In early December 2023, the City of Yorba Linda submitted a resident-driven draft Housing Element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for a compliance review with State housing laws. HCD approval and certification of the Housing Element are both required to retain local control on housing policy in the City of Yorba Linda. HCD recently affirmed that the identified plan for sites to increase zoning has been approved. Other technical details in parts of the Housing Element were noted by HCD, and City staff will commence with making edits and posting the redlined version of the Housing Element and then resubmit to HCD for a final review.
HCD’s approval of the sites identified in the Housing Element document is a critical step to the most material component of the Housing Element process. Those site options were identified by a resident working group in 2023 and ultimately affirmed by the City Council with an early December 2023 vote to submit the plan as drafted to HCD. The Housing Element was subsequently amended by a City Council vote in January 2024 to remove the Bryant Ranch Center site to ensure the integrity of the plan and respond to the land owners’ opposition to the City’s intended zoning for the owner’s property.
HCD’s approval of the resident-driven Housing Element Plan is a testament to the tremendous endeavors of our residents who worked hard to consider and balance the challenges of meeting state-mandated housing policies while maintaining our community’s character. Our residents’ commitment to retaining local control has been crucial in getting the City’s Housing Element Plan to this juncture.
Residents of Yorba Linda can expect further public hearings at upcoming Traffic and Planning Commission meetings along with an ultimate public hearing and vote by the Yorba Linda City Council to formally adopt the Housing Element.
Complete implementation of the Housing Element requires resident approval through a ballot measure process as many of the sites in the Housing Element are subject to Measure B, Yorba Linda’s Right-to-Vote Amendment. The measure was adopted by voters in 2007 and made numerous types of zoning changes subject to voter approval. As such, for the new version of the Housing Element to advance, the City Council must vote to place a measure on the November 2024 ballot, empowering Yorba Linda residents to vote on the matter.
Residents are encouraged to visit YLLocalControl.com to learn more about this complex and important policy matter and to sign up for routine emails to keep them apprised on this important subject.