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RES-11498 GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 2022-0001 - CITY OF ORANGE SIXTH CYCLE (2021-2029) HOUSING ELEMENT - OCT 30, 2023RESOLUTION NO. 11498 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ORANGE APPROVING GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 2022-0001 ADOPTING THE CITY OF ORANGE SIXTH CYCLE (2021-2029) HOUSING ELEMENT APPLICANT: CITY OF ORANGE WHEREAS, the Housing Element, one of the mandated elements of the City's General Plan, is governed by law contained at Government Code Section 65589, et. seq; and WHEREAS, in general, State law requires cities to review and update their Housing Elements on a periodic basis; and WHEREAS, the California Department of Housing and Community Development HCD"), reviews the updated (and adopted) Housing Elements to determine substantial compliance with the statutory requirements contained at Government Code Section 65580, et seq.; and WHEREAS, HCD is the state agency charged, in part, with interpreting, monitoring and providing guidance with regard to the Housing Element process, including providing technical advice letters to cities, all of which are available on its website; and WHEREAS,HCD has guided the City in the preparation of its Housing Element; and WHEREAS, the City previously adopted its 2014-2021 General Plan Housing Element 5th Cycle) in January 2014, as required by State law, and received HCD certification thereof; and WHEREAS, the City of Orange provided for robust public participation in the development, adoption and implementation of the Housing Element, including engaging with the all stratus of the community, including organizations that represent lower-income and special needs households; and WHEREAS, the City prepared the 2021-2029 Housing Element (6th Cycle) as an update to its previously approved Housing Element in compliance with State law and submitted the draft 2021-2029 Housing Element to HCD for their review and comment on July 15, 2021; and WHEREAS, on September 13, 2021, HCD sent a letter to the City indicating that the draft element addressed many statutory requirements; however, revisions would be necessary to comply with State Housing Element law, and described needed revisions in an enclosed Appendix; and WHEREAS, the City made revisions to its draft 2021-2029 Housing Element consistent with HCD guidance; and WHEREAS, the City noticed, and the Planning Commission conducted, one duly advertised public hearing on January 3, 2022, at which time interested persons had an opportunity to testify either in support of, or opposition to, the 2021-2029 Housing Element update; and WHEREAS, on that date, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. PC 01-22 recommending City Council adoption of the 2021-2029 Housing Element update; and WHEREAS, on February 8, 2022, the City Council conducted a duly advertised public hearing, at which time interested persons had an opportunity to testify either in support of, or opposition to,the 2021-2029 Housing Element, and approved Resolution No. 11378 adopting the 2021-2029 Housing Element update; and WHEREAS, on February 12, 2022, pursuant to State law, the 2021-2029 Housing Element update was submitted to HCD for review; and WHEREAS, on April 12, 2022, HCD issued a letter finding that most statutory requirements were met; however, supplemental information was needed regarding certain aspects of the document narrative related to public outreach, integration and segregation, racially concentrated areas of affluence, access to opportunity, fair housing, homelessness, candidate housing sites, accessory dwelling unit production, governmental constraints, housing for persons special needs groups, housing program performance metrics, and local knowledge; and WHEREAS, on November 28, 2022, pursuant to State law, revisions to the 2021-2029 Housing Element update consistent with HCD guidance were submitted to HCD for review; and WHEREAS, on January 27, 2023, HCD issued a letter finding that the revised 2021- 2029 Housing Element update would be in compliance with State law once certain modifications were made; and WHEREAS, from 2010 through the City's General Plan update, the City deliberately adjusted its land use policies to establish mixed use districts in areas of the community recognized as employment and transportation hubs served not only by area roadways, but also multi-modal transportation opportunities along the West Katella Avenue corridor, South Main Street/Town and Country corridor, and Uptown Orange as the location of major hospital, medical office, corporate office, and retail activity; and WHEREAS, in 2011, the City established Urban Mixed Use and Neighborhood Mixed Use Zoning for the West Katella Avenue corridor, South Main Street/Town and Country corridor, and Uptown Orange to implement the corresponding General Plan land use designations; and Resolution No. 11498 2 WHEREAS, the established mixed use General Plan and Zoning designations were designed to be in alignment with State of California sustainability and Smart Growth objectives identified in recent decades; and WHEREAS, the housing opportunity/candidate housing sites identified in the 5th and 6th Cycle Housing Elements with the greatest capacity to address the City's Regional Housing Need Assessment (RHNA) Allocation are located in Urban Mixed Use zones given the density range of 30-60 dwelling units per acre accommodated in these areas being the highest density residential areas of the community; and WHEREAS, the City has documented housing unit entitlement, production and/or completion on sites in the Urban Mixed Use zones in Housing Element Annual Reports submitted to HCD during the 5th and 6th Cycle Housing Element reporting periods; and WHEREAS, the City the housing sites identified in the 2021-2029 Housing Element meet the State law requirements based on the history of entitling and permitting hundreds of housing units on urbanized, under-utilized commercial properties with Urban Mixed Use General Plan and Zoning designations during the 5th Cycle Housing Element covering the 2014-2021 timeframe and the early years of the subject 6th Cycle Housing Element, as detailed in Appendix B of the 2021-2029 Housing Element; and WHEREAS, the City of Orange continues to facilitate and streamline housing development on candidate housing sites and in areas of the City with mixed use zoning; and WHEREAS, the City reached out to property owners of sites identified as candidate housing sites in May 2021 with written notification to inform them of the recognition of their property as a site that has the potential for residential development during the 2021-2029 planning period and received no objections to this recognition in response to that communication; and WHEREAS, on February 14, 2023, the City Council conducted a public hearing and adopted Resolution No. 11431 to incorporate text revisions in response to HCD comments, and public comments submitted to HCD, on the 2021-2029 Housing Element regarding the viability of candidate housing sites and the need for additional methods of facilitating and incentivizing the development of affordable housing; and WHEREAS, on February 14, 2023, pursuant to State law, the 2021-2029 Housing Element update was submitted to HCD for review; and WHEREAS, on April 14, 2023, HCD issued a letter finding that while the adopted 2021- 2029 Housing Element met statutory requirements, it was unable to make a finding of substantial compliance given public comment received regarding the viability and capacity of the identified candidate housing sites and incentives for housing development at the lower income levels identified in the City's Regional Housing Needs Assessment("RHNA") allocation; and Resolution No. 11498 3 WHEREAS, from May through July of 2023, the City and HCD had multiple meetings regarding the April 2023 letter and HCD provided direction to the City to augment the 2021- 2029 Housing Element in order to obtain a finding of substantial compliance; and WHEREAS, at the direction of HCD and again in response to the same or similar public comments on the adopted and revised Housing Element regarding the viability of candidate housing sites, the City reached out to both affordable and market-rate housing developers to explore the extent to which easements, CC&Rs, leases and other similar property encumbrances and confirmed that given the built-out nature of most of Southern California, developers are accustomed to working with properties with such constraints and are generally not deterred from engaging in these sites as documented in Appendix B of the 2021-2029 Housing Element; and WHEREAS, based on additional analysis, further revisions were made to address the public comments received following the July 2023 public comment period for the revised 2021- 2029 Housing Element adopted on February 14, 2023 regarding the viability of candidate housing sites and the need for additional methods of incentivizing the development of affordable housing through the incorporation of new and refined Policy Actions that allow for greater density and documentation of projects in the pipeline, confirmation of candidate housing site viability, removal of certain sites from capacity calculations, and streamlining and outreach efforts on the part of the City, as noted throughout the 2021-2029 Housing Element update; and WHEREAS, on July 31, 2023, pursuant to State law, the 2021-2029 Housing Element was re-submitted to HCD for review; and WHEREAS, in September of 2023, based on additional feedback from HCD regarding the viability of candidate housing sites, the City reached out to representatives of a sampling of commercial center sites identified as having potential for infill residential development to confirm their interest in the ability to introduce residential uses on their sites during the planning period, and received confirmation of interest in mixed-use development and openness to the concept of introducing housing, as further documented in Appendix B of the 2021-2029 Housing Element; and WHEREAS, on September 29, 2023, HCD issued its letter finding that, with the incorporation of the additions noted in its findings letter, generally described herein and contained within 2021-2029 Housing Element, said revised Housing Element will be in substantial compliance with State law; and WHEREAS, specifically, HCD's finding that the 2021-2029 Housing Element meets minimum statutory requirements is based on, among other reasons, the additional owner outreach done by the City, updated analysis included in the 2021-2029 Housing Element and added or amended programs (such as Policy Action 2L, 2N, 3D, and 3F) also included in the 2021-2029 Housing Element; and Resolution No. 11498 4 WHEREAS, the City noticed, and Planning Commission conducted, one duly advertised public hearing on October 16, 2023, regarding the revised 2021-2029 Housing Element, at which time interested persons had an opportunity to testify either in support of, or opposition to, the revised 2021-2029 Housing Element update; and WHEREAS, in compliance with Government Code Section 65585(b)(1), the City published the draft revision of the Housing Element on its website and emailed a link to the draft revision to all individuals and organizations that previously requested notices related to the housing element at least seven days before submitting the draft revision to HCD (posted and emailed on Friday, October 20, 2023); and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council approves General Plan Amendment No. 2021-0001, re-adopting the Sixth Cycle 2021-2029 Housing Element attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A and directs staff to implement the policy action programs identified in the 2021-2029 Housing Element, based on the following findings. SECTION 1 —GENERAL PLAN FINDINGS 1. The General Plan Housing Element meets the requirements of the California Government Code. The 2021-2029 Housing Element contains a housing needs assessment, resources and constraints analysis, review of past performance, housing policy actions, adequate sites analysis, and fair housing analysis, consistent with State requirements. The content of the Housing Element addresses comments provided by the HCD on the City's 2021-2029 Housing Element update. Following City re-adoption of the 2021-2029 Housing Element, a copy will be submitted to HCD for final certification. 2. The Housing Element is generally consistent with the goals and policies stated within all other elements of the City's General Plan. The 2021-2029 Housing Element is consistent with the City's land use plan and is consistent with the goals and policies of the remaining elements of the General Plan. 3. The Housing Element advances the State's housing goal of"decent housing and a suitable living environment for all members of the community. " The 2021-2029 Housing Element contains a needs assessment documenting housing needs in the Orange community and establishes policy actions to meet those needs through the preservation, conservation, improvement and production of housing units in Orange. The housing policy actions aim to provide opportunities for production of new housing units for all income levels, further fair housing, and also address housing for special needs groups including seniors and large families. As such, City adoption of the 2021-2029 Housing Element and implementation of the housing policy actions advances the State's housing goal of providing "decent housing and a suitable living environment for all members of the community." Resolution No. 11498 5 SECTION 2—ADDITIONAL FINDINGS 1. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(g)(2), if a Housing Element relies on nonvacant sites to accommodate 50 percent or more of its Regional Housing Needs Assessment, the Housing Element must describe findings based on substantial evidence that the nonvacant sites' existing uses will not constitute an impendent to additional residential development during the planning period covered by the Housing Element. Based on a variety of factors, as contained in this Resolution and as further described throughout the 2021-2029 Housing Element update and, in particular, Appendix B, including, but not limited to: a demand for housing in the Southern California region, real estate development trends within the City of Orange, property owner interest, the presence of under-utilized commercial property, and available development capacity on Urban Mixed Use zoned sites that already accommodate and have accommodated residential development, additional incentives, resources, and staff commitment through programs within the Housing Plan section to promote the development of housing at all income levels (including the low and very low income levels), and, redevelopment trends on existing infill sites for lower income housing units, there is substantial evidence that the existing uses on the sites identified in the site inventory to accommodate the lower- income RHNA are likely to be discontinued during the planning period and, therefore, do not constitute an impediment to additional residential development during said planning period covered by the Housing Element. 2. As required by Government Code Section 65585(e), the City has considered the findings made by HCD in numerous comment letters and has incorporated the required revisions in the revised Sixth Cycle 2021-2029 Housing Element to substantially comply with the requirements contained at Government Code Section 65580 et. seq, in accordance with Government Code Section 65585(f). SECTION 3-ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The 2021-2029 Housing Element update is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as follows: (i) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines Common Sense Exemption) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed 2021-2029 Housing Element Update would have a significant effect on the environment; (ii) no property re-zoning is needed to accommodate the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation, and potential residential development densities have already been analyzed and mitigated in an earlier Environmental Impact Report (the Program Environmental Impact Report prepared for the 2010 Comprehensive General Plan Update, State Clearinghouse No. 2006031117); (iii) pursuant to Guideline 15283, CEQA does not apply to Regional Housing Needs determinations made by a city. For these reasons, no further CEQA documentation is required. Resolution No. 11498 6 ADOPTED this 30th day of October 2023. j* Dame R. Slater, Mayor, City of Orange ATTEST: P ela Coleman, ity Clerk, City of Orange Attachment: Exhibit A APPROVED AS TO FORM: LI" I Mike Vigliotta, riity Attorney STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss. CITY OF ORANGE I, PAMELA COLEMAN, City Clerk of the City of Orange, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of the City of Orange at an Adjourned Regular Meeting thereof held on the 30th day of October 2023, by the following vote: AYES:COUNCILMEMBERS: Barrios, Dumitru, Tavoularis, Bilodeau, Gutierrez, and Slater NOES:COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Gyllenhammer ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS: None f.,e9(../4„),„ Pamela Coleman, City Clerk, City of Orange Resolution No. 11498 7 NOTE CITY OF ORANGE 6th CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE 2021-2029) ADOPTED: February 8, 2022 UPDATED: October 3, 2023) AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW at CITY OF ORANGE City Clerk Department 300 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92866 714) 744-5500 The above document is stored in a white binder labeled Resolution No. 11498. This binder is located in the City Clerk vault, on Shelf No. 135.