Agenda Item Wording:
title
Acceptance of the 2023 Housing Element - Annual Progress Report (APR).
body
Deadline for Action: 3/18/2024
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Brandon Smith, Principal Planner, 713-4636 brandon.smith@visalia.city <mailto:brandon.smith@visalia.city>;
Paul Bernal, Community Development Director, 713-4025 paul.bernal@visalia.city <mailto:paul.bernal@visalia.city>
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the 2023 Housing Element Annual Progress Report and authorize staff to forward the report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Background Discussion:
Pursuant to State Housing Law (Government Code Section §65400), cities and counties are required to report their progress on implementing their current Housing Elements. The report includes a summary of the jurisdiction’s housing activity, progress in reaching their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) by income level, and progress in implementing the City’s Housing Element’s goals and programs.
The report is a useful tool for City officials, staff, citizens, and stakeholder groups interested in the City’s housing trends, particularly as they relate to affordable housing. The report must be reviewed by the City Council, submitted to HCD by April 1st, and accepted by HCD. Failure to prepare and deliver the report on a timely basis incurs risk of the City losing future housing grant funding opportunities.
The report demonstrates that the City follows all applicable State laws and policies pertaining to housing, and that the City is implementing its housing policies and programs as articulated in its midcycle or four-year update to the 5th Cycle Housing Element adopted in December 2019. (The City will begin reporting on its progress on the 6th Cycle Housing Element, which was completed in December 2023, starting next year.)
The 2023 APR forms and tables are largely unchanged from the previous year’s format. The APR continues to require listing and affordability determination of all “considered” housing projects (i.e., potential projects submitted to the Site Plan Review Committee), completed entitlements, and individual building permits for every individual housing unit. Jurisdictions report these units to gain credit against their RHNA housing unit requirements. The expanded reporting is in accordance with the State’s enhanced focus on the housing development process.
All residential building permits must be tracked through to their final grant of occupancy. Only units that receive issuance of a building permit during the reporting period are counted toward the jurisdiction’s RHNA allocation. Notwithstanding the interest in the jurisdiction’s performance on providing affordable housing to lower income households, the APR requires detailed permit information on all residential units.
The contents of the APR are described below along with their applicability to the City of Visalia.
|
|
Table Name |
Description |
|
Table A |
Housing development applications submitted |
Lists all applications deemed complete in 2023. Examples: Subdivision Maps, Conditional Use Permits, Site Plan Review applications receiving a “Revise & Proceed” and needing no further entitlements. |
|
Table A2 |
Annual building activity report summary |
Lists all housing units that have received an entitlement, issued and/or finaled building permit in 2023. Examples: building permits for single-family, multi-family, and accessory dwelling units, applications listed in Table A. |
|
Table B |
Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Progress |
Summary of permits issued by income level in each year of RHNA allocation. |
|
Table C |
Sites identified / rezoned to accommodate shortfall housing need |
N/A for Visalia. The City maintains a surplus in all levels. |
|
Table D |
Housing Element Program implementation status |
Reports on all mid-cycle update to the 5th Cycle Housing Element programs. |
|
Table E |
Commercial development bonuses approved |
N/A for Visalia. No such applications received in reporting period. |
|
Table F |
Units rehabilitated, preserved and acquired for alternative adequate sites |
N/A for Visalia. Optional table. |
|
Table F2 |
Above moderate income units converted to moderate income units |
N/A for Visalia. Optional table. |
|
Table G |
Locally owned lands included in Housing Element sites inventory that have been sold, leased, or disposed |
N/A for Visalia. No locally owned inventoried land has been sold. |
|
Table H |
Locally Owned or Controlled Lands Declared Surplus |
Lists sites designated as surplus. Currently none of these sites contain housing. |
|
Table J |
Student housing development with a density bonus approved |
N/A for Visalia. No student housing applied for. |
|
Table K |
Tenant Preference Policy |
N/A for Visalia. No tenant preference policy adopted by City. New table for 2023. |
|
Summary |
Summary of data from preceding tables |
Summary of data from preceding tables |
|
LEAP Reporting |
Status of proposed uses listed in LEAP application and the corresponding impact on housing |
Reports the City’s progress on its LEAP grant, which was approved in 2021. |
Summary of Report:
Table A: Application Submittal Summary
- Entitlement Applications. Entitlement applications reflecting a total of 1,878 units were submitted and deemed complete in 2023. This includes:
• seven subdivisions totaling 1,571 single-family residential units (see Table A),
• one conditional use permit (CUP) application for 168 market-rate apartment dwelling units associated with the Belissa Residential Community subdivision,
• one CUP application for a residence in an Office Conversion zone, and
• two parcel maps yielding 5 dwelling units.
- Site Plan Review by-right uses. Units tallied through Site Plan Review applications for by-right uses receiving a “Revise & Proceed” are approximately 167 units over six projects. This includes:
• one 94-unit deed-restricted Very Low and Low Income development (Colegio West, Dinuba & Glendale, Self-Help Enterprises), and
• one 42-unit deed-restricted Extremely Low Income hotel conversion utilizing Homekey funds (Majestic Gardens, 4545 W. Noble Avenue, RHCB Development LP).
Table A2: Building Activity
Comparative data sets between the 2023 and the previous four years’ APR submittals are shown in the tables below:
|
Residential Permit Category |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Issued building permits: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ADUs |
4 |
2 |
5 |
16 |
22 |
|
Single-Family Units |
633 |
599 |
632 |
540 |
317 |
|
Multi-Family Units |
61 |
6 |
204 |
695 |
12 |
|
Granted occupancy: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ADUs |
1 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
20 |
|
Single-Family Units |
529 |
571 |
590 |
651 |
448 |
|
Multi-Family Units |
72 |
38 |
2 |
43 |
296 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Affordability by Income (issued permits) |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Above Moderate |
169 |
92 |
76 |
124 |
165 |
|
Moderate |
463 |
504 |
548 |
411 |
156 |
|
Low |
46 |
10 |
170 |
657 |
16 |
|
Very Low |
20 |
1 |
40 |
21 |
11 |
|
Extremely Low |
0 |
0 |
7 |
38 |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
698 |
607 |
841 |
1251 |
351 |
- Conditional Use Permits approved in 2023. Three CUPs were approved in January and February 2023 for apartment complexes containing a total of 847 units deed restricted for Extremely Low, Very Low, and Low Income Categories plus nine managers units. The three projects were located at Demaree & Houston, Ben Maddox & K, and Lovers & Caldwell. These projects do not appear in Table A because their entitlement applications were deemed complete in the prior calendar year.
- Multi-Family Residential. The 12 multi-family units that were issued permits are classified as affordable to the Low Income category based on the density of the units’ underlying zone district. The units are associated with the Village at Shannon Parkway apartment complex located at Shannon Parkway & Court Street, which in 2022 had permits issued for the balance of the project (i.e., 204 units).
- Deed Restricted Affordability. There were no permits issued in 2023 for deed restricted units.
- Single-Family Residential - Very Low Income Affordability. A total of 14 accessory dwelling units (ADUs) were issued permits classified as affordable to the Very Low Income category based on total valuation of the permit and number of bedrooms.
- Single-Family Residential - Low Income Affordability. A total of four ADUs were issued permits classified as affordable to the Low Income category based on total valuation of the permit and number of bedrooms.
- Single-Family Residential - Moderate & Above Moderate Affordability. A total of three ADUs and 152 single-family residences are classified as affordable to the Moderate Income category, and one ADU and 165 single-family residences are classified as affordable to the Above Moderate Income category, based on total valuation of the permit and number of bedrooms.
- Affordability Determination. Like in previous reporting years, affordability in the 2023 reporting year was determined based on an affordability calculator made available by State HCD through their website.
Table B: Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Compliance:
There were no discretionary actions that affected the City’s RHNA obligations. Consequently, the RHNA remains in compliance with the Housing Element and State law.
Table D: Housing Element Implementation:
There were no program accomplishments that involved changes to the City’s Zoning Ordinance in 2023. There were several outreach and financial accomplishments that took place in 2023.
The City held 3 public hearings and 2 community meetings covering CDBG, HOME, and NSP funded programs, which included affordable housing programs (Program 1.5 - Housing Education; Program 3.7 - Inform Public).
Maps illustrating the City’s infill site inventory were updated in October 2023 (Program 2.1 - Infill Site Inventory).
Rancho Colegio (80 units) and Demaree Apartments (220 units), new construction affordable housing projects, were awarded Low-Income Tax Credits (Program 3.4 - Low Income Tax Credits).
The City awarded an additional $425,000 in LMIHAF to the Majestic Gardens project for the development of permanent housing for extremely-low income households at 30% AMI or lower (Program 3.18 - Targeting Extremely Low Income Developments).
The City provided $118,000 in PLHA funds for a Seasonal Emergency Low-Barrier Shelter (Warming Center), and $263,795 for a transitional bridge housing project called Eden House for people experiencing homelessness. The City also provided an additional $1,129,275 in CDBG funds for the development of a 100-bed Low-Barrier Navigation Center. (Program 5.2 - Homeless Shelter Program).
The City provided HOME funds for the development of 5 single-family homes. One of the homes was fully accessible and 4 homes were ADA adaptable (Program 5.8 - Housing for Persons with Developmental Disabilities).
Fiscal Impact:
None. However, failure to submit the report in a timely manner exposes the City to risk of being ineligible for future State housing grant opportunities.
Prior Council Action: The mid-cycle or four-year update to the 5th Cycle Housing Element (from which the Implementation Programs in Table D of the APR are reviewed) was approved by the City Council on December 3, 2019. On March 20, 2023, the City Council received the 2022 Housing Element Annual Progress Report and authorized staff to submit the report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Other: None.
Alternatives: Direct revisions to the report and submit by April 1st, and/or report back to the City Council with additional information as directed.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to accept the report and direct staff to forward the final report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
end
Environmental Assessment Status: Exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15306 (Information Collection).
CEQA Review: Exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15306 (Information Collection).
Attachments: 2023 Annual Progress Report