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[Call to Order]
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT MEETING TO DISCUSS THE 2021 TO 2029 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE.I WILL BE LEADING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE THESE RIGHTS, RIGHT HAND OVER YOUR HEART.
SO THIS IS A WORKSHOP WE WILL NOW MOVE TO BEGIN THE STUDY SESSION.
IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL AND COMMISSION TO PROVIDE INPUT ON THE CITY HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE, PLEASE FILL OUT A YELLOW SPEAKER CARD AND SUBMIT IT TO THIS ASSISTANT CITY CLERK, CITY MANAGER WHO WILL PRESENT THE STUDY SESSION.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, MR. JOHN DOUGLAS.
WHO'S THE CITY'S HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE CONSULTANT WILL PRESENT TO THE MAYOR, THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING COMMISSION THIS EVENING THROUGH THE CHAIR.
IF I MAY TAKE ROLL FOR A CALL.
CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION.
MAYOR LEDDY LOPEZ BEATO PRESENT MAYOR PRO TEM DARIO CASTELLANO'S COUNCIL, WOMAN ROSARIO DIAZ HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER, BRIAN
COUNCILMAN TONY WILL CHAIR SHEENA.
I SHARE LAVERA
COMMISSIONER SHELBY WILLIAMS, COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS LEWIS.
GO AHEAD AND PROCEED, MR. DOUGLAS, THE SHOW IS
[1. STUDY SESSION: 2021-2029 HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE]
YOURS.UH, HONORABLE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND PLANNING COMMISSIONERS.
IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU THIS EVENING TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT THE UPCOMING HOUSING ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN.
AND I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN NOW AND WALK THROUGH A FEW SLIDES TO HELP US, UH, WITH THIS MEETING THIS EVENING.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE TOPIC OF THIS MEETING TONIGHT IS UPDATING THE HOUSING ELEMENT OF THE CITY'S GENERAL PLAN.
AND YOU, YOU KNOW, THAT THE GENERAL PLAN COVERS A NUMBER OF ELEMENTS AND IN WEST COVINA, AS, UH, AS WAS ADOPTED IN YOUR NEW GENERAL PLAN JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, UH, THE HOUSING ELEMENT LIVES WITHIN WHAT'S KNOWN AS OUR WELL-PLANNED COMMUNITY.
THAT'S THE ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN THAT ADDRESSES THE TOPIC OF HOUSING.
NOW THE HOUSING ELEMENT HAS BEEN A REQUIRED PART OF THE GENERAL PLAN FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
AND WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE HOUSING ELEMENT COMPARED TO MOST OTHER ELEMENTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN IS THE EXTENSIVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED IN STATE LAW.
AND ONE OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS IS THAT THE HOUSING ELEMENT MUST BE UPDATED ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE AND IN THE SCAG REGION, THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS REGION, ALL OF THE CITIES WITHIN THE SCAG REASON ARE WORKING ON THEIR HOUSING ELEMENTS RIGHT NOW.
AND IT EXTENDS THROUGH THE YEAR 2029.
SO THAT EIGHT YEAR PERIOD IS REFERRED TO THE SIXTH HOUSING ELEMENTS CYCLE.
SO IF YOU HEAR ME OR ANYONE ELSE TALKING ABOUT THE SIXTH CYCLE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE THAT WE'LL LOOK FORWARD EIGHT YEARS INTO THE FUTURE.
ONE OF THE OTHER UNUSUAL THINGS ABOUT THE HOUSING ELEMENT AND THE UPDATE PROCESS IS THAT THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF STATE OVERSIGHT, UH, INTO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UH, UPDATE OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
AND THERE IS A PHRASE THAT YOU MAY HEAR FROM TIME TO TIME, AND THAT IS CERTIFICATION.
THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OR HCD THE AUTHORITY TO REVIEW CITY'S HOUSING ELEMENTS AND ISSUE OPINIONS AS TO WHETHER THEY COMPLY WITH STATE LAW OR NOT.
AND THAT PROCESS IS REFERRED TO AS THE REVIEW FOR CERTIFICATION.
AND IF THE STATE ISSUES A LETTER SAYING THAT THE CITY'S HOUSING ELEMENT DOES COMPLY WITH STATE LAW, THEN THAT'S REFERRED TO AS CERTIFICATION OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
NOW CERTIFICATION IS A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE, UH, AS THAT CITIES
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TRY VERY HARD TO OBTAIN.AND I'LL EXPLAIN AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT, UH, WHY THAT IS AND HOW THAT PROCESS WORKS.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, CITIES TYPICALLY HAVE EXTENSIVE AUTHORITY OVER LOCAL LAND USE, BUT STATE LAW ESTABLISHES LIMITATIONS ON THAT LAND USE LAND USE CONTROL.
AND THAT IS PARTICULARLY, UH, EVIDENT IN THE TOPIC OF HOUSING.
THE STATE LEGISLATURE HAS DECLARED THAT HOUSING IS A MATTER OF STATEWIDE IMPORTANCE AND THAT HAS RESULTED IN THE STATE IMPOSING A NUMBER OF LIMITATIONS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAND USE CONTROL.
AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THIS EVENING.
THERE ARE IN STATE LAW AS ESTABLISHED BY THE LEGISLATURE, SOME POTENTIAL LEGAL, IF CITIES DO NOT OBTAIN THAT CERTIFICATION FROM THE STATE AND THOSE CONSEQUENCES CAN INCLUDE PENALTIES AND FINES AND LITIGATION.
AND SO CITIES TAKE THIS HOUSING ELEMENT PROCESS AND THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS VERY SERIOUSLY.
UH, HAVING A CERTIFIED HOUSING ELEMENT ALSO HAS BENEFITS, UH, IN THAT IT MAKES CITIES ELIGIBLE FOR MORE GRANT FUNDS THAN THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE BE ELIGIBLE FOR IF THEY DO NOT HAVE A CERTIFIED HOUSING ELEMENT, BUT PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT, UH, ISSUE WITH REGARD TO STATE CERTIFICATION.
IT HAS TO DO WITH ESTABLISHING THE LEGAL VALIDITY OF THE CITY'S GENERAL PLAN AND THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
NOW, I WANT TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE TOPICS THAT ARE ADDRESSED IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
AND IN MY MIND, THERE ARE FOUR MAIN TOPICS THAT WE LOOK AT WHEN WE'RE UPDATING THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
THE FIRST HAS TO DO WITH HOW CITIES USE THEIR REGULATORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE THE EXISTING HOUSING STOCK.
NOW, WEST COVINA IS A MATURE CITY AND MOST OF THE HOUSING STOCK IS MANY YEARS OLD.
AND A LOT OF THOSE HOMES ARE IN NEED OF ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.
AND SO THE HOUSING ELEMENT LOOKS AT THE CONDITIONS OF THE HOUSING STOCK AND, AND HOW CITIES CAN ENCOURAGE THE MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF THAT EXISTING HOUSING STOCK.
NOW AT THE SAME TIME, UH, CALIFORNIA IS GROWING AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS NEEDS FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW RESIDENTS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO LIVE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.
AND SO ONE OF THE MAIN REQUIREMENTS OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT IS TO LOOK OUT TO THE PROJECTED HOUSING NEEDS OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS AND IDENTIFY HOW THE CITY IS GOING TO HELP TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE NEEDS.
AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT WITH REGARD TO THE RENA OR THE REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN JUST A MOMENT.
THE THIRD MAJOR ISSUE THAT WE LOOK AT IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT HAS TO DO WITH CONSTRAINTS TO THE PRODUCTION OF HOUSING FOR A VARIETY OF TYPES OF HOUSEHOLDS AND A VARIETY OF INCOME LEVELS.
AND THIS WILL BE A SEPARATE CHAPTER IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT THAT STEADIES GOVERNMENTAL CONSTRAINTS THAT IS THINGS THAT THE CITY HAS CONTROL OVER AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE CONTROL OVER AN EXAMPLE OF POTENTIAL CONSTRAINTS ARE THINGS LIKE ZONING REGULATIONS AND ALLOWABLE HEIGHT LIMITS AND PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND THINGS OF THAT SORT, UH, AND THOSE REGULATIONS WHILE THEY ARE INTENDED TO PROTECT THE CHARACTER OF THE COMMUNITY, THE STATE LAW ALSO REQUIRES US TO EXAMINE THOSE WITH AN EYE TOWARDS WHETHER THEY COULD POSE AN UNREASONABLE CONSTRAINT TO THE PRODUCTION OR THE COST OF HOUSING OF ALL TYPES.
AND THE FOURTH MAJOR ISSUE HAS TO DO WITH FAIR HOUSING.
AND THERE ARE SOME EXTENSIVE NEW REQUIREMENTS THAT CITIES MUST ADDRESS AS PART OF THEIR HOUSING ELEMENTS RELATED TO FAIR HOUSING.
NOW, BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I WANTED TO IDENTIFY WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND THAT TERM IS USED QUITE A BIT IN, IN THE PRESS AND IN PLANNING CIRCLES AND IN GOVERNMENTAL CIRCLES.
AND SO THAT TERM AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS ACTUALLY DEFINED IN STATE LAW.
AND THIS CHART SHOWS WHAT IS MEANT UNDER STATE LAW.
WHEN WE USE THE TERM AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
NOW THERE ARE FIVE DIFFERENT INCOME CATEGORIES THAT ARE SPECIFIED IN STATE LAW, AND YOU SEE THOSE ON THE LEFT COLUMN OF THIS CHART, AND THEY ARE BASED ON THE MEDIAN INCOME FOR
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LOS ANGELES COUNTY.AND SO IF WE TAKE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, IF YOU HEAR THAT FROM A LOW INCOME FAMILY, WHAT THAT MEANS IS A FAMILY WHOSE INCOME IS IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 50 TO 80% OF THE COUNTY MEDIAN.
AND THERE ARE SOME ADJUSTMENTS, UH, FOR HOUSING COSTS THAT ARE MADE SO THAT SOMETIMES THESE PERCENTAGES ARE NOT EXACTLY TRANSLATED INTO DOLLAR FIGURES, BUT FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY, UH, THE STATE PUBLISHES THESE NUMBERS EVERY YEAR AND THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED AN INCOME LIMIT FOR EACH CATEGORY.
AND THESE ARE ADJUSTED FOR FAMILY SIZE.
AND SO FOR A HYPOTHETICAL FAMILY OF FOUR IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, WHEN I TALK ABOUT A LOW INCOME FAMILY OR LOW INCOME AND HOUSING, WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS A FAMILY WHOSE INCOME IS UP TO ALMOST $95,000 A YEAR.
SO THIS IS TRUE OF ALL JURISDICTIONS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.
IT'S DIFFERENT FOR OTHER JURORS, OTHER COUNTIES, DEPENDING ON THE MEDIAN INCOME OF THE COUNTY, BUT IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.
WHEN I USE THE PHRASE A LOW-INCOME FAMILY OR LOW-INCOME HOUSING, I'M TALKING ABOUT FAMILIES WITH AN INCOME OF A, UP TO ABOUT $95,000 A YEAR AND, AND HOUSING THAT IS AFFORDABLE TO THOSE FAMILIES.
NOW THAT WORD AFFORDABLE IS ALSO DEFINED IN STATE LAW.
AND WHAT IT MEANS IS THE FAMILY'S NOT REQUIRED TO PAY MORE THAN 30% OF ITS GROSS INCOME FOR HOUSING.
AND SO IF WE LOOK AT THAT NEXT COLUMN, UH, AFFORDABLE RENT, THESE ARE WHAT'S CONSIDERED TO BE AFFORDABLE RENTAL RATES AT THE INCOME LEVELS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY FOR A HYPOTHETICAL FOUR PERSON FAMILY.
SO AGAIN, STAYING WITH THAT LOW INCOME CATEGORY FOR A FOUR PERSON FAMILY, IF THE RENT OF THE APARTMENT IS NO MORE THAN $2,365 A MONTH, AND THAT DOES INCLUDE UTILITY EXPENSES ALSO, BUT THAT IS CONSIDERED AN AFFORDABLE RENT AT THE LOW INCOME LEVEL.
UH, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT AT THE DIFFERENT INCOME LEVELS, THOSE NUMBERS ARE HIGHER OR LOWER DEPENDING ON THE INCOME CATEGORY.
NOW THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN, UH, AN ESTIMATED AFFORDABLE SALES PRICE FOR A CONDO FOR EXAMPLE, IS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE OF ALL THE VARIABLES THAT GO INTO THE PURCHASE OF A HOME, UH, THINGS LIKE THE INTEREST RATE FOR A MORTGAGE, THE AMOUNT OF THE DOWN PAYMENT, UH, THE PROPERTY TAXES, ANY HOMEOWNERS DUES, OR SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS THAT, UH, MAY BE INCLUDED IN THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS.
SO I HAVE ESTIMATED, UH, THAT AT THE MODERATE INCOME LEVEL, WHICH IS UP TO 120% OF THE COUNTY MEETING INCOME, UH, I ESTIMATE THAT AN AFFORDABLE SALES PRICE FOR A CONDO IS SOMEWHERE IN THE BALLPARK OF $425,000, UH, THAT WILL CHANGE AS INTEREST RATES CHANGE.
AND AS THESE INCOME LIMITS CHANGE FROM YEAR TO YEAR, BUT THAT'S A BALLPARK ESTIMATE BASED ON CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS.
NOW THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY REQUIREMENTS, UH, THAT HAVE A LOT OF DETAILS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM IN STATE HOUSING LAW.
THE FIRST HAS TO DO WITH THE ISSUE OF HOUSING FOR PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IN A MOMENT, AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH ENSURING THAT THE CITY'S REGULATIONS COMPLY WITH STATE LAW, WITH REGARD TO FAIR HOUSING AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SPECIAL NEEDS, WHAT THAT GENERALLY REFERS TO IS SPECIAL NEEDS OF PERSONS WHO MAY LIVE IN WOULD BE LIVING WITH A DISABILITY OR A DIFFERENT FAMILY TYPE, UH, UH, ARRANGEMENTS OR, UH, PEOPLE WITH VERY LOW INCOMES.
AND SO ALL OF THOSE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SPECIAL HOUSING NEEDS IN STATE LAW.
AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF REQUIREMENTS THAT WE'RE, UH, THAT WE MUST LOOK AT AS PART OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE.
THE SECOND MAJOR REQUIREMENT HAS TO DO WITH DEMONSTRATING THAT THE CITY'S PLANS AND REGULATIONS CAN ACCOMMODATE THE AMOUNT OF NEW HOUSING THAT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE CITY THROUGH THE REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS.
AND I'LL COME BACK TO THAT JUST A MOMENT, BUT FIRST, LET ME, UH, ELABORATE JUST A BIT ON WHAT WE MEAN BY, UH, PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.
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OF SPECIAL NEEDS THAT ARE CALLED OUT IN STATE LAW THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO ANALYZE AS PART OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE.AND YOU SEE THOSE VARIOUS CATEGORIES HERE ON THE SCREEN.
NOW, NOT ALL OF THESE CATEGORIES ARE PARTICULARLY RELEVANT FOR EVERY CITY.
AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHART, YOU SEE THE CATEGORY OF FARM WORKERS.
WELL, IN SOME PARTS OF CALIFORNIA, FARM FARM WORKER HOUSING NEED IS, UH, VERY RELEVANT, UH, PARTS OF THE INLAND EMPIRE PARTS OF VENTURA COUNTY.
UM, BUT IN THE URBANIZED AREA AND THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY, UM, WE'RE NOT SEEING MUCH OF A NEED FOR FARM WORKER HOUSING BECAUSE THERE IS NOT, NOT A LOT OF LARGE SCALE AGRICULTURE ANYMORE IN THIS AREA, BUT WE ARE REQUIRED TO ADDRESS ALL OF THESE TOPICS.
NONETHELESS, IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSING, PHYSICAL TYPES OF HOUSING THAT CAN ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, UH, PERSONS IN HOUSEHOLDS.
UH, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, I THINK IS THE ISSUE OF AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE HOUSING THAT IS HOUSING THAT CAN BE AFFORDED BY THE, UH, THE FOLKS WHO WORK IN OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES AND MANY OF THOSE JOBS PAY LOW RATES.
AND SO WHAT IS AFFORDABLE FOR THE LOWER END OF THE WAGE SCALE IS OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE.
AS WE UPDATE OUR LOCAL HOUSING ELEMENT, THERE ARE A FEW OTHER TYPES OF HOUSING THAT ARE PARTICULARLY AIMED AT PEOPLE WITH EXTREMELY LOW INCOMES OR WHO MAY BE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, TRANSITIONAL HOUSING AND EMERGENCY SHELTERS ARE BOTH INTENDED TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF FOLKS WHO MAY BE ON THE VERGE OF HOMELESSNESS, OR MAY IN FACT BE HOMELESS AND MAYBE LIVING IN A VEHICLE OR EVEN ON THE STREETS.
AND SO STATE LAW REQUIRES US TO LOOK AT THE NEEDS OF THOSE FOLKS AND TRY TO USE THE CITY'S ADMINISTRATIVE AND REGULATORY POWERS TO TRY TO SERVE THOSE NEEDS, TO THE EXTENT THAT IT'S FEASIBLE.
THERE'S OTHER TYPES OF HOUSING THAT ARE PARTICULARLY, UH, ADDRESSED TO FOLKS WHO ARE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES, AND THAT INCLUDES RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES, UH, THAT HAVE, UM, CARE, UH, MEDICAL OR NONMEDICAL CARE AS PART OF THE HOUSING FACILITY.
ONE OF THE TYPES OF HOUSING THAT'S GOTTEN A LOT OF ATTENTION IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UH, IS ACCESSORY DWELLING IN IT.
AND I THINK JUST, UH, NOT LONG AGO, UH, YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION AND, UH, CONSIDERED AN UPDATE TO LOCAL REGULATIONS HAVE ACCESS ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS.
AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE VARIOUS TYPES OF HOUSING THAT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT AS PART OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE.
SO ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT, UH, TYPES OF HOUSING AND THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES, UH, OF HOUSEHOLDS AND INCOME LEVELS AND SO FORTH THAT I JUST SPOKE ABOUT ALL OF THOSE FALL UNDER THE HEADING OF SPECIAL NEEDS, THAT MUST BE STUDIED IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
SO NOW, UM, I I'D LIKE TO TALK, UH, FOR A FEW MOMENTS ABOUT THE REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT, AND THIS HAS BEEN QUITE A HOT TOPIC, UH, AS, AS MOST OF, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST, UH, YEAR OR TWO, UH, THE IDEA BEHIND THE RENA REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS THAT EVERY JURISDICTION IN THE STATE IS EXPECTED TO DO WHAT IT CAN TO USE ITS REGULATORY POWERS, TO TRY TO ADDRESS THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING THAT'S EXPECTED TO, UH, TO OCCUR OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.
AND SO THIS IS DUE TO BOTH POPULATION GROWTH AND ALSO HOUSING NEEDS, UH, THAT ARE CREATED BY FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEY MAY BE OVERPAYING FOR HOUSING THAT IS PAYING MORE THAN 30% OF THEIR GROSS INCOME FOR HOUSING, OR THEY MAY BE LIVING IN OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS.
AND THE, THE DEFINITION OF OVERCROWDED THAT THE CENSUS BUREAU USES IS MORE THAN ONE PERSON PER ROOM ON AVERAGE.
SO THE, UH, ABOUT, UH, A LONG TIME AGO, ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO, THE STATE LEGISLATURE ESTABLISHED THIS RENA PROCESS.
AND IT BEGINS WHEN THE STATE ASSIGNS A SHARE OF THE STATEWIDE HOUSING NEED TO THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS, OR SCAG IN OUR CASE, AND THEN SCAG, UH, ASSIGNS THAT TOTAL REGIONAL
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NEED DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL JURISDICTIONS.WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THE ARENA IS THAT ONCE A CITY HAS BEEN ASSIGNED A SHARE OF THE ARENA, THEN AS PART OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT PROCESS, WE HAVE TO ANALYZE THE CITY'S CAPACITY FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING.
AND THAT'S BASED ON LOOKING AT THE GENERAL PLAN, LAND USE DESIGNATIONS, AS WELL AS ZONING REGULATIONS.
AND WE ANALYZE WHAT THE POTENTIAL IS FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING BASED ON THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ZONING.
AND THAT'S DONE THROUGH A SERIES OF DETAILED TABLES AT THE PARCEL SPECIFIC LEVEL.
AND THEN WE MUST COMPARE THAT TOTAL CAPACITY TO THE RENA THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED TO US.
UH, AND SO THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THEIR, THE RENA REQUIREMENT.
AND I'LL TALK, UH, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THAT RENA REQUIREMENT APPLIES IN TWO DIFFERENT SITUATIONS.
THE, THE RENA APPLIES TO PLANNING, AND THAT IS FORWARD-LOOKING.
AND THAT IS, AS I MENTIONED, UH, THE CITY IS ASSIGNED A SHARE OF THE STATEWIDE HOUSING NEED THROUGH THIS RENA PROCESS.
AND THE CITY HAS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT ITS PLANS AND ZONING REGULATIONS COULD ACCOMMODATE THAT AMOUNT OF NEW HOUSING, UH, GOING FORWARD OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.
THIS IS NOT A MANDATE TO, FOR THE CITY TO GO OUT AND BUILD HOUSING OR TO SPEND CITY FUNDS TO ASSIST HOUSING.
IT'S A PLANNING REQUIREMENT, BUT IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PLANNING REQUIREMENT BECAUSE RECEIVING CERTIFICATION STATE CERTIFICATION OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT IS CONTINGENT UPON THE CITY, DEMONSTRATING THAT IT DOES HAVE ADEQUATE SITES THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE CITY THROUGH THE RENA PROCESS.
NOW, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THERE ARE A VARIETY OF REASONS WHY CITIES MAY NOT ACHIEVE THEIR RENA NUMBERS, UH, AND NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH THE FACT THAT THE CITY DOES NOT BUILD HOUSING.
WE ARE DEPENDENT ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THE DESIRES OF PROPERTY OWNERS AND DEVELOPERS AND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS AND, UH, AND A HOST OF OTHER ISSUES THAT DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT HOUSING IS BUILT.
BUT THE STATE LAW THAT RELATES TO CITIES, HOUSING ELEMENTS FOCUSES ON WHETHER THE CITY HAS ADOPTED PLANS AND ZONING REGULATIONS THAT WOULD ENABLE THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE ARENA TO ACTUALLY BE BUILT.
IN OTHER WORDS, NOT, NOT ARTIFICIALLY LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING THAT COULD BE BUILT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I REFER TO AS THE PLANNING REQUIREMENT THAT GOES WITH THE RENA ALLOCATION.
THE OTHER USE OF THE RENA NUMBERS HAS TO DO WITH SORT OF A YARD STICK OF PRODUCTION.
AND SO LOOKING IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR, WHAT ACTUALLY HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN THE PAST, UH, OFTENTIMES, UH, WE WILL SEE IN THE NEWSPAPER, WE WILL SEE A REPORT CARD FOR EXAMPLE, HOW CITIES ARE DOING COMPARED TO THEIR RENA ALLOCATIONS.
SO, UH, IN FACT, JUST RECENTLY, I THINK, UH, WE'VE SEEN SOME ARTICLES IN THE NEWSPAPER, UH, AND, AND REPORTERS LIKE TO GIVE CITIES LETTER GRADES, UH, ON HOW THEY'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, AN A, A, B, A C AND SO FORTH ON ACTUAL HOUSING PRODUCTION COMPARED TO THE RITA NUMBERS.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CITY COUNCIL AND YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THERE IS NO STATE REQUIREMENT FOR CITIES TO ACHIEVE THOSE RENA NUMBERS.
AND THE MAIN REASON WHY THERE'S NO, NO REQUIREMENT IS THAT CITIES DON'T HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER HOUSING PRODUCTION FOR THE REASONS I JUST MENTIONED, BUT THERE ARE SOME REQUIREMENTS THAT COME INTO PLAY.
IF CITIES FALL BEHIND ON THOSE RENA GOALS, UH, THEY ARE NOT PENALTIES.
THEY ARE NOT, UH, UH, LITIGATION.
THEY ARE REQUIREMENTS THAT CITIES IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD BE REQUIRED TO STREAMLINE OR FAST TRACK THE REVIEW PROCESS OF HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS, BUT IT'S NOT IN EVERY CASE.
AND THERE ARE A LIST OF STATE REQUIREMENTS THAT PROJECTS MUST, UH, MUST SATISFY IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT TYPE OF STREAMLINED PERMIT PROCESSING.
A COUPLE OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS MOST NOTABLY ARE THAT THE DEVELOPMENT HAS TO INCLUDE A PERCENTAGE OF LOW-INCOME UNITS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE AT THE LOW INCOME LEVEL, AND ALSO THAT THE LABOR FORCE FOR THE PROJECT
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PAY PREVAILING WAGE OR, OR UNION WAGE FOR THAT PROJECT.SO, UH, JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE DIFFERENCE, UH, THE TWO DIFFERENT, UH, PURPOSES THAT THE ARENA NUMBERS ARE USED FOR THE, THE, BY FAR, THE MORE IMPORTANT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS HOUSING ELEMENT PROCESS IS THE PLANNING REQUIREMENT WHERE WE HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE IS ADEQUATE CAPACITY BASED ON THE CITY'S PLANS AND ZONING REGULATIONS.
SO THE ACTUAL NUMBERS, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, MANY OF YOU HAVE, HAVE SEEN THESE NUMBERS AND THEY'VE BEEN DISCUSSED IN THE PRESS AND IN PLANNING MEETINGS AND IT SCAG AND SO FORTH OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO, THE SCAG REGION WAS ASSIGNED A TOTAL NEW HOUSING NEED OF MORE THAN 1.3 MILLION HOUSING UNITS FOR THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.
AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY'S SHARE OF THAT WAS ABOUT 812,000 UNITS.
NOW, THE SCAG REGION IS COMPRISED OF SIX DIFFERENT COUNTIES.
IN ADDITION TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY, IT INCLUDES ORANGE COUNTY, RIVERSIDE, SAN BERNARDINO, VENTURA, AND IMPERIAL COUNTIES.
UH, BUT YOU CAN SEE LOS ANGELES COUNTY IS MORE THAN HALF OF THE REGIONS, TOTAL RINA, AND THEN WEST COVINA IS SHARE.
THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED BY SCAG IS, UH, OVER 5,300 HOUSING UNITS FOR THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.
AND THIS IS THE PLANNING REQUIREMENT THAT THE CITY HAS TO DEMONSTRATE CAPACITY FOR.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED QUITE A BIT OVER THE LAST YEAR OR TWO IS HOW MUCH LARGER ARENA IS THIS TIME THAN WAS IN THE LAST PLANNING CYCLE.
SO WHAT REFERRED, WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE FIFTH PLANNING CYCLE, UH, BEGAN IN 2013, AND IT ENDS THIS YEAR, UH, AND SKAGGS TOTAL RENA FOR THE LAST PLANNING CYCLE WAS JUST A LITTLE MORE THAN 400,000 IN UNITS.
AND SO, BECAUSE THE RENA IS SO MUCH HIGHER, MORE THAN THREE TIMES WHAT IT WAS LAST TIME, IT'S, UH, IT'S GOTTEN A WHOLE LOT OF ATTENTION.
UH, NOW THE CHANGE FOR WEST COVINA AND MANY OTHER CITIES, BY THE WAY, UH, FROM THE LAST CYCLE TO THIS CYCLE IS EVEN HIGHER ON A PERCENTAGE INCREASE BASIS.
SO IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT, THAT IS IN EFFECT TODAY, THAT WAS ADOPTED, UH, BACK IN 2013, THE CITY'S RAINA ALLOCATION WAS ONLY 831 UNITS COMPARED TO 5,300 UNITS THIS TIME.
UH, AND THAT, THAT IS, UM, SHOCKING.
I THINK, UH, I GUESS THE, UH, I GUESS THE THING WE COULD SAY IS THAT WEST COVINA IS IN GOOD COMPANY BECAUSE MANY OTHER CITIES AROUND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARE SEEING SIMILAR INCREASES COMPARED TO THE LAST CYCLE.
NOW, THE RENA NUMBERS ARE ALSO BROKEN DOWN INTO THE DIFFERENT INCOME CATEGORIES THAT I TALKED ABOUT A FEW MOMENTS AGO.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE, IN THIS CHART, THE DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE 5,300 AND SOME UNITS ASSIGNED INTO THE DIFFERENT INCOME CATEGORIES, THE REASON THAT THESE INCOME CATEGORIES ARE SIGNIFICANT FOR, UH, FOR PLANNING PURPOSES IS THAT STATE LAW IDENTIFIES A DENSITY OF RESIDENTIAL DENSITY THAT IS CONSIDERED TO BE SUITABLE FOR HOUSING AT THE VERY LOW AND THE LOW INCOME LEVEL.
AND FOR LARGER CITIES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, THAT'S 30 UNITS PER ACRE.
NOW 30 UNITS PER ACRE IS, UH, TYPICALLY A, UH, THREE STORY TYPE, UH, APARTMENT OR CONDO PROJECT.
UH, MAYBE SOME FOUR-STORY COMPONENTS, MAYBE SOME TWO-STORY COMPONENTS, BUT MAYBE AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT THREE STORIES WOULD TYPICALLY YIELD AROUND 30 UNITS PER ACRE.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WE LOOK AT THESE RENA NUMBERS THAT AT THE VERY LOW AND THE LOW-INCOME LEVEL, THE CITY HAS TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE NUMBERS WITH HIGHER DENSITY HOUSING.
SO THE KEY POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND, JUST TO SUMMARIZE THE RENA REQUIREMENTS, THE RENA IS PRIMARILY A PLANNING TARGET, AND IT'S NOT A MANDATE OR A QUOTA FOR THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMITS.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE CITIES DON'T HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER HOW MUCH HOUSING GETS BUILT.
THEY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE FULL CONTROL.
WHAT IS THE MAIN REQUIREMENT THAT'S CONTAINED IN STATE HOUSING LAW IS THAT CITIES HAVE TO PREPARE AN INVENTORY OF SITES AT THE PARCEL LEVEL.
AND THEY HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE THROUGH THAT INVENTORY THAT, THAT THEY COULD ACCOMMODATE
[00:30:01]
THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING THAT'S BEEN ASSIGNED THROUGH THE RENA PROCESS.AND THAT'S BASED ON AN ANALYSIS OF THE CITY'S PLANNING AND ZONING REGULATIONS.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE WOULD LOOK AT A LIST OF PARCELS AND WHAT DENSITY IS ALLOWED OR WHAT TYPE OF HOUSING IS ALLOWED ON THOSE DIFFERENT PARCELS.
AND WE WOULD ESTIMATE THE CAPACITY OF ALL OF THE PARCELS IN THE CITY WHERE HOUSING IS PERMITTED.
NOW THE, THE TWO LOWER INCOME CATEGORIES, THE VERY LOW AND THE LOW CAN BE ACCOMMODATED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, THERE IS A, UH, A DENSITY ESTABLISHED IN STATE LAW OF 30 UNITS PER ACRE, THAT IS DEEMED TO BE SUITABLE FOR LOWER INCOME HOUSING.
SO IF THE CITY HAS LAND THAT IS ZONED TO ALLOW MULTIFAMILY OR CONDOMINIUM TYPE DEVELOPMENT, AND IT ALLOWS A DENSITY OF AT LEAST 30 UNITS PER ACRE, THEN THOSE AREAS ARE DEEMED TO BE APPROPRIATE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT THE LOWER INCOME LEVELS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT JUST BECAUSE A PROPERTY IS ZONED TO ALLOW HOUSING AT HIGHER DENSITY DOES NOT MEAN THAT THAT PROPERTY HAS TO BE DEVELOPED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR THAT, UH, OR THAT LOWER INCOME HOUSING IS THE ONLY THING THAT'S PERMITTED ON THAT SITE.
IT'S A PLANNING REQUIREMENT THAT WOULD ENABLE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO BE BUILT IF ALL THE REQUIREMENTS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, PRIMARILY PUBLIC SUBSIDY MONEY IS AVAILABLE.
UH, NOW THE, UH, AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY, UH, AS PART OF THE NEW GENERAL PLAN ADOPTED, WHAT'S REFERRED TO AS FORM-BASED REGULATIONS, UH, AND THE DOWNTOWN PLAN INCLUDES THESE FORM-BASED TYPE REGULATIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT OF A VARIATION OVER THE, UH, FROM THE CONVENTIONAL TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS.
BUT IF IT CAN BE SHOWN THAT THOSE FORM-BASED ZONING DISTRICTS COULD ENABLE HOUSING TO BE BUILT AT A DENSITY OF AT LEAST 30 MINUTES PER ACRE, THEN THOSE SITES WOULD QUALIFY TO SATISFY THE ARENA, UH, ASSIGNED, ASSIGNED RENA NUMBERS AT THE VERY LOW AND LOW INCOME LEVEL.
NOW ALSO JUST, JUST RECENTLY BECAUSE OF THE, THE INCREASE THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE PRODUCTION OF ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS, UH, LAST YEAR, LAST YEAR, SCAG DID A STUDY OF ADU PRODUCTION, UH, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND THEY CONCLUDED THAT THE MAJORITY OF NEW 80 USE THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT, UH, IN RECENT YEARS ARE ACTUALLY AFFORDABLE, UH, AND, AND MEET THE STANDARDS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND WHEN YOU THINK THAT, UM, 80 USE ARE TYPICALLY MUCH SMALLER THAN, THAN APARTMENTS OR CONDOS, UH, AND WHEN, AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT 80 USE MIGHT BE OCCUPIED BY, UH, MAYBE A FAMILY CAREGIVER OR AN ELDERLY RELATIVE, AND MAYBE THERE'S, THERE'S VERY LOW RENT BEING CHARGED, OR IN SOME CASES, MAYBE EVEN NO RENT BEING CHARGED FOR THOSE, UH, THEN THEY DO QUALIFY AS AFFORDABLE, UH, AT THE LOWER MODERATE INCOME LEVEL.
SO ADU IS, CAN BE AN IMPORTANT WAY THAT CITIES CAN DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY HAVE CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR RENA NUMBERS.
WHAT IS, UH, WHERE THE, WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD, SO TO SPEAK IS THAT IF A CITY GOES THROUGH THIS ANALYSIS AND THEY LOOK AT THEIR POTENTIAL CAPACITY FOR NEW HOUSING BASED ON THEIR PLANS AND ZONING, AND THE, THE RESULT IS THAT THERE IS NOT SUFFICIENT CAPACITY THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE THOSE RENA NUMBERS.
THEN STATE LAW REQUIRES THE CITY TO TAKE PROACTIVE STEPS TO INCREASE CAPACITY.
SO AS TO FULLY ACCOMMODATE THE RENA ALLOCATION.
AND THE WAY THAT THAT IS TYPICALLY DONE IS THROUGH AMENDMENTS TO THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING REGULATIONS.
FOR EXAMPLE, A CITY MIGHT, UH, AMEND THE ZONING TO ALLOW A HIGHER DENSITY THAN WHAT IS CURRENTLY ALLOWED, IF IT'S A RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT OR WHERE THEY COULD AMEND THE ZONING REGULATIONS TO ALLOW HOUSING IN DISTRICTS WHERE HOUSING IS NOT CURRENTLY ALLOWED, UH, IN, IN MANY CASES, COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS OR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS, UH, DON'T ALLOW HOUSING, BUT, UH, THERE CAN BE AMENDMENTS TO ZONING TO ALLOW HOUSING IN THOSE AREAS, UH, AND THAT WOULD GENERATE INCREASED CAPACITY FOR FUTURE HOUSING.
NOW WE, UH, YOUR STAFF AND I HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH AND DOING THE ANALYSIS, UH, THAT'S REQUIRED UNDER THIS, THE STATE LAW FOR THE ADEQUATE SITES.
AND, UH, WE ARE, WE ARE CAUTIOUSLY
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HOPEFUL THAT THE CITY'S RECENT GENERAL PLAN UPDATE THE PLAN WC AND THE DOWNTOWN PLAN.AND SOME OF THE OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY WILL BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE THAT VERY LARGE RENA NUMBER, BUT WE HAVEN'T REACHED A FIRM CONCLUSION YET.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US TO, TO MAKE A, A CLEAR DETERMINATION IS THAT THE RULES THAT THE STATE USES TO REVIEW OUR, OUR SITES, UH, HAS CHANGED SUBSTANTIALLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND SO THIS IS, UH, IT'S A, UH, A FAIRLY COMPLICATED PROCESS THAT REQUIRES JUDGMENT ON THE PART OF THE STATE WHEN THEY'RE REVIEWING OUR HOUSING ELEMENT.
AND IT ALSO REQUIRES SOME JUDGMENT ON THE PART OF YOUR STAFF AND I, AS WE PUT THIS ANALYSIS TOGETHER.
SO, UH, IT IS OUR GOAL TO TRY TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE CITY'S EXISTING GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING REGULATIONS DO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE THAT LARGE RENA ALLOCATION THAT WE'VE BEEN HANDED.
BUT AS WE SIT HERE TONIGHT, WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE WHETHER THE STATE IS GOING TO AGREE WITH US, THAT WE, UH, THAT WE HAVE THAT CAPACITY.
SO TO WRAP UP MY PRESENTATION AND, UH, AND GET ONTO THE DISCUSSION TONIGHT, UH, JUST LOOKING AT THE MILESTONE SCHEDULE HERE IN THE NEXT STEPS, UH, OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, YOUR STAFF AND I HAVE BEEN DOING THE ANALYSIS THAT'S NECESSARY FOR THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
UH, WE'VE ALSO CREATED YOUR STAFF HAS CREATED A VERY NICE WEBSITE, UH, AND I'LL SHOW YOU THE LINK TO THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE IN JUST A SECOND, BUT FOR ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED IN FOLLOWING, ALONG WITH THE CITY'S HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE, UH, THERE IS A HOUSING ELEMENT WEBSITE THAT YOUR STAFF HAS CREATED, AND IT INCLUDES A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
THERE IS A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS THAT POSTED THERE, THERE IS A SURVEY THAT ANY INTERESTED, UH, FOLKS IN TOWN ARE ENCOURAGED TO TAKE AND GIVE US THEIR OPINIONS.
UM, AND THAT WOULD BE AN ONLINE SURVEY.
UM, TONIGHT WE'RE CONDUCTING, UH, THE FIRST OFFICIAL PUBLIC MEETING, A STUDY SESSION ON THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
AND THEN OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, WE'LL BE FINALIZING THE PREPARATION OF A DRAFT HOUSING ELEMENT, AND THAT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW, AND ALSO BROUGHT BACK TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND YOUR CITY COUNCIL FOR REVIEW.
AFTER THAT DRAFT HOUSING ELEMENT HAS BEEN REVIEWED BY THE CITY, THEN IT MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE STATE, TO STATE HCD FOR REVIEW, AND THEY WILL GIVE US THEIR COMMENTS.
AND IF THEY HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR CONCERNS, THEY WILL GIVE THOSE TO US IN LETTER FORM.
AND THEN, UM, UH, OVER THE NEXT, UH, COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER THAT AIMING TOWARDS FINAL ADOPTION OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT IN THE FALL, WE'LL BE CONDUCTING ADDITIONAL PUBLIC OUTREACH, PUBLIC HEARINGS BY YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION AND YOUR CITY COUNCIL.
AND THAT WILL CULMINATE IN FINAL ADOPTION OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE BY YOUR CITY COUNCIL IN THE FALL.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
UH, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SHOW YOU THE LINK, UH, THAT ANYONE WHO'S INTERESTED CAN GO TO THE CITY'S HOUSING ELEMENT WEBSITE AND, UH, UH, MAKE AVAIL, UH, UH, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE ALL THE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION THAT ARE PUBLISHED ON THAT WEBSITE.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION TONIGHT, AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
I WILL NOW OPEN UP TO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ARE THERE ANY AFTER PUBLIC COMMENTS AND THEN I'LL CLOSE IT, MAYOR.
I HAVE NO SPEAKER CARD THE SPEAKER.
WELL THEN I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENTS AND OPEN CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION DISCUSSION.
MA'AM IS THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE? YEAH.
UH, MY NAME IS ANTONIO I'M IS DDA COUNCILMAN.
I WILL PRESENT CT JOINED THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY COCK.
AND THEN THEY, UM, HAVE MADE WHAT THEN? OKAY.
REGARDING THE C H D A COMMITTEE THAT'S REGARDING HOUSING.
AND THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED THIS FOR TWO YEARS REGARDING THE RENO REQUIREMENT.
AND THAT WE TRY TO COUNTER THE STATE BACK REGARDING THIS REQUIREMENT, BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
WELL, WEST COVINA TO YOU FIND OUT IN 246 UNIT IN EIGHT YEARS.
AND WE DON'T HAVE LIKE KIND OF LAND, BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, OKAY, WE WANT TO CHANGE IN SOME ZONING, BUT IF YOU SEE WEST COVINA, WEST COVINA IS BASICALLY A TEMPORARY WAY
[00:40:01]
IS COMMERCIAL AZUSA AND THE REST.WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT ON THE TOP IS END ZONING, BUT THE REST IS A SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE.
SO WE ARE PREDOMINANT SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE.
SO HOW CAN WE ACCOMMODATE THE STATE REQUIREMENT? HOW WE CHANGE ZONING? ALMOST WHAT I THINK IS VERY DIFFICULT, BECAUSE NOW YOU WANT TO GO TO A SINGLE FAMILY ZONING TOO, AND WE DON'T HAVE A ZOS LOT.
SO, SO HOW WE, AS YOUR RECOMMENDATION, HOW YOU HAVE OUR PLANNING COMMITTEE, OKAY.
TO LOOK INTO HOW WE CHANGE ZONING.
SO WHAT KIND OF RECOMMENDATION THAT WE HAVE TO CHANGE? WE KNOW WE HAVE A MANDATE.
FOUND A STATE TO DO THE ADU, ALMOST NO RESTRICTION, BUT NOW THEY WANT US TO BUILD THIS SO MANY HOUSING.
SO WHAT KIND OF ZONING CHANGE REQUIREMENT BASED ON WHY YOU SAY WE NOT NECESSARILY BILL 5,000.
WE ANDREW 46 UNIT IN EIGHT YEARS, BUT WE NEED TO SHOW THEM.
WE ARE WILLING A COMMON DAY BY PLANNING.
SOME OF THE UPDATE TO MAKE DEVELOPMENT, EASIER TO COME TO OUR CT, TO BILL.
SO, SO CAN YOU SHARE SOME LIGHT WITH US, UH, HOW WE CHANGE? OKAY.
AND HOW WE ADOPT TO ACCOMMODATE THE REQUIREMENT UNDER STATE.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, WE, IT HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED YET WHETHER ANY ZONING CHANGES ARE GOING TO BE NECESSARY AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, UH, THAT REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
AND IT, AND IT, A LOT OF IT HINGES ON HOW THE STATE WILL INTERPRET SOME OF THE NEW LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN ADOPTED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO WHAT WE WILL BE DOING IS PREPARING WHAT WHAT'S REFERRED TO AS AN INVENTORY OF SITES AT THE PARCEL SPECIFIC LEVEL WHERE ADDITIONAL HOUSING WOULD BE ALLOWED UNDER THE CITY'S CURRENT REGULATIONS WITH, WITH NO CHANGES, WITH NO ZONING CHANGES.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE LARGEST SINGLE, UH, AREA WITH CAPACITY FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING IS IN THE DOWNTOWN.
AND IN FACT, THE NEW GENERAL PLAN, UH, THAT WAS ADOPTED JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, DOES IDENTIFY THAT THE DOWNTOWN IS THE PORTION OF THE CITY WHERE CHANGE IS ANTICIPATED WHILE PRESERVING THE STABLE NEIGHBORHOODS OF THE CITY.
SO I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT THAT W WE ARE NOT CERTAIN, UH, AS TO THE, THE ULTIMATE NEED FOR REZONING, WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO SHOW ENOUGH CAPACITY AND THAT THE STATE WILL AGREE WITH US.
THAT WEST COVINA DOES HAVE ENOUGH CAPACITY BASED ON ZONING THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE THAT, UH, THAT LARGE RENA NUMBER, UH, OKAY.
WE'RE GONNA NEED A DOWNTOWN PLAN.
WELL, WE AGREE, UH, WITH WEST COVINA PLAZA.
I THINK, UH, I THINK EVERYBODY KNOW, WE TRY TO ENCOURAGE THE PREVIOUS OWNER.
THE STARWOOD TO DEVELOP AND THE POST BUILDING POTENTIALLY 1200 UNIT IN THE BACK ON THE WEST COVINA PARKWAY.
AND THAT, THAT POSSIBLE FEE INTO THE STATE GUIDELINE, WE WANT TO IN THE DOWNTOWN TO CREATE SOME KIND OF HOUSING AND INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR THE REQUIREMENT, BUT THE PLUMBING IS STAR WARS.
AND THE PACIFIC RETAIL GROUP, INVESTMENT GROUP, NOT NECESSARILY INTO, UH, THIS KIND OF, UH, UH, DEVELOPMENT.
SO WHY NOW WE ARE IN THE LIMBO DON'T KNOW.
SO IN THAT WAY, IT WILL BE VERY DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE WHAT THE STATE REQUIREMENT ABOUT THE HOUSING NEED IN WEST COVINA.
SO, BUT AT LEAST WE SHOWING THEM, WE ARE WILLING TO ACCOMMODATE OUR DOWNTOWN WITH A POTENTIAL PROJECT THAT WE OKAY.
TRY TO ACCOMMODATE WITH THE DEVELOPER, THE PREVIOUS DEVELOPER OF A STARWOOD W WILL IT BE CON AS WELL OF OUR WILLINGNESS TO WORK WITH STATE, THE CITY'S TRACK RECORD IN SEEING HOUSING APPROVED AND BUILT IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
BECAUSE IF THE CITY CAN SHOW THAT HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND BUILT IN RECENT YEARS, THEN THAT PROVIDES
[00:45:01]
EVIDENCE THAT, THAT DEMONSTRATES TO THE STATE THAT THE CITY'S PLANNING AND ZONING REGULATIONS ARE APPROPRIATE AND ARE ENCOURAGING THE PRODUCTION OF HOUSING.I DO WANT TO EMPHASIZE THOUGH THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE A PART OF THE RENA PROCESS, THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT THAT THE CITY ACHIEVE THAT NUMBER OF AFFORDABLE UNITS.
AND THE MAIN REASON IS THAT IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, ESTIMATES RANGE ANYWHERE FROM $200,000 AND UP OF SUBSIDY IN ORDER TO MAKE A HOUSING UNIT AFFORDABLE.
AND SO THE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE LOW AND, UH, PARTICULARLY THE VERY LOW AND THE LOW INCOME NUMBERS IN THOSE RENA ALLOCATIONS, THE AMOUNT OF MONEY OF PUBLIC SUBSIDY THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO ACTUALLY PRODUCE THAT AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS FAR, FAR MORE THAN THE MONEY THAT IS AVAILABLE.
AND SO IT, IT, IT'S ALMOST, UH, WELL, IT, IT'S NOT ALMOST, IT IS THE RENA NUMBERS ARE FAIR TO SAY, NOT ACHIEVABLE.
AND, UH, I THINK THERE IS, UH, OFTENTIMES SOME, UM, UNFAMILIARITY WITH WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES WHEN, WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE ARENA, UH, THE ARENA IS A PLANNING TARGET.
UH, IT IS NOT A MANDATE THAT CITIES ACHIEVE.
CITIES ARE EXPECTED TO TRY AND TO USE WHATEVER POWERS THEY HAVE, THEIR REGULATORY POWERS, THEIR ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS, IN SOME CASES, FINANCIAL RESOURCES, UH, MUCH OF THOSE FINANCIAL RESOURCES COME FROM GRANT MONIES.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, CDBG GRANT FUNDS THAT CAN BE STEERED TOWARDS, UH, IMPROVING NEIGHBORHOODS AND ASSISTING HOUSING.
BUT, BUT THE RENA IS A GOAL THAT CITIES USE TO PLAN FOR.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT CITIES ARE GOING TO BE PUNISHED OVER IF THEY DON'T ACHIEVE THOSE NUMBERS, SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S NOT FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE FOR MOST CITIES TO ACTUALLY ACHIEVE THOSE NUMBERS, BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE THE SUBSIDIES.
REGARDING HOW TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING RIGHT NOW, CURRENTLY DURING COVID CONSTRUCTION COSTS, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
THE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS WENT UP ABOUT THREE TIMES.
YEAH, BECAUSE THE PANDEMIC, THE SHIPPING GOOD, DIFFICULT TO COME IN AND THEN HAVE A CONTAINER, HAVE AN ISSUE AND A MATERIALS FROM CHINA, EVERYTHING WITH TAXES.
SO WHEN I WAS ABOUT THREE TIMES TO FULL TIME OKAY.
SO MEANING EVERYTHING BECOME VERY EXPENSIVE TO BILL.
YOU WANT TO DO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
THE BUILDER POSSIBLE WE'RE SHYING AWAY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO WE NEED TO FIND SOME KIND OF ENCOURAGEMENT OKAY.
FOR THEM TO USE SOME AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN ALL THE CITY, INCLUDING WASTE COPING TWO, AND THEN OKAY.
I THINK WE TALKING ABOUT OKAY.
AND A REQUIREMENT AND, UH, EVEN A JOINED THE MEETING WITH A SCAG.
AND THEY TALKING ABOUT MANDATORY IN THE FUTURE STATE WILL KIND OF A PROCESS TO ALLOW OKAY.
UM, IN THE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE FOR BUILDER TO BUILD MULTIPLE UNIT, BUT IT'S BECOME A VERY SCARY FOR A LOT OF RESIDENTS.
IS THERE BECOME A POTENTIALLY ISSUE TO GO TO THE CT FOR THE KIND OF REQUIREMENT FROM STATE? THERE, THERE IS LEGISLATION, UH, IN SACRAMENTO THAT HAS, HAS BEEN, UH, DISCUSSED FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW ABOUT CHANGING THE ZONING ON SINGLE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOODS TO ALLOW MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT.
SO IT'S, IT'S DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WHAT THE STATE LEGISLATURE IS GOING TO DO ON THAT TOPIC, BUT IT IS, UH, WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED AS YOU WELL KNOW, UH, THE ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT LAW, UH, CITIES ARE REQUIRED TO ALLOW TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS ON A SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTY.
UH, ONE THAT IS WHAT'S CALLED A, YOU KNOW, A REGULAR ADU AND THEN, UH,
[00:50:01]
A JUNIOR ADU, WHICH IS CREATED WITHIN THE WALLS OF AN EXISTING HOME.SO IF YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY, UM, SINGLE FAMILY ZONING IN CALIFORNIA ALREADY ALLOWS THREE HOUSING UNITS ON A SINGLE FAMILY LINE.
IF YOU HAVE A HOUR OR TWO OR THREE AND A HALF, FOR ALL FOUR, YOU CAN BUILD MULTIPLE APARTMENTS AND R TWO, YOU CAN HAVE TWO UNIT.
ALL THREE IS DO A UNIT OF BASICALLY YOU CAN BUILD UP TO THE FOUR UNITS AS A SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE WENT TO FOUR.
THERE'S HAVE BEEN ALLOWED FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
BUT WHEN WE TALKING ABOUT MOLDABLE UNIT, MEANING BUILDING TWO-STORY CONDO LAW IS WHAT THE ISSUE I THINK MOST OF US WORRY ABOUT.
OH, I, I WAS JUST GOING TO REITERATE THAT, THAT THERE, THERE ARE BILLS, UH, IN SACRAMENTO THAT ARE BEING DEBATED BY THE LEGISLATURE ON THAT VERY TOPIC.
AND SO, UH, W W WE, WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH LEGISLATION LATER THIS YEAR OR IN COMING YEARS ON THAT TOPIC.
I KNOW WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENTS, BUT I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
CAN YOU SHOW US THE FORMULA USED TO CREATE THESE NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL HOUSING THAT IS REQUIRED? UM, CAUSE OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A SIX TIMES INCREASE OF HOUSES THAT ARE NEEDED FROM THE LAST CYCLE.
AND I KNOW ON THE REPORT, IT SAYS, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T TAKE CONSIDERATION OF THE COMMERCIAL AREAS, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PARKLAND SPACE? WELL, FIRST WITH REGARD TO THE FORMULA, UM, SCAG HAS, UH, I, I DON'T HAVE IT THAT I CAN PUT UP ON THE SCREEN TONIGHT, BUT WE CAN MAKE AVAILABLE TO YOU SKAGGS REPORT, THEIR FINAL RENA PLAN REPORT THAT DESCRIBES THE FORMULAS AND METHODS THAT THEY USE TO COME UP WITH THOSE NUMBERS.
UH, THEN THE, UH, I THINK THAT THE SECOND ISSUE, UH, YOU WERE RAISING IS, UM, IF I COULD PARAPHRASE WITH ADDITIONAL HOUSING AND ADDITIONAL RESIDENTS COMES THE NEED FOR FOUR ADDITIONAL PARKS AND A VARIETY OF OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES, RIGHT? YES, YES.
AND SO, UH, THAT IS, UH, THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
AND A QUESTION THAT'S BEEN ASKED THROUGHOUT THIS RENA PROCESS AT SCAG AND ELSEWHERE, AND, UM, UH, I'M AFRAID I DON'T HAVE A SIMPLE ANSWER TO IT.
IT IS, IT IS ONE OF THE MANY PROBLEMS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED THAT, THAT COME ALONG WITH THIS RENA PROCESS, UM, A VARIETY OF, OF PUBLIC NEEDS AND PUBLIC SERVICES, PARKS, AND SCHOOLS AND WATER SUPPLY AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND, AND, UH, A VARIETY OF THINGS.
AND SO, UH, I THINK, I THINK THE IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THE RENA NUMBERS ARE NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO GENERATE ADDITIONAL HOUSING, THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE RENA IS SO THAT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING IS AVAILABLE THROUGH CITIES, PLANS AND ZONING.
BUT THE DECISIONS ON CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSING, THOSE DECISIONS ARE MADE BY PRIVATE DEVELOPERS AND LAND OWNERS.
AND THEY WILL NOT, UH, INVEST IN HOUSING CONSTRUCTION UNLESS THEY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF SUCCESS AND PROFIT, UNLESS IT IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT'S DEVOTED TO THE PRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
AND SO I THINK, UH, IF I WERE TO SPECULATE, I WOULD SAY THAT THE, THE GENERAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS MAY BE MORE SIGNIFICANT IN DETERMINING HOW MUCH HOUSING ACTUALLY GETS BUILT THAN THE ADOPTION OF RENA NUMBERS.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT FORMULA BECAUSE I WANTED TO KNOW IF THEY ARE JUST TAKING CONSIDERATION OF THE WHOLE CITY SPACE AND DOING THAT CALCULATION WITHOUT EVEN CONSIDERING WHAT IS CURRENTLY ON CITY PROPERTY.
I KNOW THERE'S HILLS THERE'S AREAS, THAT'S JUST STRICTLY FOR PARK LAND USE.
AND SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IS NOT TAKEN TO CONSIDERATION TO ALSO BUILD BECAUSE OF THAT.
THEY TAKE THOSE NUMBERS INTO CONSIDERATION.
BUT WE HAVE, UH, LET'S DO THE PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST, RIGHT.
AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE ON, OR WE CAN DO THAT.
I HAVE A COMMENT OR I KNOW I SAID, MR. GUTIERREZ HAD A QUESTION.
DID YOU WANT TO, OH, IT WAS JUST A QUICK QUESTION.
[00:55:01]
THE REZONING, UM, IS THAT ON THE RIO, IT'S JUST AN ADVISORY THAT THE CITY LOOK INTO REZONING.IF, IF, IF THERE WAS MORE SPACE NEEDED, THE REZONING AREAS, IS THAT A MANDATE OR JUST AN ADVISORY CURRENTLY? YES.
TH THE, THE, THE FIRST STEP IS THAT WE HAVE TO ESTIMATE THE CAPACITY FOR ADDITIONAL HOUSING BASED ON THE CITY'S CURRENT PLANS AND ZONING REGULATIONS.
AND THAT WILL BE PART OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT, UH, AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MUCH HOUSING COULD BE BUILT, ASSUMING THAT YOU HAD AN INTERESTED PROPERTY OWNER AND DEVELOPER AND SO FORTH.
SO WE WILL COME UP WITH AN ESTIMATE OF THE CAPACITY AND THEN THAT'LL BE COMPARED TO THE RENA NUMBER.
AND IF THAT ESTIMATED CAPACITY IS LESS THAN THE RENA, THAT'S WHEN THE CITY WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER ZONING CHANGES, BUT THAT HASN'T BEEN DETERMINED YET.
AND I AM HOPEFUL THAT THE CITY'S CAPACITY BASED ON, UH, THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE DOWNTOWN PLAN AND THE ZONING REGULATIONS, UM, AND ALSO THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT CODE UPDATE THAT IS IN THE WORKS RIGHT NOW.
UM, I'M, I'M HOPEFUL THAT THAT ANALYSIS WILL SHOW THAT THERE IS ENOUGH CAPACITY, UH, WITHOUT HAVING TO AMEND THE SONY ZONING REGULATIONS.
BUT WE WON'T KNOW THAT UNTIL WE SUBMIT THAT THE HOUSING ELEMENT TO THE STATE FOR REVIEW.
AND MY FINAL QUESTION WOULD BE, IS THERE ANY CURRENT BILLS PENDING IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATOR THAT THE CITY SHOULD BE ADVISING ON OR GIVING INPUT ON THAT YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT SOMEHOW, IF ONE OF THOSE BILLS ARE GOING TO PENALIZE A CITY OR ANYTHING THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT WE AS A CITY SHOULD BE, UH, LOBBYING TO BE A VOICE IN, AND PART OF THAT PROCESS IN PENDING LEGISLATION, IN PEN, ON BILLS THAT YOU INDICATED EARLIER? YEAH.
I, I, THERE'S NOTHING THAT I WOULD PARTICULARLY WANT TO POINT OUT THIS EVENING, BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO WORK WITH YOUR STAFF AND YOUR CITY ATTORNEY, UM, TO, TO MONITOR THE CHANGES BECAUSE TH TH TH THE LEGISLATURE IS VERY ACTIVE IN THE FIELD OF HOUSING NOW.
AND, UH, AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP TRACK OF.
WE HAVE A PUBLIC COMMENTS
I LIKE TO ASK IF WE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE FIFTH CYCLE, THE 831 UNITS THAT WERE REQUIRED BY THE RENA ACT IN THOSE NINE YEARS, DID THE CITY IMPLY AND COMPLETE THE, THE REQUESTED AMOUNT? IF YOU KNOW, MR. HUGHES START DOUGLAS.
I DON'T RECALL OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT IF, IF THE CITY STAFF KNOWS, UM, UH, MAYBE THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU, DOES THE STAFF NOW BELIEVE WE'D HAVE TO DO TAKE A LOOK? YEAH.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS I'M, I'M, WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME PLACE.
WE KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS HAS BEEN FORCED UPON YOU.
WE KNOW THAT, BUT LIKE MR. DOUGLAS HAS STATED THERE'S NO STATE REQUIREMENTS OR PENALTIES FOR NOT BUILDING THE 5,300, AND WE KNOW THE CONSTRAINTS YOU GUYS ARE UNDER.
AND ALL THAT I WOULD ASK IS THAT YOU FOLLOW THE WONDERFUL, BY THE WAY, THIS IS WHAT'S GREAT.
AND THE HOUSING ELEMENT THAT YOU FOLLOW AND, AND CONSIDER THE THINGS THAT ARE WRITTEN IN THE WEST COVINA PLAN WC, UM, BE SYMPATHETIC TO THE NOISE, THE SAFETY, THE PUBLIC, AND THE LAND USE.
WE WOULD LIKE ASK AS THE RESIDENTS, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND YOU'RE UNDER CONSTRAINTS TOO, BUT WE ASK THAT YOU LOOK AT THE RESIDENTS SPECIFICALLY, MOST RECENTLY IN THE DEVELOPMENT AT PIONEER, I'M GOING TO BRING IT UP.
UM, THE RESIDENTS ARE STILL VERY UNHAPPY ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I GUESS THE DEVELOPER COULD SIT OVER THERE AND SAY, IT COULD BE WORSE.
OF COURSE IT COULD BE WORSE, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER.
THE CITIES OF MONTEBELLO, THE CITIES OF WHITTIER, THEY'RE ALL BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM,
[01:00:01]
HEARING TO THE PUBLIC AND BEING EMPATHETIC AND HEARING BOTH SIDES.SO THAT'S ALL THE RESIDENTS ARE ASKING OF YOU GUYS, WHEN YOU MAKE A DECISION THAT YOU BE CONSIDERATE OF, NOT JUST THE DEVELOPER, UM, TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE RENA NUMBERS, BUT ALSO LISTEN TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE ESTABLISHED LONG ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS TO BE THESE, THESE, UH, TWO AND THREE STORIES DO NOT FIT EVERYWHERE.
WE UNDERSTAND WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT.
DOWNTOWN AREA IS THE PLACE TO DO IT IN, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO COMING INTO WELL-ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOODS, IT JUST DOESN'T WORK.
SO THAT'S ALL THE RESONANCE OR WANTING TO APPEAL TO YOU.
MY QUESTION IS PRETTY SIMILAR TO THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT CITY IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF TIME TO DEVELOP A HOUSING ELEMENT, WHICH THEY HAD BEFORE, BUT THEY DIDN'T FOLLOW THAT HOUSING ELEMENT BEFORE.
HOW STRICTLY DO YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THAT HOUSING ELEMENT WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING AT REZONING AND WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BUILD? BECAUSE AGAIN, WITH THE PIONEER PROJECT, EVERYTHING THAT'S IN THAT HOUSING ELEMENT FOR AN ESTABLISHED NEIGHBORHOOD WAS VIOLATED AND IT WAS LOOKED AT AS IF IT WERE DOWNTOWN AREA.
SO HOW CLOSELY, AND WHY DOES THE CITY DEVELOP A HOUSING ELEMENT IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO FOLLOW IT? UH, IF THAT QUESTION IS ADDRESSED TO ME, I, I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH, UH, WITH THE DETAILS OF THE PROJECT THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
HOW CLOSELY DOES THE CITY HAVE TO FOLLOW A HOUSING ELEMENT, OR IS IT JUST KIND OF A GUIDELINE FOR THEM? I MEAN, WHY DO THEY DO IT IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO USE IT? WELL, THE, THE HOUSING ELEMENT ALONG WITH, UH, OTHER PARTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN ARE THE CITY'S OFFICIAL POLICY.
AND SO, UH, THE CITY MUST FOLLOW ITS POLICY, BUT, UH, BUT THERE ARE SOME TYPES OF POLICIES THAT ARE SUBJECT TO SOME INTERPRETATION AND THERE'S OTHER TYPES OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT ARE QUITE SPECIFIC, FOR EXAMPLE.
UH, AND, AND, AND TO THE POINT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT WITH THE HOUSING ELEMENT, IF, IF A CITY WEST COVINA OR ANY OTHER CITY PREPARES THE HOUSING ELEMENT, AND IT CONCLUDES THAT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH LAND WITH THE RIGHT STONING TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE RENA, THEN IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE STATE'S APPROVAL, THE CITY WOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON REZONING LAND.
AND IF, IF A CITY DID NOT FOLLOW THAT PROGRAM THAT WAS SET FORTH IN STATE LAW, THEN THEY WOULD BE SUBJECT TO FINES, PENALTIES, A VARIETY OF, OF THINGS.
SO THERE ARE DEFINITELY SOME, SOME COMPONENTS OF HOUSING ELEMENTS THAT ARE QUITE SPECIFIC AND HAVE A POTENTIALLY VERY SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR NOT FOLLOWING.
WAS THE SPEAKER CARDS I HAVE MAYOR DO THE PLANNING COMMISSION OR COUNCIL HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? IF I CAN JUST MENTION, WE DO HAVE THE FIGURES FROM THE RENA NUMBERS FROM THE LAST CYCLE.
UM, WE WERE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE 831 OR MAKE, UM, THAT WAS OUR NUMBER.
UH, THERE WAS 400, 740 UNITS THAT WERE BUILT DURING THAT TIMEFRAME.
SO MANY, WE ALMOST CLOSE TO THE MENTION WAS A REQUIREMENT, BUT THE 5,246 FOR EIGHT YEARS, THERE WILL BE A TOUGH TASK ALMOST.
WE HAVE MAYBE SOME EMPTY LOVE FOR THE SCHOOL, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A LAND.
LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S, THE BUILDER IS NOT THAT EASY TO FIND THAT EVERYBODY WALKING INTO THE CDC, I WANT A BILL AND YOU CAN FEEL RIGHT AWAY.
NO, YOU TAKE ABOUT FOUR YEARS WITH ALL THE PLANNING, SEE QUACKS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
AND EIGHT YEARS BLINKER UI IS OVER.
SO, SO THIS IS A LOT OF DIFFICULTY THAT WE ARE FACING WITH THE REQUIREMENT FROM THE STATE.
SO, AND, AND I KNOW I IN THE SCAG MEETING THAT CONSEQUENCES SEVERE.
IT'S NOT GOING TO, BECAUSE THEY THINKING ABOUT THE HOUSING CRISIS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO THAT IS NOT A, NOT AS SOMETHING THEY'RE NOT GOING TO LET GO, LIKE IF WE JUST TRY TO SNEAK OUT OKAY.
[01:05:01]
BUT, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF A REQUIREMENT.LET YOU GUYS ARE DOING THIS AMENDMENT.
WE DO THIS MEETING TO UNDERSTAND OKAY.
WE FOLLOW THE, SOME OF THE SUGGESTION FROM OUR CONSULTANT.
AND, UH, HOW THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OVER HERE TO SEE HOW WE CAN DEAL WITH, AND THE RESIDENT INPUT, SEE WE CAN WORK TOGETHER OKAY.
TO HOPEFULLY, AND, UM, TO SATISFY IS SO-CALLED A HOUSING CRISIS HOUSING CRUNCH, AND THERE WAS A REQUIREMENT BY THE STATE IMPOSED TO US.
AND THAT THE CHANGE IS VERY DIFFICULT, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE FIND EMPTY LAND.
I DON'T SEE TOO MANY EMPTY LOTS.
YOU CAN BUILD HOUSES, HOUSES ON THIS.
YOU GO VERTIGO, YOU GO TO HIGH RISE.
I DON'T THINK, WHEREAS THE ONE, THE HIGH RISE OKAY.
SO, SO, SO THIS IS A LOT OF THINGS I THINK WE HAVE TO DISCUSS AND LOOK INTO IT.
SO, UM, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW YOU GUYS GOING TO WORK ON THIS AND HOW LONG WE CAN GET THESE THING DONE.
UH, CAN YOU REQUIRE, CAN YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION? UH, HOW, OKAY.
HOW SO WE ARE GOING TO GET THIS THING BY THE TIME TIMELINE, WE HAVE TO PROVE THAT WE DO THIS AMENDMENT OR DO THIS SOMETHING OKAY.
UH, THE, THE D THE DUE DATE THAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED IN STATE LAW FOR THE SCAG REGION IS OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR.
SO THAT THIS IS A, UH, THIS IS A FAST MOVING PROCESS.
A OF 1ST OF OCTOBER 31ST IS THE ONE MONTH'S DIFFERENCE, RIGHT? OCTOBER 15TH IS THE OFFICIAL.
SO WOULD IT BE FOUND HERE TO OCTOBER 15, WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED THE TASK AND SHOWED THEM THE WILLINGNESS OF CT WELL, INTO A COMMON DATE, THAT REQUIREMENT FROM THE STATE.
AM I RIGHT? UH, YES, BUT LET ME JUST ADD IF, IF WE GO THROUGH THIS ANALYSIS AND, AND THE FINAL CONCLUSION BY THE STATE IS THAT THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH CAPACITY.
AND SO ZONING CHANGES ARE NECESSARY IF THAT'S THE FINAL CONCLUSION.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE STATE TELLS US.
THEN WE HAVE, THE CITY HAS THREE YEARS TO DO THOSE ZONING CHANGES.
SO THE OCTOBER DUE DATE IS FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT DOCUMENT THAT DETERMINES WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
AND IF, IF THAT, IF THE DETERMINATION IS THAT SOME ZONE CHANGES ARE NEEDED TO CREATE MORE CAPACITY, THEN THAT CAN HAPPEN OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
I HAVE A SUBJECTION, BUT I KNOW PEOPLE WILL KILL ME FOR THIS.
WE HAVE A LAND, WE HAVE A LANDFILL THERE'S ABOUT 600 ACRE.
SO LET US STAY CLEAN UP THE LANDFILL AND THEY CAN PUT ALL THE HOUSING THEY WANT.
UM, JUST A SUGGESTION, BUT THE, UH, DEADLINE TO MEET THE, ALL THE REQUIREMENTS.
I KNOW IT SAYS 20, 21 TO 20, 29 TO BUILD ALL THOSE HOUSING.
I MEAN, TAKING CONSIDERATION IF THEY HAVE TO REZONE OR ANY OF THAT, WHAT IS THE HARD DEADLINE TO MEET THOSE REQUIREMENTS? IS IT 20, 29? WELL, THE, THERE ARE THERE'S, UH, UH, DUDE, IT'S, IT'S NOT REALLY A DEADLINE.
IT'S A DUE DATE TO ADOPT THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
SO THAT IS COMPLETING THE PROCESS OF, OF, OF WRITING THE HOUSING ELEMENT, HAVING IT REVIEWED BY THE STATE, HAVING IT REVIEWED BY YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR PLANNING COMMISSION, YOUR CITY COUNCIL, AND THEN ADOPTING THAT HOUSING ELEMENT DOCUMENT THAT THE, THE TARGET DATE FOR THAT IS OCTOBER 15TH.
IF THE HOUSING ELEMENT AND THE STATE CONCLUDE THAT ZONE CHANGES ARE NECESSARY, THEN THERE IS A HARD DEADLINE FOR ADOPTING THOSE ZONE CHANGES.
AND THAT IS THREE YEARS AFTER THE HOUSING ELEMENT IS ADOPTED IN TERMS OF THE ACTUAL PRODUCTION, THAT BUILDING OF HOUSING UNITS, THERE ISN'T ANY, THERE ISN'T ANY DEADLINE, UH, OR DUE DATE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE HOUSING UNITS.
AND THIS GETS BACK TO THE SLIDE WHERE I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PLANNING REQUIREMENT AND THE PRODUCTION, UH, ANALYSIS CITIES ARE NOT, UH, THEY'RE NOT MANDATED TO ISSUE PERMITS FOR HOUSING, AND THERE IS NOT A QUOTA FOR ACTUALLY PRODUCING HOUSING.
AND THE REASON IS THAT CITIES DON'T HAVE THE FULL CONTROL OVER THAT PROCESS OF BUILDING HOUSING.
[01:10:01]
OKAY.AND I THINK WE HAVE PLANNING COMMISSIONER LEWIS HAD A QUESTION.
YEAH, ACTUALLY I HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE, I THINK 740 UNITS THAT WERE BUILT, I GUESS THIS IS DIRECTED TO STAFF GENERALLY, OR THE 740 UNITS, UH, THAT, THAT WE SAY, UH, WERE FULFILLED OUT OF THE EIGHT 31.
IS THAT APPROVED? IS THAT PERMITTED? IS THAT ACTUALLY BUILT? AND DOES THAT INCLUDE ANY PROJECTS THAT WE'VE APPROVED TO DATE? AYE.
AND WITH REGARD TO THE, WITH REGARD TO THE RENA NUMBERS, IS IT THAT THEY ARE PERMITTED OR IS IT THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY BUILT? SO IN ORDER TO SATISFY THE RENA REQUIREMENTS OR THE RENA QUOTAS, IF YOU WILL, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL THEM, I GUESS, IS IT, IS IT THAT THE, IS IT THAT THEY ARE BUILT SO THAT THEY QUALIFY? IS IT THAT THEY ARE PERMITTED? IS IT THAT THEY ARE APPROVED BY PLANNING COMMISSION? WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE, THE, THE RULE IN TERMS OF, I GUESS, CONSIDERING THAT WE'RE AT SEVEN 40 OUT OF EIGHT 30? HOW, HOW DID WE GET TO THAT? UM, WELL, THOSE NUMBERS AREN'T PERMITTED UNITS, SO I BELIEVE IT IS BASED ON PERMITTED, UM, OR PERMITS.
AND THEN WITH REGARD TO, UH, SOMETHING WAS MENTIONED IN THE PRESENTATION, I GUESS THIS WOULD BE FOR MR. DOUGLAS, UM, AS IT PERTAINS TO THE STREAMLINED PROCESS, UH, THAT, THAT WOULD, UH, UH, THAT WOULD BE PUT IN PLACE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS IF WE FALL SHORT OF, OF RENA NUMBERS, UH, WHICH, WHICH PARTICULAR TYPES OF PROJECTS ARE THOSE.
AND DOES THAT IMPACT OUR ABILITY TO, UH, TO, TO ZONE CERTAIN AREAS? LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, IF SOMEONE CAME IN, SAID THEY WANTED TO PUT IN LOW-INCOME HOUSING IN A CERTAIN AREA THAT WAS NOT ZONED FOR THAT, WOULD THIS WOULD THE STREAMLINED PERMITTING PROCESS ALSO OVERRIDE OUR, OUR, UH, OUR ZONING RESTRICTIONS, THE, THIS, THE STREAMLINED, UH, PERMIT REQUIREMENT, UH, IN A NUTSHELL, UH, THE STATE PUBLISHES A LIST, UH, EVERY FOUR YEARS.
AND SO ON THE LIST THAT THEY PUBLISH IS THE CITIES THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THAT STREAMLINE PROCESSING.
AND IT'S BASED ON THE PRODUCTION AND HOW THE HOUSING PRODUCTION COMPARES TO THE RENA NUMBERS.
SO THAT'S, UH, THERE IS A LIST AND, AND YOUR STAFF AND I CAN, CAN SHOW YOU WHETHER THE CITIES THAT ARE ON, ON THAT LIST.
SO IF A CITY IS ON THE LIST THAT REQUIRES STREAMLINED PROCESSING, THEN THE, IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT STREAMLINED PROCESSING, THE DEVELOPER WOULD HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE PROJECT COMPLIES WITH THE REQUIREMENTS, THE CRITERIA THAT ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE.
AND THERE ARE, THERE'S A NUMBER OF, OF CRITERIA, BUT TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES IN MY MIND ARE THAT THE PROJECT WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE, UH, UH, UH, AN AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT THE LOW INCOME LEVEL.
UH, IF MY MEMORY SERVES IT'S 20% AND THE SECOND REQUIREMENT IS THAT THE PROJECT NEEDS TO PROVIDE, UH, OR, OR GUARANTEE THAT THE WORKFORCE, THE CONSTRUCTION WORKFORCE WILL BE PAID PREVAILING WAGE, WHICH IS UNION SCALE.
SO IF A PROJECT DID NOT COMMIT TO, TO THOSE REQUIREMENTS OR SEVERAL OTHERS THAT ARE IN THE LAW, THEN IT WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR, UH, WHAT'S CALLED STREAMLINED PERMIT PROCESSING.
IF THE PROJECT DID QUALIFY FOR STREAMLINED PROCESSING, THEN THE CITY'S REVIEW PROCESS WOULD BE CONSTRAINED.
UH, AND FOR EXAMPLE, A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT COULDN'T REQUIRED.
AND SOMETIMES YOU WILL HEAR THE TERM MINISTERIAL OR BY RIGHT VERSUS A DISCRETIONARY PROCESS.
AND BY THE WAY, THIS IS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL BE SEEING AS PART OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT CODE UPDATE THAT WAS INITIATED RECENTLY, BECAUSE ONE OF THE HOT TOPICS THESE DAYS IS WHAT'S REFERRED TO AS OBJECTIVE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, OBJECTIVE, AS OPPOSED TO SUBJECTIVE.
SO, UH, IT'S UM, IT'S, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF A MOVING TARGET, BUT IT WOULD, UH, IT'S BASED ON THOSE CRITERIA THAT ARE SET IN STATE LAW.
AND THEN, AND THEN WITH REGARD TO, UM, TO, TO REZONING REQUIREMENTS, UM, LET'S SAY, UH, W
[01:15:01]
LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY, WE'RE EIGHT YEARS OUT AND WE'RE IN CYCLE SEVEN AT THAT POINT IN TIME.AND FOR, FOR WHATEVER REASON, UM, WE ARE, ARE, ARE LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY BEING FORCED TO REZONE.
WHAT, WHAT WOULD BE THE, UH, W W WHAT LET'S, LET'S SAY THAT WE GET APPROVAL CURRENTLY, WE'RE FORCED TO REZONE DOWN THE LINE.
LET'S SAY WE HAVE SIMILAR RENA NUMBERS AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
UM, WHAT WOULD A, UH, WHAT WOULD THE STATE BE LOOKING AT THIS, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF, DID WE HAVE ANY APPLICANTS, OR WOULD THEY BE LOOKING AT WHETHER THE PLANNING COMMISSION OR THE CITY COUNCIL WAS DENYING CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS? HOW, HOW WOULD THAT PLAY A ROLE IN, IN REZONING DOWN THE LINE? I CAN TELL YOU WHAT IS TYPICAL AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE CASE IN THE PAST, BUT YOUR, YOUR QUESTION IS, UH, IS ALSO LOOKING TO ME TO LOOK AT IT REQUIRED ME TO LOOK OUT EIGHT YEARS INTO THE FUTURE AND TRY TO PREDICT WHAT, UH, THE STATE MAY BE DOING EIGHT YEARS FROM NOW, UH, IN THE PAST, THE STATE HAS TYPICALLY NOT REQUIRED CITIES TO ADOPT ZONING AMENDMENTS.
AFTER THAT HOUSING ELEMENT HAS BEEN UPDATED.
SO THE CITY GOES THROUGH THE HOUSING ELEMENT, UPDATE PROCESS.
THEY IDENTIFY WHETHER ANY ZONE CHANGES ARE NEEDED IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THE RENO.
UM, AND IF THE ANSWER IS NO NOSY ZONE CHANGES ARE REQUIRED, THEN, THEN THAT DECISION STANDS FOR THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS TYPICALLY.
UM, SO IT IT'S, IF I COULD PARAPHRASE WHAT I THINK I HEAR YOU ASKING IS COULD THE STATE COME BACK TO THE, TO, UH, TO THE CITY FOUR OR FIVE OR SIX YEARS FROM NOW AND SAY, WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE NOT PRODUCING ENOUGH HOUSING.
WE THINK YOU NEED TO GO ZONE MORE LAND THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED IN THE PAST.
UH IT'S UH, SO, YOU KNOW, BUT I CAN'T PREDICT THAT THAT MAY NOT HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS WE'RE SEEING MORE AND MORE ENCROACHMENT ON LOCAL CONTROL AND LOCAL DECISION-MAKING WITH REGARD TO BOTH THE PLANNING PROCESS, THE BUILDING PROCESS, ET CETERA.
AND SO I THINK WHAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, AND, AND I SEE A GOOD DEAL OF PUSHBACK FROM, FROM RESIDENTS ON, UH, CERTAIN, CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED OR, OR, OR MOVING FORWARD.
AND THE, THE, THE QUESTION IS IF THOSE AREN'T APPROVED IN THE LONG RUN, ARE WE LOOKING AT A SITUATION WHERE EFFECTIVELY LOCAL CONTROL IS, IS, IS GOING TO BE FURTHER ERODED DOWN THE LINE? AND I THINK THAT'S THE CONCERN THAT I, THAT I SEE OUT OF SACRAMENTO.
AND I MEAN, ULTIMATELY I THINK THIS IS A PUBLIC POLICY ISSUE, BUT I THINK OUR RESIDENTS ARE PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE A GOOD, LONG, LONG, HARD LOOK AT THE KIND OF POLICY THAT THEY WANT COMING OUT OF SACRAMENTO ON THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE.
UM, BUT THAT'S JUST, THAT'S JUST A COMMENT THAT I HAD.
AND THEN, AND THEN FINALLY, UM, WITH REGARD TO THE, UH, THE, THE, UH, THE LOW INCOME UNITS, IS THERE ANY, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR BENEFIT THAT, UM, THAT A CITY DERIVES OUT OF DOING LOW INCOME UNITS UNDER, UH, UNDER THE, THE RENA NUMBERS VERSUS HIGHER INCOME OR MODERATE INCOME? IS THERE ANY, UH, PARTICULAR, UH, THRESHOLD THAT, THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST THAT, THAT THE STATES THAT THE STATE'S LOOKING FOR? WELL, I THINK, UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF LOOKING AT THAT.
UH, ONE IS THAT, UH, IF HOUSING IS MADE AVAILABLE AT, AT PRICES OR RENTS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE AT, AT THE LOWER END OF THE RANGE, THEN THAT, THAT HELPS TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE WORKFORCE OF LOCAL BUSINESSES AND SO FORTH, UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH REGARD TO THE STATE'S REQUIREMENTS, THEN, UH, THAT WE, WE MENTIONED THE, UH, THE STREAMLINING STREAMLINED REVIEW THAT COULD BE REQUIRED IF A CITY FALLS SHORT OF ITS, UH, RINA GOALS IN TERMS OF ACTUAL PRODUCTION.
SO IF A CITY, UH, DOES MANAGE TO ACHIEVE THE RENA NUMBERS AT THE LOWER INCOME LEVELS, THEN, THEN THAT WOULD, UM, TYPICALLY MAKE, MAKE THAT STREAMLINED REVIEW PROCESS, UH, LESS LIKELY TO HAPPEN WITHIN THE CITY.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO ELSE HAS A QUESTION? FINALLY, COMMISSIONER SHEENA IS THE MIC ON, THANK YOU.
[01:20:01]
UM, MR. DOUGLAS, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU.IT SEEMS LIKE THE STATE CURRENTLY IS WISHING FOR 500, 5,300 HOMES, AND APPARENTLY ASKING OUR CITY, IF I INTERPRET CORRECTLY TO PROVIDE WHERE THOSE HOMES CAN BE BUILT AT THE END OF THE DAY AFTER EIGHT YEARS OR SO, THE STATE IS NOT ASKING US TO BUILD EVEN ONE HOME.
ACCORDING TO THIS HOUSING ELEMENT, WE JUST HAVE TO IDENTIFY WHERE THESE 5,300 HOME, WHICH IS A LOT OF HOMES OR A LOT OF UNITS.
WE JUST HAVE TO ID WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE LOCATED AND PROVIDE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LAND HOMEOWNERS, FOR DEVELOPERS TO BABY OVER, TO, TO, TO COME IN AND VISIT THOSE LOCATIONS.
AND PERHAPS IF THEY'RE INTERESTED AND IT'S AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO BUILD, IT SEEMS LIKE IN THE PAST, THEY DON'T EVEN, THEY MEANING THE HOME OWNERS, MAN OWNERS OR DEVELOPERS.
IF WE'RE NOT ALLOWING THE 5,300 A HOME, THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO COME INTO THE CITY AND PROVIDE THE 5,300 HOUSING UNITS.
IS THAT THE SUMMARIES OF WHAT THESE, UM, UPDATES OR HOUSING ELEMENT, BECAUSE CURRENTLY IT SEEMS LIKE THE STATE IS ASKING US TO PROVIDE THESE NUMBERS, UNLIKE WHERE THE ADU, BECAUSE CITIES ARE NOT COMPLYING OR FOLLOWING, THEY JUST TOOK IT OVER AND MAKE IT INTO A LAW.
I THINK THERE WAS QUITE A FEW LEGISLATION THAT, THAT BASICALLY TAKE OVER THE CITY'S CONTROL OF HOW WE, HOW WE PROVIDE FOR 80 YEARS OR WHAT HAVE YOU.
IT JUST, BASICALLY RIGHT NOW, EVERYONE JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW STATE LAWS.
IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT? YEAH, I THINK YOU'VE DESCRIBED IT QUITE WELL.
AND THE, THE, JUST TO SUMMARIZE THE RENA, UH, IS, IS THE STATE TELLING CITIES THEN THAT HOW THE AMOUNT OF HOUSING THAT THEY HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE.
AND THEN IT'S UP TO THE CITY TO DECIDE HOW THEY'RE GOING TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, WHICH AREAS OF TOWN SHOULD HAVE HIGH DENSITY, HOUSING, OR LOW DENSITY HOUSING, WHICH AREAS OF TOWN SHOULD ALLOW MIXED USE, WHICH AREAS, UH, YOU KNOW, AND SO FORTH.
SO, SO THE CITIES STILL RETAIN CONTROL OVER THOSE KINDS OF DECISIONS, WHERE AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE RENA NUMBERS.
BUT THE STATE SAYS YOU MUST SHOW THAT YOU CAN ACCOMMODATE THEM.
AND THEN IT'S YOUR JOB TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S MOST APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR CITY.
I HAD A QUESTION, MR. DOUGLAS, UM, UNDERSTANDING FROM THE FIFTH CYCLE THAT WAS COVINA WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE 831 UNIT AND UNDERSTANDING FROM STAFF THAT AT LEAST 740, I DID UNDERSTAND UNDER THE CURRENT HOUSING ELEMENT, THEY IDENTIFIED SEVEN SITES AND THEY HAVE MULTIPLE ACRES AND SO FORTH.
WOULD YOU PART OF YOUR ANALYSIS GO BACK AND LOOK AT BASED ON THE 745 AND BASED ON SEVEN SITES, WOULD YOU GO BACK AND THAT'S THAT, THAT'S THE REALLY WHERE THERE ARE SOME OPTIONS WHERE TO, YES, YES WE WILL.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO AS PART OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT IS LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENED IN THE PAST AND SEE HOW DEVELOPERS HAVE RESPONDED TO THE CITY'S REGULATIONS AND SEE HOW ACTUAL PROJECTS THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND BUILT COMPARE TO THE ZONING THAT IS DESIGNATED FOR THAT SITE.
AND, AND THAT ANALYSIS HELPS TO GUIDE THE CITY IN, UM, MAKING SURE THAT GOING FORWARD THAT, THAT, THAT THE REGULATIONS ARE APPROPRIATELY ENCOURAGING THE TYPE OF HOUSING THAT YOU WANT, STAN, BECAUSE I DID ALL THAT, THE IDENTIFIED AREAS IN OUR OFFICES AND THINGS OF THIS NATURE INSTEAD OF
[01:25:01]
YES, COMMISSIONER LEWIS, I JUST HAD A REAL QUICK FOLLOW-UP QUESTION ON THAT.UM, SO ARE WE CONSIDERING, UM, AS, AS PART OF, AS PART OF OUR, OUR HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE, UM, PROVIDING FOR PERHAPS MORE MID-RISE OR HIGH-RISE OPTIONS, UH, TO, TO ACCOMMODATE THE POTENTIAL FOR, FOR BUILDING THESE UNITS? I, I KNOW, UM, IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE FEASIBILITY IS, IS REALLY, UH, IS, IS, IS REALLY WHAT THE STANDARD IS, BUT I'M, I'M CURIOUS AS TO, UH, AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THAT'S, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THAT IS, OR, OR SHOULD BE IN CONSIDERATION SO THAT WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THESE NUMBERS WITHOUT UNDERMINING, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE, I THINK ALL IDEALLY LIKE TO LIKE, TO KEEP IN PLACE.
WELL, THE, UH, AS I MENTIONED, THE, THE FIRST STEP IN THE PROCESS IS, IS TO CALCULATE WHAT THE POTENTIAL CAPACITY FOR MORE HOUSING IS BASED ON THE CURRENT REGULATIONS.
AND THEN DEPENDING ON WHAT THE ANSWER, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT THE ANSWER AND WHAT THE NUMBERS ARE, THEN THAT WILL LEAD US TO THE DECISION OF WHETHER ANY CHANGES SHOULD BE MADE TO THE CURRENT REGULATIONS.
AND, UH, IF THERE IS A SHORTFALL, IF THE CURRENT CAPACITY BASED ON CURRENT REGULATIONS, IF THE CONCLUSION IS THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH CAPACITY THERE TO GET TO THE 5,300 AND SOME, THEN THE CITY, UH, IS REQUIRED TO LOOK AT CHANGES TO THE REGULATIONS THAT COULD ACCOMMODATE A LARGER AMOUNT OF HOUSING.
IS THAT, SO WHEN, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PARCEL BY PARCEL DETERMINATION, LET'S SAY THAT, THAT WE DO AN ULTRA HIGH DENSITY THAT ALLOWS FOR MID-RISE OR, OR, OR HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT AT A CERTAIN PARCEL, UM, NOT WITHSTANDING POTENTIAL FEASIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS AND, AND, AND, AND THE, LIKE, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE COULD, THAT WE COULD IMPLEMENT IN OUR PLAN, UM, WITH, WITHOUT THAT RUNNING A FOUL OF THE RULES, OR IS, OR, OR DOES THERE NEED TO BE A WHOLE SLEW OF POTENTIAL AREAS THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY ACCOMMODATE, UH, HIGHER DENSITY? UM, FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, W WELL, UH, IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION CORRECTLY, WHAT WE WILL BE DOING THE ANALYSIS BASED ON THE CURRENT REGULATIONS, AND THAT'LL BE GUIDED BY WHAT, UH, WHAT TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND BUILT IN THE PAST.
UM, AND, AND THAT'LL BE ONE OF THE MAIN FACTORS THAT'S TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
UH, IF YOU'RE, UM, UM, MAYBE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ARE, IF, IF YOU ARE ASKING WHETHER THE CITY COULD CHANGE THE REGULATIONS IN ORDER TO, UH, CREATE MORE CAPACITY OR ENCOURAGE, UH, ADDITIONAL HOUSING, UH, THEN YES, OF COURSE, THAT THE CITY CAN ALWAYS ENTERTAIN CHANGES TO THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ZONING, UH, AT ANY POINT, REGARDLESS OF, OF, OF, UH, OF THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
BUT AS I SAID, IF THE HOUSING ELEMENT SHOWS THAT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH CAPACITY, THEN THE CITY'S REQUIRED TO DO THAT.
THOSE KINDS OF CHANGES, I GUESS I'LL ASK IT A LITTLE MORE DIRECTLY.
LET'S SAY HYPOTHETICALLY, WE SAID, OKAY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS 5,346 UNITS AVAILABLE.
AND SO WE DECIDE, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO DESIGNATE ONE PARCEL IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA TO DO A, UH, AN 80 STORY BUILDING ON.
CAN CA CAN WE DO THAT? AND WOULD THAT SATISFY THE RENA REQUIREMENTS? AGAIN, THIS IS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL I'M, I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR THIS.
IN SHORT, NO, THAT IS, THAT IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE STRATEGY AS FAR AS THE STATE GOES.
I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION THERE.
SO IT, BUT IF WE HAD, LET'S SAY A WHOLE AREA OF DOWNTOWN THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR THAT KIND OF DEVELOPMENT, WOULD THAT BE ACCEPTABLE, OR DO YOU HAVE TO GO OUT FURTHER THAN THAT? I THINK IF I WERE TO CHARACTERIZE HOW THE STATE WILL REVIEW, WHAT WE DO IN THIS IS, IS THEY SORT OF USE A RULE OF REASON.
IT'S LIKE, THEY LOOK AT WHAT WE ASSUME, AND WE DO AN ANALYSIS BASED ON SOME ASSUMPTIONS OF WHAT, WHAT KIND OF HOUSING IS GOING TO BE BUILT.
AND THEN THE STATE WILL REVIEW THAT AND THEY WILL TELL US IF THEY AGREE
[01:30:01]
WITH OUR ASSUMPTIONS OR NOT.AND NOW THERE, THERE ARE HEIGHT LIMITS.
THERE ARE, UH, DENSITY AND FLOOR AREA LIMITS, UH, ESTABLISHED IN YOUR CODES.
UH, AND SO WE WOULD, WE, WE WOULD BE LIMITED TO, UH, ASSUMING PROJECTS THAT CONFORM TO THOSE CODES.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, 10, 20, 30 STORY HIGH RISES, IF THEY ARE NOT PERMITTED IN YOUR, YOUR REGULATIONS, THEN WE CAN'T ASSUME THAT IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT.
UH, THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR, UH, DUMPING ON WHAT COMMISSIONER LEWIS WAS SAYING.
SO IN ESSENCE, THE, THIS, IN ORDER TO GET CERTIFIED, THAT THE STATE IS ASKING THAT THE CITY MAKES A GOOD FAITH EFFORT IN EXAMINING ALL THEIR PARCELS AND DETERMINING, UH, HOW MANY UNITS PER ACRE AND WHAT KIND OF BUILDS IT, IS THAT CORRECT? YES.
AND SO IN THAT CERTIFICATION PROCESS, DOES, DOES THIS STATE LOOK AT, UH, PRECEDENT FOR, UM, TYPES OF HOUSING BUILT IN SIMILAR TYPE CITIES? DO THEY, DO THEY DO SOME COMPARISONS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THE CITY IS ACTUALLY, UM, PROVIDING A HOUSING ELEMENT THAT IS REASONABLE AND MAKES SENSE.
IS THAT, IS THAT PART OF THE PROCESS? YES, IT IS.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS? I ACTUALLY DO HAVE ANOTHER QUESTIONS FOR, UM, MR. DOUGLAS, UM, I GUESS, UM, THESE TYPES OF STUDY, IT'S ALSO CATERED TO ALL THE RESIDENTS IN THE CITY OF WEST COVINA.
IT IS VERY DIFFICULT WHEN ALL CITY IS COMPLETELY BUILT OUT AND VERY FEW IN LA INFILL LANDS.
SO IN ANOTHER WORD RIGHT NOW, CURRENTLY THE STATE IS, IS GIVING US A WISHLIST SAYING, HEY, WE NEED 5,300 HOMES.
SO WE ALSO NEED TO WORK WITH OUR RESIDENT TO TALK WITH AN AGE, EVERY ONE OF THEM, HOPEFULLY, AND AN END, AND THAT WE HAVE TO COME INTO CONCLUSION THAT THIS IS WHETHER IT'S GOING TO BE A STATEWIDE PROBLEM.
I MEAN, WE HAVE, I GUESS, AN INCREASED POPULATION ISSUE VERSUS SOME AREA OF THE UNITED STATES HAS A DECREASED POPULATION ISSUE.
SO IN ANOTHER WORD IS THAT WE DO NEED TO TAKE SERIOUSLY IN TERMS OF HOW, HOW WE WANT TO DEVELOP AND COME UP WITH THIS 5,300 HOMES, JUST LIKE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER.
WE CAN ACTUALLY, I TRY TO GET AROUND IT BY ID AND PUDDING, ONE PARCEL WITH 5,300 HOME, BUT THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY WILL NOT HELP ALL SITUATIONS AFTER WE CAN MAYBE GET BY FOR EIGHT YEARS AFTER THAT EIGHT YEARS, IF WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH 5,300 HOMES, NOT EVEN BUILT OR TRIED OR ALLOWED, OR I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT WE NEED TO DO, THE STATE MAY VERY WELL TAKE OVER JUST LIKE THE ADU, WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER RIGHT NOW.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE ANYONE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE, THE WHOLE CALIFORNIA CAN ACTUALLY BUILD THESE LITTLE, THESE LITTLE GUESTHOUSE BY RIGHTS.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO NEED TO TAKE SERIOUSLY FOR ALL THE RESIDENTS BECAUSE IT'S IMPACTING EVERYONE WAS CAMINO HAS 17 SQUARE MILES.
SO EVERY LOT WILL BE IMPACT ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
SO THIS IS A GREAT STUDY SESSIONS AND WE HAVE UNTIL OCTOBER TO GET TOGETHER AND TALKED ABOUT IT AND COME UP WITH A PLAN OF HOPEFULLY A WORKABLE PLAN, NOT ONLY FOR TODAY, BUT FOR THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.
AND HOPEFULLY IF, IF EVERYONE COMPLIED THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT THE CALIFORNIA STATE, HOPEFULLY THE HOUSING ELEMENT OR THE HOUSING LEGISLATION, DON'T COME UP WITH NEW LAWS TO TAKE CITIES.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, ZONING COMPLIANCE.
SO IN A, IN A WAY WE ALSO HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THE FACT THAT DO WE HAVE AND HOUSING ISSUE.
IT SEEMS LIKE THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS, UM, AN INCREASED POPULATIONS THAT WE DO NEED TO ADDRESS.
[01:35:01]
ELSE.IN OUR REGION, IT'S PROJECTED FOR OVER A MILLION ADDITIONAL HOUSING UNITS AND WE WERE GIVEN 5,346 TO BUILD.
SO SINCE WE'RE PART OF A WHOLE REGION, IF THERE ARE, ARE OUR SISTER CITIES, IF THEY'RE AVAILABLE OR ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE A HIGHER AMOUNT, COULD THAT BE REDISTRIBUTED OR DID THAT NUMBER JUST POP YOU GUYS DIVIDED IT UP AND YOU KNOW, HOW DID THAT WORK? IS THAT, IS THAT A, UH, AN OPTION? TH TH THE QUESTION OF, CAN IT BE REDISTRIBUTED IN ORDER? IN OTHER WORDS, UH, COULD ONE CITIES, UH, SHIFT A PORTION OF ITS TO ANOTHER CITY? NO, THERE IS, THERE IS NO OPTION.
NOW, DID YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? I, I, MAYBE I CAN, I CAN KIND OF SEE INSIDE THE SCAG MEETING, I CAN KIND OF INSTILL THAT BECAUSE I KNOW EVERY CD HAVE A DEAL REQUIREMENT.
WE ARE FIVE, THREE, FOUR, SIX, AND I THINK PASADENA IS ABOUT 8,000 SOME NUMBER AND THE IN PAGE, IT'S ABOUT 12,000 CHILD THOUSAND.
SO, SO EVERY CITY IS LIKE IMPACT IDEAS BY THIS REQUIREMENT.
A NUMBER SAID, WE TRIED TO ARGUE, BUT THEY SAY, NO, THIS IS YOUR NUMBER.
SO THIS IS THE PROBLEM WE ARE FACING RIGHT NOW.
AND I THINK THERE'S A, HOW TO THIS STUDY ABOUT HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER AND TRY TO FIND A WAY TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT THE STATE REQUIREMENT.
SO ALL THE CITY HAS A BIG NUMBER.
ANYBODY ELSE SEEING NONE, I GUESS THAT MEANS WE CAN ADJOURN THIS MEETING.
PLANNING COMMISSION, GIVING YOU AHEAD OF TIME.
SO THANK YOU, MEETING ADJOURNED.