Item 14 - Draft 2020-2029 Housing Element Update and Submittal of Draft to CA Dept. of Housing and Community Dev for 60-Day ReviewMay 4, 2021, Item #14DATE: TO: FROM: CONTACT: SUBJECT: Summary: AGENDA REPORT CityofPoway May 4, 2021 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Robert Manis, Director of Development Services /J/\, David De Vries, City Planner ~OJ~ 858-668-4604 or ddevries@poway.org CITY COUNCIL Review of the Draft 2020-2029 Housing Element Update and Submittal of Draft to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for 60-Day Review Each California municipality is required by Article 10.6 of the Government Code (Sections 65580-65590) to adopt a Housing Element as part of the General Plan. Unique from other General Plan elements, the Housing Element is subject to detailed statutory requirements and mandatory review by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Changes to State law for the new Housing Element cycle require cities to adopt and submit an updated Housing Element to HCD by August 13, 2021 to avoid penalty. State Law also requires jurisdictions to submit draft documents to HCD for review and comment for a 60-day review prior to adoption pursuant to Government Code Section 65585(b). The Draft City of Poway 2020-2029 Housing Element Update (Draft Housing Element) addresses statutory requirements and public feedback. This is an early draft and will be revised based on public input and City Council direction. Recommended Action: It is recommended that the City Council provide feedback to staff regarding the Draft Housing Element and authorize the Draft Housing Element to be submitted to HCD for 60-day review with any requested modifications. Discussion: Background State law requires local governments to meet housing goals by requiring all jurisdictions to prepare, implement, and update the Housing Element of its General Plan. The Draft Housing Element for the City of Poway covers June 30, 2020 to April 15, 2029. The previous Poway Housing Element (2010-2020) was adopted in 2013. The Draft Housing Element is similar to the previous Housing Element except that updates were made in accordance with State mandates, a new Residential Sites Inventory 1 of 8
May 4, 2021, Item #14that identifies all affordable housing sites is included, and housing policies and programs are modified to be in compliance with new State mandates and address public feedback. The Public Safety Element is also in the process of being updated to meet the requirements of SB1035 which include requirements to reduce wildfire risk. The Draft Public Safety Element is anticipated to be released for review later this year. New procedures require that the Draft Housing Element be submitted to HCD for review and comment prior to adoption by the jurisdiction. In order to comply with State law, staff anticipates bringing the final Housing Element Update to City Council for adoption August 3, 2021. The penalty for not adopting the Draft Housing Element by August 13, 2021 is that the housing element would be required to be updated after four years, instead of an eight-year cycle. On November 4, 2020, the Planning Division released an online public survey regarding housing and public safety in Poway. This survey was available through November 30, 2020. There were 529 survey respondents. Respondents were asked to respond only one time per household. Except for six respondents, all were Poway residents including 79 percent who identified themselves as property owners and four percent who identified themselves as renters. Other respondents included Poway business owners (seven percent) and housing advocates (one percent). Topics for the survey included demographic information, public safety, wildfire prevention, architectural styles, and housing needs, opportunities, and constraints. Highlights from the survey included: • As it relates to public safety, the large majority (92 percent) of respondents felt safe in Poway. Respondents called for more traffic management and less neighborhood growth as potential safety solutions. • As it relates to wildfire prevention, respondents believed that emergency response times, access for fire trucks, evacuation routes, and vegetation management were the most important factors in wildfire prevention. • Related to housing, the large majority (88 percent) of respondents believed current housing options met their needs. However, many respondents called for more affordable housing options. When asked what most likely prevented respondents or others they know from owning a house in Poway, the top four answers were property taxes, not having enough money for a down payment, homes not fitting their quality standards in the target price range, and not having enough money for the monthly mortgage payment. When discussing new housing opportunities, the top responses called for the preservation of natural open space, including more trees, landscaping, and single-family housing, reducing building heights, and enhancing connectivity and private open space. Preserving open space, the high cost of construction, and the availability and cost of land were noted as the most significant constraints effecting the construction of housing. As it relates to architectural styles for new multi-family housing developments, most respondents felt that compatibility with surrounding developments and allowing owners to choose the styles were most important. There was very little desire for modern architectural styles. • Related to needed neighborhood improvements, the top responses were crime prevention, reduced wildfire risk, rehabilitating existing neighborhoods, and enforcing proper maintenance of private residences. On Thursday, November 19, 2020, the City hosted a Virtual Housing and Public Safety Element Workshop. The City provided a robust outreach program which included a public notice on the City's website, with notifications sent out to news subscribers and the Poway Today e-newsletter list. Notification was provided to news and social media outlets, related list serve registrants, and community and housing stakeholders including various community and special interest groups 2 of 8
May 4, 2021, Item #14serving affordable housing and special needs populations. The workshop included moderation by the City's Planners, Fire Marshal, and Crime Prevention Specialist. At least 16 people were in attendance. Several attendees were proud of the City being safe and many attendees felt that more affordable housing opportunities would be a good change for the City. Comments included, but were not limited to, the following: • Retain the City's rural character/motto; • Preserve open space; • Provide housing within the urban core and more ADA accessible, multigenerational, and affordable housing; • Provide diverse designs compatible with surrounding areas and with the City's rural character; • Promote walking, biking, and other outdoor opportunities; and • Reduce risks from wildfires and provide more wildfire education, enforce defensible space regulations, reduce traffic speeds, and increase pedestrian lighting. Full responses provided via the survey and a link to a related Poway Chieftain newspaper article summarizing the workshop are posted on the Housing and Public Safety Element Update webpage (www.poway.org/hpse). This feedback was considered in the Draft Housing Element. A second virtual community workshop on the Draft Housing Element was held on April 29, 2021 at 7 p.m. and staff will provide a summary of comments received as a part of staff's presentation for this item. The same outreach as the first workshop was used with the addition of notice to all registrants from the first workshop. Findings State law mandates that local governments adequately plan to meet existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community. The law states that all jurisdictions must adopt land use plans and regulatory systems which provide opportunities for, and do not constrain, housing development. Government Code Section 65583 states that each jurisdiction in the State is required to update its Housing Element to plan to accommodate its share of regional housing needs. The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) is the total number of housing units needed to meet the regional demand. Each jurisdiction is required to accommodate its fair share of units. "To accommodate" means that zoning is in place and sites are identified where the units could be located. It does not require that the units be produced. The housing unit share is identified by income categories -very low, low, moderate, and above moderate. The RHNA process for the next housing element cycle is an over eight-year cycle Uune 30, 2020 to April 15, 2029). This cycle is aligned with other jurisdictions in the region as all are required to update their Housing Elements at the same time. Poway's fair share of the RHNA housing unit allocation, as adopted by SAN DAG, is 1,319 units. While Poway received a slight increase (up from 1,253 units) from the previous fifth Housing Element cycle, many jurisdictions received significant increases (often two or three times higher than the fifth Housing Element cycle). Table 1, on the following page, details the housing unit distribution in all four income categories for Poway and the San Diego region as required by State law for the 2020-2029 housing cycle. 3 of 8
May 4, 2021, Item #14Table 1 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) 6/30/20 to 04/15/2029 Poway Total Housing Units 1,319 Very Low3 468 Low 268 Moderate 241 Above Moderate 342 1SANDAG Final RHNAfor the City of Poway 2HCD RHNA Determination for the San Diego region 350% to be Extremely Low Income Percent of Total1 Region 100% 171,685 35.5% 42,332 20.3% 26,627 18.3% 29,734 25. 9% 72,992 Percent of Tota12 100% 24.7% 15.5% 17.3% 42.5% The Draft Housing Element is designed to provide the City with a coordinated and comprehensive strategy for promoting the production of safe, decent and affordable housing within the community. The Draft Housing Element presents a plan to achieve the City's housing goal while meeting the requirements of the State of California (Article 10.6 of the Government Code) and includes: • Analysis of the previous Housing Element (2010-2020) and current housing factors (physical, fiscal, regulatory); • Identification of constraints to achieving the housing goal including constraints to furthering fair housing; and • Proposed modifications and refinements to the objectives, policies and programs identified in the previous Housing Element. The Draft Housing Element programs in Chapter 6 address existing and new legislation pertaining to housing for special needs (emergency homeless shelters, transitional housing, supportive housing, low barrier navigation centers, etc.), Density Bonus law, SB 35 Permit Streamlining processes, No Net Loss provisions, updating the Public Safety Element, and monitoring and reporting for housing production and furthering fair housing. Based on public comments discussed previously, HCD recommendations to address State mandates, and/or staff recommendations, some other notable policy and program additions to the Draft Housing Element include: • Encourage State and Federal agencies to reduce constraints to the provision of housing. • Encourage the State to allow cities to implement their RHNA and implement their visions for their communities without State intervention and provide sufficient funding for affordable housing. • Continue to encourage SAN DAG and Caltrans to provide a multi-modal transit corridor along Scripps Poway Parkway and the SR-67 corridors to increase access to jobs and areas of opportunity. • Discourage short term rental of one or more rooms or whole homes on a daily or weekly basis to preserve permanent housing. • Encourage additional housing choices through the development of the Poway Road Specific Plan (PRSP). • Encourage diverse housing design with varying architectural styles, roof and siding materials, colors, and architectural projections while maintaining compatibility and unifying elements with the architecture in the surrounding area. 4 of 8
May 4, 2021, Item #14• Encourage reduced building heights, increased landscape and trees, and private and common active and passive open space in housing projects. • Encourage connections (connectivity) between housing and essential services, parks, trails and related amenities promoting outdoor walking and biking opportunities. • Encourage traffic safety and reduced congestion with appropriate analysis as a part of new housing projects. • Encourage the development of multigenerational housing through ADUs and junior ADUs. • Encourage safety within housing developments through Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), including increased pedestrian scale lighting. • Require new housing units in Very High Fire Hazard Areas to provide adequate fire access and suppression. • Ensure housing construction includes sufficient access including adequate street widths and load capacity along rural streets and curb, gutter, and sidewalk with street trees along nonrural streets. • Require trail easements and related trail improvements and connections for appropriate use as a part of new housing unit construction to promote health and wellness and connectivity. • Create objective design standards for new housing projects as determined by City Council. Based on past success of affordable housing developments in the City, many of the goals and strategies identified in the previous Housing Element Update will continue to be included in the Draft Housing Element. A critical factor to the actual production of affordable housing units will continue to be the identification of a funding mechanism post-redevelopment. The Draft Housing Element consists of the following Chapters: 5 of 8 • Chapter 1 -Introduction: Provides a brief overview of the purpose and background for the Draft Housing Element. It also includes State requirements with recent legislative amendments, a list of HCD required components, and a summary of public outreach and participation. • Chapter 2 -Community Profile: A profile and analysis of the City's demographics, housing characteristics, existing and future housing needs, and a fair housing assessment per AB 686 that analyzes and addresses constraints to fair housing choice and includes impediments imposed by the State and federal governments. As required by HCD, the fair housing assessment includes an analysis of integration and segregation patterns and trends, racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty, disparities in access to opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs within the jurisdiction including displacement risk. • Chapter 3 -Constraints: An analysis of constraints to housing production and retention, including various market, governmental, and environmental limitations to meeting Poway's identified housing needs. Provisions for housing for special needs and constraints related to ADUs and providing housing within the Poway Road Specific Plan and the Farm in Poway Specific Plan areas are included. A new section on wildfire risk constraints is included. • Chapter 4 -Housing Resources: An overview of resources available to accommodate and provide housing for all income levels, including land available for new construction and financial and administrative resources available for housing in Poway. This chapter includes the new Residential Sites Inventory (RSI) to accommodate the RHNA. The RSI
May 4, 2021, Item #14includes prospective ADUs, sites owned by the City or Poway Housing Authority, sites proposed for construction, and Poway Road Specific Plan sites to meet the needs of the RHNA at all income levels. The State allows Poway to meet its housing needs with sites that allow for up to 30 dwelling units per acre. No rezoning is proposed, and previous sites poised to be rezoned with the Affordable Housing Overlay Zone (AHOZ) were abandoned since the Poway Road Specific Plan sites provide sufficient density to meet State requirements. Projects not included in the RSI, but that will be utilized to meet the RHNA include Fairfield (212 units), The Farm in Poway (160 units), and the Outpost (53 units). These projects are accounted for in the Additional Above Moderate-Income Sites Inventory (Attachment A of the Draft Housing Element). • Chapter 5 -Program Accomplishments: An assessment of past accomplishments and an evaluation of programs that should be continued, modified or added in the new housing cycle. The City constructed 488 of the 1,253 housing units allocated by the 2010 to 2020 RHNA. While housing needs at the very low-and low-income affordability levels were met, only 10 of the 100 extremely low-income affordable units allocated were met. • Chapter 6 -Housing Plan: Outlines the City's overall housing goals, objectives, policies, and programs over the housing cycle (2020-2029), and addresses the City's identified housing needs and requirements to comply with State law. HCD is required to provide written comments on the Draft Housing Element within 60 days (Government Code Section 65585(b)) of receipt. Once comments are received from HCD, staff will determine whether any revisions to the document are required. Staff will incorporate comments from HCD into a final Housing Element Update document and release it for public review and comment. Staff anticipates bringing the final document to City Council on August 3rd for adoption. Upon adoption of the Housing Element, the document will again be submitted to HCD for certification. Environmental Review: This action is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Prior to adoption of the Housing Element Update, an Initial Study, Environmental Checklist and Negative Declaration will be prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Fiscal Impact: None. Public Notification: A Notice of this workshop was posted on the City's website, with notifications sent out to news subscribers and the Poway Today e-newsletter list. Notification was provided to news and social media outlets, all registrants for first community workshop, related listserve registrants, and community and housing stakeholders. Attachments: A. Draft 2020-2029 Housing Element (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) https://docs.poway.org/Weblink/Browse.aspx?id=151667&dbid=0&repo=Cityof Poway 6 of 8
May 4, 2021, Item #14Reviewed/ Approved By: pU l----Wend~:erman Assistant City Manager 7 of 8 Reviewed By: Alan Fenstermacher City Attorney Approved By: c~ City Manager
May 4, 2021, Item #148 of 8 Draft 2020-2029 Housing Element (on file in the Office of the City Clerk) https://docs.poway.org/Weblink/Browse.aspx?id=151667&dbid=0&repo=CityofPoway ATTACHMENT A