REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Oliver Chi, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Ursula Luna-Reynosa, Director of Community Development
Subject:
title
Receive and file a status update on the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process
body
Statement of Issue:
During the July 15, 2019, City Council Study Session, Community Development staff presented an overview of the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process and related items of information, as directed by the City Council. At the end of the study session, the City Council requested monthly updates on the status of the 6th Cycle RHNA process. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has not been a status update for several months. However, this update provides a summary of recent activity that has occurred with respect to the RHNA process.
Financial Impact:
Not applicable.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Receive and file the Regional Housing Needs Assessment process status update.
end
Alternative Action(s):
Provide staff with alternative direction.
Analysis:
The Southern California Association of Governments’ (SCAG) original RHNA schedule provided for RHNA allocations to be distributed to SCAG jurisdictions in April 2020. Pursuant to State law, the trigger for RHNA allocation distribution is SCAG adoption of the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). For several reasons, SCAG delayed full adoption of the RTP/SCS for 120 days.
The Regional Council adopted the RTP/SCS on September 3, 2020, and SCAG distributed the draft RHNA Allocation to local jurisdictions on September 4, 2020. The City received its RHNA allocation as shown in the table below. It should be noted that Mayor Semeta, the City’s SCAG representative, voted no on the adoption of the RTP/SCS, and the City submitted a comment letter citing concerns with the final document (Attachment 2).
City of Huntington Beach 6th Cycle RHNA Allocation
(based on the September 3, 2020 Regional Council vote)
|
Income Category |
Number of Units |
|
Very-low income (<50% AMI) |
3,652 |
|
Low income (50-80% AMI) |
2,179 |
|
Moderate income (80-120% AMI) |
2,303 |
|
Above Moderate/Market rate (>120% AMI) |
5,203 |
|
Total RHNA |
13,337 |
The RHNA allocation appeals process began on September 11, 2020, and ended at 5 p.m. on October 26, 2020, in accordance with the adopted RHNA Appeals Procedures. The City submitted a RHNA appeal, which is provided in Attachment 1. No other jurisdiction or agency appealed Huntington Beach’s RHNA allocation. In total, SCAG received 52 appeals. It is anticipated that appeal hearings will occur between mid-December and mid-January. The RHNA process, including the City’s final RHNA allocation, is anticipated to be completed by mid-February 2021.
Environmental Status:
The filing of a status update on the 6th Cycle RHNA process is not a project as defined by Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines and is not subject to CEQA.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non-Applicable - Administrative Item
Attachment(s):
1. City of Huntington Beach RHNA Appeal (Note: This attachment contains the City’s RHNA Appeal Form and Bases for Appeal; all other RHNA Appeal Attachments can be viewed on the SCAG website at http://www.scag.ca.gov/programs/Pages/6th-Cycle-RHNA-Appeals-Filed.aspx)
2. City of Huntington Beach Final SCAG Connect SoCal Comment Letter