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HomeMy Public PortalAbout10F) 9.A. Attachment FATTACHMENT F COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DATE: March 26, 2013 MEMORANDUM TO: City Council Planning Commission FROM: Mark Persico, AICP, Community Development Director By: Paul Deibel, AICP, Community Development Projec Manager SUBJECT: Conveyance of Revised Draft Update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan Purpose. The primary purposes of this memorandum are: To convey to each member of the City Council and the Planning Commission the attached recently revised draft update of the housing element of the City's general plan, entitled: City of Temple City 2008-2014 Housing Element/Public Hearing Draft (Attachment 1). This document will be the focus of noticed public hearings by the Planning Commission and then the City Council to consider adoption of the housing element update. The Planning Commission hearing is scheduled for April 9, 2013, and the City Council hearing is scheduled for May 7, 2013. 2. To provide an update on the housing element review process to date since the City Council - Planning Commission joint study session on the draft housing element that was conducted on September 27, 2012; and to provide an outlook on next steps after adoption of the housing element, including a discussion of why certain key programs should be put into effect within the next few months so as to facilitate the next update of the housing element. Overview. An important objective of the FY 2011-13 City Council Priorities and City Manager's Action Plan is the adoption of an update to the housing element that will address housing needs for all segments of the community, and do so in a manner consistent with state statutes on housing element content. On September 27, 2012, the City Council and the Planning Commission conducted a joint study session on the draft update of the housing element. Attached to this memorandum is the memorandum of September 21, 2012 (Attachment 2) that conveyed that prior draft of the housing element update to the City Council and Planning Commission. It also provided: o An overview of the status of the draft housing element update; o Background on the housing planning process in California, and in Temple City; o Discussion of the draft housing element's new methodology in identifying an inventory of sites that, in conjunction with the recommended programs, would provide for a broader range of housing types and sites as necessary to meet the City's current share of regional housing need in a manner consistent with state statutes; Conveyance of Revised Draft Update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan March 26, 2013 Page 2 o Suggestions for councilmembers and commissioners on where to focus their review of the large document containing all components of the draft housing element; and, o Perspective on how the housing element update process relates to other City plans and projects, including the general plan update, that are underway or pending. As discussed in greater detail in the attached memorandum, the City's housing consultant, Karen Warner -of Karen -Warner Associates,—has worked with staff to finalize a draft of the City's - housing element update that includes the following major components consistent with state law: ✓ An assessment of the City's housing needs in light of Temple City's share of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) as determined by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for all cities in the region; ✓ An inventory of resources to meet housing needs and an analysis of the constraints that impede public and private sector efforts to meet the needs; ✓ A statement of the City's goals, quantified objectives and policies relative to the construction, rehabilitation, conservation and preservation of housing in the community; and, ✓ An implementation program that sets forth a schedule of actions which the City is undertaking or intends to undertake to implement the policies and achieve the goals and objectives of the housing element. At the joint study session, the housing consultant provided an overview of Temple City's draft housing element planning process to that point and presented the goals and policies of the element with the programs and actions recommended to achieve them. The consultant and staff covered how these goals, policies and programs were formed through a public participation process conducted by the City, and reflect the recommendations of the Housing Task Committee and the Planning Commission. The programs were further refined in response to two rounds of prior comments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Subsequent to public comments and discussion among the commissioners and councilmembers at the joint study session, the Planning Commission and the City Council provided input and feedback on the draft housing element update, and authorized its re- submittal to HCD to ensure that the element addresses the community's housing needs in a manner consistent with state statutes. On December 4, 2012, the City received a letter from HCD indicating that, subject to one minor revision as discussed further below, the draft housing element would meet the requirements of state law for housing elements. The next step in the housing element adoption process is noticed public hearings to be conducted separately by the Planning Commission and the City Council to consider adoption of the housing element update. Upon adoption, the City will submit the final draft of the housing element to HCD for certification. State certification of the element will not only demonstrate that the City is operating on a firm legal basis in compliance with state law, but will also greatly facilitate the next required periodic update of the element, and keep the City eligible and competitive for state planning grants. Update on Housing Element Review Process. In follow-up to City Council and Planning Commission direction at the September 27, 2012 joint study session, the City's housing consultant submitted a complete draft of the housing element update to HCD. Although she had Conveyance of Revised Draft Update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan March 26, 2013 Page 3 sent a prior draft of Appendix D of the housing element update demonstrating the City's new methodology for meeting its RHNA allocation, and the consultant and staff had discussed this with HCD staff prior to the joint study session, this was the first time that HCD staff was seeing the new draft document as a whole. As is discussed in greater detail in the attached memorandum of 9/21/12, the City's prior submittals of draft housing elements in 2001, 2008 and 2009 were rejected by HCD because they did not provide an inventory of housing sites that could accommodate the City's RHNA allocation. For the currently proposed draft housing element, staff employed a new methodology using geographic information system technology to systematically identify a sufficient number of under-utilized residential sites (in the Downtown Specific Plan Area and in the R-3 and R-2 zones) which, in conjunction with modifications of the development standards in the Downtown Specific Plan and the R-3 zone to allow higher density at certain locations (per housing element Programs 1 and 2), would provide development potential sufficient to meet the City's RHNA allocations for all income levels. Significantly, this carefully balanced strategy avoids the need to create a new zone for higher density development and to physically rezone enough properties in the community with this new zone as necessary to meet the RHNA allocation. In November of 2012, the City's housing consultant, with input from staff, addressed several comments and questions from HCD staff concerning details of the draft housing element's inventory of residential sites available for development, and concerning the measures included in some of the proposed programs. The upshot of this discussion was that HCD staff reconfirmed their prior preliminary assessment that the City's methodology for meeting its RHNA allocations, in conjunction with proposed amendments to the development standards of existing codes, was warranted subject to one additional provision to be included in Program 2. This one additional measure, the only substantive change to the prior draft of the document that was reviewed by the City Council and Planning Commission at the joint study session, was to include a density minimum requirement of 20 dwelling units per acre for the supplemental density allowance (of up to 30 units per acre) that would be available to R-3 (multiple -family residential) zoned properties not abutting R-1 (single-family residential) zoned properties, per Program 2. It is the assessment of the housing consultant and staff that this revision is a positive addition since it is fully consistent with and further clarifies the objective of providing for higher density multifamily residential development through the supplemental density allowance option where applicable in the R-3 zone. This revision has been incorporated into the text of the draft housing element. On December 4, 2012, HCD staff sent a letter to the City indicating that the revised housing element draft (with this minor modification included) had adequately addressed the concerns expressed in their prior letter of 2009 because it now provided an inventory of feasible sites available for housing development that would meet the City's regional housing need allocation for both the 1998 to 2005 and the 2006 to 2014 planning cycles. The letter indicated further that the revised element would thus meet the requirements of state law for housing elements once it was adopted and submitted to HCD for certification. Environmental review. In conjunction with review of the revised draft housing element update at the upcoming public hearings, the Planning Commission and the City Council must consider an environmental review of the draft housing elements policies and programs to determine whether or not their implementation would entail any potentially significant environmental impacts, per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Conveyance of Revised Draft Update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan March 26, 2013 Page 4 Staff has prepared an Initial Study using the CEQA Checklist from the state guidelines on CEQA compliance, and this environmental assessment of the draft housing element is attached (Attachment 3). It indicates that adoption of the draft housing element and implementation of its policies and programs will not have a significant impact on the environment or cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, subject to implementation of one mitigation measure. This -measure-specifies-that that the code amendments to implement the programs -of -the- housing element must include a provision that new residential development in the vicinity of an arterial street shall provide enhanced filtration in the building's heating, ventilation and air cooling ("HVAC") system, among other possible on-site mitigation measures, subject to further review in conjunction with consideration of the implementing code amendments. (See Mitigation Measure AQ -1, as discussed in Initial Study Section E, "Air Quality".) (This mitigation measure is necessary to avoid the potentially significant impact of exposing "sensitive receptors" (residential developments housing children, the elderly and the infirm) to increased levels of air pollution in the vicinity of heavily travelled roadways, including arterial streets, per analysis by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and as exemplified by use of this mitigation measure by SCAG in the environmental review of the 2012-2035 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy.) At its hearing of May 9, 2013 on the draft housing element, the City Council will also consider the Initial Study, along with any comments from the public, and any comments and a recommendation from the Planning Commission. If warranted, the City Council would adopt a Negative Declaration indicating that it is the City's assessment that adoption of the draft housing element and implementation of its policies and programs will not have any significant adverse effect on the environment, subject to implementation of the mitigation measure specified in the Initial Study. Outlook for Implementation and Next Update. Adoption of the proposed housing element will authorize staff to proceed with implementation of the 18 programs that are designed to meet the City's housing -related goals in a manner consistent with state requirements for local housing elements. Table 2-6 ("Housing Program Summary") on page 2-14 of the draft housing element provides a listing and brief summary of each of these programs. Key among these are certain amendments of the City's zoning code regulations, including the following: Modifv the Downtown Specific Plan to allow multi -family residential development at a density up to 30 dwelling units per acre, without a conditional use permit but subject to development standards and design guidelines in the Downtown Specific Plan, among several other related provisions. This is necessary in order to provide an inventory of available sites with capacity to accommodate the community's share of regional housing need. (See Housing Element Programs 1, 11; pages 2-18, 2-29.) Modifv the R-3 (hiah-densitv multifamily residential) zone to allow multi -family residential development at a density up to 30 dwelling units per acre on sites not abutting R-1 (single-family residential) zoned properties, without a conditional use permit but subject to development standards and design guidelines in the zoning code, among several other related provisions. This is necessary in order to provide an inventory of available sites with capacity to accommodate the community's share of regional housing need. (See Programs 2, 3, 11; pages 2-19, 2-20, 2-29.) Conveyance of Revised Draft Update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan March 26, 2013 Page 5 Provide for special needs aroups by amending the zoning code to add emergency shelters as a permitted use and single room occupancy units as a conditionally permitted use in the C-3 (heavy commercial) zone along Rosemead Boulevard, and to make explicit provisions to regulate transitional and supportive housing as a residential use. This is necessary in order to meet state housing element law concerning providing adequate housing sites for the entire community. (See Program 4; pages 2-20, 2-21.) • Update "densitv bonus" incentives in the code to be consistent with recently updated state statutes requiring density bonuses for new development providing affordable housing, senior housing, land donations for affordable housing, and child care facilities. This is necessary in order to meet state housing element law regarding incentives for the development of low and moderate income housing. (See Program 9; pages 2-26, 2-27.) • Provide a "reasonable accommodations procedure" through a code amendment to address the special needs of the disabled population. This is necessary in order to meet state housing element law regarding removal of government constraints on provision of housing to all segments of the community. (See Program 12; pages 2-29, 2-30.) • Provide for housina for the disabled through a code amendment to allow small residential care facilities "by right' in all residential zones, among other measures. This is necessary in order to meet state housing element law regarding removal of government constraints on provision of housing to all segments of the community. (See Program 13; page 2-30.) • Provide for an "inclusionary housina proaram" that would require new for -sale residential development projects above a minimum size to include a minimum percent of dwelling units that would be affordable to lower and moderate income households, or to pay a fee in lieu of including such units. This program will implement the draft housing element goal to facilitate the development of new housing affordable to lower and moderate income households in the community; but such an ordinance would be considered only after the City conducts a "nexus study" that would document the relationship between residential development and demand for affordable housing, and determine both the maximum supportable percent of units and a recommended in -lieu fee amount. (See Program 10; page 2-27.) It would be advantageous for some of these code amendments to be adopted in the next few months in order to facilitate the adoption of the next required housing element update for the next upcoming RHNA planning cycle of 2013 to 2021. This is because recent state legislation has modified the RHNA and housing element update process for the upcoming eight-year planning period in order to provide an additional incentive for municipalities to complete their housing element updates earlier rather than later in this planning cycle. Specifically, this legislation allows housing elements for the upcoming cycle that are adopted by a local government by mid-February of 2014 to remain in effect for the entire eight-year period of the upcoming planning cycle. Housing elements that are certified later than mid-February of 2014 will only be in effect for four years, and thus would have to be updated sooner than the eight- year elements. Upon adoption of the currently proposed housing element update, the City will be in a good position to update its housing element again for the next planning period (2013 to 2021) as required by state statutes. This is because few if any of the sites available for housing Conveyance of Revised Draft Update of the Housing Element of the City's General Plan March 26, 2013 Page 6 development as listed in the residential sites inventory of the currently proposed housing element update (and which cumulatively would accommodate 1,238 dwelling units) will be developed between now and the planned consideration and adoption of a new update for the upcoming RHNA cycle of 2013-2021. Thus this inventory of sites which, in conjunction with adoption of key implementing programs, would accommodate more than the 987 dwelling units of the 2006-2014 RHNA allocation will still be available to accommodate the RHNA allocation of 603 dwelling units for the 2013-2021 housing planning cycle. Since the inventory of the currently proposed housing element would accommodate all of this regional housing need for the 2006-2014 RHNA cycle, none of it must be "carried over' into the analysis of the upcoming 2013-2012 RHNA cycle; but this is only if the key programs and code amendments that justify the projected number of new dwelling units in the residential sites inventory of the currently proposed housing element update have been put into effect prior to adoption of the next housing element update. Specifically, this relates to implementation of Programs 1 and 2 to modify the development standards of the Downtown Specific Plan and the R-3 zone. Also, timely implementation of Programs 4, 9, 12, and 13, providing for special needs housing, density bonus incentives, a reasonable accommodations procedure, and housing for the disabled, will enable the City to qualify for an expedited review process by HCD for the next update of the housing element. On the other hand, failure to adopt the currently proposed housing element prior to the end of the 2006-2013 planning cycle would significantly complicate adoption of a housing element update at a later date because the element would have to accommodate the combined RHNA allocations of both the current 2006-2014 RHNA and the 2013-2021 RHNA. This is because un - accommodated need from prior cycles must be carried over into the analysis of subsequent cycles. Conclusion. Adoption of the proposed housing element update will establish policies and programs to meet the housing needs of all segments of the community and to accommodate the City's share of regional housing need. State certification of Temple City's housing element update and implementation of its programs will not only demonstrate that the City is operating on a firm legal basis in compliance with state law, but will also greatly facilitate the next required periodic update of the element, and keep the City eligible and competitive for state planning grants. ATTACHMENTS: 1. City of Temple City 2008-2014 Housing Element 2. Memorandum of 9/21/12 to City Council and Planning Commission for the 9/27/12 Joint Study Session 3. CEQA Initial Study