DATE: February 7, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Acting Director of Development Services
SUBJECT
Title
Housing Element: Adopt a Resolution Amending the General Plan to Include the 2023-2031 Housing Element
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the City Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) approving an Amendment to the General Plan for the 2023-2031 Housing Element; and review an EIR Addendum related to the General Plan Amendment prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act.
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SUMMARY
The City Council is being asked to review and adopt a General Plan Amendment for Hayward's 6th Cycle Housing Element (2023-2031). Pursuant to State Law, all local jurisdictions in California must update the Housing Element, a required chapter of the City's General Plan every five to eight years. The City of Hayward is on an eight-year cycle. The last Housing Element was adopted on December 2, 2014, and the updated Housing Element was due January 31, 2023.
A Housing Element is an opportunity for a community to analyze local housing challenges and develop solutions to address those issues. Thus this Housing Element is composed of the goals, policies, programs and actions to remove constraints and streamline new development; allows for the establishment of a variety of housing types; prioritizes funding for affordable housing development, particularly for special needs populations; ensures that programs affirmatively further fair housing goals; provides education and outreach opportunities for residents; and identifies sites that are zoned to accommodate the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). It is essential to note that State Housing Law does not require that jurisdictions build or finance new housing, but we must plan for it in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing.
Following adoption of the Draft Housing Element, staff will incorporate any change...
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