DATE: September 2, 2021
TO: Homelessness-Housing Task Force
FROM: Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Overview of Upcoming Updates to the City of Hayward’s Housing Element, Climate Action Plan, Environmental Justice and Safety Element and of Housing-Related Planning Grants
EndRECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Homelessness-Housing Task Force (HHTF) receives and reviews this staff report providing an overview of upcoming updates to the Housing Element, Climate Action Plan, Environmental Justice and Safety Element and of housing-related planning grants; and provides comments and suggestions to assist staff in developing an inclusive and far-reaching community outreach and engagement plan for these efforts.
End
SUMMARY
This staff report provides an overview of the upcoming 2023-2031 Housing Element Update, which must be updated every eight years in conjunction with the State Department of Housing and Community Development’s projections of housing needs at varying income levels throughout the State.
At its core, a Housing Element is an opportunity for a community conversation about how to address local housing challenges and find solutions. The Housing Element addresses a range of housing issues such as affordability, design, housing types, density and location, and establishes goals, policies and programs to address existing and projected housing needs. State law does not require that jurisdictions build or finance new housing, but they must plan for it by identifying of sufficient sites, analysis of housing development constraints, and identifying programs and policy that will address the community’s needs. It is in the community’s Housing Element that local governments make decisions about where safe, accessible, and diverse housing could be developed to offer a mix of housing opportunities for a variety of household incomes. The Housing Element must identify how the city will meet its share of the region’s housing need, called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).
Hayward’s Housing Element Update is being combined with updates of the Environmental Justice and Safety Element and Climate Action Plan because issues of housing, environmental justice, safety and hazard planning and climate change are inextricably linked. Further, conducting outreach and planning for all of these efforts simultaneously will result in a more comprehensive and holistic approach to these issues, as well as efficiencies related to outreach, environmental analysis and adoption and implementation efforts.
Further, this report also contains an update and status for the City’s various housing-related grants and projects.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Housing Element Timeline