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Report regarding acceptance of the 2021 Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Report. (Tony Rozzi, Chief Planner and Stephanie Skangos, Associate Planner)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council, by motion:
1. Accept the 2021 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 included in the Housing Element Sites Inventory that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of - None
• Table H - Locally Owned Surplus Sites - None at the moment. All locally owned properties are subject to the Disposition Plan approved by the Successor Agency and reviewed by the Oversight Board through December 31, 2022.
• 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 2015-2023 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
For 2021, the City is reporting building permit issuance for 148 new residential units, which includes three single-family homes, two small multi-family units (located within two-to-four-unit structures), 102 multi-family units (for 200 Airport Boulevard), and 41 ADUs. New units that receive building permit issuance during the reporting year are counted towards the current RHNA allocation.
In addition to the new units issued a building permit above, a total of 126 new residential units were finaled or issued a certificate of occupancy. This includes two single-family homes, 97 multi-family units (for 200 Linden Avenue), and 27 accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
The City also approved Planning entitlements for 11 new residential units, consisting of six single-family homes, four small multi-family units (located within two-to-four unit structures), and one ADU. Nine Planning applications for new housing construction, totaling 376 potential units, were received in 2021, as well, and are either currently under review or pending a building permit application submittal.
At the close of 2021, the City had issued building permits for 63% of the expected housing units for the City for a total of 1,175 units out of the 1,864 units allocated through RHNA.
This is the reporting year for 2021, the seventh year of the eight-year reporting cycle:
1. The City has fulfilled expectations for the Above Moderate housing category, issuing a building permit for 936 units (RHNA allocation is 705 units).
2. The City has not fulfilled expectations for the Very Low, Low, and Moderate housing categories, issuing building permits for 89 Very Low units, 16 Low units, and 134 Moderate units, for a total of 239 units. (RHNA allocation is 565 Very Low units, 281 Low units, and 313 Moderate units, for a total of 1,159 units).
3. Understanding the City’s pipeline, it is unlikely that the remainder of very-low-, low-, and moderate-income units will be produced during the RHNA cycle. Issuance of building permits for the L37/Kasa project would produce 158 units in these categories and boost City production of lower income units, but that issuance date could happen at the very end of the current RHNA cycle or occur in the next cycle, Cycle 6 covering the years 2023-2031.
4. There are no penalties for not providing lower income units; however, state legislation SB 35 does create streamlining requirements for cities that do not produce housing. 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 building permits have been issued for only 20.6% of lower income categories through 2021.
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.
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
The yearly reporting on the South San Francisco Housing Element and update on the City’s housing production helps promote the City’s Quality of Life strategic goal in providing a comprehensive view of new housing units produced within the reporting year, with a focus on the number of units produced within four different affordability levels. Additionally, the yearly reporting provides the City with an opportunity to evaluate the adopted programs and policies in the City’s Housing Element and their effectiveness in promoting the creation of new housing and meeting the needs of the City’s residents’ quality of life.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council, by motion, accept the 2021 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 2021 in PDF format
2. Annual Housing Element Progress Report for 2021 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