To: Board of Supervisors
From: Planning and Building Department
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Humboldt County 2021 General Plan Annual Progress Report and the Corrected 2021 Housing Element Annual Progress Report, LRP-2022-17712
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Receive and file the staff report concerning the 2021 General Plan Annual Progress Report (Attachment A) and the Corrected 2021 Housing Element Annual Progress Report, summarized in Attachments A and B pursuant to Government Code Section 65400(a)(2).
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund
DISCUSSION:
Government Code Section 65400(a)(2) requires planning agencies prepare two annual progress reports (APR), a General Plan APR and a Housing Element APR, and provide them to the Board of Supervisors, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by April 1 of each year. The governing statute, however, does not stipulate in which order they be provided, and neither OPR or HCD require the reports to be submitted to the legislative body prior to submitting the reports to HCD and OPR.
The General Plan APR (Attachment A) assesses how the General Plan was implemented during the previous 12-month reporting period. There is no standardized form or format for the General Plan APR, although the Office of Planning and Research does provide guidance regarding content. The General Plan APR includes review of major land use activities undertaken during the reporting period, and information that may point toward a need for “course corrections” or modifications to the general plan or improved implementation. Essentially, the General Plan APR provides accountability and transparency to the Board and the community on the County’s progress of implementing the General Plan during the previous year. Preparing the APR also implements General Plan Implementation Measure G-IM1. Progress Report, of the Governance Policy chapter.
The APR for the Housing Element on the other hand, is required to be prepared and submitted on detailed Excel spreadsheets provided by HCD. These spreadsheets are large and not appropriate as an attachment. Attachment A contains a summary of the report while Attachment B provides further details on the status of the County’s housing element. The 2021 housing element APR filed on the State’s mandatory reporting Excel form is found on the County webpage at the following URL https://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/105954/CORRECTED-HumboldtCounty2021-XLSM.
Beginning with the 2021 housing element APR, jurisdictions are required to report details for density bonuses requested along with the local agency’s action on the requested density bonus. In 2021, Humboldt County received and approved one density bonus application as part of the Pine Hill Village housing development. Further details are contained in Attachment B. Next year, jurisdictions will be required to report all housing developments applied for and approved using SB 9 (2021).
Consideration and acceptance of the General Plan and Housing Element APRs is informational in nature, does not create or alter policy, and is therefore exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines Section 15306.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Staff time for preparation the 2021 annual progress reports was approximately 175 hours, at a cost of approximately $26,330. This expense to the General Fund could be decreased significantly with implementation of improvements to the county’s online permitting platform, Accela, for building and entitlement housing applications. The department has partial funding committed through its Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant to implement improvements. The staff positions to complete this work are already filled and allocated and are included in the General Fund contribution to the Advance Planning unit, 1100-282.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by fostering transparent, accessible, welcoming and user friendly services.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The State Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) and the State Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”).
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may decide modifications to the APR as necessary. If the alternative is chosen, the Board will need to direct Planning staff to file the modified annual progress report with the Office of Planning and Research and the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Government Code Section 65400(a)(2).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: 2021 General Plan Annual Report, revised April 18, 2022
Attachment B: Details of the 2021 Housing Element Annual Progress Report
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: n/a
Meeting of: n/a
File No.: n/a