For more information about State housing policy and resources, visit the website for the California Department of Housing and Community Development. To learn more about specific HCD programs, you can also contact HCD staff.
HCD has compiled resources dedicated to the Housing Elements that are required to be a part of every jurisdiction's General Plan. Most of these resources can be found by visiting HCD's Housing Element Home Page. Some of the key tools available are described below:
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR EFFECTIVE HOUSING ELEMENTS
This is HCD’s technical assistance resource for local governments writing or updating their housing elements. The website provides a toolkit of resources including detailed information about specific statutory requirements; information and resources to complete effective analyses of housing needs, resources and constraints; sample/model analyses and programs; and links to resources for demographic data, current research and reports, housing and land-use funding and policy strategies, helpful public and private industry and advocacy organizations.
HOUSING ELEMENT RESOURCES
Revised Housing Element Update Schedule
Cities and counties in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area must complete the fourth revision of their Housing Element by June 30, 2009.
Housing Element Questions and Answers(Adobe PDF, October 2006)
This document answers many frequently asked questions about the Housing Element, including the process for developing the document as well as the analyses and information to be included. The questions and answers are organized around the sections that are required by statute to be included in the Housing Element: Public Participation, Review and Revise, Housing Needs Assessment, Housing Resources, Constraints on Housing, Housing Programs, Quantified Objectives, and Other Requirements.
Adequate Site Program Alternative Checklist(Microsoft Word)
As provided for in Government Code Section 65583.1(c), local governments can rely on existing housing units to address up to 25 percent of their adequate sites requirement by counting existing units made available or preserved through the provision of “committed assistance” to low- and very low-income households at affordable housing costs or affordable rents. This checklist is intended to provide guidance in determining whether the provisions of Government Code Section 65583.1(c) can be used to address the adequate sites program requirement.
Incentives for Housing Element Compliance(Adobe PDF, January 2008)
To incentivize and reward local governments that have adopted compliant and effective housing elements, several housing, community development and infrastructure funding programs include housing element compliance as a rating and ranking or threshold requirement. This document lists federal and state funding sources that include housing element compliance as a factor.
Updating the Housing Element to Build Livable Communities (Adobe PDF, 2007)
Created in 2007, this resource demonstrates the important role that Housing Elements play in creating livable communities. It includes an overview of recent statutory changes to the Housing Element, and offers background information and strategies for completing each step of the update process, such as public participation, reviewing and revising the existing Element, the housing needs assessment, the land inventory analysis, identifying constraints, and description of housing programs.
State Income Limits
California Health and Safety Code (H&SC) Sections 50079.5, 50105 and 50106 provide that the State limits for the low, very-low, and extremely-low income categories are to be the same as those in the equivalent levels established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for its Section 8 program.
RECENT STATUTORY CHANGES
Identification of Zones for Emergency Shelters
On October 15, 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law SB 2 by Senator Gilbert Cedillo, which amends GC Sections 65582, 65583, and 65589.5 of State Housing Element Law. This legislation requires local jurisdictions to strengthen provisions for addressing the housing needs of the homeless, including the identification a zone or zones where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use permit. This legislation took effect January 1, 2008 and applies to jurisdictions with housing elements due June 30, 2008 and after.
Adequate Sites from Prior RHNA Planning Period (Memo on AB 1233, Statues of 2005)(Adobe PDF, June 2007)
Government Code Section 65584.09, which took effect on January 1, 2006, requires local governments to zone or rezone adequate sites, within the first year of the new planning period, to address any portion of the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) for which the jurisdiction failed to identify or make available sites in the prior planning period. This memo from HCD provides guidance to local governments on addressing the new requirement.
Water and Sewer Priority (Memo on SB1087, Statutes of 2005)(Adobe PDF, May 2006)
Chapter 727, Statutes of 2005 (SB 1087) establishes processes to ensure effective implementation of Government Code Section 65589.7. This statute requires local governments to provide a copy of the adopted housing element to water and sewer providers. In addition, water and sewer providers must grant priority for service allocations to proposed developments that include housing units affordable to lower-income households. Chapter 727 was enacted to improve the effectiveness of the law in facilitating housing development for lower-income families and workers. This memorandum notifies pertinent agencies of these existing and new responsibilities.
Land Inventory Requirements (AB 2348, Statutes of 2004, Chapter 724)(Adobe PDF, June 2005)
AB 2348 (Mullin), Chapter 724, Statutes of 2004, amended State housing element law to clarify the land inventory requirements and to provide greater residential development certainty. Chapter 724 includes amendments to State housing element law (Government Code Section 65583), and the Anti-NIMBY law (Government Code Section 65589.5). This technical assistance paper focuses on the revisions to housing element law and is provided to assist in evaluating how the new provisions of State law affect local government.
Second-Unit Legislation (Memo on AB1866)(Adobe PDF, August 2003)
AB 1866 (Chapter 1062, Statutes of 2002) amends two sections of Government Code to encourage the creation of second-units. In relation to Housing Element law, the amendments
clarify existing housing element law to allow identification of realistic capacity for second-units in addressing a locality’s share of the regional housing need. The identification of realistic capacity should be based on the development trends of second-units in the previous housing element planning period and other relevant factors. These amendments were effective as of January 1, 2003. The document informs localities of Chapter 1062 and to assist in evaluating how these new provisions of State law affect communities.
Analyzing Constraints on Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Memo on SB520) (Adobe PDF, June 2002)
Chapter 671, Statutes of 2001 (Senate Bill 520-Chesbro) effective on January 1, 2002, amended housing element law and Government Code Section 65008.
As a result, the analysis of governmental constraints in the Housing Element must evaluate potential and actual constraints upon the development, maintenance and improvement of housing for persons with disabilities and demonstrate local efforts to remove governmental constraints that hinder the locality from meeting the need for housing for persons with disabilities (Section 65583(a)(4)). In addition, as part of the required constraints program, the element must include programs that remove constraints or provide reasonable accommodations for housing designed for persons with disabilities (Section 65583(c)(3)).
HOUSING ELEMENT REVIEW
Housing Element Review Worksheet(Microsoft Word)
This checklist provides an overview of some of the data compiled by HCDnwhen reviewing Housing Elements.
Housing Element Review Status
The following document is a Status List of the housing elements reviewed by HCD, with the date HCD submitted written findings to the locality. It is a brief summary of each locality's current housing element status.
Statewide Housing Element Status Report
This report, required by Health & Safety Code Section 50459(c), describes the status of local government compliance with housing element law statewide and by region. As of December 31, 2006, the statewide compliance rate was 77 percent. This annual report also discusses the Department’s continuing efforts to improve the effectiveness of housing element law and assist local governments in implementing their plans.
ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS
HCD proposes to adopt regulations governing the State Housing Element Annual Progress Report. These regulations implement and interpret subdivision (b) of Government Code Section 65400 which establishes the requirement that each city, county or city and county planning agency prepare an annual report on the status of the housing element of its general plan and progress in its implementation using forms and definitions adopted by the Department. The proposed regulations can be accessed at the following link: http://www.hcd.ca.gov/regulations/.
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