Public Comment - Additional Materials posted 12-05-23M EMQRAN DLJ M City of Poway
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
(Agenda Related Writings/Documents provided to City Council or Staff after distribution of the
Agenda Packet for the December 5, 2023 Council Meeting)
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
CONTACT:
SUBJECT:
December 5, 2023
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Carrie Gallagher, City Clerk ~
(858) 668-4535 or cgall ag her@poway.org
Public Comment
Attached please find correspondence received after the agenda posting deadline.
Reviewed/Approved By:
Assistant City Manager
1 of9
Reviewed By:
Alan Fenstermacher
City Attorney
Approved By:
Chr~~
City Manager
December 5, 2023, Public Comment
From:
To:
Subject:
Date:
Attachments:
Poway Voices
Steve vaus: Anita Edmondson: CayHn Frank: Brian Pepin; Peter De Hoff; Qty_Cle_rk
Poway"s Housing Element; December 5th Council Meeting Public Oral
Monday, December 4, 2023 7:36:43 AM
poway-HENC-LOI-082522 .pdf
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EXTERNAL EMAIL
Dear Mayor Vaus, Council and City Clerk:
We are very concerned about the City's failure to adopt a
compliant housing element and the severe consequences that
can result from that failure. We ask that the City Council address .
the issue immediately and provide the community (and the state)
with a specific timeline for submitting an updated draft housing
element that is compliant with state law.
The 6th cycle housing element was due on April 15,
2021, 31 months ago. Poway did adopt a knowingly non-
compliant housing element in August, 2021, the deadline for
adopting a housing element. The council instructed the planning
department to work with the state housing department to find out
what was needed to bring the housing element into compliance,
but the staff failed to submit a revised draft to the state until Oct
30,2022, more than 17 months later. That draft did not pass state
review. No further revisions have been sent to the state.
The City of Poway received a letter (attached) from the
California Department of Housing and Community Development
in August 2022. The letter warned of the consequences of falling
short in adopting or failing to comply with previously adopted
housing elements: possible legal suits and attorney fees,
financial penalties that could be as high as $600,000 per month,
loss of permitting authority (suspension of the locality's authority
to issue building permits or grant zoning changes, variances, or
subdivision map approvals), and streamlined ministerial approval
processes to bring a jurisdiction into compliance. Recent
examples 1 have confirmed that the state, developers, third
2 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
parties and individuals can sue cities. Locally the state revoked
Encinitas' compliance status and the City of Coronado was sued
for failing to comply with state law. The fact that the state does
follow up with non-compliant entities implies that letters from the
California HCD should be taken seriously, and acted upon in a
timely manner.
The letter also stated that "jurisdictions without a
substantially compliant housing element cannot rely on
inconsistency with zoning and general plan standards as a basis
for denial of a housing project for very low-, low-or moderate-
income households". In other words, Poway is subject to
the "builder's remedy " law right now, because of the City's
failure to adopt a substantially compliant housing element. This
means that the city is required by law to give permits for
developments that exceed density and height limits of our
General Plan and development code or Prop FF, if the project
includes affordable housing.
We are also concerned that developers can now use the
threat of a "builder's remedy" project as leverage to get approval
for denser projects that do not include any affordable housing.
We believe that the lack of a compliant housing element
puts us at more risk of losing what is left of our "City in the
Country". Consequently, we believe that it is imperative for the
Council to proactively eliminate this vulnerability. Please provide
both an update on this situation with realistic timelines to address
the issue and a clear statement of your progress to-date.
Thank you,
Nick Carruthers
Chris Cruse
Jana Johnson
Alison Park
3 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
Torrey Powers and
Eric Weller
[1 l https ://abag.ca.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2021 -
06/Consequences %20of%20Non-
Compl iance %20with %20Housing %20Laws .pdf
4 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
STATE OF CALIFORNIA -BUSINESS CONSUMER SERVICES AND HOUSING AGENCY
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DIVISION OF HOUSING POLICY DEVELOPMENT
2020 W. El Camino Avenue, Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95833
(916) 263-2911 / FAX (916) 263-7453
www.hcd.ca.gov
August25,2022
Chris Hazeltine, City Manager
City of Poway
13325 Civic Center Drive
Poway, CA 92074
Dear Chris Hazeltine:
RE: City of Poway Failure to Adopt a Compliant 6th Cycle Housing Element -
Letter of Inquiry
The purpose of this letter is to inquire about the status of the City of Poway's (City) 6th
cycle planning period housing element pursuant to Government Code section 65588,
subdivision (e). As you are aware, the 6th cycle update was due April 15, 2021 , and the
City is out of compliance with State Housing Element Law (Article 10.6 (commencing
with section 65580) of Chapter 3 of the Government Code). The Department of Housing
and Community Development (HCD) is requesting the City provide a specific timeline
for (1) submitting an updated draft housing element and (2) obtaining compliance with
State Housing Element Law no later than September 25, 2022.
6th Cycle Housing Element Submission and Review History
The 6th cycle planning period for the City is April 15, 2021, through April 15, 2029. The
City failed to submit a compliant adopted housing element by its 6th cycle due date of
April 15, 2021, pursuant to Government Code section 65588. HCD records are as
follows:
• On May 10, 2021 , the City submitted a draft housing element to HCD for review .
• On July 9, 2021, HCD issued a findings letter to the City noting multiple revisions
necessary for the housing element to be compliant with State Housing Element
Law.
AB 1398, Statutes of 2021
Please note, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1398 (Chapter 358, Statutes of 2021 ), a
jurisdiction that failed to adopt a compliant housing element within one year from the
statutory deadline cannot be found in compliance until any rezones necessary to
accommodate a shortfall of sites pursuant to Government Code section 65583,
5 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
subdivision (c)(1 )(A), and Government Code section 65583.2, subdivision (c) are
completed.
Consequences of Noncompliance
There are various consequences that may apply if the City does not have a housing
element in compliance with State Housing Element Law. First, noncompliance will result
in ineligibility or delay in receiving state funds that require a compliant housing element
as a prerequisite, including, but not limited to the following:
• Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program
• Local Housing Trust Fund Program
• Infill Infrastructure Grant Program
• SB 1 Caltrans Sustainable Communities Grants
• Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program
Second, jurisdictions that do not meet their housing element requirements may face
additional financial and legal ramifications. HCD may notify the California Office of the
Attorney General, which may bring suit for violations of State Housing Element Law.
Further, statute provides for court-imposed penalties for persistent noncompliance,
including financial penalties. Government Code section 65585, subdivision (1)(1 ),
establishes a minimum fine of $10,000 per month, up to $100,000 per month. If a
jurisdiction continues to remain noncompliant, a court can multiply the penalties up to a
factor of six. Other potential ramifications could include the loss of local land use
authority to a court-appointed agent.
In addition to these legal remedies available in the courts, under the Housing
Accountability Act (Gov. Code§ 65589.5, subd. (d)), jurisdictions without a substantially
compliant housing element cannot rely on inconsistency with zoning and general plan
standards as a basis for denial of a housing project for very low-, low-, or moderate-
income households.1
Conclusion
As a reminder, housing elements are essential to developing a blueprint for growth and
are a vital tool to address California's prolonged housing crisis. Accordingly, state law
has established clear disincentives for local jurisdictions that fail to comply with State
Housing Element Law. To meet the 6th cycle update requirements for a substantially
compliant housing element, the City must consider HCD's written findings from previous
1 For purposes of the Housing Accountability Act, housing for very low-, low-, or moderate-income
households is defined as having at least 20 percent of units set aside for low-income residents or 100
percent of units set aside for middle-income residents. (Gov. Code § 65589.5, subd. (h)(3).)
6 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
drafts, adopt the housing element, and submit it to HCD for review and certification
before it can be considered compliant. (Gov. Code § 65585.)
HCD will consider any written response before taking further action authorized by
Government Code section 65585, subdivision G), including referral to the California
Office of the Attorney General. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the
content of this letter, please contact Kevin Hefner of our staff at
Kevin .Hefner@hcd .ca .gov .
Sincerely,
Melinda Coy
Senior Housing Accountability Manager
7 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
From:
To:
Subject:
Date:
agendadocs resource
Ellis Webster
FW: Structures in Adobe Ridge Park
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 12:54:02 PM
From: Joe St. Lucas <jstlucas@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 4, 2023 1:45 PM
To: Brian Pepin <BPepin@poway.org>; Peter De Hoff <PDeHoff@poway org>
Subject: Structures in Adobe Ridge Park
I Some people who received this message don't often get email from istlucas@gmail com. Learn why th is is
important
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Brian, this is in your district, Peter I'm including because he's kind of a "science" guy. I will be talking
about this either at the Dec 5 council meeting or whenever the next meeting is, lots of times the 2nd
dee meeting gets cancelled.
We had some massive wooden structures at the park that shaded the picnic tables. They of course
got infected with termites and were torn down a couple of years ago. We (the neighborhood) were
told by Dave Grosch that the replacements would look like the structures in Silverset Park. City Staff
says that they don't know how Dave got that impression. We were also told that the city would be
putting laser etched gridding on these like in the library courtyard. Wow, that'd be great.
So now it's finished. When I walk my dogs I'll run into people that will say "Those structures look
great. When will they be finished?" To which I say "they're done, no more work is being done on
them." Virtually everyone I talk to about this in the neighborhood can't figure out why the
structures were put up this way. The city says that they decided to save money by NOT putting in
the laser gridding. So now it just looks incomplete, and more importantly, gives very little shade.
The old wooden structure had a row of 2x6 or 2x8 spaced 2 or so inches apart so while it didn't block
out the sunlight, it gave enough shade. Unfortunately I don't have pies of the old structures except
for a google street view. Notice the amount of shade on the ground for March 2019. Right now in
the almost dead of winter, there's very little shade. Imagine during the late spring through the
summer when the sun is close to overhead and is shining directly down. The "old" wooden grid gave
enough shadow during this time also.
8 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment
Now, some specs. These massive (will be around years after california falls into the sea) structures
are 6" square, 1/4 inch thick steel, buried 4 ft down into the ground, and cost roughly $48K for the
two of them. For what they are, they are overkill.
I'm going to propose something like redwood lattice gridwork for the tops, might have to replace
them after 10 years, but the structures right now are a disappointment.
BTW, I've already talked with Will Wiley and sent an email to Chris Hazeltine about this. Here's what
the top gridwork looks like now, pardon the lens distortion. They are essentially 2x4 spaced a foot
apart.
Joe St. Lucas
14829 Sunrise Dr.
Poway 92064
9 of9 December 5, 2023, Public Comment