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SR-111108-9BCity Council Meeting: November 11, 2008 Agenda Item: `~ To: Mayor and City Council From: Eileen Fogarty, Director of Planning & Community Development Subject: Public Hearing to Adopt a Negative Declaration and to Adopt the 2008- 2014 General Plan Housing Element Recommended Action Staff recommends that the Council: 1. Adopt a resolution adopting the Initial Study/Negative Declaration in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); 2. Adopt a resolution adopting the proposed 2008-2014 General Plan Housing Element as revised. Executive Summary On April 29, 2008, the Council reviewed the Housing Element and directed that the document be modified pursuant to Council and Planning Commission comment prior to being sent to the California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review. This report presents the draft reviewed by HCD with revisions proposed in response to the issues they raised. As revised, Santa Monica's Housing Element will meet State requirements for' certification and staff recommends adoption of the Housing Element as proposed. On October 1, 2008, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended adoption of the Housing Element and proposed one additional policy presented in this report. The report also discusses the determination under CEQA that no significant impacts on the environment will occur from adoption of the proposed Housing Element. Adoption of the Housing Element does not directly impact the City's budget. Background On April 29, 2008, the City Council reviewed the Public Review Draft of the Housing Element along with recommendations made by the Planning Commission. Following Council direction, Community & Strategic Planning staff submitted a revised document to HCD on May 28, and also made it available to the public at the City Planning website, the Shape the Future 2025 website and all City libraries. On July 25, 2008, the City 1 received comments on the draft Housing Element from HCD. City staff held discussions with HCD staff and has prepared additional analysis and description to resolve the remaining issues. Discussion HCD's comment letter on the first Housing Element draft recognized Santa Monica's efforts and successes in addressing its housing and community development needs, and stated that the City's strategies to comprehensively advance sustainable land use development through its Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) and housing element update processes are "noteworthy." The .proposed Housing Element was largely found to meet the State's standards, with eight items listed for revision. Staff has addressed those items in a manner that should enable HCD to expedite its certification process following the City's adoption of the Housing Element. Attachment C contains an errata sheet that outlines HCD's comments and the City's responses, including references to the relevant pages in the draft Housing Element. Highlights of the proposed changes to address HCD's concerns include: • Clarifications to demonstrate the City's compliance with Housing Element requirements. • An additional program to adopt a reasonable accommodation procedure in the Zoning Ordinance for persons with disabilities within-the five-year cycle of the element. • Analysis of housing cost burden for extremely low-income households. • An appendix containing supporting data for the suitable sites inventory (Table 5-1 ). • Additional analysis of the fees required for housing projects in the City, demonstrating that these costs add to the cost of housing but do not do so in away that would constitute a constraint to the construction of housing. This analysis includes sample projects of low, medium and high density based on actual projects currently under review or in construction. • More specific timelines for twelve of the programs in the Housing Plan. • Updates to the public participation section to reflect the public review process that occurred after the release of the initial draft, including a summary of the topics upon which people provided comments. The draft Housing Element will be reprinted incorporating these responses and any 2 other changes directed by the City Council. It will then be submitted to HCD for certification. The proposed 2008-2014 Housing Element continues to include policies that. have resulted in a strong Affordable Housing Production Program and requirements for high quality housing that is compatible with the community's character. Proposed programs include a new approach to address the issues of homelessness, additional goals to protect and assist tenants under Rent Control and other programs to enable the City to adapt to changing conditions and needs over the next five years. Also referenced are new directions included in the l_UCE Strategy Framework, including more mixed-use, transit oriented developments and a program to address housing affordability for more of the Santa Monica workforce. Process Timeline As of July 1, 2008, the City is technically not in compliance with State Housing Element law, which specified that date for adoption of the Southern California region's Housing Elements. Due to delays in the release of the final Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) data, complying with this deadline has proven difficult for most Los Angeles County jurisdictions, and only one (City of Industry) completed the process by that date. The State website indicated that as of October 6, no additional elements had yet been certified, although a number have been submitted for review: While the current status does not result in any immediate consequences for the City, it is important to proceed with the adoption of the. Housing Element and submit it for State certification as soon as possible. A certified Housing Element is required in order for the City to be eligible to request Proposition 1-C funding, and new legislation may require a certified housing element as a condition of eligibility for other funding. 3 Planning Commission Action On October 1, 2008, the. Planning Commission held a public hearing and unanimously recommended adoption of the Initial. Study/Negative Declaration and the 2008-2014 Housing Element, with revisions that respond to HCH comments as provided by staff. In addition, the Planning Commission recommended adding a program to the Housing Plan for the City to explore the feasibility of a program to facilitate information sharing about prospective housing at all affordability levels to employees who do not reside within the City. While there is already information sources for employees to learn about available market rate housing, the intent of the recommendation is to identify a program that would proactively encourage employees to find housing near their work, or possibly encourage employers to help their employees find local housing. The goal of this strategy would support emerging sustainable policies to reduce vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled and merits further exploration as we pursue other workforce housing strategies with the LUCE. Since the proposal is mearly to explore feasibility, it does not commit the City to implement a program, so there are no budget impacts at this time. Alternatives As an alternative to the recommended actions, the Council may choose not to adopt the proposed Initial Study/Negative Declaration and General Plan Housing Element, and provide staff with direction to amend and return. Delay in adoption of the Housing Element may, however, jeopardize opportunities to receive State funding for the City's planned affordable housing projects. Environmental Analysis The proposed Housing Elemeht continues the very successful policies and programs contained in the City's previous Housing Element and references possibilities, based on the LUCE planning effort, for creating workforce and mixed-use housing opportunities. It does not call-for any changes to land use or zoning regulations. Following an Initial 4 Study, it was determined that the proposed adoption of the 2008-2014 Housing Element would not result in potential significant impacts on the environment and a Negative Declaration was prepared. The Notice of Determination was published in the Santa Monica Daily Press on Friday, July 18, 2008, and sent to the Los Angeles County Recorder and State Office of Planning and Research to be posted and distributed as required in the CEQA Guidelines. In addition, staff mailed and e-mailed the Notice of Determination to interested parties on the City's mailing list. The 30-day public comment period ended on August 18, 2008 and one comment letter was received. The letter and a response to it are incorporated into the Negative Declaration final draft. Public Outreach The extensive public participation component of the Housing Element's development is described on Pages 1-3 of the Element, which will be further updated with the language contained in the proposed Errata Sheet (Attachment C). In compliance with SMMC 9.04.20.22, notices of the proposed Initial Study/Negative Declaration and 2008-2014 General Plan Housing Element, for both the Planning Commission and City Council hearings were published in the Santa Monica Daily Press a minirrium of 10 days prior to the hearings. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions As a General Plan document, the Housing Element does not specifically commit the City to programs that have a financial impact in regard to the current budget. The Housing Element commits the City to timelines, including annual review of some programs and completion of some development of plans by certain dates. Some of this staff work is ongoing, and already built into annual work plans of the Departments of Housing & Economic Development and Planning & Community Development. Other proposed program development with timelines within the current Fiscal Year; such as the update to the Housing Authority Administrative Guidelines, outreach to the landlord and real estate community regarding fair housing laws, implementation of the City's 5 Homelessness Strategy and repair to Mountain View infrastructure can be accomplished within currently allocated City resources. Prepared by: Elizabeth Bar-EI, AICP, Senior Planner, Community & Strategic Planning Division Approved: Forwarded to Council: A. Resolution to adopt the 2008-2014 General Plan Housing Element B. Resolution to adopt the Initial Study/Negative Declaration C. Planning Commission Resolution Recommending Adoption of the 2008-2014 Housing Element D. HCD Letter, dated July 25, 2008 E. Proposed Revisions for Final Housing Element F. Initial Study/Negative Declaration G. Draft 2008-201~d Housing Element 6 Reference Resolution Nos. 10356 (CCS) and 10357 (CCS). Additional documentation available at the City Clerk's Office.