TO: LINDA REICH, CITY MANAGER
FROM: WARREN MORELION, AICP, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
SUBJECT
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Amendment of the 2021-2029 Housing Element Update and Introduction of Ordinance No. 2024-003 (ZOA PL23-0133).
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
1) Approve Resolution No. 2024-004 adopting an amendment to the City of Chino 2021-2029 Housing Element, including any additional non-substantive revisions required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD); 2) approve the introduction of Ordinance No. 2024-003, to be read by number and title only, and waive further reading of the Ordinance; and 3) authorize the City Manager to file all documents with HCD on behalf of the City.
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FISCAL IMPACT
There is no financial impact by approving the 2021-2029 Housing Element Update and amending the Zoning Code related to implementation of the Housing Element.
CITY OF CHINO MISSION / VISION / VALUES / STRATEGIC ISSUES
The recommendation detailed above will further the City’s values and strategic issues that serve as key pillars on which identified priorities, goals, and action plans are built, by fostering:
• Superior Customer Service
• Responsible Long-Range Planning
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BACKGROUND
The 2021-2029 Housing Element (Housing Element) was originally adopted by the City Council on January 4, 2022, and a revised version was adopted on January 17, 2023. As part of the Housing Element implementation, the City Council also adopted an ordinance (Ordinance No. 2023-008) in April 2023, which added Section 20.09.090 (Overlay Districts for Affordable Housing) to the Zoning Code to implement Programs 3B (AHO-Affordable Housing Overlay) and 3C (MUO - Mixed Use Overlay) identified in the Housing Element. The adoption of this ordinance was required for HCD to certify the City’s updated Housing Element.
Following adoption, the updated Housing Element and proposed Zoning Code amendments were sent to HCD for review. After completing its review, HCD advised that additional revisions to the Housing Element and to the Zoning Code related to Programs 3B and 3C, and adding the implementation of Program 3F (Candidate Sites Used in Previous Housing Elements) were needed for HCD to be able to certify the City’s Housing Element. Staff also made changes to Sections 20.04.030 (Use Regulations) and 20.21.340 (Senior Housing Projects) of the Zoning Code to completely address HCD’s additional comments. The proposed changes are summarized below in the Issues/Analysis section of the staff report. HCD also advised the City that following the adoption by the City Council of the proposed revisions to the Housing Element and Zoning Code to address their additional comments, HCD will be able to finally formally certify the Housing Element as it will comply with all State requirements.
On December 20, 2023, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the pending revisions to the Housing Element and Zoning Code. One concern raised by the Planning Commission was the requirement that mixed use projects allow for 100% of the site to be developed with residential units and not be required to provide for a retail component. The Commission was informed that any additional amendments to the Housing Element, including removing or adding overlay sites, would likely further delay certification of the Housing Element. The Planning Commission ultimately recommended the City Council adopt the revisions to the Housing Element and Zoning Code with no recommended changes by a vote of 6-0 (1 absent).
On February 6, 2024, the City Council held a public hearing to consider adoption of the revised Housing Element and the related Zoning Code amendments. The City Council voiced several concerns during the hearing related to the proposed Zoning Code amendments. The primary concern, similar to the Planning Commission, was a proposed change that would allow sites within the MUO to be developed 100% with residential units, which could reduce the amount of existing or future commercial space in the City. Other questions brought up by the City Council included the impacts of not adopting the Housing Element and/or Zoning Code amendments and possibly removing some of the MUO sites to help protect commercial properties. As a result of their concerns, the Council requested the Housing Element and related Zoning Code amendments be brought to a February 13, 2024 City Council study session to discuss the issues, and that the public hearing of the Regular City Council meeting be continued to February 20, 2024. At the continuation of the public hearing on February 20, 2024, the City Council directed staff to have the General Plan Ad Hoc Committee meet with HCD representatives to discuss options related to required changes to the City’s MUO and AHO ordinance based on the City Councils concerns.
On April 28, 2024, the Housing Element Ad Hoc Committee met with Paul McDougall, Housing Policy Manager for HCD, to discuss the City’s concerns and to seek alternatives to the Zoning Code amendments. Some of the potential options initially identified by Mr. McDougall included finding additional non-commercial sites to add to the AHO districts; increasing the density and adding capacity at other existing AHO sites; and the removal of some commercial sites from the MUO, thereby reducing the number of total overlay sites. Mr. McDougall indicated that he would further evaluate the options he provided and respond back to the City once he had a chance to review the language in both Measure M (adopted in 1988) and Measure Y (adopted in 2022), which created the overlay districts to implement the new Housing Element.
The Housing Element Ad Hoc Committee met with Mr. McDougall again on July 15, 2024, to discuss his findings. At that meeting, Mr. McDougall confirmed that, after reviewing Measure M and Measure Y, the existing ordinance (Ordinance No. 2024-003) would need to be amended to include all the changes he originally requested and were last presented to the City Council in February. His recommendation is mostly due to the inability of the City to include alternative overlay sites to replace some of the MUO sites if removed by the City Council, or to increase the capacity at existing AHO sites, since doing so would require the passage of another ballot measure to amend the provisions approved under Measure Y, and to satisfy the requirements of Measure M. Mr. McDougall added that removing any current MUO district sites without replacing them in other areas of the City to accommodate the required RHNA number puts the City at risk of not having a large enough buffer capacity as recommended by HCD.
Another Housing Element study session was conducted on October 8, 2024, to go over all the information gathered by staff regarding the City Council’s concerns. Following the discussion at the meeting, the City Council directed staff to bring back the Housing Element amendments and Zoning Ordinance amendment as previously proposed on February 6 and 20, 2024, based on all the previous discussions and HCD’s feedback. The Council also directed staff to begin working with affordable housing developers to see if it is possible to develop affordable housing projects in the City that are 100% affordable, or that include a greater percentage of affordable units than identified in the MUO and AHO. It was also recommended by Staff, the Housing Element consultant, and HCD that the revised Housing Element and related Zoning Code amendments be adopted now so the Housing Element can be certified by HCD to be in compliance with State law. Following certification, the Housing Element can be amended if directed by City Council to address any remaining concerns, subject to another potential ballot measure to amend provisions under Measure Y and approval of HCD.
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
2021-2029 Housing Element Revisions (Resolution No. 2024-004)
The proposed revisions have been implemented in the revised Housing Element in direct response to the comments received by HCD on the Housing Element that was adopted in January 2023. A summary of the revisions is as follows:
• Assessment of Fair Housing, including analyzing disparities in access to opportunity and local knowledge and data on past zoning actions and City investment within the community.
• Clear goals, priorities, metrics, and milestones to address identified contributing factors to fair housing issues.
• Analysis of non-vacant sites resulting in further information on market trends. No change in candidate housing sites was made as a result of this analysis.
• Reduction in assumption of Accessory Dwelling Units developed throughout the planning period.
• Zoning for a variety of housing types consistent with the requirements of State law.
• Evaluate processing and permit procedures, including typical timeframes for review.
• Successful approval of the Measure Y vote, which implemented the overlay districts for affordable housing.
• Additional outreach, including a required seven-day public review period prior to resubmittal of the Housing Element to HCD.
Zoning Code Revisions (Ordinance No. 2024-003)
The proposed revisions to the Zoning Code are in response to the meetings with HCD, and its review of proposed options as noted above. HCD’s determination is that the revisions below are required to comply with State law (Government Code Section 65583.2). A summary of the revisions is as follows:
• The Housing Element includes a Sites Inventory, which, among other things, lists sites that could accommodate lower-income housing developments. Some of these sites were also included in the Sites Inventory of previous Housing Elements but were never developed with housing. If a developer proposes a housing project on one of those sites that makes at least 20% of its units affordable to lower-income households, then the City is required by State law to review that proposed project ministerially, without requiring any discretionary permits or California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. There are different requirements, as defined within the Housing Element, depending on whether the site is vacant or nonvacant and how many previous elements the site has been included in. The proposed revisions to CMC Section 20.04.030 would implement this requirement.
• State law requires that sites with mixed use projects built in the MUO must reserve at least 50% of their floor area for residential use. The City is also required to allow projects to be 100% residential in the MUO, if proposed. The revisions to CMC 20.09.090 would implement these requirements.
• Similar to the first bullet point, State law requires that if a developer proposes a housing project in the AHO or the MUO that makes at least 20% of its units affordable to lower-income households, then the City is required to review that proposed project ministerially, without requiring any discretionary permits or CEQA review. The proposed revisions to CMC Section 20.09.090 would implement this requirement.
• State law requires that the development standards in the AHO and MUO zones must allow at least 16 units per site. The proposed revisions provide that the City will not enforce applicable development standards to the extent that they would physically preclude the development of at least 16 units on a site in the AHO or MUO.
• Senior Housing is permitted to be developed in both the AHO and the MUO, pursuant to the standards set forth in Section 20.09.090. State law requires that all residential projects, including senior housing, on sites in the AHO or the MUO be permitted to develop at a minimum density of 20 units per acre. The proposed revisions to CMC 20.09.090 and 20.21.340 clarify the density requirements for senior housing projects in the AHO or the MUO. Senior Housing is also permitted to be developed in other residential zoning districts as well as various commercial zoning districts. Projects developed outside the AHO or MUO are subject to the development standards of the RD20 zoning district, which has a maximum density of 20 units per acre.
Environmental Review
On April 18, 2023, the City adopted an Addendum to the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update (2021-2029) Project Negative Declaration (ND) pursuant to Section 15164 of the CEQA Guidelines for the adoption of the Section 20.09.090 of the Chino Municipal Code. The Addendum determined that the project was within the scope of the ND, which adequately described the activity for the purposes of CEQA, and included findings supported by substantial evidence that there was no potential for a significant effect on the environment attributable to the adoption of the Section 20.09.090. The revisions in this ordinance fall within the project described in the Addendum and the ND and therefore no further CEQA review is required.
PUBLIC NOTICE
A 1/8th page 10-day notice was published in the Chino Champion on October 26, 2024. In addition, the City sent information out on its social media platforms. The notices exceed legal noticing requirements. To date, two email comments were received, provided to the City Council, and saved to the November 5, 2024 City Council meeting record. If any additional comments are received after the posting of the staff report, they will be addressed at the City Council continued public hearing on November 19, 2024.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 2024-004
2. 2021-2029 Housing Element (strike out and underline version) (use link below)
3. Ordinance No. 2024-003 amending Sections 20.04.030 (Use regulations), 20.09.090 (Overlay districts for affordable housing), and 20.21.340 (Senior housing projects)
<https://www.cityofchino.org/591/Environmental-Documents>