REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION
December 4, 2024
FROM: ASHLEY ATKINSON, Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: SOPHIA PAGOULATOS, Planning Manager
Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
Hearing to consider Plan Amendment Application No. P24-04066, filed by the Planning and Development Director, to amend the text of Chapter 11 of the Fresno General Plan by replacing the current Fresno Housing Element (2015-2023) with an updated Fresno Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element (Fresno Housing Element, 2023-2031). The Housing Element is a state-mandated plan for meeting the city’s housing needs, including housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households and special needs populations. The Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element is applicable within the Fresno city limits and would apply to all lands annexed into the City of Fresno.
1. RECOMMEND that the City Council FIND that the project is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines pursuant to the commonsense exemption set forth in Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that adoption of the Fresno Housing Element (2023-2031) has no possibility of causing a significant effect on the environment.
2. RECOMMEND that the City Council ADOPT RESOLUTION - approving Plan Amendment Application No. P24-04066, amending the text of Chapter 11 of the Fresno General Plan to replace the 2015-2023 Fresno Housing Element with the Fresno Housing Element (2023-2031), including all Text, Policies, Maps, Tables, and Exhibits contained in the Fresno Housing Element dated December 2024 and authorizing the Planning and Development Director to file all necessary material with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for HCD to find that the Housing Element is in conformance with State Housing Element Law and to make all non-substantive changes to the Housing Element to make it internally consistent or to address any non-substantive changes or amendments requested by the HCD to achieve certification.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Plan Amendment Application No. P24-04066 proposes to amend the text of Chapter 11 of the Fresno General Plan by replacing the current Fresno Housing Element (2023-2031) with an updated Fresno Housing Element (2023-2031)-See Exhibit A. The proposed Plan Amendment does not include land use changes or rezoning of property. The Housing Element is a state-mandated plan for meeting the city’s housing needs, including housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households and special needs populations. The Housing Element includes goals and policies, implementation programs, a sites inventory, a local assessment of fair housing, an analysis of constraints to housing development, review of past accomplishments, and a description of public outreach and engagement.
BACKGROUND
The California Legislature has identified the attainment of a decent home and suitable living environment for every Californian as the State’s main housing goal. Recognizing the important part that local planning programs play in pursuit of this goal, the Legislature has mandated that all cities and counties adopt a Housing Element as one of the seven required elements of their general plans.
Housing elements are the only General Plan element requiring certification by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and updating every 8 years. Local jurisdictions have the option of individually undertaking an update or collaborating with neighboring jurisdictions to submit a Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element (MJHE), which is viewed favorably by HCD. In April of 2022, the City Council approved Resolution No. 2022-079, authorizing the City’s participation in a Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element process administered by the Fresno Council of Governments. Through this effort, a consultant team headed by Placeworks was selected by MJHE participants and a cost-sharing arrangement was established. The MJHE process provided coordination and consistency across jurisdictions, recommendations on new housing element requirements, and cost reimbursements with REAP funding. The final result of the MJHE is a Regional Housing Element with analysis and policies that apply to all participating jurisdictions, and a local housing element for each jurisdiction. Details on the Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element process and key documents are located here: www.fresnomjhe.com <http://www.fresnomjhe.com>.
Housing Element Overview
California Government Code sections 65580 - 65589.8 contain the mandated contents and process for housing elements. The key components of Housing Elements are listed below.
• Housing Needs Assessment
• Housing Element Programs (Action Plan)
• Sites Inventory
• Constraints
• Review of Past Accomplishments
• Public Engagement
• New: Local Assessment of Fair Housing
New: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. Government Code Chapter 15 Section 8899.50, signed into law in 2018 under Assembly Bill (AB) 686, requires all public agencies in California to “affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH). Under California law, AFFH means “taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, which overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics.” This new requirement has resulted in a new chapter in this housing element: Chapter 3: Local Assessment of Fair Housing. It calls for creating mixed income neighborhoods throughout Fresno by facilitating affordable housing in high resource areas, and by investing in infrastructure in low resource areas.
Action Plan. Chapter 1 of the Housing Element is the Action Plan, which contains the 37 Programs to be implemented over the next eight years. These programs will result in the following outcomes:
• More outreach and engagement for housing activities
• More monitoring and reporting of housing activities
• Development code changes to streamline and reduce the cost of housing development, including ministerial approval processes, reduction of parking requirements, expansion of density bonus provisions, updating of accessory dwelling unit requirements, and more.
• Housing programs will be more geographically targeted to meet the requirements of affirmatively furthering fair housing.
Public Engagement
State law requires that a diligent effort be made to engage the public in the housing element process. For the Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Element, both regional and local public engagement was conducted. Outreach at the regional level was conducted by California Coalition of Rural Housing (CCRH) and included creation of a new website (www.fresnomjhe.com <http://www.fresnomjhe.com>), stakeholder consultations and focus groups, study sessions with Planning Commissions, City Councils and the Board of Supervisors, community workshops and a community survey. Local outreach was also conducted in the city of Fresno in three phases as summarized below.
Phase 1, 2022-2023. A total of 21 workshops were held from the fall of 2022 to the summer of 2023 in all areas of the city to discuss housing issues and potential solutions. The City of Fresno collaborated with trusted community leaders to reach deeper into the community for this housing element process. With the help of the Community Economic Development Partnership and Every Neighborhood Partnership, the City worked with the following organizations to convene interested community members:
• Lowell Community Development Corporation
• Southwest Fresno Community Development Corporation
• El Dorado Park Economic Development Corporation
• Hidalgo Community Development Corporation
• Highway City Community Development Corporation
These workshops were attended by over 400 residents, and all input was documented and organized to inform the Housing Element programs. The top issues raised were lack of affordable housing, rental instability, and infrastructure needs, however there were a broad range of comments, with some stating that the housing element policies did not go far enough in addressing housing issues, and some stating that it went too far.
At the end of this phase, Planning Commission and City Council Study Sessions were held on July 19 and 20, 2023, respectively to brief these bodies on the housing element process to date. Clarifying questions were asked. No public comments were made.
Phase 2, January - June 2024. Four additional community workshops were held from April through June 2024 on Climate Adaptation and Environmental Justice, with safe and sanitary housing as one of the key topics. Valuable input was received from over 200 participants at these workshops and incorporated into the Housing Element.
Phase 3, July - November 2024. HCD Consultation and Public Comment.
During this Phase, a revised HCD Review Draft was released to the public on July 31, 2024, with revisions made in response to public comments as well as HCD recommendations. Additional Errata were released in September, October and November to further address comments raised. See Exhibit B for HCD letters and C for Errata. The entire Housing Element submittal and revisions process is depicted in a chart included in Exhibit E.
Written Public Comment
During the course of the Housing Element process, from October of 2022 to the present, 42 letters or emails have been received from 29 different commenters. See Exhibit D, Public Comment, to review the correspondence.
Outreach methods
Flyers for workshops were distributed through Fresno Council of Government’s listserv, Fresno Housing’s network, the City’s email list and social media in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Punjabi. Interpretation in these languages was also made available at the workshops, along with food and children’s activities. Flyers were distributed by the Community Development and Economic Development Corporations who partnered with the City. Each workshop included key questions for participants to consider and responses from participants were documented in writing and included for analysis of Housing Element Programs. See Housing Element Section 6, Public Engagement for details (Exhibit A).
Public Notice and Committee Review
A combined Planning Commission and City Council public hearing notice was published as a display ad in the Fresno Bee as well as posted on the City’s website and emailed to a list of over 1,000 stakeholders and workshop participants on November 22, 2024.
Council District Committees and Design Review Committees
The Council District and Design Review Committees had the opportunity to review the housing element during the spring and summer of 2023:
District 1: Housing Element agendized on 4/4/23; meeting cancelled.
District 2: Housing Element agendized on 4/10 and 8/14 2023. Committee asked questions about the Regional Housing Needs Allocation and location of housing
District 3: Housing Element agendized on 4/11 and 8/22 2023; 8/22 meeting cancelled due to lack of quorum
District 4: No committee
District 5: Housing Element agendized on 8/14/23. Committee recommended more workshops in Council District 5
District 6: Housing Element agendized on 8/7, 2023. Committee asked questions about definitions, made a suggestion about public notice, and suggested that downpayment assistance programs include homeowner education about property maintenance.
District 7: No Committee
Tower Design Review Committee: Housing Element agendized on 8/15/24; meeting cancelled due to lack of quorum
Airport Land Use Commission
The Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) staff at Fresno COG determined on November 7, 2024 that the Housing Element it is not subject to ALUC review because it does not contemplate any land use changes.
Guidance from the California Department of Housing and Community Development
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is required to certify the city’s Housing Element. HCD provided comment letters on the City’s November 2023 draft on February 1, 2024 and on the City’s July 2024 draft on October 7, 2024 (see Exhibit B). The City made several changes in response to HCD’s required revisions in the form of Errata dated September, October, and November of 2024 (see Exhibit C).
Consistency with other General Plan Goals, Objectives, and Policies
The California Government Code Section 65300 requires that General Plans be internally consistent. Therefore, the Housing Element, as an element of the Fresno General Plan, must be consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies of the other elements of the General Plan. Key goals, objectives and policies from the Fresno General Plan are noted below to illustrate the Housing Element’s consistency with the General Plan. See Exhibit F for Municipal Code Findings, summarized below.
General Plan Chapter 2: Economic Development and Fiscal Sustainability Element
Objective ED-4: Cultivate a skilled, educated, and well-trained workforce by increasing
educational attainment and the relevant job skill levels in order to appeal to local and non-local businesses. Under this objective are policies that seek to connect residents to jobs and provide job training. Program 30 of the Housing Element, Workforce Development, calls on the City to partner with organizations that provide workforce development to provide more employment opportunities, which lead to better housing access.
General Plan Chapter 3: Urban Form, Land Use and Design Element
Objective UF-1: Emphasize the opportunity for a diversity of districts, neighborhoods, and housing types.
Policy UF-1-d: Range of Housing Types: Provide for diversity and variation of building types, densities, and scales of development in order to reinforce the identity of individual neighborhoods, foster a variety of market-based options for living and working to suit a large range of income levels, and further affordable housing opportunities throughout the city.
Policy UF-1-e: Unique Neighborhoods: Promote and protect unique neighborhoods and mixed-use areas throughout Fresno that respect and support various ethnic, cultural, and historic enclaves; provide a range of housing options, including furthering affordable housing opportunities; and convey a unique character and lifestyle attractive to Fresnans. Support unique areas through more specific planning processes that directly engage community members in creative and innovative design efforts.
Objective LU-2: Plan for infill development that includes a range of housing types, building forms, and land uses to meet the needs of both current and future residents.
Policy LU-2-b: Infill Development for Affordable Housing: Establish a priority infill incentive program for residential infill development of existing vacant lots and underutilized sites within the City as a strategy to help to meet the affordable housing needs of the community.
The housing element proposes several programs to incentivize a variety of housing types and affordability options. Programs 1-10, New Housing Development, include programs such as streamlining the development process, incentivizing accessory dwelling units, and development of adaptive re-use standards. Programs 11-21, Affordable Housing, include pursuing traditional and new sources of funding, as well as exploring innovative affordable housing mechanisms like community land trusts, mixed income land trusts, and land banking. With regard to the General Plan goals of infill development, all the sites identified for housing in the Sites Inventory of the housing element are located within the existing city limits, where public transit and infrastructure is directly available or in close proximity.
General Plan Chapter 10: Healthy Communities Element
Objective HC-3: Create healthy, safe, and affordable housing. This objective includes a number of policies, ranging from universal design, healthy housing, and the promotion of housing programs and resources. Housing Element Program 24, Special Needs Housing, focuses on the provision of housing for special needs populations, including seniors and individuals with disabilities who would benefit from universal design. Program 27, Environmental Justice, points to the City’s Environmental Justice Element currently underway and its focus on creating healthier communities and reducing pollution exposure.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Plan Amendment Application No. P24-04066 to amend the text of Chapter 11 of the Fresno General Plan by replacing the current Fresno Housing Element (2015-2023) with the updated Fresno Housing Element (2023-2031) is exempt from the requirements of the of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines pursuant to the common sense exemption set forth in Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that adoption of the Fresno Housing Element (2023-2031) has no possibility of causing a significant effect on the environment.
Analysis in Support of Findings
The proposed Housing Element is strictly a policy document that does not provide entitlements to any specific development projects. All development in the city must comply with the General Plan. The existing General Plan has sufficient capacity to accommodate all the assigned Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) allocation; therefore, there is no change from the existing development potential. The proposed goals and policies are either informative or would mirror existing State law that already applies to the City.
Pursuant to Housing Element Program 25, Municipal Code Amendments for Compliance with State Law and to Reduce Barriers to Housing Development, the City plans to amend the Municipal Code to address development standards and barriers to special-needs housing opportunities, which includes amending the density bonus as well as incorporating emergency shelters, low-barrier navigation centers, residential care facilities, and supportive housing. The proposed amendments to the Municipal Code would not result in significant environmental impacts as these development standards and facilities would still be required to comply with the City’s General Plan and its zoning and land use designations. Further, the provisions of State law already apply to the City and could be requested by an applicant regardless of whether the Municipal Code is amended.
Table 3-1, Program 25 Zoning Code Amendment Actions and CEQA Determination in Exhibit G shows that each major action in Program 25 intends to update policies to comply with State law. New development would occur on land currently designated and zoned to allow residential uses to occur under the City’s General Plan. Furthermore, all future development in the city would require housing sites to comply with local regulations, including the City’s General Plan and Zoning Code.
Subsequent amendments to the City’s land use or zoning regulations, such as those discussed in Program 25 would be subject to separate CEQA review at the time the amendments are prepared. In addition, future by-right development would still be subject to federal, State, and local regulations related to land use, such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, wetland conservation, and construction air quality permitting. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from further CEQA analysis. See Exhibit G, Environmental Assessment, for the complete CEQA analysis and justification for the finding.
FRESNO MUNICIPAL CODE FINDINGS
Based upon analysis of the applications, staff concludes that the required findings of Section 15-5812of the Fresno Municipal Code can be made. These findings are attached as Exhibit F.
CONCLUSION
The appropriateness of the proposed project has been examined with respect to its consistency with goals and policies of the Fresno General Plan; its compatibility with surrounding existing or proposed uses; and its avoidance or mitigation of potentially significant adverse environmental impacts. These factors have been evaluated as described above and by the accompanying environmental assessment. Upon consideration of this evaluation, it can be concluded that Plan Amendment Application No. P24-04066 are appropriate. Action by the Planning Commission will be a recommendation to City Council.
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A - Fresno Housing Element, December 2024
Exhibit B - CA Department of Housing & Community Development Letters
Exhibit C - Fresno Housing Element Errata
Exhibit D - Public Comments
Exhibit E - Fresno Housing Element Submittal and Revisions Process
Exhibit F - Municipal Code Findings
Exhibit G - Environmental Assessment
Exhibit H - Presentation