing with respect to age, race,
Policy C-4 Promote energy efficiency in all new and
existing structures
Policy D-4 The City will continue efforts to improve
housing opportunities for special needs households,
including seniors, disabled persons, developmentally
disabled persons, farmworkers, large families, and persons experiencing homeless
(Revises and combines policies D-6, D-7, D-9, D-10)
The City of Sebastopol will promote energy efficiency that exceeds State standards in existing residences and new
Adopt an Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Ordinance within 6 months Housing Element Adoption
Policy B-4 Ensure easy access to and transparency of
housing development information on the City’s website
Policy C-1 Monitor the status of at-risk units throughout the planning period to identify units which are at planned See Program A-4.4 Fee Mitigation and Transparency
See Programs A-3.1, B-1.1, D-1.1, D-2.1
(Specific actions that support Fair Housing)
Annual monitoring due at time of and reported in
conjunction with APR;
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
2015 Goal
2023 Goals
Update for
Draft 2015 Policy
2023 Policies
Update for
Draft 2015 Action/Program Description
Action A-1: Continue to monitor the land supply to ensure sufficient developable land is planned and zoned to accommodate the City’s RHNA, including sites for single family and multifamily residential development, and to accommodate special needs populations, including seniors, disabled persons, developmentally disabled persons, farmworkers, large families, and homeless persons.
Action A-2: Continue to monitor the supply of additional multifamily sites at densities to facilitate production of housing affordable to extremely low, very low, and low income households.
Action A-3: Maintain an inventory of sites that are readily or already served by infrastructure.
This inventory is to be provided on the City’s website and updated periodically.
Action A-4: Review City-owned parking lots for possible use as affordable housing and mixed-use sites, provided existing parking is maintained.
Policy A-2: While the City is able to
accommodate its share of the regional
housing need without rezoning during
the current Housing Element period, to
the extent necessary, the City will
conisder land use redesignation in order
to accommodate specific projects.
Completed
implementing
action A-5,
removed
Action A-5: Consider land use redesignations, if they are needed.
Policy B-1: The City will continue to
enforce housing codes and regulations
to correct code violations in the most
expeditious manner to protect the
integrity of housing while minimizing the
displacement of residents.
B-1, C-2
Action B-1: Continue to enforce its existing codes utilizing all available authorities to compel property owners to correct code violations.
Policy B-2: The City will monitor the
need to replace infrastructure as
needed to conserve older
neighborhoods. When updating its
Capital Improvement Program and
associated budget, the City of
Sebastopol will allocate resources to
rehabilitation and/or replace
infrastructure in older neighborhoods
whose infrastructure is approaching
obsolescence.
C-3
Action B-3: Consider infrastructure needs in older neighborhoods when updating the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program.
Policy B-3: Sebastopol will collaborate
with other public and private entities to
ensure that lower income residents are
not adversely impacted by the
conversion of existing affordable
housing projects to market rate rents.
C-1
Action B-4: While there are no at-risk units that will lose rent restrictions during the 2015-2023 Housing Element period, the City will continue to monitor the potential for affordable housing to convert to market rate to safeguard the affordable housing inventory.
Action B-2: Continue to encourage rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing.
Encourage the Urban County HOME and CDBG Programs, administered by Sonoma County Community Development Commission, to assist agencies such as Rebuilding Together to preserve affordable housing and existing housing. Efforts to rehabilitate existing housing could include restoring the mobile home park and increasing affordable housing opportunities at the Fircrest Mobile Home Park, rehabilitating areas with clusters of individually owned small multifamily buildings (e.g., duplexes through fourplexes) into more comprehensive multifamily projects with a single owner and manager.
Action B-5: Consider a mobile home conversion ordinance that would protect the mobile home park in Sebastopol.
Policy B-5: Sebastopol will work with
nonprofits to determine whether there
are opportunities to expand the
affordable housing supply by using
formerly market rate properties.
See new
program D-3.1
Policy B-6: The City will address housing
used as temporary, short-term, and/or
vacation rentals, such as Airbnb.com
and vrbo.com rentals, to ensure that
such uses do not reduce the existing
housing stock for owners and renters
and to reduce potential impacts to
neighboring uses.
Completed
Implementing
Action B-6,
removed
Action B-6: Consider regulations for vacation and short-term rentals, such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com units, that address potential impacts, such as parking and increased noise, to surrounding uses and establish a permitting process to ensure cost-recovery and ability to enforce the regulations.
A. Identification of Adequate Sites
B. Housing Conservation
Goal A-1: Provide Adequate Sites
for Housing Development in the
City of Sebastopol
Goal A:
Facilitate
Development
of Housing
Policy A-1: The City will continue to
monitor the land supply to ensure
adequate sites to accommodate the
City's housing needs, including housing
sites for special needs population.
A-1
N/A See new
program D-3.1
Goal B-1: Maintain High Quality
Residential Environments: The
maintenance and improvement
of the quality of life of existing
neighborhoods is a high priority
for the City of Sebastopol.
Goal C.
Preserve and
Sustain
Exisiting
Housing Units
Goal B-2: Preserve Housing
Resources: Sebastopol will strive
to maintain and preserve existing
housing resources, including both
affordable and market rate units.
Policy B-4: Sebastopol will encourage
continued operation of the privatelyowned Fircrest Mobile Home Park and encourage efforts to provide additional
affordable housing opportunities
Completed
implementing
Action B-5,
removed
Goal B-3: Expand Affordability
Housing Opportunities Through
the Use of Existing Housing:
Sebastopol will consider the
feasibility of converting market
rate housing units to affordable
housing.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Goal C-1: Facilitate New Housing
Production
The City of Sebastopol will take
necessary steps to promote new
housing development and
remove public infrastructure
constraints to new housing
development.
Goal B: Remove
Constraints to
Housing
Policy C-1: The City will continue to
address public infrastructure constraints
to housing production where feasible.
See New
Program D-3.1
Action C-1: Continue to implement the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program. As resources become available, develop public facilities to address new residential demand and to increase the viability of infill and reuse sites.
Policy C-2: The City will continue to
enforce its Inclusionary Housing
Ordinance.
Completed
Implementing
Action C-2,
removed
Action C-2: Continue to administer the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Review the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance in consideration of recent case law and State law, and update as necessary and as may otherwise be appropriate. As part of the review of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, encourage housing developers and stakeholders to participate in the process to ensure that potential benefits and impacts of revising the ordinance in terms of effect on housing production are fully considered.
Policy C-3: The City will encourage longterm and permanent affordability of extremely low, very low, low, and
moderate income and special needs
housing.
D-2
Action C-3: Identify potential mechanisms to ensure that affordable housing (lower and moderate income) that is assisted with City funding is permanently affordable. Review the City Municipal Code to determine if this requirement should be codified.
Policy C-4: The City will encourage
development of new housing to meet a
range of income levels, including marketrate housing, and a variety of housing sizes and types.
A-3, A-4
Action D-1: Provide planning assistance to affordable housing developers and developers building units for special needs populations.
Action D-2: Continue to support affordable housing development by encouraging developers to apply for funding through the Sonoma County-administered Urban County HOME and CDBG program and using other available resources when available, such as in-lieu payments, to finance affordable housing.
Action D-13: Work with housing developers to encourage housing units and housing developments which address the requirements of special needs populations.
Action D-14: Enforce Title 24 of the California Building Code, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Municipal Code Chapter 15.80 when reviewing proposed development plans.
Action D-18: Encourage the development of housing for day laborers and undocumented workers by encouraging housing developers to expand the supply of housing for this population and providing planning assistance to interested developers.
Policy D-2: The City will encourage the
expansion of housing opportunities for
extremely low income households.
Housing for extremely low-income
households includes conventional
apartment units as well as SRO units.
The City already allows SRO units in all
multifamily zones, so no changes are
needed to the City’s Zoning Ordinance.
See New
Program D-2.1
Action D-6: To encourage affordable housing developers to preserve and provide units for extremely low-income households, the City will encourage these developers to apply for Project Based Section 8 assistance. In addition, the City will provide its housing funds, when available, to help subsidize development costs to build housing units affordable to extremely lowhouseholds. City funds for this purpose include linkage fees and inclusionary housing fees. In addition, the City will work with non-profit developers to compete for Sonoma Countyadministered CDBG and HOME fund Action D-3: Consider deferring payment of impact fees until affordable housing units are sold, ready for occupancy or for rentals, or when permanent financing is obtained.
Action D-7: Continue to consider relaxing development standards, such as setbacks and parking requirements, and increasing densities on a project-by-project basis as a means to reduce development costs of units affordable to extremely low-income households.
Action D-8: Regularly update in-lieu and linkage fees, or adopt an ordinance that annually updates in-lieu and linkage fees in accordance with an accepted cost index, to ensure that they accurately reflect current development costs.
Policy D-4: The City will provide density
bonuses and other incentives for
projects which provide affordable units.
Completed
Implementing
Action D-9,
removed
Action D-9: Continue to offer density bonuses and incentives as established by State law.
Update the City’s Density Bonus Ordinance to be consistent with the requirements of State law.
Encourage affordable housing developers to request density bonuses and incentives in order to increase the amount of extremely low, very low, and low income units created. [more info on
density bonus fee]
Action D-4: Continue to submit applications for CDBG funding and support applications for additional public funds, such as those provided by the HOME Program, the Joe Serna Program, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
Action D-5: Develop methods to increase local financial resources to assist affordable and special needs housing types and pursue additional funding sources for affordable housing. Adopt methods to increase local resources, such as use of residential and non-residential affordable housing impact fees, real estate transfer taxes, or an annual budget set-aside from the General Fund or other source.
Action D-10: Consider the feasibility of creating a City Employee Assistance Program to provide loans to low- and moderate-income teachers and volunteer firefighters to purchase affordable housing. This program will assist in the recruitment and retention of teachers and firefighters. If sufficient funding is available, the program should be expanded to other City employees.
Policy D-8: In public outreach efforts,
the City will convey to the community
that affordable housing is an essential
resource for long-time Sebastopol
residents and workers.
D-3
Action D-16: Develop an information sheet describing the City's affordable housing needs and include this information in public noticing for project hearings.
Policy D-6: Sebastopol will work to
prevent homelessness and support
housing services for the homeless.
D-4
Action D-11: Encourage the Urban County to provide financial support for area homeless facilities and services that serve Sebastopol area residents through ESG and other available funding sources. Encourage the Sonoma County Community Development Commission/Urban County to monitor the needs of the homeless population in Sebastopol.
Action D-12: Encourage the Sonoma County CDC-administered Urban County to CDBG and/or HOME funds to Rebuilding Together and/or other local nonprofits to assist disabled residents with home retrofits.
Action D-19: In order to encourage the provision of housing for developmentally disabled persons, coordinate with the North Bay Regional Center, North Bay Housing Coalition, and other groups that serve the developmentally disabled population and encourage housing providers and landlords to provide a percentage of housing developments for persons with developmental disabilities.
Policy D-9: The City will continue efforts
to improve housing opportunities for
farmworkers in Sebastopol.
D-4
Action D-17: Facilitate the development of farmworker housing by encouraging employers to provide housing, encouraging a countywide linkage fee to cover agricultural land uses, encouraging with housing developers to expand the supply of migrant and permanent farmworker housing, and providing planning assistance to interested developers.
Action D-15: Assist disabled residents with information on housing resources and suitable housing opportunities in the community.
Action D-20: Encourage the development of housing designed to accommodate persons with EMF sensitivity.
Goal D-2: Support Housing to
Meet Special Needs
The City of Sebastopol strives to
increase the range of housing
opportunities for all residents,
including those with special
needs and those unable to afford
market rate housing within the
community. The City of
Sebastopol will place a priority
on construction of housing that
is appropriate to meet the needs
of special needs populations.
Goal D: Ensure
Fair Access to
Housing
Policy D-7: The City will continue efforts
to improve housing opportunities for
the disabled population, including
developmentally disabled persons, in
Sebastopol.
Policy D-10: The City will encourage and
support a broader continuum of housing
choices for seniors and the disabled,
including independent and assisted
Completed
Implementing
Action C-2,
removed
Goal A:
Facilitate
Development of
Housing
Policy D-1: The City will promote the
development of new housing units
affordable to extremely low, very low,
low, and moderate income households
and housing units that are affordable to
and appropriate for special needs
households, including seniors, disabled
persons, developmentally disabled
persons, farmworkers, large families,
and homeless.
A-4
Policy D-3: The City of Sebastopol will
continue to operate its Inclusionary
Housing Program as a way to provide
affordable housing.
Policy D-5: The City will promote the
ability for lower and moderate income
households to become homeowners.
D. Housing Diversity and Affordability
C. New Housing Production
D-4
D-4
D-3
Goal C-2: Continue to Encourage
Mixed-Income Developments
The City of Sebastopol continues
to operate its Inclusionary
Housing Program which
emphasizes the provision of
inclusionary units over payment
of in-lieu fees. The City will
review this approach.
N/A
Inclusionary
Policy and
Programs
removed as
completed
Goal D-1: Promote Housing
Affordability for both Renters
and Homeowners
The City of Sebastopol will use
available resources to expand
the number of new housing units
affordable to extremely low, very
low, low, and moderate income
households.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Action E-1: Facilitate equal housing opportunities by continuing to designate an equal housing coordinator (the City Manager), by distributing materials regarding fair housing laws, and referring persons with fair housing concerns to Fair Housing Sonoma County and Fair Housing of Marin. Fair housing materials will be distributed at City Hall, on the City’s website, and at other locations willing to distribute materials throughout the City, such as the Library, Veterans Building, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, and Sebastopol Community Center.
Action E-2: Continue to provide nondiscrimination clauses in rental agreements and deed restrictions for housing constructed with City agreements.
Action E-3: Continue to address fair housing issues through participation, through the Urban County or other sources, in Fair Housing Sonoma County and Fair Housing of Marin (organizations that provide assistance in response to housing discrimination complaints and well as tenant/landlord mediation).
Action F-3: Continue to encourage the incorporation of energy-saving principles in the design and planning of new residential developments by providing information to developers and property owners about available energy conservation programs.
Action F-5: Continue to encourage improvements that result in conservation of energy, water, and other natural resources in existing residential development, particularly in renter-occupied units.
Action F-6: Consider adoption of a construction site waste reduction and recycling ordinance that would be applicable to new residential or mixed use developments over a certain size.
Action F-7: Seek funding through Urban County CDBG and HOME programs and other available funding sources for retrofits of existing affordable housing units that result in conservation of energy, water, or other natural resources.
Action F-2: Consider design features in future developments to reduce heat island effects, including narrower streets, increased landscaping, green roofs, cool roofs, and cool pavements.
Action F-8: Support project applicants in incorporating cost-effective energy efficiency standards that exceed State standards.
Action F-9: Promote the use of straw bale, rammed-earth, and other energy-efficient types of construction and materials.
Action F-1: Continue to provide outreach and information about energy conservation and sustainability programs PG&E’s Partners Program.
Action F-4: Continue to support education programs related to solid waste reduction, reuse, and recycling opportunities.
Action G-1: Modify the Zoning Ordinance to permit farmworker housing consistent with the requirements of State law, including Health and Safety Code Sections 17021.5 and 17021.6. The revisions will include the following:
Permit employee housing, including mobile homes and manufactured housing, to accommodate up to six employees subject to the same standards and permit requirements as a single family residence in all zones and as a permitted use in residential zones. No discretionary actions shall be required.
Permit employee housing, including mobile homes and manufactured housing, consisting of up to 36 beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for use by a single family or household as an agricultural use, subject to the same standards and permit requirements as an agricultural use, in zones that permit an agricultural use consistent with the requirements of State law.
Action G-2: Modify the Zoning Ordinance so that homeless shelters proposed for the General Commercial (CG) District are only subject to Administrative Review as a condition of approval.
Action G-3: Modify the Zoning Ordinance to include definitions of Transitional and Supportive Housing which are consistent with State law. The following definitions will be used, based on language provided in the Government Code.
Action G-4: Review and revise the Zoning Ordinance to establish development standards and identify appropriate zoning districts to accommodate tiny houses. Revisions should include a clear definition of tiny houses.
Action G-16: Revise the Zoning Ordinance so that architectural and design review requirements for a manufactured home will not exceed those allowed under Government Code Section 65852.3.
Goal G-2: Remove Government
Constraints to the Production of
Special Needs Housing
Sebastopol supports the
development of special needs
housing. The City will take
necessary steps to remove
government constraints to the
development of affordable
housing serving special needs
populations.
Goal B:
Remove
Constraints to
Housing
Policy G-2: The City will modify the
Zoning Ordinance to reduce parking
requirements in senior housing, single
room occupancy housing, small lot
housing and for small units.
The City has previously reduced parking
standards for the housing identified
above. Residential parking requirements
were reduced in the Downtown by 20%.
These changes were added to the
Zoning Ordinance in May 2009. Further
modifications to these standards will be
implemented; in addition, the City will
increase allowances for compact parking
and tandem parking.
Completed
Implementing
Action G-17,
removed
Action G-17: Revise the Zoning Ordinance to: establish minimum density requirements for residential-only projects to ensure efficient use of land, identify criteria and appropriate locations in non-residential zones for residential-only projects, increase allowed building heights and reduce parking requirements in the Downtown Core to accommodate 4 stories/50 feet, and in appropriate General Commercial districts, 3 stories and 40 feet, to encourage affordable housing, higher density housing, including rental, housing cooperatives, condominiums, and other housing opportunities. Establish appropriate stepback requirements for increased number of stories beyond those currently permitted.
E. Fair Housing
Goal E-1: Eliminate Housing
Discrimination
Sebastopol values diversity of its
population and protection of
housing rights for its citizens. The
City strives to ensure that all
households have equal access to
the City’s housing resources.
Goal D: Ensure
Fair Access to
Housing
Policy E-1: The City will work to
eliminate all unlawful discrimination in
housing with respect to age, race,
gender, sexual orientation, marital or
familial status, ethnic background,
disability, medical condition, or other
arbitrary factors, so that all residents
can obtain decent housing throughout
the City.
Goal F-1: Promote Energy
Conservation in Residential
Development
The City of Sebastopol will
promote energy efficiency in
residential development within
the City, including reduction of
energy use through better design
and construction in individual
homes, and also through energy
efficient urban design.
Goal C.
Preserve and
Sustain
Exisiting
Housing Unit
Policy F-1: The City will continue to
undertake a variety of activities to
achieve energy efficiency in residential
development in conformance with State
laws.
Policy F-2: The City will continue to
undertake and encourage additional
strategies to reduce energy use,
including exempting rooftop
photovoltaic standards from Design
Review and allowing small wind
turbines.
F. Energy and Natural Resource Conservation
D-1
C-4
C-4
C-4
A-3
G. Remove Government Constraints
Goal F-2: Promote Resource
Conservation in Residential
Development
Goal C.
Preserve and
Sustain
Exisiting
Policy F-3: The City shall consider
additional energy and natural resource
conservation programs.
Goal G-1: Continue to Promote
Land Use Policies and
Development Standards to
Facilitate Housing Production
During the 2003 Housing
Element Period, Sebastopol
made changes to its Zoning
Ordinance in order to increase
allowable densities, increase
allowance for affordable housing
projects, increase height limits in
Downtown, develop standards
for SROs, promote mixed use
development in the City’s nonresidential zones, reduce parking requirements for larger units,
and simplify setback and building
separation requirements in RMM and RM-H Zoning Districts.
The City will continue to examine
its Zoning Ordinance in
relationship to Housing Element
goals.
Goal A:
Facilitate
Development
of Housing
Policy G-1: The City will modify its
Zoning Ordinance to provide provisions
for a greater range of housing types,
such as tiny houses to encourage
opportunities for special needs and
affordable housing.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Action G-5: Review the Zoning Ordinance to determine if modifications should be made to accommodate land trusts.
Policy G-4: The City shall review its
current development impact fee
program to determine whether
appropriate levels of fees are charged
for multifamily units and second units
based on demand they create for public
facilities and infrastructure. The City will
also consider a revised fee schedule for
market rate housing based on unit size
or valuation.
Removedstatutorily
required to be
reviewed every
5 years
Action G-8: Reduce fees for smaller types of housing, including second units, and also review fee structures for housing based on square footage, number of bedrooms, or valuation to ensure that such fee structures are equitable.
Action G-6: Modify the Zoning Ordinance to allow second units as a permitted use consistent with State law, increase the size allowance, and consider revisions to standards for second units related to unit height, setbacks, and other relevant standards to facilitate such units.
Action G-9: Continue to offer reduced setback requirements for detached one-story second units.
Policy G-6: The City will assist new
development by increasing the amount
of time that issued permits remain valid.
See Action of
New Program
A-3.2 Action G-7: Study changes in its Subdivision Ordinance to reduce land requirements for new housing development.
Policy G-7: The City shall monitor its
Growth Management Program to
ensure that it does not adversely affect
the provision of housing units for all
segments of the population.
Action G-10: Continue to evaluate implementation of the Growth Management Program on an annual basis, including requested allocations by types of units (single family, multifamily, and mobile homes) and allocations by affordability level, as well as the impact of procedural requirements, including the allocation roll-over policy.
Action G-11: Following adoption of the General Plan Update, update the Growth Management Ordinance to reflect anticipated growth accommodated under the General Plan and known infrastructure and public services constraints. Further, If the annual review identifies issues with the Growth Management Program that may adversely affect the City’s housing obligations under State Law, the City commits to revising the Program to address identified obstacles to housing development. Prior to any revisions to the Program, seek input from housing stakeholders on the Program and any proposed changes. The City will ensure that the Program is consistent with requirements of State Law.
Policy G-8: The City shall monitor the
combined impact of its Growth
Management Program and Design
Review Process on the City’s ability to
meet housing demand from all income
groups of the population.
B-1
Action G-12: The City will continue to monitor all housing developments to determine whether City regulations and procedures, such as Growth Management and Design Review, result in higher development costs or limit the availability of new units affordable to middle, moderate, and lower income residents.
Action G-13: Review Sebastopol’s current approval process to determine whether it is possible to make the Planning Commission the final authority for subdivisions of four or fewer parcels.
Action G-14: Study other ways to reduce the amount of time that project approval requires.
Action G-15: Modify Sebastopol’s density bonus policy so that it is consistent with State law, including reduced parking requirements for housing projects that are eligible to receive a density bonus.
Action G-18: Prepare design guidelines for multifamily and mixed use residential projects and adopt methods to streamline the design review process for such projects.
Action H-1: Continue the preparation of annual reports that summarize progress towards Housing Element goals, policies, and programs.
Policy H-2: The City shall consider
retaining the services of a housing
coordinator consultant when
considering new projects. The City has
successfully used the services of a
housing coordinator consultant on
recent affordable housing projects and
will continue to use consulting
assistance on an as needed basis.
See Actions of
New Program
B-2.1
Policy H-3: The City shall continue to
coordinate housing activities with the
Sonoma County Housing Authority or
other suitable organization to
administer City's affordable housing
programs.
See Actions of
New Program
D-4.3
Action H-2: Continue to rely on Sonoma County to assist with housing related activities, such as initial certification of income eligibility.
Goal H-2: Work with
Professionals and Organizations
to Administer and Expand
Affordable Housing
Goal C.
Preserve and
Sustain
Exisiting
Housing Unit
Goal A:
Facilitate
Development
of Housing
Policy G-3: The City will consider
modifying its Subdivision Ordinance
Standards to reduce street widths, culPolicy G-5: The City will encourage second units.
Policy G-9: The City will assess the
project approval process to see if there
are additional ways to reduce the
amount of time the process requires.
This assessment will recognize that the
Goal H-1: Continue to Report on
Housing Activities
Policy H-1: The City shall prepare an
Annual Report that describes activities
undertaken in support of the City's
Policy G-10: The City shall modify its
density bonus so that it is in
conformance with the State Density
Bonus Law.
Removed,
Statutory
requirement
See New
Program A-4.1
B-2
Goal G-3: Remove Government
Constraints that Affect the
Amount of Land Required for
New Housing
The regulatory process is one of
the principal ways in which a
small city can reduce housing
costs. The City will review its land
use regulations for new units to
determine if it is possible to
make revisions that will result in
reducing land required for new
developments, consequently
reducing land costs for market
rate and affordable housing
developments.
N/A Statutory
requirement
A-3
H. Housing Policy Update and Program Administration
B-1
Removed, per
Staff guidance
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Draft Housing Strategy
The Housing Strategy will form the housing policy roadmap for the City of Sebastopol. The Housing Strategy incorporates data and community input received and analyzed and suggests new policies and programs to respond to changing housing needs and to meet new statutory requirements under State Housing Element law. The Housing Strategy maintains the core goals from the 2014 Housing Element; where appropriate, goals and objectives from the 2014 Housing Element have been combined or rewritten. Parenthetical references after each Policy and Program indicate whether the policy or program is new or revised from the 2014 Housing Element. Existing programs that were completed in the previous cycle have not been carried forward. Policies and Programs that represent new or substantial changes from the 2014 Housing Element are indicated with a checkbox ✅ The Draft Housing Strategy is structured as a series of goals and subgoals with related policies. Related to each policy, there are one or more programs that the City will implement over the 2023-2031 planning period. These programs are listed by title only under each Policy below; the full program language is provided in the Housing Action Plan section beginning on page 6. Consistent with State requirements, each program identifies specific metrics and milestones, the implementing agency or agencies, and funding. Finally, the Housing Strategy sets forth quantified objectives for housing construction, rehabilitation, and conservation within the 2023-2031 planning period.
GOALS, POLICIES, PROGRAMS, AND QUANTIFIED OBJECTIVES
A. Facilitate the Development of Housing
GOAL A: Facilitate the development of a variety of housing types by maintaining adequate sites for housing and encouraging the production of housing to meet diverse needs for all economic segments of the population.
Implementing Policies and Programs
Policy A-1 Maintain a sufficient inventory of suitably zoned sites at all income levels throughout the planning period (Revision of previous policy A-1)
Program A-1.1 No Net Loss of Residential Capacity to Accommodate RHNA ✅ (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program A-1.2 No Reduction of Density without Replacement Sites ✅ (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
Program A-1.3 Inventory Monitoring
(Revises and combines previous actions A-1, A-2, A-3)
Policy A-2 Maintain an administrative list of additional sites with appropriate zoning that can be added to the City’s sites inventory if and when an analysis provided through the Annual Planning Report indicates that sufficient sites may not exist to accommodate the City’s remaining RHNA, by income level, for the planning period. (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)✅ Program A-2.1 Administrative List of Additional Sites ✅ (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
Policy A-3 Encourage a variety of housing types such as multi-family units, mixed use housing, ADU and JADUs, single-family attached (townhouses), and other typologies that make housing more affordable. (Revises and combines previous policies C-4, G-1)
Program A-3.1 Objective Design Standards Program ✅
(New, addresses stakeholder feedback and recent State laws) Program A-3.2 Support Efforts of Affordable Housing Developers (Revises and combines previous actions D-1, D-2, D-4, D-6, D-13, D-17, D-18) (See also Programs A-4.1, A-4.2, A-4.3, B-2.1)
Program A-3.3 Missing Middle Housing
(Revises and combines previous actions D-7, G-4, G-7)
Program A-3.4 Workforce Housing Overlay Zone✅
(New, incorporates previous action A-4)
Program A-3.5 Encourage the Development of Accessory Dwelling Units ✅ (New, addresses AB 1398 requirements and community input) Policy A-4 Promote the development of new housing units affordable to extremely low, very low-, low-, and moderate-income households and housing units that are affordable to and appropriate for special needs households, including seniors, extremely low-income households, disabled persons, developmentally disabled persons, farmworkers, large families, and persons experiencing homelessness. (Revision of previous policies C-4, D-1)
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program A-4.1 Density Bonus Incentives
(Revision of previous action D-9)
Program A-4.2 Fee Mitigation and Transparency
(Revision of previous action D-8, responds to AB 602 requirements) Program A-4.3 Affordable Housing Funding
(Revision of previous action C-3)
B. Remove Governmental Constraints
Goal B: Mitigate governmental constraints to the development, improvement, and maintenance of housing.
Implementing Policies and Programs
Policy B-1 Continually monitor the City’s codes, procedures, and practices to ensure they do not pose a constraint to the development and retention of housing. (Revises and combines previous policies B-1, G7, G-8) Program B-1.1 Monitor and review the effectiveness of the Housing Element Programs and other City activities in addressing the City’s housing needs in a manner that does not discriminate
(Revises and combines previous actions B-1, B-2, F-2, G-3, G-10, G-12) Program B-1.2 Revise Reasonable Accommodation Procedures to Streamline and Reduce Barriers✅
(New, addresses identified constraint)
Policy B-2 Expedite application review, permitting, and inspection procedures for affordable housing projects. (Revision of previous policy G-9)
Program B-2.1 Expedite Processing for Affordable Housing Projects (Revises and combines previous actions G-14 and policy H-2) Policy B-3 Take all efforts to ensure City staff and decision-makers have the most up-to-date knowledge about housing trends, laws, and issues. (New, addresses stakeholder feedback)✅ Program B-3.1 Monitor Housing Trends, Laws, and Issues ✅ (New, addresses stakeholder feedback)
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Policy B-4 Ensure easy access to and transparency of housing development information on the City’s website pursuant to Government Code 65940.1(a)(1). (Revision of previous action D-8; responds to stakeholder feedback and AB 602 requirements).
Program A-4.2 Fee Mitigation and Transparency
(Revision of previous action D-8, responds to AB 602 requirements) C. Housing Conservation
GOAL C: Sustain and preserve existing housing units at all income levels Implementing Policies and Programs
Policy C-1 Monitor the status of at-risk units throughout the planning period to identify units that are at risk of imminent conversion to market-rate units and work with non-profit housing organizations to preserve at-risk units. (Revision of previous policy B-3) Program C-1.1 Safeguard Affordable Housing Inventory
(Revision of previous action B-4)
Policy C-2 Ensure safe, decent housing by enforcing habitability standards that do not discriminate and that protect the occupant’s cultural, socio-economic, and/or accessibility needs. (Combines previous actions, addresses Fair Housing issues with enforcement of codes) Program B-1.1 Monitor and review the effectiveness of the Housing Element Programs and other City activities in addressing the City’s housing needs in a manner that does not discriminate
(Revises and combines previous actions B-1, B-2, F-2, G-3, G-10, G-12) Policy C-3 Provide rehabilitation assistance to income-eligible homeowners for repairs related to safety, habitability, and/or accessibility standards to reduce the likelihood of substandard housing in the City. (Revision of previous policy B-2)
Program C-2.1 Rehabilitation Assistance✅
(New, responds to findings in fair housing analysis, demographic trends, and community input) Policy C-4 Promote energy efficiency in all new and existing structures. (Revises and combines previous policies F-1, F-2, F-3)
Program C-3.1 Provide Information and Promote Energy Conservation (Revises and combines previous actions F-3, F-4, F-5, F-6, F-7, F-8, F-9) (See also Program B-1.1)
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
D. Fair Housing
GOAL D: Ensure Fair Access to Quality Housing and Services for All Members of the Community, including those with Special Needs.
Implementing Policies and Programs
Policy D-1 To ensure all residents have access to adequate housing, the City will work to promote and affirmatively further fair housing opportunities throughout the community for all persons regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, ethnic background, disability, medical condition, or characteristics protected by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and any other State and Federal fair housing and planning law. (Revision of previous policy E-1) See Programs A-3.1, B-1.1, D-1.1, D-2.1 for specific actions that support Fair Housing Policy D-2 The City will encourage long-term and permanent affordability of lower and moderateincome and special needs housing. (Revision of previous policy C-3) Program A-4.3 Affordable Housing Funding
(Revision of previous action C-3)
Program C-1.1 Safeguard Affordable Housing Inventory
(Revision version of previous action B-4)
Policy D-3 The City will continue to educate the community about fair and affordable housing. (Revises and combines previous policies D-5, D-8)
Program D-1.1 Administer Housing Services and Provide Outreach and Education (Revises and combines previous actions D-11, D-16, E-1, H-3) Policy D-4 The City will continue efforts to improve housing opportunities for special needs households, including seniors, disabled persons, developmentally disabled persons, extremely low-income households, farmworkers, large families, and persons experiencing homelessness. (Revises and combines previous policies D-6, D-7, D-9, D-10) Program D-2.1 Landlord Education
(Revises and combines previous actions E-2, E-3)
Program D-2.2 By Right Permanent Supportive Housing and Low Barrier Navigation Centers ✅
(New, responds to AB 2162 Requirements, SB 48 requirements, and community input) (See Also Programs A-1.3, A-3.2, A-4.3, D-1.1)
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Policy D-5 The city will promote programs that offer lower- income households pathways to homeownership.✅
(New, responds to community input and demographic trends) Program D-3.1 First Time Homebuyer Program and Affordable Homeownership Resources ✅ (New, responds to community input and demographic trends) Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Housing Action Plan
Program A-1.1 No Net Loss of Residential Capacity to Accommodate RHNA ✅ (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
To ensure sufficient residential capacity to accommodate the RHNA for each income category throughout the planning period, staff will develop and implement a formal, ongoing (project-byproject) administrative evaluation procedure pursuant to Government Code section 65863. The evaluation procedure will track the number of lower, moderate-, and above moderate-income units constructed to calculate the remaining unmet RHNA. The evaluation procedure will also track the number of units built on the identified sites to determine the remaining site capacity, by income category, and will be updated as developments are approved. The sites inventory will be updated every year as needed when the Annual Planning Report (APR) is completed, and the APR with the updated inventory will be available on the City’s website.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Develop procedure
prior to the first 6th
cycle reporting
period; evaluate
annually thereafter in
conjunction with the
APR
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental Budget
(General Fund)
SB 166- No Net Loss;
ensure adequate
sites to
accommodate the
RHNA throughout the
planning period
Program A-1.2 No Reduction of Density without Replacement Sites ✅ (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
To ensure sufficient residential capacity to accommodate the RHNA for each income category throughout the planning period, no project approval or other action that reduces the density or development capacity of a site shall be undertaken unless sufficient remaining sites are available or additional adequate sites are identified prior to the approval of the development and made available within 180 days of approval of the development. Identification of the replacement sites and the necessary actions to make the site(s) available will be adopted prior to or concurrent with the approval of the development.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Ongoing as needed Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
SB 166- No Net Loss
Program A-1.3 Inventory Monitoring
(Combines previous actions A-1, A-2, A-3)
To ensure sufficient residential capacity to accommodate the RHNA for each income category throughout the planning period, the City will continue to monitor the land supply in inventory including:
• Sites for single-family and multifamily residential development • Sites to accommodate special needs populations including seniors, disabled persons, developmentally disabled persons, extremely-low income households, farmworkers, large families, and homeless persons
• Multifamily sites at densities to facilitate the production of housing affordable to lower income households
• Sites readily served by infrastructure
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Annually, due at time
of and reported out
in conjunction with
APR;
Publish land supply
in inventory on City’s
website 30 days and
update annually
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
SB 166- No Net Loss
Lessons learned from
previous Housing
Element
Program A-2.1 Administrative List of Additional Sites ✅ (New, responds to SB 166- No Net Loss)
To ensure sufficient residential capacity to accommodate the RHNA for each income category throughout the planning period, the City will create and maintain a list of additional sites with appropriate zoning that could be added to the City’s sites inventory when an analysis provided through the Annual Planning Report indicates that sufficient sites may not exist to accommodate the City’s remaining RHNA, by income level, for the planning period.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Create list 3-6
months consider
adding sites from
this list to inventory
as needed on an
annual basis
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
SB 166- No Net Loss;
Identify adequate
sites to
accommodate the
RHNA
Program A-3.1 Objective Design Standards Program ✅
(New, addresses stakeholder feedback and recent State laws) The discretionary review process can act as a constraint to housing development and increase the overall cost housing. To facilitate non-discretionary permitting, the City will adopt Objective Design Standards that involve no personal or subjective judgement by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to external criteria available to the public. (New, addresses stakeholder feedback and governmental constraints)
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Adopt within 8-14
months of Housing
Element Adoption
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Recent State laws
prohibiting
discretionary
reviews; stakeholder
feedback;
address and remove
governmental
constraints
Program A-3.2 Support Efforts of Affordable Housing Developers (Revises and combines previous actions D-1, D-2, D-4 D-6, D-13, D-17, D-18) Housing development in Sebastopol over the 5th planning cycle did not reach the lower and moderate-income quantified objectives. In order to better match the City’s quantified objectives for the 6th Cycle planning period, the City will take more robust financial and supportive actions to promote the development, preservation, and provision of housing units affordable to lower and moderate-income households including special needs households.
Financial actions shall include:
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
• Providing City housing funds, including linkage fees and inclusionary housing fees when available, to help subsidize development costs to build affordable housing units with priority funding applied to projects where 5 percent of units are deed-restricted affordable to extremely-low income households
• Allowing Planning-Director approval of project extensions • Deferring collection of residential development fees until final building inspection or certificate of occupancy (see A-4.2)
• Supporting applications for available and appropriate funding for all projects consistent with the City’s General Plan and funding priorities:
The Home Investment Partnership Program
Community Development Block Grants
Low Income Housing Tax Credits
The California Housing Accelerator Program
The California Housing Finance Agency
The Golden State Acquisition Fund
The Infill Infrastructure Grant Program
The Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant
The Local Housing Trust Fund
The Multifamily Housing Program
The Predevelopment Loan Program
The Supportive Housing Multifamily Housing Program
The Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program Project Based Section 8 Assistance
Technical and Non-Financial Supportive Actions shall include:
• Creating an informational page on the City website with information about available sites in the City and available funding resources
• Annually contacting a list of known developers provided by the Let’s Talk Housing Napa Sonoma Collaborative
• Contributing to a region-wide project in conjunction with the Let’s Talk Housing Napa Sonoma Collaborative to map all available housing sites with relevant development information and TCAC Opportunity Index Scores
• The City will utilize the above mapping to publish an easy-to-understand popular summary on the City’s website. The summary shall identify available housing opportunity sites in Sebastopol and will include a map, and site-specific development information
• Providing no-cost staff assistance to assess development strategies • Providing a formal, no-cost pre-application for AB 52 Housing Projects • Give priority to permit processing for projects providing affordable housing when requested. Expand application of processing priority to projects providing housing for seniors and other special needs groups, including persons with physical and Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
developmental disabilities, large families, extremely- low income households, farmworker housing, and homeless (Program B-2.1)
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Ongoing; report
efforts and successes
in APR
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council, City
Manager
Where feasible,
leverage State and
Federal financing,
including Low
Income Housing Tax
Credits, CalHFA
multifamily housing
assistance programs,
HCD Multifamily
Housing Loans, CDBG
funds, HOME funds,
and other available
financing
Assist in the
development of
adequate housing to
meet the needs
lower and moderateincome households;
addresses
community input;
addresses
stakeholder input;
lessons learned from
previous Housing
Element
Program A-3.3 Missing Middle Housing
(Revises and combines previous actions D-7, G-4, G-7)
Community input indicated strong support for missing middle housing which can help meet the need for more diverse housing types to meet the needs of shifting demographics in the City. The City will increase opportunities for small lot single-family homes, such as tiny homes and cottage court housing developments by either by identifying additional sites for the R-5 zoning designation, or by amending the Code to allow up to 3 units on qualifying single-family parcels, subject to objective design standards.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
The City will take XX
action by 202X of
Housing Element
Adoption
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Addresses
stakeholder
feedback; addresses
demographic data
and trends;
addresses
community input
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program A-3.4 Workforce Housing Overlay Zone
(New, incorporates of previous action A-4)
Infill development is critical to accommodating growth while reducing sprawl. Stakeholders indicated support for infill and adaptive reuse development to help meet the City’s housing needs. The City will adopt a Workforce Housing Overlay Program as a market-driven way to integrate housing into areas near jobs and transit. The program will allow housing to be added to underutilized commercial sites, empty parking lots, and other parcels near jobs, transit, or both by providing an additional set of development options that landowners can choose to exercise at their discretion through the application process.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Adopt program into
Code by MONTH XXX
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Lessons learned from
previous Housing
Element, Stakeholder
feedback.
Program A-3.5 Encourage the Development of Accessory Dwelling Units (New, addresses State law and community input)
Demographic analysis revealed the need for affordable housing options that would be suitable for the aging population, persons with disabilities, and younger people looking for entry-level housing choices. Community input indicated robust support for ADU and JADU development as a way to increase the housing supply. Additionally, ADU and JADU development provides a unique opportunity for homeowners to increase their property value. Based on community input, the City expects a significant increase in the rate of ADU and JADU development. In order to facilitate homeowners who are interested in developing the City shall take the following actions:
Promote ADUs and JADUs: The City anticipates developing ADUs in numbers that exceed what it has built, on average, over the last 4 years. To promote development, the City will make builders, property owners and members of the public aware of opportunities to facilitate ADU construction within the city by creating a dedicated ADU/JADU development website, and by featuring ADUs at the annual Housing Expo. Additionally, the City will streamline processing of applications for conforming ADUs by eliminating the planning entitlement process and relying instead on planning department review and sign-off of the building permit.
Legalizing Existing Structures as ADUs: The majority of ADUs within the City to date have been conversions of existing structures into ADUs. Staff have identified a way to facilitate the legalization of existing structures into converted, legal ADUs by reducing the need for qualified Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
conversions to go through the planning commission process for determination of a nonconforming use. Rather, the City would establish a program that would allow this determination to be made at the Staff-level following a site visit, and consultation with the planning and building departments. In certain situations, code enforcement penalties would be reduced or waived.
In its 2024 APR, the City will evaluation its progress in achieving its increased production goals for ADUs and JADUs. If it is determined that the new numbers are not likely to be met, the City will put into place an additional action to better promote and facilitate their production, as follows:
Financial Support for ADUs: If the production of ADUs is falling behind projections by the end of the 2nd year on the planning period, the City will dedicate annual funding to the Napa-Sonoma ADU Center for the provision of services to facilitate ADU production to utilize their services beyond what is publicly available on their website including the provision of on-site ADU suitability evaluations, development of marketing materials, pre-approved ADU plans and referrals to builders and financing for ADUs.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Create and publish
ADU/JADU development
webpage by January
2024; Adopt ADU
conversion program
within 6-9 months of
Housing Element
adoption; Annually
monitor and report
progress of production
goals for ADUs and
JADUs, if production does
not meet projections by
end of 2nd year of
planning period the City
will dedicate annual
funding to the NapaSonoma ADU Center in
exchange for services.
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Government Code
65583(c)(7);
Addresses
stakeholder
feedback; addresses
demographic data
and trends
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program A-4.1 Density Bonus Incentives
(Revision of previous action D-9)
The California State Density Bonus Law incentivizes affordable and other specialized housing production by requiring local agencies to grant an increase to the maximum allowable residential density for eligible projects, and to support the development of eligible projects at greater residential densities by granting incentives, concessions, waivers, or reductions to applicable development regulations.
To increase the amount of lower and moderate- income units created, the City will encourage affordable housing developers to request density bonuses and incentives by promoting them on the City’s website and at the bi-annual housing fair.
The City will also explore the feasibility of adopting a local density bonus ordinance with incentives and bonuses beyond the current statutory requirements.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Amend Code within
3 years of Housing
Element Adoption
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Lessons learned from
previous Housing
Element; addresses
stakeholder input
Program A-4.2 Fee Mitigation and Transparency
(Revision of previous action D-8, responds to AB 602 requirements) Impact fees are levied on new housing to pay for the services needed to support those developments and to mitigate the impacts of growth however, such fees and exactions can affect the cost and feasibility of developing affordable housing.
In accordance with new with requirements to the Mitigation Fee Act, the City shall take the following actions:
Nexus Fee Action: To mitigate the impact of these fees the City currently bases impact fees proportional to the square footage of a new development project per a 2021 nexus study. Per new statutory requirements to Mitigation Fee Act, the City will update its nexus study in 2029.
Action of Transparency: The City will make the following information prominently available on the City’s website:
Postings that must be updated within 30 days of any change to the information:
• A current schedule of fees, exactions, and affordability requirements that apply to each parcel
• All zoning ordinances and development standards that apply to each parcel Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
• A list of all requirements for a development project
• The current and five previous annual fee reports covering development impact fees as well as water and sewer connection fees and
• An archive of impact fee nexus studies and cost of service studies conducted by the City since January 1, 2018
Postings that must be updated twice a year:
• Upon the certificate of occupancy or final inspection of a new housing unit, whichever occurs later, the City must request from the developer the total amount of impact fees levied on the project and display that information on the City’s website Public Comment Procedure Action: The City will abide by the new public comment procedure requirements that authorize any member of the public to submit evidence regarding impact fee violations.
Additionally, to limit the costs associated with developing housing, the City will defer fee collection for residential developments until final building inspection or issuance of the certificate of occupancy, whichever occurs first, unless the requirements of Government Code 66007(b) have been met.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Provide easily
accessible fee
information on City’s
website by January
2023; Publish any
updates within 30
days of a completed
fee study reflecting
any new or revised
fees; update nexus
fee study in 2029
Planning
Department, City
Manager
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
AB 602 – Mitigation
Fee Act; review and
revise from previous
Housing Element
Program A-4.3 Affordable Housing Funding
(Revision of previous action C-3)
Financial constraints represent the most significant non-governmental barrier to developing affordable housing. The City will establish a partnership with the Sonoma County Community Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Development Commission to identify additional potential mechanisms to assist with City funding of permanently affordable housing.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Initiate partnership
with Sonoma County
Community
Development
Commission within
18 months of
Housing Element
Adoption; Report
efforts and successes
in APR annually
thereafter
Planning
Department, City
Attorney, Sonoma
County Community
Development
Commission
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Lessons learned from
previous Housing
Element
Program B-1.1 Monitor and review the effectiveness of the Housing Element Programs and other City activities in addressing the City’s housing needs in a manner that does not discriminate
(Revises and combines previous actions B-1, B-2, F-2, G-3, G-10, G-12) It is necessary to establish an ongoing monitoring program to ensure the implemented programs and adopted ordinances continue to meet the needs of residents, conform to State laws, and do not pose as barriers to development as such the City will take the following action:
Action to Monitor and Report: The City will continue to monitor the implementation of ordinances, codes, policies, and procedures to ensure that they conform with State laws, promote energy conservation, do not pose an unreasonable barrier to housing access, and that they continue to provide reasonable accommodation for the disabled. Program implementation will be tracked and reported annually in conjunction with the Annual Planning Report (APR).
Code enforcement is an important government tool designed to keep neighborhoods and the people who live in them safe and healthy. To ensure that standard operating procedures do not penalize or displace vulnerable or special needs populations the City will take the following action:
Proactive Code Enforcement Action: The City will develop a proactive and reasonable enforcement program that focuses residential code enforcement activities on situations that pose an imminent threat to public health and safety. Such activities do not include minor alterations made to residences without benefit of permit when such alterations are made to accommodate a special need or disability of the resident(s), or for interior alterations made to allow or honor the residents’ cultural needs or practices, unless those alteration pose an immediate threat to the safety of the residents or neighborhood. Residents requiring alterations to accommodate a special need or disability will be guided to the City's Reasonable Accommodations program.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Program will be
developed by
MONTH 202X.
Results of monitoring
reported annually in
the APR thereafter
Planning
Department, Building
Department, Public
Works Department,
City Manager,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
AB 686- AFFH;
lessons learned from
previous Housing
Element
Program B-1.2 Revise Reasonable Accommodation Procedures to Streamline and Reduce Barriers✅
(New, addresses identified constraint)
The Federal Fair Housing Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (the Acts) require that local agencies provide reasonable accommodation in the application of zoning laws and other land use regulations, policies, and procedures for persons with disabilities who are seeking access to housing of their choice. A request for reasonable accommodation under the Acts may include a modification or exception to the rules, standards, and practices for the siting, development, and use of housing when those regulations would eliminate regulatory barriers and provide the person with a disability equal opportunity to the housing of their choice.
The City has established a Reasonable Accommodations procedure, as required by the Acts, but the procedure and cost have been identified as constraints to the development of housing and the provision of accessible housing. The city will review its current practices and costs to bring them in line with the State’s model ordinance.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Complete review by
the end of 2024;
revise ordinance or
procedures as
needed by July 2025.
Planning
Department, Building
Department, City
Manager, Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
AB 686- AFFH;
addresses
governmental
constraints
Program B-2.1 Expedite Processing for Affordable Housing Projects (Revises and combines previous actions G-14 and policy H-2) Expedited processing moves projects with an affordable component to the front of the line in zoning, planning, and building permit processing. Ideally this can shave months off the Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
entitlement process. Faster processing reduces risk and financing costs while allowing developers to bring projects to market faster. To encourage the development of affordable housing the City will continue to expedite processing for affordable housing projects to support the streamlined approval processing for affordable housing projects, including SB9 and SB35 projects.
The City will expand application of processing priority to projects providing housing for seniors and other special needs groups, including persons with physical and developmental disabilities, large families, extremely-low income households, farmworker housing, and homeless. Expedited processing includes one-stop preliminary review, concurrent application review, designation of a primary contact, and fast-tracking of construction and grading plan review, permitting and inspection.
To ensure that these services are available throughout the planning period, the City shall maintain adequate staffing levels and, if necessary, utilize outside planning or plan review services to facilitate expedited processing.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Report efforts and
successes in APR
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Review and revise
from previous
Housing Element;
addresses
stakeholder input
Program B-3.1 Monitor Housing Trends, Laws, and Issues✅ (New, addresses stakeholder feedback)
Stakeholder feedback revealed support for ongoing educational procedures for the City’s decision-makers. To ensure both elected and appointed decisionmakers are making educated and informed planning decisions, the City will continue to monitor legislation, trends, and policy issues related to the development and maintenance of affordable housing in the City of Sebastopol. Ongoing efforts include but are not limited to:
• Attending housing and legislative review conferences
• Attending training workshops
• Training on new legislation, State requirements, policies, and procedures pertaining to housing programs
• Participate in regional planning efforts coordinated by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and interfacing with other local jurisdictions, the County of Sonoma, and the public
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Additionally, all future and incumbent members of the Planning Commission shall be required to complete a commissioner training course covering the essentials of citizen planning including planning ethics, comprehensive plans, site plans, approval processes, planning law, zoning, and the essential role of the public in planning.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Initiate Planning
Commissioner
Training by January
2023; Report efforts
and successes in APR
annually thereafter
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Attorney/City
Manager, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Housing
Accountability Act
(HAA); addresses
stakeholder feedback
Program C-1.1 Safeguard Affordable Housing Inventory
(Revision of previous action B-4)
State law requires jurisdictions to address the risk of loss of affordable units as their affordable restriction restrictions expire and they convert to market-rate housing. The City will monitor all properties and make contact with owners and non-profit partners not less than three years before restrictions are set to expire to discuss the City’s desire to preserve complexes as affordable housing. Participation from agencies interested in purchasing and/or managing atrisk units will be sought to identify options to ensure continuing affordability. The City will coordinate with owners of expiring subsidies to ensure tenants receive the required notices at three years, twelve month, and six months prior to the scheduled expiration of rent restrictions, as described in Government Code 65863.10. The City will work with tenants to provide education regarding tenant rights and conversion procedures pursuant to California law.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Annual monitoring
due at time of and
reported in
conjunction with
APR;
Ongoing discussions
with owners and
partners as needed
based on expiration
of subsidies
Planning Department Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Review and revise
from previous
Housing Element;
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program C-2.1 Rehabilitation Assistance✅
(New, responds to findings in fair housing analysis, demographic trends, and community input) Negative effects of code enforcement can occur when compliance measures are not economically feasible for property owners. To reduce the risk of displacement, the City will pursue grant opportunities to create a residential rehabilitation program for lower income residents. The City will work with the Community Development Commission to apply for HOME, CalHome, and CDBG funds, as well as promote Section 504 Home Repair Program loans and grants to provide housing rehabilitation loans and weatherization services for income-eligible households to improve living conditions.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Starting in 202X,
annually apply for
funding as Notices of
Funding Availability
are released
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council, City
Manager
HOME, CalHOME,
CDBG, Section 504
Grants
AB 686 - AFFH;
address and remove
governmental
constraints
Program C-3.1 Provide Information and Promote Energy Conservation (Revises and combines previous actions F-3, F-4, F-5, F-6, F-7, F-8, F-9) Planning to maximize energy efficiency, the incorporation of energy conservation, and green building features can contribute to reduced housing costs for homeowners and renters while promoting sustainable community design. The City of Sebastopol will continue to promote energy efficiency that exceeds State standards in existing residences and new residential development by providing sustainability and conservation information on the City’s website, supporting Recology’s efforts to educate the community about solid waste reduction, and utilizing CDBG and HOME funding to retrofit existing affordable units to increase energy efficiency.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Ongoing; report
efforts and successes
in APR
Planning
Department, Building
Department, Public
Works Department,
City Manager,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Title 24, CalGREEN;
addresses
community input;
revise and review
from previous
Housing Element
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program D-1.1 Administer Housing Services and Provide Outreach and Education (Revises and combines previous actions D-11, D-16, E-1, H-3) Often, special needs households face barriers to accessing information about affordable and fair housing resource and residents may not be aware of the choices available to them. The City will hold annual fair housing workshops to educate and inform the community about their right to fair housing, how to access resources, and use these workshops as an opportunity to overcome community opposition.
To help overcome barriers to accessing information, the City will develop a Fair Housing section of their website that includes tenants’ rights information, direction to available legal resources, information on how to file a Fair Housing complaint, include a City-wide affordable rental registry, and a multilingual affordable housing fact sheet highlighting the needs of the community. The information will also be made available public noticing for project hearings in addition to posting on the City’s website.
Additionally, the City shall continue to coordinate housing activities with the Sonoma County Housing Authority or other suitable organization to administer the City’s affordable Housing programs for special needs populations. The City will continue to expand upon previous coordinated efforts with local faith-based organizations and community-based organizations to provide services and resources to the unhoused population in Sebastopol. Continued bi-annual meetings with service providers and advocates for the homeless will provide the City an opportunity to identify needs and craft solutions on an ongoing basis.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Ongoing; report
efforts and successes
in APR
Add Fair Housing
information to City
website by June
2023; Hold Bi-Annual
workshops with
advocates and
service providers;
Report efforts and
successes in APR
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
AB 686- AFFH;
address demographic
data; addresses
stakeholder input
Program D-2.1 Landlord Education
(Revises and combines previous actions E-2, E-3)
The Fair Employment and Housing Act protects against source of income discrimination. The City will work with the CDC to develop a landlord education and outreach program that will include Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
information on source of income discrimination and Housing Choice Voucher programs. The goal of the program will be to reduce the likelihood of discrimination, ensure that landlords are maintaining Section 8 compliance, and to expand the location of participating Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher properties. This information will be included on the City’s website.
Additionally, the City will continue to require nondiscrimination clauses in rental agreements and deed restrictions for housing constructed with City Agreements.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Contact CDC about
ongoing efforts to
educate landlords by
end of 2023; report
efforts and successes
in APR
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council, City
Manager
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
Fair Employment and
Housing Act; AB 686
- AFFH; review and
revise from previous
Housing Element
Program D-2.2 By Right Permanent Supportive Housing and Low Barrier Navigation Centers ✅
(New, responds to AB 2162 Requirements, SB 48 requirements, and community input) Decades of research shows providing people with a stable, affordable place to live that does not limit length of stay, along with services that promote housing stability—the combination known as “supportive housing”—ends homelessness among people with the greatest vulnerabilities, including people experiencing chronic homelessness.
The City will amend the Code to allow permanent supportive housing and low barrier navigation centers by right in zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted, including nonresidential zones permitting multifamily uses in compliance with Government Codes 65660 and 65651 as amended by AB 2162 and SB 48, respectively.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Amend Code within
6-9 months of
Housing Element
Adoption
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Manager
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
SB 48 – Low Barrier
Navigation Centers;
AB 2162 – Supportive
Housing; AB 686 -
AFFH; addresses
community input
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
Program D-3.1 First Time Homebuyer Program and Affordable Homeownership Resources✅ (New, responds to community input and demographic trends) Despite the volatility of the housing market, numerous studies have demonstrated that homeownership leads to greater wealth accumulation when compared with renting. Lower and moderate-income homebuyers may face significant financial barriers when seeking home ownership. The City will seek to establish a First Time Homebuyer Program in coordination with the Housing Land Trust of Sonoma County (HLT) to monitor the development of permanently affordable homeownership opportunities in the City of Sebastopol.
Additionally, The City will publish resources to prospective lower income home buyers on the City website including information about the new First Time Homebuyer Program, Burbank Housing and Habitat for Humanity who provide affordable homeownership through subsidies, and information about CalHOME and CalHFA financing options.
Timeline: Responsibility: Funding: Statute or Other
Consideration:
Adopt program
within by MONTH
202X; Add
information to City
website by July 2023
Planning
Department,
Planning
Commission, City
Council, City
Manager
Departmental
Budget (General
Fund)
AB 686 – AFFH;
addresses
demographic data;
addresses
community input
Quantified Objectives
Income Levels Construction Rehabilitation Preservation
Extremely Low 28 TBD
Very Low 27 TBD
Low 25 6 TBD
Moderate 35 TBD
Above Moderate 92 TBD
Total 207 6 TBD
Non-Unit Quantified Objectives
Income Levels Safe Parking SRO beds Other
Severely Low 6 2 4
Extremely Low 6 2
Very Low 2 6
Total 14 10 4
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022
2015 Goal
2023 Goals Update for
Draft 2015 Policy
2023 Policies
Update for Draft 2015 Action/Program Description
A. Identification of Adequate
Sites
Action A-1: Continue to monitor the land supply to ensure sufficient developable land is planned and zoned to accommodate the City’s RHNA, including sites for single family and multifamily residential development, and to accommodate special needs populations, including seniors, disabled persons, developmentally disabled persons, farmworkers, large families, and homeless persons.
Action A-2: Continue to monitor the supply of additional multifamily sites at densities to facilitate production of housing affordable to extremely low, very low, and low income households.
Action A-3: Maintain an inventory of sites that are readily or already served by infrastructure. This inventory is to be provided on the City’s website and updated periodically.
Action A-4: Review City-owned parking lots for possible use as affordable housing and mixed-use sites, provided existing parking is maintained.
Policy A-2: While the City is able to accommodate its
share of the regional housing need without rezoning
during the current Housing Element period, to the extent necessary, the City will conisder land use redesignation in order to accommodate specific projects.
Completed
implementing action
A-5, removed
Action A-5: Consider land use redesignations, if they are needed.
B. Housing Conservation
Policy B-1: The City will continue to enforce housing
codes and regulations to correct code violations in the most expeditious manner to protect the integrity of
housing while minimizing the displacement of residents.
B-1, C-2
Action B-1: Continue to enforce its existing codes utilizing all available authorities to compel property owners to correct code violations.
Policy B-2: The City will monitor the need to replace
infrastructure as needed to conserve older
neighborhoods. When updating its Capital Improvement
Program and associated budget, the City of Sebastopol
will allocate resources to rehabilitation and/or replace infrastructure in older neighborhoods whose
infrastructure is approaching obsolescence.
C-3
Action B-3: Consider infrastructure needs in older neighborhoods when updating the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program.
Policy B-3: Sebastopol will collaborate with other public and private entities to ensure that lower income
residents are not adversely impacted by the conversion
of existing affordable housing projects to market rate
rents.
C-1
Action B-4: While there are no at-risk units that will lose rent restrictions during the 2015-2023 Housing Element period, the City will continue to monitor the potential for affordable housing to convert to market rate to safeguard the affordable housing inventory.
Action B-2: Continue to encourage rehabilitation and preservation of affordable housing. Encourage the Urban County HOME and CDBG Programs, administered by Sonoma County Community Development Commission, to assist agencies such as Rebuilding Together to preserve affordable housing and existing housing. Efforts to rehabilitate existing housing could include restoring the mobile home park and increasing affordable housing opportunities at the Fircrest Mobile Home Park, rehabilitating areas with clusters of individually owned small multifamily buildings (e.g., duplexes through fourplexes) into more comprehensive multifamily projects with a single owner and manager.
Action B-5: Consider a mobile home conversion ordinance that would protect the mobile home park in Sebastopol.
Policy B-5: Sebastopol will work with nonprofits to
determine whether there are opportunities to expand
the affordable housing supply by using formerly market
rate properties.
See new program D3.1
Policy B-6: The City will address housing used as
temporary, short-term, and/or vacation rentals, such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com rentals, to ensure that such
uses do not reduce the existing housing stock for
owners and renters and to reduce potential impacts to
neighboring uses.
Completed
Implementing Action
B-6, removed
Action B-6: Consider regulations for vacation and short-term rentals, such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com units, that address potential impacts, such as parking and increased noise, to surrounding uses and establish a permitting process to ensure cost-recovery and ability to enforce the regulations.
C. New Housing Production
Goal C-1: Facilitate New
Housing Production
The City of Sebastopol will
take necessary steps to
promote new housing
development and remove
public infrastructure
constraints to new housing
development.
Goal B: Remove
Constraints to Housing
Policy C-1: The City will continue to address public
infrastructure constraints to housing production where
feasible.
See New Program D3.1
Action C-1: Continue to implement the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program. As resources become available, develop public facilities to address new residential demand and to increase the viability of infill and reuse sites.
Policy C-2: The City will continue to enforce its
Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.
Completed
Implementing Action
C-2, removed
Action C-2: Continue to administer the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. Review the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance in consideration of recent case law and State law, and update as necessary and as may otherwise be appropriate.
As part of the review of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, encourage housing developers and stakeholders to participate in the process to ensure that potential benefits and impacts of revising the ordinance in terms of effect on housing production are fully considered.
Policy C-3: The City will encourage long-term and
permanent affordability of extremely low, very low, low, and moderate income and special needs housing.
D-2 Action C-3: Identify potential mechanisms to ensure that affordable housing (lower and moderate income) that is assisted with City funding is permanently affordable. Review the City Municipal Code to determine if this requirement should be codified.
Policy C-4: The City will encourage development of new
housing to meet a range of income levels, including
market-rate housing, and a variety of housing sizes and types.
A-3, A-4
D. Housing Diversity and
Affordability
Action D-1: Provide planning assistance to affordable housing developers and developers building units for special needs populations.
Action D-2: Continue to support affordable housing development by encouraging developers to apply for funding through the Sonoma County-administered Urban County HOME and CDBG program and using other available resources when available, such as in-lieu payments, to finance affordable housing.
Action D-13: Work with housing developers to encourage housing units and housing developments which address the requirements of special needs populations.
Action D-14: Enforce Title 24 of the California Building Code, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Municipal Code Chapter 15.80 when reviewing proposed development plans.
Action D-18: Encourage the development of housing for day laborers and undocumented workers by encouraging housing developers to expand the supply of housing for this population and providing planning assistance to interested developers.
Policy D-2: The City will encourage the expansion of
housing opportunities for extremely low income
households.
Housing for extremely low-income households includes
conventional apartment units as well as SRO units. The
City already allows SRO units in all multifamily zones, so no changes are needed to the City’s Zoning
Ordinance.
See New Program D2.1
Action D-6: To encourage affordable housing developers to preserve and provide units for extremely low-income households, the City will encourage these developers to apply for Project Based Section 8 assistance. In addition, the City will provide its housing funds, when available, to help subsidize development costs to build housing units affordable to extremely low- households. City funds for this purpose include linkage fees and inclusionary housing fees. In addition, the City will work with non-profit developers to compete for Sonoma County-administered CDBG and HOME fund
Action D-3: Consider deferring payment of impact fees until affordable housing units are sold, ready for occupancy or for rentals, or when permanent financing is obtained.
Action D-7: Continue to consider relaxing development standards, such as setbacks and parking requirements, and increasing densities on a project-by-project basis as a means to reduce development costs of units affordable to extremely low-income households.
Action D-8: Regularly update in-lieu and linkage fees, or adopt an ordinance that annually updates in-lieu and linkage fees in accordance with an accepted cost index, to ensure that they accurately reflect current development costs.
Policy D-4: The City will provide density bonuses and
other incentives for projects which provide affordable
units.
Completed
Implementing Action
D-9, removed
Action D-9: Continue to offer density bonuses and incentives as established by State law. Update the City’s Density Bonus Ordinance to be consistent with the requirements of State law. Encourage affordable housing developers to request density bonuses and incentives in order to increase the amount of extremely low, very low, and low income units created.[more info on density bonus fee]
Action D-4: Continue to submit applications for CDBG funding and support applications for additional public funds, such as those provided by the HOME Program, the Joe Serna Program, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
Action D-5: Develop methods to increase local financial resources to assist affordable and special needs housing types and pursue additional funding sources for affordable housing. Adopt methods to increase local resources, such as use of residential and non-residential affordable housing impact fees, real estate transfer taxes, or an annual budget set-aside from the General Fund or other source.
Action D-10: Consider the feasibility of creating a City Employee Assistance Program to provide loans to low- and moderate-income teachers and volunteer firefighters to purchase affordable housing. This program will assist in the recruitment and retention of teachers and firefighters. If sufficient funding is available, the program should be expanded to other City employees.
Policy D-8: In public outreach efforts, the City will
convey to the community that affordable housing is an
essential resource for long-time Sebastopol residents
and workers.
D-3
Action D-16: Develop an information sheet describing the City's affordable housing needs and include this information in public noticing for project hearings.
Policy D-6: Sebastopol will work to prevent
homelessness and support housing services for the
homeless.
D-4 Action D-11: Encourage the Urban County to provide financial support for area homeless facilities and services that serve Sebastopol area residents through ESG and other available funding sources. Encourage the Sonoma County Community Development Commission/Urban County to monitor the needs of the homeless population in Sebastopol.
Action D-12: Encourage the Sonoma County CDC-administered Urban County to CDBG and/or HOME funds to Rebuilding Together and/or other local nonprofits to assist disabled residents with home retrofits.
Action D-19: In order to encourage the provision of housing for developmentally disabled persons, coordinate with the North Bay Regional Center, North Bay Housing Coalition, and other groups that serve the developmentally disabled population and encourage housing providers and landlords to provide a percentage of housing developments for persons with developmental disabilities.
Policy D-9: The City will continue efforts to improve
housing opportunities for farmworkers in Sebastopol.
D-4 Action D-17: Facilitate the development of farmworker housing by encouraging employers to provide housing, encouraging a countywide linkage fee to cover agricultural land uses, encouraging with housing developers to expand the supply of migrant and permanent farmworker housing, and providing planning assistance to interested developers.
Action D-15: Assist disabled residents with information on housing resources and suitable housing opportunities in the community.
Action D-20: Encourage the development of housing designed to accommodate persons with EMF sensitivity.
E. Fair Housing
Action E-1: Facilitate equal housing opportunities by continuing to designate an equal housing coordinator (the City Manager), by distributing materials regarding fair housing laws, and referring persons with fair housing concerns to Fair Housing Sonoma County and Fair Housing of Marin. Fair housing materials will be distributed at City Hall, on the City’s website, and at other locations willing to distribute materials throughout the City, such as the Library, Veterans Building, Sebastopol Area Senior Center, and Sebastopol Community Center.
Action E-2: Continue to provide nondiscrimination clauses in rental agreements and deed restrictions for housing constructed with City agreements.
Action E-3: Continue to address fair housing issues through participation, through the Urban County or other sources, in Fair Housing Sonoma County and Fair Housing of Marin (organizations that provide assistance in response to housing discrimination complaints and well as tenant/landlord mediation).
F. Energy and Natural Resource
Conservation
Action F-3: Continue to encourage the incorporation of energy-saving principles in the design and planning of new residential developments by providing information to developers and property owners about available energy conservation programs.
Action F-5: Continue to encourage improvements that result in conservation of energy, water, and other natural resources in existing residential development, particularly in renter-occupied units.
Action F-6: Consider adoption of a construction site waste reduction and recycling ordinance that would be applicable to new residential or mixed use developments over a certain size.
Action F-7: Seek funding through Urban County CDBG and HOME programs and other available funding sources for retrofits of existing affordable housing units that result in conservation of energy, water, or other natural resources.
Action F-2: Consider design features in future developments to reduce heat island effects, including narrower streets, increased landscaping, green roofs, cool roofs, and cool pavements.
Action F-8: Support project applicants in incorporating cost-effective energy efficiency standards that exceed State standards.
Action F-9: Promote the use of straw bale, rammed-earth, and other energy-efficient types of construction and materials.
Action F-1: Continue to provide outreach and information about energy conservation and sustainability programs PG&E’s Partners Program.
Action F-4: Continue to support education programs related to solid waste reduction, reuse, and recycling opportunities.
G. Remove Government
Constraints
Action G-1: Modify the Zoning Ordinance to permit farmworker housing consistent with the requirements of State law, including Health and Safety Code Sections 17021.5 and 17021.6. The revisions will include the following:
Permit employee housing, including mobile homes and manufactured housing, to accommodate up to six employees subject to the same standards and permit requirements as a single family residence in all zones and as a permitted use in residential zones. No discretionary actions shall be required.
Permit employee housing, including mobile homes and manufactured housing, consisting of up to 36 beds in a group quarters or 12 units or spaces designed for use by a single family or household as an agricultural use, subject to the same standards and permit requirements as an agricultural use, in zones that permit an agricultural use consistent with the requirements of State law.
Action G-2: Modify the Zoning Ordinance so that homeless shelters proposed for the General Commercial (CG) District are only subject to Administrative Review as a condition of approval.
Action G-3: Modify the Zoning Ordinance to include definitions of Transitional and Supportive Housing which are consistent with State law. The following definitions will be used, based on language provided in the Government Code.
Action G-4: Review and revise the Zoning Ordinance to establish development standards and identify appropriate zoning districts to accommodate tiny houses. Revisions should include a clear definition of tiny houses.
Action G-16: Revise the Zoning Ordinance so that architectural and design review requirements for a manufactured home will not exceed those allowed under Government Code Section 65852.3.
Goal G-2: Remove Government
Constraints to the Production
of Special Needs Housing
Sebastopol supports the
development of special needs
housing. The City will take
necessary steps to remove
government constraints to the
development of affordable
housing serving special needs
populations.
Goal B: Remove
Constraints to Housing
Policy G-2: The City will modify the Zoning Ordinance to reduce parking requirements in senior housing, single
room occupancy housing, small lot housing and for
small units.
The City has previously reduced parking standards for
the housing identified above. Residential parking
requirements were reduced in the Downtown by 20%.
These changes were added to the Zoning Ordinance in
May 2009. Further modifications to these standards will be implemented; in addition, the City will increase
allowances for compact parking and tandem parking.
Completed
Implementing Action
G-17, removed
Action G-17: Revise the Zoning Ordinance to: establish minimum density requirements for residential-only projects to ensure efficient use of land, identify criteria and appropriate locations in non-residential zones for residentialonly projects, increase allowed building heights and reduce parking requirements in the Downtown Core to accommodate 4 stories/50 feet, and in appropriate General Commercial districts, 3 stories and 40 feet, to encourage affordable housing, higher density housing, including rental, housing cooperatives, condominiums, and other housing opportunities. Establish appropriate stepback requirements for increased number of stories beyond those currently permitted.
Action G-5: Review the Zoning Ordinance to determine if modifications should be made to accommodate land trusts.
Policy G-4: The City shall review its current development impact fee program to determine whether appropriate
levels of fees are charged for multifamily units and
second units based on demand they create for public
facilities and infrastructure. The City will also consider a revised fee schedule for market rate housing based on unit size or valuation.
Removed- statutorily
required to be
reviewed every 5
years
Action G-8: Reduce fees for smaller types of housing, including second units, and also review fee structures for housing based on square footage, number of bedrooms, or valuation to ensure that such fee structures are equitable.
Action G-6: Modify the Zoning Ordinance to allow second units as a permitted use consistent with State law, increase the size allowance, and consider revisions to standards for second units related to unit height, setbacks, and other relevant standards to facilitate such units.
Action G-9: Continue to offer reduced setback requirements for detached one-story second units.
Policy G-6: The City will assist new development by
increasing the amount of time that issued permits
remain valid.
See Action of New
Program A-3.2
Action G-7: Study changes in its Subdivision Ordinance to reduce land requirements for new housing development.
Policy G-7: The City shall monitor its Growth
Management Program to ensure that it does not
adversely affect the provision of housing units for all segments of the population.
Action G-10: Continue to evaluate implementation of the Growth Management Program on an annual basis, including requested allocations by types of units (single family, multifamily, and mobile homes) and allocations by affordability level, as well as the impact of procedural requirements, including the allocation roll-over policy.
Action G-11: Following adoption of the General Plan Update, update the Growth Management Ordinance to reflect anticipated growth accommodated under the General Plan and known infrastructure and public services constraints.
Further, If the annual review identifies issues with the Growth Management Program that may adversely affect the City’s housing obligations under State Law, the City commits to revising the Program to address identified obstacles to housing development. Prior to any revisions to the Program, seek input from housing stakeholders on the Program and any proposed changes. The City will ensure that the Program is consistent with requirements of State Law.
Policy G-8: The City shall monitor the combined impact
of its Growth Management Program and Design Review
Process on the City’s ability to meet housing demand
from all income groups of the population.
B-1
Action G-12: The City will continue to monitor all housing developments to determine whether City regulations and procedures, such as Growth Management and Design Review, result in higher development costs or limit the availability of new units affordable to middle, moderate, and lower income residents.
Action G-13: Review Sebastopol’s current approval process to determine whether it is possible to make the Planning Commission the final authority for subdivisions of four or fewer parcels.
Action G-14: Study other ways to reduce the amount of time that project approval requires.
Action G-15: Modify Sebastopol’s density bonus policy so that it is consistent with State law, including reduced parking requirements for housing projects that are eligible to receive a density bonus.
Action G-18: Prepare design guidelines for multifamily and mixed use residential projects and adopt methods to streamline the design review process for such projects.
H. Housing Policy Update and
Program Administration
Action H-1: Continue the preparation of annual reports that summarize progress towards Housing Element goals, policies, and programs.
Policy H-2: The City shall consider retaining the services of a housing coordinator consultant when considering
new projects. The City has successfully used the
services of a housing coordinator consultant on recent
affordable housing projects and will continue to use
consulting assistance on an as needed basis.
See Actions of New
Program B-2.1
Policy H-3: The City shall continue to coordinate housing activities with the Sonoma County Housing Authority or
other suitable organization to administer City's
affordable housing programs.
See Actions of New
Program D-4.3
Action H-2: Continue to rely on Sonoma County to assist with housing related activities, such as initial certification of income eligibility.
Goal A-1: Provide Adequate
Sites for Housing Development
in the City of Sebastopol
Goal A: Facilitate
Development of Housing
Policy A-1: The City will continue to monitor the land
supply to ensure adequate sites to accommodate the
City's housing needs, including housing sites for special needs population.
A-1
Goal B-1: Maintain High
Quality Residential
Environments: The
maintenance and improvement
of the quality of life of existing
neighborhoods is a high
priority for the City of
Sebastopol.
Goal C. Preserve and
Sustain Exisiting Housing
Units
Goal B-2: Preserve Housing
Resources: Sebastopol will
strive to maintain and preserve
existing housing resources,
including both affordable and
market rate units. Policy B-4: Sebastopol will encourage continued operation of the privately-owned Fircrest Mobile Home
Park and encourage efforts to provide additional
affordable housing opportunities
Completed
implementing Action
B-5, removed
Goal E-1: Eliminate Housing
Discrimination
Sebastopol values diversity of
its population and protection
of housing rights for its
citizens. The City strives to
ensure that all households
have equal access to the City’s
housing resources.
Goal D: Ensure Fair
Access to Housing
Policy E-1: The City will work to eliminate all unlawful discrimination in housing with respect to age, race,
gender, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, ethnic background, disability, medical condition, or
other arbitrary factors, so that all residents can obtain decent housing throughout the City.
Goal F-1: Promote Energy
Conservation in Residential
Development
The City of Sebastopol will
promote energy efficiency in
residential development within
the City, including reduction of
energy use through better
design and construction in
individual homes, and also
through energy efficient urban
design.
Goal C. Preserve and
Sustain Exisiting Housing
Unit
D-1
D-4
D-4
D-3
B-1
Removed, per Staff
guidance
C-4
C-4
C-4
A-3
Removed, Statutory
requirement
See New Program A4.1
B-2
Goal G-3: Remove Government
Constraints that Affect the
Amount of Land Required for
New Housing
The regulatory process is one
of the principal ways in which
a small city can reduce
housing costs. The City will
review its land use regulations
for new units to determine if it
is possible to make revisions
that will result in reducing land
required for new
developments, consequently
reducing land costs for market
rate and affordable housing
developments.
N/A Statutory
requirement
A-3
N/A See new program D3.1
Goal C-2: Continue to
Encourage Mixed-Income
Developments
The City of Sebastopol
continues to operate its
Inclusionary Housing Program
which emphasizes the
provision of inclusionary units
over payment of in-lieu fees.
The City will review this
approach.
N/A Inclusionary Policy
and Programs removed
as completed
Goal D-1: Promote Housing
Affordability for both Renters
and Homeowners
The City of Sebastopol will use
available resources to expand
the number of new housing
units affordable to extremely
low, very low, low, and
moderate income households.
Goal A: Facilitate
Development of Housing
Goal B-3: Expand Affordability
Housing Opportunities Through
the Use of Existing Housing:
Sebastopol will consider the
feasibility of converting market
rate housing units to
affordable housing.
Policy D-1: The City will promote the development of
new housing units affordable to extremely low, very
low, low, and moderate income households and housing
units that are affordable to and appropriate for special needs households, including seniors, disabled persons,
developmentally disabled persons, farmworkers, large
families, and homeless.
A-4
Policy D-3: The City of Sebastopol will continue to
operate its Inclusionary Housing Program as a way to
provide affordable housing.
Policy D-5: The City will promote the ability for lower and moderate income households to become
homeowners.
Goal D-2: Support Housing to
Meet Special Needs
The City of Sebastopol strives
to increase the range of
housing opportunities for all
residents, including those with
special needs and those
unable to afford market rate
housing within the community.
The City of Sebastopol will
place a priority on construction
of housing that is appropriate
to meet the needs of special
needs populations.
Goal D: Ensure Fair
Access to Housing
Policy D-7: The City will continue efforts to improve
housing opportunities for the disabled population,
including developmentally disabled persons, in
Sebastopol.
Policy D-10: The City will encourage and support a
broader continuum of housing choices for seniors and
the disabled, including independent and assisted living Completed
Implementing Action
C-2, removed
Policy F-1: The City will continue to undertake a variety of activities to achieve energy efficiency in residential development in conformance with State laws.
Policy F-2: The City will continue to undertake and
encourage additional strategies to reduce energy use,
including exempting rooftop photovoltaic standards
from Design Review and allowing small wind turbines.
Goal F-2: Promote Resource
Conservation in Residential
Development
Goal C. Preserve and
Sustain Exisiting Housing
Unit
Policy F-3: The City shall consider additional energy and natural resource conservation programs.
Goal G-1: Continue to Promote
Land Use Policies and
Development Standards to
Facilitate Housing Production
During the 2003 Housing
Element Period, Sebastopol
made changes to its Zoning
Ordinance in order to increase
allowable densities, increase
allowance for affordable
housing projects, increase
height limits in Downtown,
develop standards for SROs,
promote mixed use
development in the City’s nonresidential zones, reduce parking requirements for larger
units, and simplify setback and
building separation
requirements in RM-M and RMH Zoning Districts The City Goal A: Facilitate
Development of Housing
Policy G-1: The City will modify its Zoning Ordinance to provide provisions for a greater range of housing types, such as tiny houses to encourage opportunities for
special needs and affordable housing.
Goal H-2: Work with
Professionals and
Organizations to Administer
and Expand Affordable Housing
Goal C. Preserve and
Sustain Exisiting Housing
Unit
Goal A: Facilitate
Development of Housing
Policy G-3: The City will consider modifying its
Subdivision Ordinance Standards to reduce street
widths, cul-de-sac, and driveway requirements and
Policy G-5: The City will encourage second units.
Policy G-9: The City will assess the project approval
process to see if there are additional ways to reduce the amount of time the process requires. This assessment
Goal H-1: Continue to Report
on Housing Activities
Policy H-1: The City shall prepare an Annual Report that describes activities undertaken in support of the City's housing objectives.
Policy G-10: The City shall modify its density bonus so that it is in conformance with the State Density Bonus
Law.
Agenda Item Number 9
Agenda Item Number 9
City Council Meeting Packet of March 1, 2022