- All
- Affordable Housing
- Background
- Builders Remedy
- Common Misconceptions
- Low Income Housing
- Measure B/RTVA
- RHNA
- State Housing Mandates
- Wildfire Concerns
- Zoning
A Housing Element is a State-mandated policy document within a City’s General Plan that identifies existing and future housing needs determined by the State and established clear goals and zoning changes needed to meet those goals. The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is tasked with reviewing Housing Elements for compliance with State Housing laws.
While Sacramento policy decisions are hard to predict, it is pretty clear from Sacramento policy experts that the legislature is even more bullish on housing mandates and that, rather than rolling back recent policy requirements, the State Legislature is adding on more mandates or expanding the applicability of mandates. The housing advocates in Sacramento reportedly have the ear of elected officials and are driving policy while local governments are attempting to defend and retain their diminished local control. The November 2022 election results only strengthened the housing advocates political power.
No. A Housing Element has never been rejected because the environmental impacts were too negative. CEQA analysis generally notes what environmental impacts there are, then attempts to identify how those impacts can be mitigated. While concerns like increased traffic, wildfires, or water availability are valid, and the City of Yorba Linda is working to address these impacts, the negative consequences of these issues will not provide a reason for the City to not fulfill its RHNA requirements.
“Affordable housing” is a term that has taken on some negative connotations for some community members and the mere term can raise their concerns. It is notable that there are several “low-income” developments in Yorba Linda already and there is no evidence of any negative repercussions from those developments. See Exhibit F in this report for an inventory of those developments. Residents are encouraged to drive by those developments and observe for themselves if they see negatives with these developments.
Affordable housing also means different things in different contexts. For purposes of RHNA housing and housing designed to be affordable for low- and very-low-income residents, that only means that the zoning on a site must be 20 dwelling units per acre or more. The theory of that formula is that, if you spread the cost of land over more housing units, then the cost per housing unit can drop and become more affordable. That said, there is also ample evidence of many high-density developments in Orange County where the per unit rent or purchase price is still quite high.
Finally, affordability is calculated using certain income assumptions and that 30% of the household income is spent on housing. In this formula, and using the more recent data inputs from HUD, a very-low-income qualifying household with a family of four would have an annual income of up to $71,750. And low-income for a family of four would have an annual income of up to $114,800.
There are diverse views on the battle to maintain local control, but the general trend is that State mandates preempt local control and the State politics on this are trending toward more State control. Under current law and threats made by the State, here are a few likely outcomes if we fail to adopt a Certified Housing Element.
- Become subject to Builder’s Remedy, a legal provision that prevents cities from rejecting development proposals that do not align with local zoning and planning requirements. Builder’s Remedy allows a builder to take any residential property in a city and, if they commit to a certain percentage of affordable units, can build high density on that land and the city will have little to no authority on the design or amount of density of that development. As an example of this threat, see this article about a developer who proposed a swath of tall apartment towers directly adjacent to single family residences in Santa Monica. There also are a growing number of Builder’s Remedy projects occurring in Orange County cities, including the cities of Orange and La Habra.
- Lose access to Grants and other State Funds. The City applies for and receives grant funds from the State of California and other regional governments. If the City does not have a Certified Housing Element, the City can be prevented from receiving State grants such as SB 1 funding that helps pay for local streets or funding that is used by Yorba Linda to contribute to our regional homeless solutions. It would have a significant impact on the City’s operating budget. Yes, it is unfair that Yorba Linda residents pay taxes to the State, then have those taxes held back from the City to benefit taxpayers who paid them; but, at this time, that is State policy.
- Lose local control over land use.
- Forfeit protection over some open space, allowing developers more control.
Importantly, the City does not build housing. The market and market influences, such as certain subsidies, the macroeconomy, interest rates and more determine what housing gets built. The City’s role is to create zoning that would theoretically allow that number of housing units to be built over the RHNA period, in this case, 2021 to 2029.
Enacted in 2006, Measure B, or the Right-To-Vote Amendment (RTVA), is a citizen-sponsored, voter-approved initiative, incorporated within the City’s Municipal Code. It requires citywide elections for the approval of certain “Major Amendments” to the City’s Planning Policy Documents, including the Housing Element. This measure highlights the value of community participation and is an important step in adopting a compliant Housing Element.
Although this measure highlights the value of community participation, it creates an additional important step for the community to navigate to adopt a compliant Housing Element.
No, the City must develop a complaint Housing Element and related zoning or it will face the loss of local land use control, risk protections for open space, become vulnerable to lawsuits from other entities and open the gates to ‘Builder’s Remedy’ applications that completely bypass many local land use rules. To date, every city that has attempted to fight these State-mandates in court has lost, including Huntington Beach and La Cañada Flintridge. Builder’s Remedy promises the loss of City authority to review and limit developments, as already demonstrated in the cities of Orange, La Habra, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Cupertino and more.
No, paying fines is not an “opt-out” provision. It’s only one of the penalties imposed on jurisdictions that do not have a Certified Housing Element.
Yes, the State can subject a city to fines for not having a Certified Housing Element.
Several cities have filed legal action against the State related to their Housing Elements and recent housing legislation, but these cases are rarely resolved in favor of cities.
“Lower income housing” represents housing that is for individuals and families making up to 120% of the area median income (AMI) for a household is split into three categories: moderate, low, and very low. The Orange County AMI is currently $127,800.
Moderate income in Orange County would be households making between 80%-120% of AMI, which would be between $114,800-$153,350 for a household of four. Low income would be households making between 50%-80% of AMI and very low income would be households making between 30-50% of AMI.
It is important to note that RHNA also requires jurisdictions to provide for market rate (or above moderate income) housing opportunities. In fact, approximately 1/3 of the City’s RHNA requirement is for market rate housing.
State law takes precedence over local laws and ordinances.
Measure B only applies to certain City actions to approve or reject major adjustment’s to the City land use documents. In contrast, the Builder’s Remedy does not require any approval or amendment of City land use documents and indeed prevents a City from using City zoning or General Plan requirements to prevent certain types of affordable housing projects. Therefore, Measure B is inapplicable to Builder’s Remedy projects.
The City of Yorba Linda, in partnership with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Fire Authority, has a comprehensive safety and evacuation strategy to address emergencies, including wildfires. For detailed information on evacuation zones, routes, and safety measures, please visit https://www.yorbalindaca.gov/861/Know-Your-Way.
Please visit the Zoning Designations Explained page for definitions and explanations.
Please visit the Zoning Designations Explained page for definitions and explanations.
“Total Development Capacity”, or “Total Net Unit Potential”, is the total residential density multiplied by the total acreage. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requires the City to calculate the total development capacity of every housing site submitted for review. In addition, Measure B requires that the City’s public hearing notice include the total acreage and density assigned to each parcel, which is the total development capacity number.
“Realistic Development Capacity”, or “Realistic Unit Potential”, is the anticipated realistic number of units that would be built based on the assigned density. HCD does not give RHNA credit for Total Development Capacity; they require the City to calculate a Realistic Development Capacity for each housing site. In Yorba Linda’s case, HCD has generally allowed the City to claim credit for 85% of the total development capacity in our RHNA, which is a higher realistic development capacity than they’ve permitted for many other jurisdictions. This realistic development capacity assumes that there will be constraints on a property that don’t allow development to total development capacity (i.e., topography, irregular site configuration, market conditions, etc.).