Special Notice / Hearing: 10-day notice publication____
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Steve Monowitz, Director of Planning and Building
Subject: Adoption of an amended 2023-2031 San Mateo County Housing Element of the General Plan
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Public hearing to consider adoption of an amended 2023-2031 County Housing Element:
A) Open the public hearing
B) Close the public hearing
C) Adopt a resolution adopting a General Plan amendment to repeal the 2023-2031 San Mateo County Housing Element of the General Plan and adopt the amended 2023-2031 San Mateo County Housing Element of the General Plan, in compliance with state law, and directing submittal of the adopted Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
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BACKGROUND:
The Housing Element. The Housing Element is a required component of the County’s General Plan, mandated by State law. State law also mandates specific contents of the Housing Element, which include:
1. Identification of existing and projected housing needs for all segments of the community.
2. Goals, policies, quantified objectives, and scheduled programs to address housing needs.
3. Identification of developable or re-developable sites to meet the County’s fair share of regional housing needs at all income levels over the next eight years.
4. An assessment of constraints on the development of housing.
5. An evaluation of the existing Housing Element.
6. New in this housing element cycle, a specific assessment of how the County’s housing policies, programs and identified sites for development affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH).
The Housing Element Update. State law requires all local jurisdictions to periodically update the Housing Element of their General Plan, on a schedule established by the state. The current Housing Element covers the period from 2023 to 2031. The amended Housing Element will, on adoption, replace the currently adopted Housing Element, and will cover the same period.
California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Review and Comment. The County is required to submit the updated Housing Element to HCD for HCD’s review of its compliance with State law.
On recommendation of the Planning Commission and direction of the Board of Supervisors, the County initially submitted its updated Housing Element to HCD on January 20, 2023. The Department of Housing and Community Development responded with a review letter on April 20, 2023, asserting that the Housing Element was not in compliance with State law, and recommending several changes to bring the Housing Element into compliance. The County made additional changes to the Housing Element, which were adopted by the Board of Supervisors on April 24, 2024, along with a Negative Declaration finding that adoption of the Housing Element would have no impact on the environment. The County subsequently transmitted the adopted Housing Element to HCD. The documents adopted at the April 24, 2024 Board of Supervisors hearing are available here: <https://sanmateocounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6639145&GUID=B8800578-03DA-4D8C-95D6-F5F3F899BE05&Options=&Search=>
DISCUSSION:
After adoption and transmittal of the 2023-2031 Housing Element to HCD, HCD responded with an additional comment letter, requesting further changes to bring the adopted Housing Element into compliance with State law. HCD’s second comment letter, received on July 5, 2024, is included as Attachment A. Since that time, the Planning and Building Department and Department of Housing, with the assistance of various consultants with specific subject matter expertise, have worked closely with HCD to draft and finalize additional amendments to address the comments in HCD’s letter.
The refinements that have been made to the Housing Element in response to HCD’s second comment letter provide additional analyses and explanations that document the way in which the policies and programs previously adopted by the Board, with minor adjustments, achieve compliance with state requirements. Due to the fact that these adjustments did not change the policy direction previously provided by the Board, and in recognition of the County’s interest in obtaining certification of the Housing Element as soon as possible, these refinements were submitted by staff directly to HCD on February 4, 2025. On March 7, 2025, staff received notice that HCD has found that the revised Housing Element meets the statutory requirements of State Housing Element Law (Gov. Code, § 65580 et seq.). Full certification will not occur until the associated zoning amendments are completed.
Amended Draft 2023-2031 Housing Element. The full content of the amended draft 2023-2031 San Mateo County Housing Element is available here <https://www.smcgov.org/media/152329/download?inline> and is attached as Attachment C (Exhibit A to the adopting resolution). Changes to the Housing Element adopted in April 2024 are shown in red text throughout the amended Housing Element. An inventory of the changes in response to HCD, listed by page number, is included as Attachment D. Changes incorporated in this updated draft include:
1. A commitment to adopt objective design and development standards, non-discretionary review and approval, more permissive development standards and streamlined approvals for a broad range of housing types.
2. A commitment to monitoring production rates and affordability for single-family and multifamily housing and accessory dwelling units throughout the Housing Element period, and to adopting more robust policies and rezoning additional areas if necessary to address RHNA shortfalls.
3. A commitment to monitor residential permit issuance in the County’s Urban Midcoast, and to pursue amendments to the County’s Local Coastal Program to raise or remove the annual building permit limit in the Midcoast if the limit is found to unnecessarily inhibit residential development.
4. A commitment to undertake outreach and education efforts that ensure vulnerable communities have sufficient information to utilize rent subsidies, rental vouchers, and other assistance.
5. A commitment to revise the County’s regulations to ensure compliance with State law regarding the permitting of emergency shelters, transitional and supportive housing, group homes, Low Barrier Navigation Centers, and Single Room Occupancy development.
6. Additional analysis and quantification of the need for housing rehabilitation for all types of housing units, by income level.
7. Additional analysis of potential regulatory and financial barriers to housing production, including the County’s zoning and subdivision regulations, design standards, State and local Building Code standards, permitting and impact fees, review and approval processes and timelines, hearing procedures, variance and appeal processes, and various other potential barriers to residential development.
8. Various additional, more detailed analysis and quantification of housing conditions, housing needs, and barriers to housing production.
The most substantive changes that have been made since the Board of Supervisors lat review of the Housing Element are 1) additional comprehensive revisions to the Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program, demonstrating that the County has sufficient developable sites to meet its share of regional housing need over the next 8 years, and 2) additional analysis of fair housing issues and needs, including a comprehensively revised analysis of concentrated areas of poverty and affluence in the unincorporated County.
Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program. The amended Housing Element includes a substantive revision of the Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program, demonstrating County’s ability to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). In response to HCD’s comments, the updated Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program examines significant additional data on site characteristics and conditions, development trends, and other factors impacting the future developability and redevelopability of housing sites. The resulting projected development capacity in comparison to the County’s RHNA is shown below. The locations of sites in the Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program are included as Attachment E, and can be viewed through the County’s Sites Inventory Viewer, available here <https://smcmaps.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3a4d0b3bf4664927a844c41ff1525c00>.
|
RHNA vs DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY |
|
|
Income Category |
RHNA |
Vacant SFR |
Vacant MFR |
Non-Vacant MFR |
Pipeline (RHNA Credits) |
ADUs |
Rezoning Program |
Total Units |
Surplus/ (Deficit) |
|
Very Low |
811 |
0 |
52 |
134 |
271 |
0 |
914 |
914 |
103 |
|
Low |
468 |
0 |
32 |
86 |
178 |
60 |
680 |
680 |
212 |
|
Moderate |
433 |
0 |
33 |
87 |
44 |
90 |
589 |
589 |
156 |
|
Above Moderate |
1,121 |
383 |
47 |
135 |
147 |
90 |
1,228 |
1,228 |
107 |
|
Total |
2,833 |
383 |
164 |
442 |
641 |
240 |
3,411 |
3,411 |
578 |
Appendix E of the Housing Element includes the full Adequate Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program methodology, including a detailed inventory and description of developable and re-developable sites; units that will be created by projects already underway (pipeline projects); projected future development of ADUs; and development capacity that will be created through rezoning of identified sites.
Changes made in response to HCD’s comments on the Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program result in a significantly lower number of sites included in both the Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program, and a consequently lesser number of units projected to be developed on these sites. However, the combination of these categories still demonstrates that the County has sufficient capacity (approximately 20% more than the County’s RHNA) to meet its 2023-2031 RHNA, in total and by income level.
Fair Housing Analysis and Programs. Fair housing is the condition in which all residents, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, income, class, sexual orientation, ability status, or other status have equal access to housing. The County’s assessment of fair housing issues is included in the Housing Element in Appendix G, and the County’s fair housing programs are found throughout the Housing Plan in Section 2 of the Housing Element and are aggregated in the fair housing plan in Appendix G-5.
In response to HCD’s comments on the fair housing components of the County’s Housing Element, the County comprehensively revised the Housing Element’s analysis of racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty and affluence (R/ECAPs and RCAAs), to better describe conditions in the County’s R/ECAPs and RCAAs, to assess the historic and current factors contributing to create and maintain these areas, and to better describe the County’s ongoing and planned efforts to address the issues of segregation characteristic of these areas.
Public Review and Submittal to HCD. The revised Housing Element was made available for public review and comment from January 23 to February 6, 2025. After the close of public review, the Housing Element was submitted to HCD for formal review on February 4, 2025. HCD reviewed the Housing Element and responded with a letter asserting the updated Housing Element’s consistency with State law. HCD’s latest review letter is included as Attachment B.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
Adoption of the updated Housing Element is a project requiring environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The County adopted an Initial Study and Negative Declaration for the Housing Element, in compliance with CEQA. The Initial Study and Negative Declaration determined that, as a programmatic document that does not directly impact the environment absent subsequent implementation actions which will require evaluation independently pursuant to CEQA as they are implemented, adoption of the Housing Element has no potential environmental impacts. Subsequent implementation of some programs in the Housing Element will require additional environmental review, which will take place as those programs are implemented. The Initial Study https://www.smcgov.org/media/143637/download?attachment and Negative Declaration https://www.smcgov.org/media/143638/download?attachment were circulated for public review between May 3 and June 9, 2023. Subsequent changes to the draft Housing Element have not added any programs or actions that have environmental impacts absent further action that would require independent environmental assessment, and do not alter the scope or determination of the Initial Study and Negative Declaration, and no additional environmental review is required.
EQUITY IMPACT:
The policies and programs in the County’s Housing Element are intended to increase housing availability, affordability, and accessibility for all County residents, with a specific focus on the equitable provision of housing resources for disadvantaged communities, including racial/ethnic minorities, lower-income residents, special needs communities, and other groups disproportionately impacted by the unavailability of affordable housing and housing designed for the particular needs of specific populations. As described in Housing Element Appendix G: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, the updated Housing Element includes a comprehensive assessment of the County’s current fair housing conditions and housing disparities, and the policies and programs in the Housing Element are intended to increase the equitable provision of housing across geographies and across disparate communities, to increase disadvantaged communities’ access to housing in areas with high-quality resources, and to redress inequities based on income, race/ethnicity, gender, class, family structure, language ability, disability status, and other factors. The implementation of the programs incorporated in the Housing Element will positively impact all of these communities. In addition, the Housing Element was crafted with specific outreach to these impacted communities, and took their needs, goals, and input into consideration in the assessment of housing needs and the creation of responsive policies and programs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Adoption of the amended Housing Element commits the County to implementation actions that have associated costs, such as those required to process the rezonings needed to meet the County’s RHNA. Obtaining certification is also a matter of fiscal importance, as it is a condition of eligibility for regional and state grants that help fund housing planning, construction, infrastructure development, and other related goals.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. HCD Review Letter #2
B. HCD Review Letter #3
C. Exhibit A to Resolution Adopting Amended San Mateo County 2023-2031 Housing Element
D. Inventory of Housing Element changes by page number
E. Sites Inventory and Rezoning Program Maps
F. Negative Declaration for the Housing Element