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Report regarding acceptance of the 2020 Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Report. (Tony Rozzi, Chief Planner)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council, by motion:
1. Accept the 2020 Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Report; and
2. Authorize its transmittal to the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Body
BACKGROUND
California Government Code Section 65400 requires that an Annual Progress Report (APR) be prepared on the status and progress of implementation of the current Housing Element and General Plan. The APR must be submitted to the City Council, the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR), and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by April 1st of each year (with a 60 day grace period). The City intends to file the APR before the April 1st deadline. The APR is included as Attachments 1 and 2.
Housing Element Compliance with HCD Guidelines
The South San Francisco Housing Element covers the period of 2015-2023, and this APR represents the yearly update on housing production. The formatting for the report continues to evolve to match the state’s high priority for new housing units. This APR provides a comprehensive view of entitlement and building permitting activity. The Annual Housing Element Progress Report (Attachment 1 in PDF and Attachment 2 in Excel) includes the following tables:
• Table A - Housing Development Applications Submitted
• Table A2 - Annual Building Activity, including completed entitlements, issued building permits, and issued Certificates of Occupancy
• Table B - Summary of all units permitted by affordability for RHNA cycle of 2015-2023
• Table C - Sites Identified or Rezoned to Accommodate Shortfall Housing Need - Not Applicable to SSF
• Table D - Program Implementation Status
• Table E - Commercial Development Density Bonus Approved - None
• Table F - Units Rehabilitated, Preserved and Acquired for Alternative Adequate Sites for RHNA - None
• Table G - Locally Owned Lands including in the Housing Element Sites Inventory that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of - None
• Summary Tab of Entitled Units, Submitted Applications and SB 35 Streamlining Provisions
The Housing Element Progress Report is informational only and does not change adopted policies or authorize any action or expenditure of funds.
Housing Element and Regional Planning
California requires each jurisdiction to prepare a Housing Element as part of its General Plan in order to ensure that all jurisdictions are planning for the projected housing demand throughout the State. Unlike other elements of a General Plan, the Housing Element must be updated by deadlines set by the State. The process begins with the State advising a region of their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), which is the estimated number of housing units that will be needed over the planning period. A total of 1,864 units are needed for South San Francisco during the 2015-23 cycle. The Housing Element does not require that these units are built during the allocation cycle. The Housing Element only requires that a City have zoning in place to ensure that the RHNA allocation can be constructed on adequate sites with permissible zoning regulations.
Regional Housing Needs Allocation Progress Summary
The City is reporting 50 building permits for new residential units - the majority of these permitted units were Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and three single family home or infill units. Several of the reported ADU units were mistakenly unreported during the 2019 reporting period and are being captured in 2020 to give the City credit for units produced.
In 2020, 30 permits were finaled or issued certificate of occupancy and this included 27 ADUs and 3 single family homes or infill units.
Additionally, the City has received 8 applications for new housing construction, totaling 591 potential units. At the close of 2020, the City had issued building permits for 55% of the expected housing units for the City for a total of 1027 units out of the 1,864 units allocated through RHNA.
This is the reporting year for 2020, the sixth year of the nine year reporting cycle:
1. The City has fulfilled expectations for the Above Moderate housing category, issuing permits for 837 units (RHNA allocation is 705 units).
2. The City has not fulfilled expectations for Very Low and Low housing categories, issuing permits for 85 units (RHNA allocation is 565 Very Low and 281 Low for a total of 846). This is unchanged from the 2019 Annual Progress Report.
3. Understanding our pipeline, it is unlikely that these low and very low income units will be produced during the RHNA cycle. Issuance of permits for the L37/Kasa project would produce 158 units in these categories and boost City production of low income units but that issuance date could happen at the very end of this RHNA cycle or in the new Cycle 6 covering the years 2023-2031.
4. There are no penalties for not providing low income units but state legislation SB 35 does create streamlining requirements for cities that do not produce housing. However, if the latest production report submitted by the agency reflects that fewer units of below moderate housing (80% of median income and below) were issued building permits than required by the RHNA during the reporting period, then any project that provides 50% of the proposed units as affordable will be given streamlined and limited review by state law. South San Francisco falls within this category since permits have been issued for only 10% of low income categories through 2019.
Program Implementation Status
Table D of the Housing Element Progress Report provides the status of implementing the current Housing Element programs. Most programs are implemented and monitored on an ongoing basis; however, some programs have deliverable dates prior to the end of the Housing Element cycle of 2023 and those have been completed.
General Plan Compliance with Adopted OPR Guidelines
The South San Francisco General Plan contains the State mandated Land Use, Transportation (Circulation), Open Space and Conservation, Noise, and Health and Safety Elements. Additional local elements include: Planning Sub-Areas; Parks, Public Facilities and Services; and Economic Development, which are not covered by the OPR guidelines. The existing General Plan was adopted by the City Council in 1999, and the respective elements have been revised intermittently since that time.
OPR adopted General Plan Guidelines in 2003, updated in 2017, for use by local jurisdictions in the preparation of their general plans. The Guidelines are permissive, not mandatory and are quite extensive. According to Staff analysis, the 1999 South San Francisco General Plan is in compliance with the adopted OPR Guidelines in most respects, however it is in partial and non-compliance in several instances. Attachment 2 includes a checklist indicating the degree of compliance of the existing South San Francisco General Plan with each Guideline requirement. The City is currently in the process of preparing the 2040 General Plan update, which will bring the General Plan into full compliance with the Guidelines.
The last revision of the South San Francisco General Plan elements (not including the Housing Element) was adopted by the City Council on February 28, 2018, in relation to a change in the allowed density within the Downtown Station Area Specific Plan (DSASP). Following are the last revisions made to each of the elements in the General Plan.
Element Title Last Revision Date
Land Use Feb 28, 2018 (Revision to DSASP)
Planning Sub-Areas Feb 28, 2018 (Revision to DSASP)
Transportation Jan 28, 2015 (Adoption of DSASP)
Parks, Public Facilities and Services July 22, 2015 (Adoption of Parks & Rec Master Plan)
Economic Development n/a
Open Space and Conservation Feb 12, 2014 (Adoption of Climate Action Plan)
Health and Safety n/a
Noise March 24, 2010 (Adoption of South ECR GPA)
FUNDING
Submittal of the Annual Progress Report to OPR and HCD will have no financial impact on the City but does continue to make the City eligible for regional grant funding.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council, by motion, accept the 2020 Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Report on the implementation of the Housing Element and General Plan and authorize its transmittal to the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
Attachment
1. Annual Housing Element Progress Report for 2020 in PDF format
2. Annual Housing Element Progress Report for 2020 in Excel - tabbed sheets
3. Analysis of South San Francisco General Plan with Adopted Office of Planning and Research Guidelines (PDF format)
4. Staff Presentation