HOUSING ELEMENT

About the Housing Element of the General Plan

At its meeting of June 21, 2011, the City Council adopted the 2011 Housing Element (Resolution No. 11-083). On August 15, 2011, the State Department of Housing and Community Development found this element to be in conformance with State Housing Element Law (Government Code Sections 65580 et seq.).

You can download the 2011 Housing Element here. [pdf:4.5mb/199pp]

The Housing Element of the General Plan contains the City’s goals, policies, and action items relevant to providing housing to its residents.  Most of the content of the Housing Element is mandated by State Housing Element Law (Government Code Sections 65580 et seq.).

One of the most significant issues that the Housing Element Update needed to address is compliance with SB 2 (Statutes of 2007). That bill requires local jurisdictions to estimate the size of their homeless populations, establish policy and an action program to establish a zoning district in which emergency shelters may be located by right (without requirement for a conditional use permit) no later than one year following adoption of the updated element. SB 2 allows local jurisdictions to establish certain development standards for emergency shelters, provided that such standards are no more restrictive than other uses allowed in the same zoning district. SB2 also provides that “transitional” and “support” housing are to be considered residential uses allowed by right.