HomeMy Public PortalAbout4-12_PopulationHousing.pdf4.12 POPULATION AND HOUSING
4.12-1
This section discusses the existing population and housing conditions in the
project area and related impacts that could result from implementation of the
proposed project. The section relies on data from the 2007 – 2014 Housing
Element of the Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan. This Housing Element
was adopted on October 20, 2009. The primary data sources used to prepare
this element include the 1990 U.S. Census, the 2000 U.S. Census, and infor-
mation published by the California Department of Finance (DOF) and the
Sierra Planning Organization (SPO). This section also includes data from the
2010 U.S. Census.
A. Regulatory Setting
1. Federal Laws and Regulations
There are no specific federal regulations applicable to population, housing,
and employment.
2. State Laws and Regulations
There are no specific State regulations applicable to population, housing, and
employment.
3. Local Regulations and Policies
a. Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan
The Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan includes goals and policies for the
preservation, conservation, improvement, and production of housing within
the Town of Truckee. Table 4.12-1 lists these goals and policies of the 2007-
2014 Housing Element.
B. Existing Conditions
This section describes existing population, employment, and housing condi-
tions in the Town of Truckee.
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TABLE 4.12-1 TRUCKEE GENERAL PLAN POLICIES PERTAINING TO
POPULATION AND HOUSING
Policy or
Goal No. Goals and Policies
Goal H-1 Ensure an adequate supply of housing to meet the housing needs of all
segments of the community.
H-P1.1 Provide adequate sites for the production of new residential units
to meet the needs of existing and future residents.
Goal H-4 Balance the need and provision of housing in the community with its
impacts on the environment and needed public facilities and services.
H-P4.1
Encourage residential design that promotes energy efficiency and
sustainable building practices and reduces greenhouse gas emis-
sions.
H-P4.2
Encourage residential development that reduces infrastructure and
other development costs, preserves and enhances important envi-
ronmental resources, and maintains important areas as open space.
Source: Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan.
1. Housing Units
In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported 9,787 housing units in Truckee,
which was 22.1 percent of all units in Nevada County. In 2009, Truckee’s
housing units represented 23.9 percent of the housing in the County. The
California Department of Finance (DOF) estimated 12,136 housing units in
Truckee in 2009, a 24.0 percent increase since 2000. Of the 12,136 housing
units in Truckee, approximately 4,382 units are considered to be second
homes and vacation homes. The American Community Survey Five-Year
Estimates for 2005-2009 indicates that 22 percent of dwelling units in eastern
Truckee (Glenshire, Sierra Meadows, Downtown, Prosser) are second homes
or vacant. The 2010 U.S Census reported 12,803 housing units in Truckee
and of those 68.2 percent are owner-occupied and 31.8 are renter-occupied.
2. Population
a. Permanent Population
The Town of Truckee is one of three incorporated cities in Nevada County.
In 2000, Nevada County was the fourth largest county in the Sierra Nevada
region with a population of 92,033. According to DOF, by 2009, Nevada
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County’s population had grown to 98,718 residents. From 1990 to 2000, the
County’s population increased by 17.2 percent and from 2000 to 2009, the
population increased by 7.3 percent.
Truckee represents approximately half of the total population living in the
incorporated areas of Nevada County. According to the U.S. Census and
DOF, Truckee experienced a 36 percent population increase between 1990
and 2000, and a 16.3 percent increase between 2000 and 2009. According to
the 2010 U.S. Census the total population in Truckee is 16,180. A population
of 25,280 is forecasted for Truckee in 2025.1
b. Temporary Population
Truckee, like other recreation and resort communities, has a high proportion
of second homes and vacation homes (approximately 4,382). Therefore, ap-
proximately 36 percent of the Town's housing stock consists of second
homes, whose residents are not counted among the Town's total population
in the U.S. Census. This means that during peak tourism periods in the
summer and winter, the Town's population can effectively double on a tem-
porary basis. In contrast to the Town, the Glenshire/Devonshire area is
mostly occupied by permanent residents and it is anticipated that the pro-
posed project would be occupied by full time permanent residents.
c. Household
Household size refers to the number of persons in a household. Average
household size is a function of the number of people living in households
divided by the number of occupied housing units in a given area.2 According
1 Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan, 2007 Housing Element, Appendix HA
– Housing Profile, Figure HA-1, Town of Truckee Population Growth Forecast 1990-
2025.
2 U.S. Census website, http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/epss/
glossary_a.html#average, accessed August 9, 2011.
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to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 5,164 households in 2000 and 6,343
households in 2010, representing a 23 percent increase.3
The total households in Nevada County increased by 20 percent and the total
households in California increased by 10.6 percent from 1990 to 2000.4 Based
on DOF population estimates and number of persons per household, the total
households in Truckee in 2009 was 6,405, a 24 percent increase from 2000.
Comparatively, the total households in Nevada County increased by 13.8
percent and California increased by 10.7 percent between 2000 and 2009.
The 2010 U.S. Census reported that Truckee’s average household size was
2.49 persons per household, which represents a minor decrease when com-
pared to the 2000 U.S. Census report of 2.68 persons per household. Accord-
ing to the DOF, in 2009 the average decreased to 2.529 persons per house-
hold. Despite the decrease, Truckee’s average household size remains higher
than Nevada County’s (2.329 persons per household in 2009). Therefore, for
consistency with the recently adopted 2007-2014 Housing Element this Draft
EIR applies the 2.529 person per household generation number.
3. Employment
Housing needs are affected by employment trends. Availability of jobs in a
geographic area can create demand for nearby housing. The quality or pay of
available employment can also determine the demand for various housing
types and price levels.
Truckee is largely dependent on tourist, resort, second home, and retirement
activity. According to the Housing Element, 19.3 percent of Truckee’s popu-
lation was employed in arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and
food service, followed by construction (16.8 percent), educational, health and
3 U.S. Census website, http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/
pages/productview, accessed October 9, 2011.
4 Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan, 2007 Housing Element, Appendix HA
– Housing Profile, Table HA-8, Total Households 1990-2009.
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social services (14.4 percent), and retail trade (11.6 percent).5 The largest em-
ployer in Truckee, Sierra Community College District, had a total employee
population of 1,095 persons in 2009 (this number includes employees outside
of Truckee). Approximately three firms within Truckee employed 250 or
more persons.
The Town of Truckee’s labor force increased from 8,800 in 2000 to 9,970 in
2008.6 According to the California Employment Development Department,
Truckee’s unemployment rate increased from 3.4 percent in 2000 to 4.5 per-
cent in 2003. Since 2003, Truckee’s unemployment rate has declined each
year through 2006 when the rate was 3.6 percent. Since 2006, the unem-
ployment rate has steadily increased to 6.8 percent in 2008. In 2008, the un-
employment rate for Nevada County was 8.4 percent.
C. Standards of Significance
The proposed project would have a significant impact with regard to popula-
tion and housing if it would:
¤ Induce substantial population growth in an area, either directly (for ex-
ample, by proposing new homes and businesses) or indirectly (for exam-
ple, through extension of roads or other infrastructure).
¤ Displace substantial numbers of existing housing, necessitating the con-
struction of replacement housing elsewhere.
¤ Displace substantial numbers of people, necessitating the construction of
replacement housing elsewhere.
5 Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan, 2007 Housing Element, Appendix HA
– Housing Profile, Table HA-5, Employment by Industry. Source: U.S. Census 2000
SF3, P49.
6 Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan, 2007 Housing Element, Appendix HA
– Housing Profile, Table HA-7, Labor Force Trends 2000 – 2008. Source: State of
California Employment Development Department (EDD), 2009.
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D. Impact Discussion
1. Project Impacts
a. Induce substantial population growth in an area, either directly (for ex-
ample, by proposing new homes and businesses) or indirectly (for exam-
ple, through extension of roads or other infrastructure).
i. Population Growth Associated with New Housing.
The project is anticipated to generate at 2.529 persons per household, which
would result in approximately 468 new residents for the project’s proposed
185 residential units.7 The proposed project meets the Town’s current prop-
erty zoning allowing for 213 residential units (RS-1). Therefore, impacts to
population growth associated with the development of the project would be
less than significant.
The project would comply with the mandatory Affordable Housing compo-
nent calculated in accordance with the Town Housing Element Program H-
1.3.2, which requires a minimum 15 percent affordable housing allocation for
new residential developments (i.e. eight lots.)8 For the purposes of this envi-
ronmental analysis it is assumed the affordable housing would comprise a
combination of three- and four-complex units totaling 26 affordable housing
units and would be constructed on-site. Therefore, impacts to affordable
housing associated with the development of the project would be less than
significant.
ii. Population Growth Associated with New Infrastructure.
Infrastructure associated with the project would serve the project site and
would not facilitate additional development as a result of increased infrastruc-
ture. Therefore, population growth associated with new infrastructure would
be less than significant.
7 Town of Truckee General Plan 2007-2014 Housing Element, Appendix A –
Housing Profile, page HA-7.
8 Town of Truckee 2007-2014 Housing Element Appendix HD, Past Per-
formance, page HD-3.
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iii. Population Growth Associated with Employment.
The project, a residential development, would not provide permanent job
opportunities; however, the project would result in employment opportuni-
ties during its construction period. However, construction-related employ-
ment opportunities would not likely result in household relocation by con-
struction workers to the vicinity of the project site for various reasons, in-
cluding the following:
¤ Construction employment has no regular place of business; rather, con-
struction workers commute to job sites that may change several times a
year.
¤ Many construction workers are highly specialized (e.g. crane operators,
steelworkers, masons, etc.) and move from job site to job site as dictated
by the demand for their skills.
¤ The work requirements of most construction projects are also highly
specialized, and workers are employed on a job site only as long as their
skills are needed to complete a particular phase of the construction pro-
cess.
¤ Some construction workers would likely be drawn from the construction
employment labor force (16.8 percent of the total labor force) already
present in the Town.
Consequently, project-related construction workers would not be likely to
relocate their place of residence as a consequence of working on the project.
Therefore, impacts associated with employment would be less than significant.
b. Displace substantial numbers of existing housing, necessitating the con-
struction of replacement housing elsewhere.
There are no existing housing units on the project site. Therefore, the project
would not displace substantial numbers of existing housing, and no impacts
would occur.
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c. Displace substantial numbers of people, necessitating the construction of
replacement housing elsewhere.
There are no existing housing units on the project site. Therefore, the project
would not displace substantial people, and no impacts would occur.
2. Cumulative Impacts
This section analyzes potential impacts to population and housing that could
occur from a combination of the project with the Town buildout identified in
the Town of Truckee 2025 General Plan and reasonably foreseeable projects in
the surrounding area. The geographic scope of this analysis is taken as the
Town of Truckee sphere of influence (SOI), as defined in the Town of Truckee
2025 General Plan and reasonably foreseeable projects in the surrounding ar-
ea. Therefore, a cumulative impact would be considered significant if, taken
together with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable projects in the Town
of Truckee SOI and other reasonably foreseeable projects in the surrounding
area, it would induce substantial population growth in an area, either directly
or indirectly, or displace existing housing or people.
By 2025, development of the project in conjunction with the Town buildout
would account for approximately two percent of the 12,136 anticipated hous-
ing units and for approximately two percent of the 25,280 anticipated total
population.
For the reasons noted above, development of the project in conjunction with
the Town buildout would assist the Town in meeting its fair share of regional
housing need, constituting a beneficial rather than adverse housing impact.
Because development of the project in conjunction with the Town buildout
would help address a portion of unmet housing demand and serve anticipated
population growth in the project area, either directly (e.g. by proposing new
homes), or indirectly (e.g. through extension of roads or other infrastructure),
cumulative impacts would be less than significant.
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E. Impacts and Mitigation Measures
Project and cumulative impacts related to population and housing would be
less than significant and no mitigation measures are warranted.
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