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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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Reference Resolution Nos.
10356 (CCS) and 10357
(CCS).
Additional documentation
available at the City
Clerk's Office.