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Home My WebLink AboutHousing Legislation 2019 Retreat final 2-1-19City Council Retreat -February 1, 2019 Housing Legislation Saratoga’s Housing Element Implementation 2017/2018 Housing Bills Anticipated New Housing Legislation Housing Legislation Housing Element Implementation Adopted by the City Council on November 19, 2014 Certified by HCD on January 28, 2015 266 104 Housing Element Implementation Housing Element Implementation Housing Element Implementation Housing Element Program Implementation Status Total # Policy Actions: 22 Completed: 8 Pending: 5 Ongoing Program: 9 The State’s View of the Housing Crisis “The Legislature’s intent in enacting this section in 1982 and in expanding its provisions since then was to significantly increase the approval and construction of new housing for all economic segments of California’s communities by meaningfully and effectively curbing the capability of localgovernmentstodeny,reduce the density for,or renderinfeasiblehousingdevelopmentprojectsandemergency shelters.That intent has not been fulfilled.” Housing Accountability Act/ Government Code Section 65589.5(a)(2)(K) Recap of 2017 Housing Bills Governor approved package of 15 Housing Bills that took effect on January 1, 2018. Accountability/ Enforcement (7 bills) Streamlining/ Regulatory (3 bills) Funding/ Preservation of Affordable Housing (5 bills) HAA (AB678, SB167, AB1515) Makes it difficult to deny or reduce the density of projects that meet objective rules. Recap of 2017 Housing Bills “By Right” Housing (SB35) Provides for streamlined processing and CEQA exemptions for qualifying projects that are consistent with objective General Plan and Zoning standards. RHNA Reporting (AB879, SB35, AB1397, AB72, SB166) Requires more information in annual progress reports (APR) and makes it more difficult to carry forward sites that have not developed. Housing Accountability Act (HAA) •AB 678, SB 167, and AB 1515 make it more difficult for cities to deny or reduce the density of proposed housing projects, including mixed-use projects. •Fast timelines: 30 days to review a project against objective General Plan and Zoning standards. •Increase penalties for jurisdictions that fail to approve housing projects that meet objective General Plan and Zoning standards. •Most projects will still be subject to discretionary approvals such as design review as long as subjective standards are not applied to deny or reduce the density. Recap of 2017 Housing Bills SB35: “STREAMLINING” •Difficult to deny projects that meet objective rules. •Requires ministerial approval of housing if agency has not issued enough building permits to satisfy its RHNA by income category or no annual report. Eligible Projects: •In urban area with 75% of perimeter developed •Site zoned or planned for residential use •Consistent with ‘objective’ planning standard •Must meet affordable housing requirements •Projects with 10 or more units must pay prevailing wages •Sites must not be in the coastal zone, agricultural land, wetlands, fire hazard areas…. Recap of 2017 Housing Bills How SB35 Works Recap of 2017 Housing Bills Objective Standards Defined SB 35: “Standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant and the public official prior to submittal.” Recap of 2017 Housing Bills Objective Standards Takeaways •Objective standards must be used when reviewing applications. •Standards must be very clear (reasonable person standard). •A project must be approved if it complies with “objective” General Plan, Zoning, and Subdivision standards, can only reduce density or deny if specific adverse impact to public health & safety that cannot be mitigated in any other way. •“Special adverse effect” must be significant, quantifiable, direct and cannot be mitigated. Recap of 2017 Housing Bills Santa Clara County Jurisdictions NOT SUBJECT to SB35 Streamlining Monte Sereno Santa Clara County Required Streamlining for 10%or More Affordability Los Altos Hills Saratoga Required Streamlining for 50%or More Affordability Campbell Cupertino Gilroy Los Altos Los Gatos Milpitas Morgan Hill Mountain View Palo Altos San Jose Santa Clara Sunnyvale 10% based on no Annual HE Report and/or not meeting above moderate income RHNA 50% based on not meeting very low and low income RHNA Recap of 2017 Housing Bills ADU Ordinance Updated City Council approved on June 6, 2018 Recap of 2017 Housing Bills Accessory Dwelling Unit ADU Clean up Bills (AB 494/SB 229) General Plan Update Land Use Element Update to Set Objective Standards Recap of 2017 Housing Bills Summary •RHNA –Changes to make the RHNA distribution process more rigorous and more tied to jobs. •Streamlined Review and HAA –Clarifications to and small expansion of Streamlined Review/Housing Accountability Act. •Density bonus –Expansion, additional reporting requirements and clarification regarding density bonus and coastal zone. •Fair Housing –Requirements that housing programs to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing. Recap of 2018 Housing Bills Anticipated New Legislation Anticipated New Legislation CASA COMPACT A 10-point plan to address regional housing affordability MTC voted to sign on to the CASA Compact on December 19, 2018 ABAG voted to sign on to the CASA Compact on January 17, 2019 Anticipated New Legislation CASA Policy Recommendations: •Just-cause eviction policy •Emergency rent cap •Emergency rent assistance and access to legal counsel •Removal of regulatory barriers to additional dwelling units •Minimum zoning near transit •Reforms to housing-approval processes •Expedited approvals and financial incentives for select housing types •Unlock public land for affordable housing •Raise $1.5 billion from a range of sources to fund implementation of the CASA Compact •Establish a regional housing enterprise to implement the CASA Compact Anticipated New Legislation Housing Bills on the Horizon in 2019… AB 4 (Chiu)Redevelopment 2.0 AB 68 and AB 69 (Ting)Further loosen regulations on in-law units SB 4 (McGuire and Beall)Limit local land use policies that restrict housing and encourage new housing near transit and job centers SB 5 (McGuire and Beall)Redevelopment 2.0 SB 6 (Beall)Streamline housing production and penalize local planning that restricts production SB 13 (Wieckowski)Further loosen regulations on in-law units SB 18 (Skinner)Legal assistance for tenants SB 50 (Wiener)Upzoning near transit and job center Plus AB 2065 (Ting)Surplus public lands (introduced in 2018 and still live)