HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE 2009

You can download the updated Public Review Draft Housing Element here.

If you wish to provide comments or recommendations on the 2009 Housing Element Update, please contact Ed Gallagher at (805) 237-3970 or via email. Comments may also be mailed to City of Paso Robles, ATTN: Ed Gallagher, City Planner, 1000 Spring Street, Paso Robles, CA 93446.

About the Housing Element of the General Plan

The Housing Element of the General Plan contains the City’s goals, policies, and action items relevant to providing housing to its residents.  Most of the content of the Housing Element is mandated by State Housing Element Law (Government Code Sections 65580 et seq.). State Housing Element Law requires the following:

• That the City’s Housing Element be updated by September 1, 2009;
• That the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) conduct a review of the draft updated element prior to its adoption to determine if it conforms with State Housing Element Law and to recommend revisions that may be necessary to achieve such conformance;
• That HCD may take up to 60 days to conduct its review;
• That the City submit the updated Housing Element to HCD its adoption for a second review to determine if it conforms with State Housing Element Law.

One of the most significant issues that the Housing Element Update will need to address is compliance with SB 2 (Statutes of 2007).  That bill requires local jurisdictions to estimate the size of their homeless populations, establish policy and an action program to establish a zoning district in which emergency shelters may be located by right (without requirement for a conditional use permit) no later than one year following adoption of the updated element. SB 2 allows local jurisdictions to establish certain development standards for emergency shelters, provided that such standards are no more restrictive than other uses allowed in the same zoning district. SB2 also provides that “transitional” and “support” housing are to be considered residential uses allowed by right.

To enable the City to comply with the deadlines and review requirements of State Housing Element Law, the following schedule for updating the Housing Element was approved by the City Council on March 3, 2009.

Interested persons may review the current Housing Element, which was adopted in December 2004. The goals, policies, and action items are found in Chapter 2.