DATE: April 11, 2023
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director,
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Resolution of Intention - Sixth Cycle Housing Element Regional Housing Needs Allocation
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
TITLE
Adopt Resolution of Intention authorizing the Department of Public Works and Planning to initiate rezoning of parcels located within the unincorporated areas of Fresno County necessary to accommodate the County’s share of Fresno County Regional Housing Needs Allocation for the Sixth Cycle Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will authorize the Department of Public Works and Planning to initiate rezoning of parcels necessary to accommodate the County’s share of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) prescribed for the forthcoming Sixth Cycle Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element. This is a countywide item.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
There are no viable Alternative Actions available. If the Recommended Action is not approved, the County would risk adopting a Housing Element that is non-compliant and potentially resulting in fines and ineligibility for various state funded programs and/or grants.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the Recommended Action. Cost incurred by the Department relating to the rezoning process will be absorbed within the Department’s existing budget.
DISCUSSION:
California requires that all local governments plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in their respective communities. In an effort to accomplish this, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determines on a regional basis how many housing units are required at various affordability levels (e.g. very-low-income, low-income, moderate-income, and above-moderate-income). The regional governments are required by HCD to allocate a share of this RHNA obligation to their member jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction’s share of the RHNA obligation is reflected in the Housing Element of their respective General Plans. The Housing Element must be updated every eight years. The deadline to complete the Sixth Cycle Housing Element Update is December 2023.
During the 2022 calendar year, the County of Fresno and its 15 incorporated cities worked with the Fresno Council of Governments (FCOG) to address the RHNA for the Sixth Cycle Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element Update due December 2023. This effort resulted in the FCOG Regional Housing Needs Plan being adopted by the FCOG Policy Board on November 17, 2022.
Outlined below is the RHNA obligation for the unincorporated area of Fresno County:
• 706 housing units for very-low-income affordability
• 391 housing units for low-income affordability
• 370 housing units for moderate-income affordability
• 883 housing units for above-moderate-income affordability
The County’s Sixth Cycle Housing Element must identify adequate parcels to meet its RHNA obligation. Per state housing law, the County’s inventory must consist of vacant or underdeveloped sites upon which the required number of housing units is reasonably likely to be constructed during the planning period without the need for any County legislative action such as a zone change. For purposes of the Housing Element site inventory, this means that sites identified to accommodate the lower-income categories are not concentrated in low-resourced areas (i.e. areas with a lack of access to high performing schools, proximity to jobs, locations disproportionately exposed to pollution or other health impacts), or areas of identified segregation and or within concentrations of poverty. Instead, sites identified to accommodate the lower-income RHNA must be distributed throughout the community in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing. If the County cannot identify sufficient parcels, it must implement a rezone program as part of its Sixth Cycle Housing Element.
If the Recommended Action is approved, Department staff will begin the following process:
• Identify properties within the unincorporated areas of Fresno County that meet state housing law criteria that can be rezoned to meet the County’s RHNA obligation
• Contact affected property owners to discuss the rezoning process
• Initiate and conduct the necessary land use and rezoning evaluation process
• Conduct public hearings before the Planning Commission and your Board
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Resolution of Intention
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino