HomeMy WebLinkAboutCD San Rafael 2023-2031 Housing Element____________________________________________________________________________________
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
Council Meeting: August 16, 2021
Disposition: Accepted report and provided feedback to staff
Agenda Item No: 9.a
Meeting Date: August 16, 2021
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: Community Development
Prepared by: Alicia Giudice, Director
Barry Miller, Contract Project Mgr.
City Manager Approval: ______________
TOPIC: SAN RAFAEL 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT
SUBJECT: INFORMATIONAL REPORT ON THE 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT AND
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the report and provide feedback to staff.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This staff report addresses the purpose and required contents of the Housing Element, the Regional
Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), new Housing Element requirements, and the timeline for the Housing
Element update. It also addresses community engagement, including creation of a “Housing Element
Working Group”.
The Housing Element is the City’s plan for conserving and maintaining its housing supply, removing
regulatory barriers to housing production, and meeting the housing needs of all residents, including lower-
income households and individuals with special needs. The element must include an analysis of these
four areas:
• Integration and segregation patterns and trends
• Racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty
• Disparities in access to opportunity
• Disproportionate housing needs within the jurisdiction, including displacement risk
The Housing Element is part of the San Rafael General Plan. However, it was not included in the General
Plan 2040 (adopted on August 2, 2021) because the Housing Element follows a schedule set by the
State of California. The schedule aligns with housing production allocations established by the State.
Cities and counties in the Bay Area were provided with their final housing production targets in May 2021
and are required by State law to adopt new Housing Elements by January 2023.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2
BACKGROUND:
Overview
Every city and county in California is required to adopt a Housing Element that is a part of their General
Plan. The Housing Element is the only part of the General Plan that must be submitted to the State for
certification, a process that is performed by the State Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD). Cities without certified Housing Elements face negative consequences, including
limited access to State funding and increased vulnerability to costly lawsuits, penalties, and court
injunctions. To avoid such consequences, HCD must make a formal determination that the Housing
Element fully complies with Government Code requirements, including demonstration that the City is
accommodating its “fair share” of the region’s housing needs and is “affirmatively furthering fair housing.”
San Rafael’s current Housing Element was adopted on January 5, 2015 and was certified by the State
on January 23, 2015. The planning period covered by that Housing Element was January 31, 2015
through January 31, 2023. The next Housing Element is due on January 15, 2023 and will cover the
period from January 15, 2023 to January 15, 2031. In order to provide sufficient time for data collection
and analysis, community engagement, public hearings, responses to State comments, and
environmental review, the City has initiated the update process. The timeline allows roughly 10 months
to develop a Draft Housing Element and another seven months to go through an iterative process with
State reviewers, the Planning Commission, the City Council, and the community to revise, finalize, and
adopt the Draft.
The contents of the Housing Element are driven by State law. HCD has developed guidelines for local
governments that list the specific data to be collected and analyzed, the research questions to be
answered, and the standards that must be met. For example, cities must demonstrate that they are
planning for a “wide variety of housing types”. This requires more than an aspirational statement—the
City must show (and quantify) that it allows multi-family housing in specific density ranges, allows for
emergency shelter “by right” in at least one zoning district, allows mobile and manufactured homes, does
not apply special rules for transitional and supportive housing, and has adopted specific zoning
requirements and densities that support its policy goals.
The analysis has become more rigorous over time. The policy and program requirements also have
become more demanding. In response to the statewide housing crisis, dozens of housing bills have been
approved by the legislature in the last few years. Some have included specific policy and program
requirements for Housing Elements.
Regional Housing Needs Allocation
The driving force behind each community’s Housing Element is the Regional Housing Needs Allocation
(RHNA). The RHNA process has been in effect since 1969, when the State legislature mandated that all
communities do their “fair share” to meet California’s housing needs, regardless of income. The process
has evolved over the last 50 years, with an increasing focus on factors such as equity and sustainability.
The RHNA process begins at the State level. California HCD determines the projected housing need
over an eight-year period for each region in California, including the nine-county Bay Area. The need for
each region is broken down into four income categories, ensuring that housing is constructed for persons
of all economic means. It is then up to the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in its capacity
as the regional Council of Governments to disaggregate the RHNA to the nine counties and 101 cities
that comprise the Bay Area.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 3
Ultimately, each city and county is assigned a specific number of units for which it must plan. The
city/county is not required to actually construct the units, as this is beyond the financial capacity and
traditional role of most local governments. However, local jurisdictions must zone a sufficient amount of
land to allow for construction of the allocated units by the private and non-profit sectors. Additionally,
local jurisdictions must demonstrate that progress is being made toward their allocation. Cities and
counties that are not demonstrating progress toward RHNA requirements must streamline housing
developments that include specified percentages of affordable housing and are encouraged to undertake
programs to facilitate housing development. Finally, jurisdictions must demonstrate that their plan for
accommodating the RHNA does not concentrate low income housing in particular areas and supports
broader goals to end segregation and promote fair housing practices.
On June 9, 2020, HCD notified ABAG that the regional housing need for the 2023-2031 period was
441,176 units. The assignment is 2.34 times higher than the need identified for the 2015-2023 period,
which was 187,990 units. This reflects the prolonged and sustained effects of Bay Area jobs growing at
a faster rate than housing for the last eight years, and the growing affordability gap among Bay Area
households.
During Fall 2020, the 441,176 units were allocated to cities and counties with the guidance of a 37-
member “Housing Methodology Committee” (HMC) comprised of local government staff, local elected
officials, and stakeholders from jurisdictions around the region. Alternative methodologies were explored,
and weighting factors were tested so that housing could be directed in a way that achieved regional goals
such as equity, mobility, jobs-housing balance, and sustainability.
In October 2020, the HMC voted to accept a methodology that assigned housing units based on the
percentage of the region’s households that were projected to live in each jurisdiction by 2050. One of
the consequences of this methodology is that smaller, suburban communities received much higher
allocations than they had in the past, including San Rafael. Whereas the regional total was 2.34 times
higher than it was in 2015-2023, the total for individual cities increased by more than 10 times in some
cases. More than 50 of the region’s cities registered objections to the methodology, either by submitting
letters or co-signing letters submitted by coalitions of local governments. Several jurisdictions and
organizations also challenged the total Bay Area allocation, arguing that it “double counts” certain
components of need, overestimates desired vacancy rates, and does not reflect the impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The ABAG Executive Board voted to finalize the methodology in January 2021. Changes were made to
align the RHNA with Plan Bay Area 2050. These changes included reducing the allocations for Santa
Clara County and increasing allocations for several cities, including San Rafael. The methodology was
submitted to HCD and was formally approved by the State in spring 2021.
Cities and counties were given an opportunity to appeal their RHNA numbers, with a filing deadline of
July 9, 2021. A total of 28 local governments appealed, including ten from Marin County; six from Santa
Clara County; six from Contra Costa County; three from Alameda County; and three from Sonoma
County. The City of San Rafael did not submit an appeal, but did provide a comment letter indicating
that any reallocation of units resulting from successful appeals by other cities should not be allocated to
San Rafael, since the increase in the City’s allocation was already well above the regional average and
had already been adjusted upward in December 2020.
Based on past RHNA cycles and recent experience among Southern California jurisdictions, appeals are
very rarely granted. In Southern California, which went through their RHNA process in 2020, 50 cities
appealed their allocations and only two were granted. Likewise, multiple Bay Area cities appealed their
2015-2023 allocations in 2014, and only three were granted.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 4
San Rafael’s allocation for the previous planning period (2015-2023) was 1,007 units. The allocation
approved by ABAG for the upcoming period (2023-2031) is 3,220 units, which represents a 220 percent
increase. Marin County, including the unincorporated areas and the 11 cities, saw a much steeper rate
of increase. The countywide RHNA was 2,298 units in the last cycle and is 14,405 units in the current
cycle, an increase of 526 percent. The cities of Mill Valley, San Anselmo, Larkspur, Corte Madera,
Fairfax, and Sausalito all saw increases of over 600 percent. However, in terms of sheer numbers, San
Rafael’s increase is the largest among the 11 Marin cities.
ABAG disaggregates the RHNA into four income categories. San Rafael’s 3,220-unit allocation by
income level is shown below. The allocation for 2015-2023 is provided for comparison. The combined
percentage of need associated with low and very low-income households has increased slightly, from
38.5% of the total in the current cycle to 41.9% in the upcoming cycle.
Housing Element Assignments for RHNA Cycles 5 and 6
Income Level 2015-2023 Percent of total 2023-2031 Percent of total
Very Low 240 23.8% 857 26.6%
Low 148 14.7% 492 15.3%
Moderate 181 18.0% 521 16.2%
Above Moderate 438 43.5% 1,350 41.9%
TOTAL 1,007 100.0% 3,220 100.0%
As a benchmark, in 2021 a household of four earning less than $91,350 in Marin County would be
considered “very low income” and a household of four earning between $91,350 and $146,350 would be
considered “low” income. These income thresholds are used by the state to determine eligibility for
various state and federal housing assistance programs.
In general, the “above moderate” income units correspond to market-rate single family homes,
townhomes, and condominiums. “Moderate income” units typically include market-rate rental
apartments. “Low income” units include a mix of units that are “affordable by design” such as accessory
dwelling units (ADUs) and units that are income restricted and subsidized. “Very low” income units are
typically subsidized but may also include junior ADUs and studios. A subset of very low-income units
serves extremely low-income residents and includes single room occupancy hotels (SROs), emergency
shelter, and transitional and supportive housing.
The allocation of 3,220 housing units would require the construction of roughly 400 units a year, which is
a far greater rate of construction than San Rafael has seen in the last 20 years. While current State law
does not penalize the City if this target is not met, there is increasing pressure from the State to achieve
more rapid housing construction at all price points. There are also new requirements requiring each city
to demonstrate good faith efforts to produce housing equitability and for all income groups.
Sites Analysis
In 2017 the State adopted a requirement (SB 166) that cities make “no net loss” findings in order to
approve market-rate housing projects on sites that were counted in the Housing Element as available to
meet affordable housing needs. This effectively requires that cities plan for a “buffer” of potential housing
opportunity sites to ensure they can meet their RHNA throughout the planning period. Therefore, while
the City’s RHNA allocation is 3,220 housing units, the City will need to identify capacity for closer to 4,000
housing units due to the “no net loss requirement.”
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 5
General Plan 2040 identified housing sites with the capacity for approximately 4,400 units. This includes
roughly 2,200 units in downtown San Rafael. As a result, large-scale rezoning is not anticipated as part
of this update. Small zoning map changes and changes to zoning standards are possible, however.
The City will need to prepare a detailed inventory of the Housing Opportunity Sites and demonstrate that
these sites are viable to meet the RHNA. Zoning provisions for by-right development may be needed on
sites that are being carried over from the 2015-2023 Housing Element. New incentives and bonuses
may be considered for small sites and sites with one or more development constraints.
Content of the Current Housing Element
2015-2023 Housing Element
The 2015-2023 Housing Element consists of two volumes—a policy document and a technical appendix.
The policy document includes goals, policies, and implementation programs and relationship to other
General Plan elements. This is followed by short descriptions of the City’s past housing production
efforts, local housing needs, and key recommendations. Some of the key policies in the 2015-2023
Housing Element include:
• Protect the existing housing stock
• Distribute affordable housing throughout the City
• Create regulatory incentives for affordable housing (including allowing innovative approaches to
developing affordable housing; providing local funding of affordable housing; and allowing certain
types of housing by right)
• Prevent discrimination
• Encourage senior housing and housing for people with special needs
• Support infill near transit
• Maintain inclusionary housing requirements
• Encourage accessory dwelling units
• Collaborate with other Marin jurisdictions to meet housing needs
• Encourage public participation in housing matters
• Maintain an adequate supply of housing sites to meet the RHNA
• Encourage energy conservation (to reduce home energy costs)
The technical appendix contains the underlying data and analysis that supports the policies and
programs, including sections that correspond to specific Government Code requirements. The technical
appendix includes six chapters, as follows:
1. Needs Assessment: This section provides detailed tables and narratives on San Rafael’s
demographics, including age, household size, household type, persons with disabilities,
unhoused residents, housing costs, employment and income, and percent of income spent
on housing. It also includes detailed information on the City’s housing stock, including rate
of construction (units per year), housing type and tenure (rent/own), housing age and
condition, and code enforcement issues. All of this information will be updated as part of the
upcoming process.
2. Housing Constraints: This section evaluates governmental and non-governmental
constraints to housing production. It evaluates zoning and land use regulations, building
codes, and requirements for particular housing types, such as emergency shelter, Accessory
Dwelling Units (ADUs), and transitional housing. It also evaluates local fees, permitting
costs, processing time, and special requirements such as inclusionary zoning. Non-
governmental constraints include land and construction costs, financing availability,
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 6
community opposition, and similar factors. San Rafael has researched these issues
extensively in the last few years and will build on the feedback provided by the development
community and others in this analysis.
3. Sites Inventory: This section demonstrates that the City has adequate capacity to meet its
RHNA. It quantifies projects that are under construction or entitled, and then evaluates the
capacity of residential sites, mixed use sites, and commercial sites where housing is allowed.
It also demonstrates the adequacy of these sites to accommodate housing for lower income
households. The sites inventory also estimates the potential for ADU development. A new
inventory of Housing Opportunity Sites will be including in the 2023-2031 Housing Element
update.
4. Housing Resources: This section evaluates the resources available to support affordable
housing production, including financial resources and administrative resources. It also
describes energy conservation programs. This information will be updated for the 2023-2031
Housing Element update.
5. Evaluation of Accomplishments Under Adopted Housing Element: This section describes the
programs that were implemented under the prior (2009-2014) Housing Element and
evaluates the effectiveness of that Element. A similar exercise will be conducted as part of
the analysis phase of the 2023-2031 Housing Element update.
6. Public Participation: This section describes outreach efforts conducted over the course of
the Housing Element update project, including the organizations, groups and individuals on
the City’s meeting notification list.
Proposed 2023-2031 Housing Element
The updated 2023-2031 Housing Element will likely follow a similar format as the 2015-2023 Housing
Element with the technical appendix affixed separately. This will allow the policy document (which is
currently 30 pages) to be “inserted” as a chapter of General Plan 2040, while the technical appendix will
remain “Appendix B” of General Plan 2040, as it is today. In addition to policies mentioned above, the
2023-2031 Housing Element will likely also include an analysis of: integration and segregation patterns
and trends; racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty; disparities in access to opportunity; and
disproportionate housing needs within the jurisdiction, including displacement risk. Additional policies
related will likely be included as a result of this analysis.
New Requirements
Over the past 6 years (since adoption of the 2015-2023 Housing Element) the state has adopted a
number of bills related to housing and Housing Element requirements. The 2023-2031 Housing Element
will need to consider requirements established by the following bills:
AB 686 (2018) requires specific Housing Element policies and programs to “Affirmatively Further Fair
Housing.” It also requires an analysis of fair housing enforcement, segregation patterns, displacement
risks, and racial concentration of poverty. It requires that an equity lens be applied to the selection of
Housing Opportunity Sites, to ensure that cities do not perpetuate past patterns of concentrating lower
income housing in particular areas.
AB 1397 (2017) places new limits on a city’s ability to continue identifying the same sites for meeting the
lower income RHNA from one planning period to the next. Specifically, non-vacant sites identified in the
last housing element, and vacant sites identified in the last two housing elements may only be counted
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 7
toward the lower income RHNA if they are zoned at densities of at least 30 units per acre and are zoned
to allow “by right” development for projects in which at least 20 percent of the units are affordable to lower
income households. In this case, “by right” development does not preclude Planning Commission or
Design Review Board hearings, but it does mean that a proposed project cannot be denied if it meets the
objective standards that apply within the applicable zoning district. New requirements also make it more
difficult to count sites that are smaller than 21,780 square feet (e.g., one-half acre) or larger than 10
acres.
SB 330 (the Housing Crisis Act of 2019) includes requirements for expediting development approval and
limiting zoning changes that would reduce density or make housing more difficult to build. It effectively
prohibits residential “downzoning” through Jan 1, 2025.
SB 1486/ AB 1255 requires the City to include an inventory of publicly owned surplus land in the Housing
Element, including property that may be sold over the planning period.
SB 6 identifies specific variables that must be included in the Housing Opportunity Sites inventory. This
information is being used by HCD to create a consistent statewide data base of housing opportunity sites.
AB 1763 allows 100% affordable housing projects located within ½ mile of transit to be taller and denser.
AB 139 amends the method for determining whether the City has adequate capacity for emergency
shelters in the Housing Element. It also requires that the parking requirements for emergency shelters
be based on the number of staff rather than the number of beds.
SB 13, AB 68, AB 587, AB 670, AB 671, and AB 881 all address Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior
Accessory Dwelling Units. ADU programs in the existing Housing Element will need to be checked for
conformity.
AB 2162 streamlines requirements for supportive housing, which may require an action program in the
Housing Element to amend the Zoning Code.
AB 879 expands the required analysis of housing constraints.
AB 72 allows HCD to find a city out of compliance with State housing law at any time (this has implications
for submittal of the Annual Progress Report required under State law).
New Safety Element Requirements
Since 2017, the State has required specific amendments to the Safety Element to be made concurrently
with amendments to any part of the General Plan. This includes amendments to address climate
resilience (SB 379), fire hazards (SB 1241), and consistency with the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (AB
2140). As a result, most cities in the Bay Area are updating their Safety Elements as part of their Housing
Element updates. Because San Rafael just updated its General Plan, these requirements have already
been satisfied.
However, during the final year of the General Plan update, the legislature passed AB 747 and SB 99,
both of which have implications for the City’s newly adopted Safety Element. AB 747 requires cities to
identify evacuation routes and their capacity, safety, and viability under different emergency scenarios.
This is in response to the Camp Fire (Paradise) in 2018. The requirement also applies to the Local
Hazard Mitigation Plan, which is updated every five years.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 8
SB 99 requires cities to update their Safety Elements concurrently with the Housing Element in order to
identify every residential development in a designated “hazard area” within the city that has less than two
emergency evacuation routes. This includes parcels in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas with
only one means of ingress and egress.
As part of the Housing Element Update, San Rafael will need to update its Safety Element to address
these two new requirements. City staff from the Community Development Department, Fire Department,
and Department of Public Works will collaborate together to update the Safety Element.
Community Engagement
Like the General Plan Update, the Housing Element is subject to Government Code requirements to
provide opportunities for public input. The requirements are more prescriptive for the Housing Element,
since the Housing Element’s focus is on meeting the needs of lower income residents, many of whom
have historically been under-represented. Part of “affirmatively furthering fair housing” requires cities to
go beyond traditional outreach methods and work closely with community partners and trusted
messengers in our historically under-represented neighborhoods to develop customized outreach
approaches toward achieving a truly inclusive process. This additional effort is also consistent with the
philosophy of the recently adopted Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Element of San Rafael General Plan
2040.
Of particular interest is the engagement of non-English speaking households and organizations
representing those facing particular housing challenges, including unhoused residents, persons at risk of
experiencing homelessness, and persons with disabilities. One of the early tasks in the Housing Element
update will be to develop an inclusive public engagement strategy that includes input from community
partners and non-profits, affordable housing developers, supportive service providers, housing
advocates, extremely low-income residents, and fair housing interests. Staff is also planning a specific
Spanish language outreach and engagement program in collaboration with Canal Alliance. This will
include retaining a bilingual outreach consultant with expertise in equity issues.
The City has historically created working groups and/or steering committees when preparing long-range
planning documents such as the Housing Element. For example, General Plan 2040 was guided by a
24-member Steering Committee and the Climate Change Action Plan included a 20-member Climate
Action Working Group. Staff is proposing creating a Working Group with 12 members to provide guidance
on the Housing Element. This is discussed below in the Analysis section.
ANALYSIS:
Schedule
The 2023-2031 Housing Element must be adopted by January 15, 2023. However, preparation of this
document requires an intermediate step in which HCD reviews a “working draft” prior to the adoption
hearings. This allows HCD to provide comments to the City which can be addressed before adoption,
thereby ensuring certification. As such, the City has roughly 10 months to complete a working draft.
Therefore, staff expects the 2023-2031 Housing Element schedule to be:
• August 2021 through January/February 2022 - Preparation of community outreach and
engagement, technical analysis, sites analysis and working with HCD to ensure State
requirements are being met. At least one community workshop will be convened, and multiple
smaller meetings with groups of stakeholders are planned. Grass roots outreach to lower income
households, especially renters, is a critical part of this process. Staff will also be soliciting input
from housing advocates, tenant groups, the development, real estate, and business communities,
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 9
neighborhood groups, environmental groups, and social service providers, including
organizations serving unhoused residents.
• Early 2022 – Evaluate accomplishments from the 2015-2023 Housing Element; New or amended
policies and programs will be assembled for discussion
• June 2022 - “Working Draft” Housing Element will be completed
• July 2022 - Working Draft presented to the Planning Commission (PC) and the City Council (CC)
for technical review and comments
• August 2022 - Housing Element reviewed by HCD
• September 2022 - Housing Element revised based on HCD comments
• October through December 2022 - Planning Commission and City Council hearings and final
adoption
Housing Element Working Group
Staff seeks City Council direction on the creation of a 12-member Housing Element Working Group. Staff
recommends the Working Group include one member each from the following types of organizations:
• Housing advocacy organization
• Homeless-service advocacy organization
• Tenants’ rights organization
• Senior housing organization
• Environmental advocacy group
• Spanish-speaking community advocate
• Non-profit affordable housing representative
• For-profit residential developer/ broker
• Business community representative
• Neighborhood organization representative
• Planning Commissioner
• One at large member
Members would be solicited by reaching out to each organization and asking for a nominee. Due to the
limited number of meetings, alternates would not be designated. The meetings would be open to the
public and include an opportunity for public comment. The format of the meetings (Zoom vs in-person)
would be determined based on the County health protocols in effect at the time of each meeting.
The Working Group would be convened approximately six (6) times, or roughly every two months. Their
role would be to review draft policy and program language and to provide guidance to staff reflecting their
insights as representatives of a particular organization or as practitioners in the housing field. Some of
the members should be technical experts in the housing field and will be asked to share their expertise
with the group and provide feedback to staff on proposed housing programs.
Working Group members representing specific organizations would be asked to report back to those
organizations and serve as conduits for communication during the project. Working Group members
would also spread the word about community engagement opportunities to the broader public.
Staff seeks City Council confirmation of staff’s recommendations regarding the number of Working Group
members, the role of the Working Group, and the interests and organizations represented.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
As a General Plan amendment, the Housing Element update is subject to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). However, staff does not envision a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Because
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 10
the City just completed an EIR for the General Plan 2040 and Downtown Precise Plan, the impacts of
adding 3,220 units that need to be accounted for in the 2023-2031 Housing Element have already been
evaluated.
The appropriate form of CEQA review for the 2023-2031 Housing Element is an Addendum to the General
Plan EIR. The Addendum would determine if the findings identified in the General Plan EIR would be
changed by the policies and programs in the new Housing Element. In the event the Housing Element
proposes substantial changes to the General Plan Map and/or allowable densities, a higher level of
CEQA review could be required. As with the General Plan EIR, environmental review will still be required
for individual projects proposed after the 2023-2031 Housing Element is adopted.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
The August 16th City Council public hearing was advertised in the Marin Independent Journal and also
publicized with a postcard notice to stakeholder, agencies, and special interest groups.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Housing Element is a policy document and does not have a direct fiscal impact on the city. Future
programs developed as a result of Housing Element adoption could have fiscal impacts by identifying
programs requiring funding. Other 2023-2031 Housing Element programs may have positive fiscal
impacts by identifying new revenue sources or improving the City’s eligibility for grants and other funds.
Conversely, the absence of a certified Housing Element would have adverse fiscal impacts, as the City
would become ineligible for numerous state grants and funds.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
1. Accept the report and provide feedback to staff
CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
NOTICE OF ONLINE PUBLIC HEARING
You are invited to attend an online City Council hearing on the following project:
DATE/TIME/PLACE:
Monday August 16 2021 at 7:00 P.M.
COVID-19 ADVISORY NOTICE: Consistent with Executive Orders No.-25-20 and
No. N-29-20 from the Executive Department of the State of California and the Marin
County March 16, 2020 Shelter in Place Order, the San Rafael City Council hearing
WILL NOT be physically open to the public and the meeting will be streamed liv e to
YouTube at: www.youtube.com/cityofsanrafael. Instructions on how to participate
online, will be available on the YouTube channel.
PROJECT: 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT The City Council will receive an informational report
on the upcoming 2023-2031 San Rafael Housing Element. The Housing Element is the
City’s official policy document for addressing the housing needs of all residents,
particularly lower income households and persons with special needs. The report will
cover Housing Element requirements, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)
process, new Housing Element laws, key housing issues, community engagement
strategies, and the State certification process. The Council will also consider creation of a
proposed Housing Element Working Group that will be convened as policies and
programs are developed. Public hearings on the Draft Housing Element will take place in
Fall 2022 and completion is projected in January 2023.
State law (California Environmental Quality Act) requires that this project be reviewed to
determine if a study of potential environmental effects is required. It has been determined
that this project, which is an informational report, will have no physical impact on the
environment. This informational report is classified as a planning study, which qualifies
for a Statutory Exemption from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality
Act Guidelines under 14 CRR Section 15262.
WHAT WILL
HAPPEN:
You can comment on the project. The report to the City Council is informational so
there will be no formal action taken. The City Council will be asked to provide
feedback and comments.
IF YOU CANNOT
ATTEND:
You can send written correspondence by email to city.clerk@cityofsanrafael.org, or by
mail/hand delivery to the Office of the City Clerk, City of San Rafael, 1400 5th Ave., San
Rafael, CA 94901.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
Contact Barry Miller at Barry.Miller@cityofsanrafael.org. You may also view the staff
report after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before the meeting at
http://www.cityofsanrafael.org/meetings.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL
/s/ Lindsay Lara
Lindsay Lara
CITY CLERK
(Please publish in the Marin Independent Journal on Friday, August 6, 2021