TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: MARCH 19, 2024
SUBJECT:
Title
HOUSING ELEMENT - 2023 ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT (FUNDING SOURCE: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT BUDGET)
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SUMMARY
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65400, the City must provide an Annual Progress Report (APR) to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Office of Planning Research (OPR) regarding our progress on the implementation of the City’s Housing Element. The APR provides information regarding the number of housing units for which applications were submitted, that received entitlement approvals, for which building permits were issued, and those for which construction was completed in calendar year 2023. We are currently in the 6th-Cycle Housing Element Planning Period, covering 2021-2029 and unit tallies are compared against the 6th-Cycle Regional Needs Housing Assessment (RHNA) numbers for the City of Claremont.
The APR also provides an update on the implementation of housing programs contained in the City’s certified Housing Element, which currently is the City’s 5th Cycle Housing Element (2014-2021) as the 6th-Cycle Element has not yet been fully certified by HCD. As such, the APR reports on the programs in the 5th-Cycle Housing Element.
The APR is required to be considered, received, and filed by the City Council at a public meeting no later than April 1, 2024 upon recommendation by the Planning Commission and prior to submittal to HCD and OPR. At this meeting, the Planning Commission is being asked to review the 2023 Annual Progress Report, included herein as an Attachment and make a recommendation to the City Council.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend approval to the City Council of the attached 2023 Annual Progress Report.
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the staff recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Continue the item, while noting that a continuation will delay the submittal of the 2023 Annual Progress Report beyond the State’s April 1, 2024 deadline.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The staff cost to prepare the report is approximately $2,500, which is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department. The action involves the status of programs that have a financial impact on the City as they are unfunded State mandates for which funding sources have already been identified in the adopted 2014-2021 Housing Element.
2023 ANNUAL HOUSING ELEMENT PROGRESS REPORT
New Housing Units
The APR includes information on the City’s progress in meeting their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) target for the planning period of 2021-2029 (6th-Cycle). This includes the number of housing units for which applications were submitted, that received entitlement approvals, for which building permits were issued, and those for which construction was completed in calendar year 2023.
Claremont has been allocated 1,711 new housing units as its fair share of the 1,341,827 total number of units needed to meet forecasted population growth in the six-county Southern California Council of Governments (SCAG) region for the 6th-Cycle planning period. The allocation of units is distributed across five income categories, as follows:
As of the date of this report, the City has issued building permits for 16 very low income units, 16 low income units, 5 moderate income units, and 36 above moderate units in this planning cycle (from 10/15/2021 to 12/31/2023). This means that the City is short of the required number of very low-income units by 518, low-income units by 289, moderate income units by 290, and above moderate-income units by 454. Progress in meeting the City’s 6th-Cycle RHNA allocation is based on building permits issued. Projects such as the Village South Development, which provides 711 new units, including 105-units affordable to moderate income households; and Larkin Place, which provides 33-units affordable to extremely-low income households, received Planning entitlements in 2023, but building permits for these projects were not issued in 2023.
Implementation Status of Programs
The APR covers the implementation status of the programs contained in the City’s certified Housing Element for calendar year 2023. Because the City does not yet have a certified Housing Element Update for the 6th-Cycle planning period, the APR reports on the implementation status of the housing programs in the 5th-Cycle Housing Element for the year 2023. The City is currently in the process of obtaining certification of the 6th-Cycle Housing Element Update from HCD.
In July 2023, the City Council adopted the 6th-Cycle Housing Element Update. The Housing Element Update outlines the City’s strategy for satisfying the City’s RHNA obligation for the Sixth Cycle Planning Period through a suite of housing programs including a re-zoning program to ensure the City has sufficient capacity to accommodate the 1,711 new units identified as Claremont’s fair share. In adopting the Housing Element Update, the City Council provided direction to staff regarding how to proceed with the rezoning of the Opportunity Sites in the Housing Element Update. In order for the 6th-Cycle Housing Element to be certified by HCD, the Opportunity Sites must be rezoned to allow for the number of residential units identified in the Housing Element Update. Staff is preparing to bring the Opportunity Site rezonings forward to the Planning Commission and City Council for consideration in the coming months.
Standardized APR Form Content
As part of the update, the State requires that a standardized APR form be completed and submitted by local jurisdictions. The following is a summary of the City’s completed forms for 2023, included herein as an Attachment:
• Table A includes new housing units by income level for which a discretionary application has been submitted, or construction plans have been submitted for plan check within the calendar year 2023:
- 259 units reported in this category, including 60 very low-income units, 30 low
income units, 17 moderate income units, and 152 above moderate income units.
• Table A2 includes net new housing units by income level that have received an entitlement, a building permit, or a certificate of occupancy (or final inspection) during the calendar year 2023:
- 968 units reported in this category, including 65 very low-income units, 35 low-
income units, 126 moderate income units, and 742 above moderate income units.
• Table B summarizes prior permitting activity in the current planning cycle and permitting activity for the calendar year being reported:
- 73 units received building permits in 2023 and are reported in this category.
• Table C includes sites identified or rezoned to accommodate shortfall of housing sites from the previous planning period, to meet a shortfall of sites noted in the Housing Element, or to provide additional sites required by no net loss law under Government Section 65863. If applicable, this data would serve as an addendum to the sites inventory in the adopted Housing Element:
- No additional sites reported.
• Table D is the report on the status of the 2014-2021 Housing Element Implementation Program for the 2023 calendar year. Because the City does not have a certified 6th-Cycle Housing Element, this table reports on the status of housing programs in the 5th Cycle (2014-2021) Housing Element.
• Table E includes commercial development bonuses approved by the City during the 2023 calendar year.
- No units reported.
• Table F includes units rehabilitated, preserved, and acquired for alternative adequate sites during the 2023 calendar year.
- No units reported.
• Table F2 includes above moderate income units converted to moderate income units.
- No units reported.
• Table G includes locally owned lands included in the Housing Element sites inventory
that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of during the 2022 calendar year.
- No properties reported
• Table H includes locally owned or controlled lands declared as surplus or identified as excess.
- None reported.
• Table J includes student housing development for lower income students for which a density bonus was granted during the 2022 calendar year.
- None reported.
CEQA REVIEW
This item (adopting Annual Progress Report as required by the State Housing Element Law) is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and Section 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a “project” as defined in Section 15378). CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) and (5) excludes “[c]ontinuing administrative or maintenance activities” and “[o]rganizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment” from its definition of “project.”
Even if this item were a “project,” it would be statutorily exempt under CEQA Guideline Sections 15282(r) and 15283 because it merely implements HCD’s directives with respect to the City’s allocation of the RHNA and categorically exempt under CEQA Guideline section 15306 because it consists of information collection.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the Nhi Atienza at natienza@ci.claremont.ca.us.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Brad Johnson Nikola Hlady
Community Development Director Senior Planner
Attachment:
Housing Element - 2023 Annual Progress Report