FROM:
David P. Donery, Town Manager Heidi Scoble, Planning Director
SUBJECT:
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Consider approval of a Resolution establishing a Housing Element Advisory Committee, appoint one Town Councilmember to the committee, and direct staff to bring recommendations for the appointment of one Planning Commissioner and three public applicants to the next Town Council meeting for consideration and approval.
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RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends:
1. That Council adopt the attached proposed Resolution establishing a Housing Element Advisory Committee; and
2. That Council appoint one member of the Town Council to the Housing Element Advisory Committee.
3. That Council direct staff to bring recommendations for the appointment of one Planning Commissioner and three public applicants to the next Town Council meeting for consideration and approval.
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BACKGROUND
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requires that cities accommodate housing by meeting the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). In each planning cycle, HCD calculates the number of new homes each city or region must build and how affordable those homes should be to meet the demand for housing for people across different income levels. Meeting the RHNA is a critical component of a city’s Housing Element, a required chapter in the General Plan. To ensure the Town’s Housing Element gets certified by HCD, the Town must show that it can accommodate its RHNA through land use policies and development standards.
DISCUSSION
The Town’s Housing Element Project Management Team (Town staff, working with the consultant team from Houseal Lavigne, hereinafter referred to as “PMT”), requested the development of a Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC). The HEAC, working with the PMT, would have the following roles and responsibilities:
• Provide guidance to the Project Management Team (PMT) through the public outreach process;
• Review and provide guidance to the PMT on goals and policies related to the update of the Housing Element;
• Ensure sufficient public outreach and stakeholder input regarding the Housing Element update, including innovative ways to reach multiple segments of population and stakeholders;
• Work with the PMT to communicate with the County on potential for collaborative approaches;
• Make other recommendations to the Town Council regarding the update of the Housing Element, as necessary;
• Serve as the host committee for all public outreach efforts;
• The HEAC is an advisory committee and will offer recommendations only to the PMT and the Town Council as appropriate.
Meetings
Staff recommends that the HEAC meetings adhere to the following guidelines:
• The HEAC shall meet once per month, with additional meetings held as necessary;
• All meetings of the HEAC will be held in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act;
• Meetings may be viewed live via webcast or as video recordings <https://www.sausalito.gov/city-government/special-committees/general-plan-advisory-committee/meetings-and-agendas> beginning on the day after a meeting takes place;
• Meeting times and agendas may be viewed on the meetings and agendas page <https://www.sausalito.gov/city-government/special-committees/housing-element-advisory-committee> for the HEAC on the Town’s website.
• Upon certification of the Housing Element Update, meetings will be discontinued and the HEAC will be dissolved.
Committee Membership
Staff recommends that the HEAC be limited to five members, with the membership to include:
• One member from the Town Council
• One member from the Planning Commission
• Three members who are San Anselmo residents and appointed by the Town Council
Staff recommends that the Council direct staff to have the Planning Commission appoint one member at their June 20th meeting, and that staff work with the Council appointee to the HEAC to interview public applicants and bring recommendations to the June 28th Town Council meeting for consideration and appointment. The Town Council will receive the applications from everyone who applied, and will appoint the three seats at that meeting.
It is expected that the first HEAC meeting will take place on July 11th.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
CEQA AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN CONSISTENCY
Approval of the temporary HEAC and appointment of a Council member to serve on the committee is not a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act, because it does not involve an activity which has the potential to cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. (Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 21065).
CONCLUSION
The San Anselmo Housing Element Update must be submitted to the State by January 15, 2023. The Housing Element Advisory Committee is a limited-term committee appointed only to provide recommendations throughout the update process. Given the time constraints for completing the Housing Element Update, staff respectfully requests the Town Council’s approval of the HEAC and appointment of a Council member to serve on the committee.
Attachment 1 - Resolution establishing the San Anselmo Housing Element Advisory Committee
Attachment 2 - Housing Element Advisory Committee application