Agenda Item Wording:
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Discussion of and request to solicit input on the Public Review Draft Housing Element of the Visalia General Plan, and a request for the City Council to authorize submitting the Housing Element to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for the mandated 90-day review period.
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Deadline for Action: 6/19/2023
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Brandon Smith, Principal Planner, (559) 713-4636, brandon.smith@visalia.city <mailto:brandon.smith@visalia.city> Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, (559) 713-4025, paul.bernal@visalia.city
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council do the following:
1) Receive a presentation on the Public Review Draft Housing Element of the Visalia General Plan (presentation slides are attached),
2) Receive public input and provide input on the Public Review Draft Housing Element of the Visalia General Plan (see attached Draft Plan), and
3) Authorize submitting the Housing Element to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for the mandated 90-day review period, with any changes as directed by the City Council.
Background Discussion on Housing Element:
In August 2022, City staff initiated the update to the City’s Housing Element for the 6th cycle (2023-2031 planning period). The Housing Element is a chapter of the City’s General Plan document which must be reviewed and certified by the State every eight years. The purpose of the Housing Element is to identify and analyze existing and projected housing needs in order to preserve, improve, and develop housing for all economic segments of the community.
On July 18, 2022, the City Council awarded a professional services contract to Mintier Harnish of Sacramento for the preparation of an update to the City’s Housing Element, including optional tasks of updating the Safety Element and preparing an Environmental Justice Element.
The preparation of these documents has progressed as scheduled, culminating in the release of a Draft Housing Element for a mandatory 30-day public review period prior to submission to the Housing Element to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for a mandatory 90-day review period. The Housing Element must be adopted by the City Council submitted to HCD prior to the December 31st deadline to avoid being out of compliance with State requirements.
Public Participation and Engagement:
Over the course of the last ten months, the consultants with guidance from City staff have completed tasks that have culminated in the completion of a Draft Housing Element.
The following list summarizes items which constitute public participation in the development of the Housing Element.
• Preparation of a project website (www.housevisalia.com <http://www.housevisalia.com>) translatable into Spanish.
• Distribution of Newsletter #1 (September 2022) which provides an overview of the Housing Element & General Plan Update process.
• City Council study session held on September 19, 2022.
• Three meetings of the 11-member Housing Technical Advisory Committee (see member listing below):
o October 18, 2022,
o January 31, 2023, and
o May 30, 2023.
• Facilitation of stakeholder interviews to 12 persons representing local housing developers, agency, and advocates.
• Two virtual community workshops:
o October 26, 2022: Introduction to the Housing Element, and
o March 15, 2023: Discussion of vacant & underutilized sites.
• Circulation of a Housing Needs Survey, in English and Spanish, generating approximately 300 responses.
• City and Consultant email notifications (e-blasts) to project email list & agencies/organizations list to announce events and website additions.
• Distribution of Newsletter #2 (June 2023) which provides an overview of the public draft Housing Element and the remaining steps (see attachment).
Technical Advisory Committee: The City’s preparation for the Update included the City Council’s authorization to appoint a TAC to steer the preparation of the Update. The composition of the TAC ins intended to represent a broad cross-section of affordable housing advocates, market-rate housing providers, non-governmental agencies that provide housing services to persons and families in need of housing assistance, and one at large member. The members who were appointed and served on the TAC are:
§ Mary Beattie, Planning Commission
§ Scott Travis, Building Industry Association of Tulare/Kings Counties
§ Royce Stuteville, Central California Legal Services
§ Mary Alice Escarsega, C-SET
§ Ken Kugler, Housing Authority of Tulare County
§ Miguel Perez, Kings Tulare Homeless Alliance
§ Machael Smith, RH Community Builders
§ Betsy McGovern-Garcia, Self-Help Enterprises
§ Brett Taylor, Tulare County Association of Realtors
§ Noah Whitaker, Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency
§ Mike Olmos, member at large
The TAC met three times between October 2022 and May 2023.
Organization of the Housing Element:
State law describes the mandatory discussion that shall be contained within a Housing Element:
• Sites Inventory and Analysis. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) adopted by the Tulare County Association of Governments, has determined that Visalia needs to accommodate sufficient capacity for 10,791 dwelling units among four different income categories for the eight-year Housing Element cycle. The consultant and staff have worked to identify vacant land within the City, including a few sites with pending annexations, and certain sites with redevelopment potential that can accommodate the sites inventory, including a 15-30 percent buffer. The draft Sites Inventory does not call for the rezoning of any sites, although many sites will require approval of a conditional use permit and/or tentative subdivision map.
• Constraints. State law requires a review of governmental, non-governmental, and potential environmental constraints that could impact the production of housing. In response to these constraints, implementation programs are set forth to remove constraints where appropriate and legally possible. Housing Element Programs 5.8 and 9.4 primarily address the removal of such constraints.
• Goals, Policies, and Implementation Programs. The goals and policies are largely the same in the draft Housing Element, with the exception of the expansion and creation of a new fair housing goal and policy. Many implementation programs now incorporate place-based strategies that assist with development in the downtown, including mixed-use development in walkable areas, and strategically identify rehabilitation efforts towards lower resource areas. Several key programs are continued in this update, in addition to some significant new commitments and follow-on Municipal Code updates. These are described in more detail in the attached presentation slides.
• Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. A new requirement for this update cycle is the inclusion of an extensive analysis that assesses a jurisdiction’s fair housing issues, analysis of segregation patterns and disparities in access to opportunities, an assessment of contributing factors, and an identification of goals and actions. The resulting listing of Meaningful Actions to Address Fair Housing Issues (Table 85 in the Draft Housing Element) commits the City to a spectrum of follow-up reports, outreach events, and other actions that must be completed over the following eight years.
• Existing and Special Needs Housing Assessment. This chapter presents a large amount of data, typically presented in tables and shown over a lapse of time, to establish “baseline” population, employment, and housing characteristics for Visalia.
• Zoning for a Variety of Housing Types. State law requires jurisdiction to discuss its zoning regulations applicable towards a variety of housing types, some serving special needs populations. Where compliance issues are identified, programs have been created to commit the City to modify its Municipal Code into compliance with State law. Housing Element Program 5.8 primarily addresses the modification of the Zoning Ordinance to meet State law.
Safety Element Update:
Between February and May 2023, the consultant team has been engaged with staff to compile data and formulate analysis and policies in response to state legislation on safety issues that takes effect when a jurisdiction undergoes a housing element update. Topics addressed in the Safety Element Update include the identification of vulnerable neighborhoods that have less than two evacuation routes, the capacity of the City’s evacuation route options in response to three possible emergency scenarios, and the City’s vulnerability and response to climate change adaptation. The Update has included one meeting of a Safety Element Technical Advisory Committee comprised of staff from the City’s Fire, Police, and Public Works Departments.
Environmental Justice Element:
In April 2023, the consultant began preparing an Administrative Draft Environmental Justice Element in accordance with state guidelines for identifying areas of concern (i.e., disadvantaged communities or neighborhoods of focus). In May 2023, the consultant team and staff began developing an outreach strategy to solicit feedback on environmental justice related topics, including the creation of an online survey. The City will capitalize on its relationship with community care providers to distribute the survey. In July and August, the City and the consultant will host pop-up booths within impacted census tracts at community events, such as open houses and other community events, possibly including an outreach workshop at a community center or meeting place.
Fiscal Impact:
The project is funded through State and regional grants.
Prior Council Action:
On July 18, 2022, the City Council awarded a professional services contract to Mintier Harnish of Sacramento for the preparation of an update to the City’s Housing Element, including optional tasks of updating the Safety Element and preparing an Environmental Justice Element. On September 19, 2022, City Council held a study session (no action was taken) at the beginning of the Housing Element Update to discuss phases, schedule, expectations, and community engagement strategy
Alternatives: N/A
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
No motion is needed for this work session item.
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Environmental Assessment Status:
No environmental assessment required at this time. The adoption of the updated Elements will require CEQA documentation to be completed by City staff.
CEQA Review:
Not at this time. The adoption of the updated Elements will require CEQA documentation to be completed by City staff.
Attachments:
1) Presentation slides
2) Public Draft Housing Element
3) Newsletter #2