This newsletter edition spotlights a major initiative that is kicking off in Menlo Park: The Housing Element. At Tuesday night's May 25th City Council meeting, there will be an overview of this important project (link to Agenda Item N-1 here) and the Council will be giving feedback on the goals and objectives, roles and responsibilities of various advisory bodies and the community engagement and outreach plan. Please take the time to learn about this process and to engage in whatever way you can. Our community is what we make of it.
Warmly,
What is the Housing Element?
The Housing Element is one of seven state-mandated chapters of the General Plan, a comprehensive, long-term plan for the physical development of our city. The Housing Element, specifically, outlines how Menlo Park will meet our existing and projected housing needs, and includes policies, strategies and actions to enable the construction of new housing across all income levels.
Under California law, every city must update its Housing Element every eight years. The Housing Element process that is kicking off now is for the 8-year period of 2023-2031, also known as the 6th Housing Element cycle. Menlo Park has approximately 18 months, or until January 2023, to complete its Housing Element update and have it certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Every city and county in California is required by state law to submit an updated Housing Element.
How much additional housing are we talking about?
Each city in California receives a Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA), a number of total units that the city must plan for in the upcoming cycle. In the previous 8-year cycle (2015-2023), also known as RHNA or Housing Element cycle 5, Menlo Park had to plan for 655 units. For the upcoming RHNA/Housing Element cycle 6, while the number is not yet final*, Menlo Park is expecting to have to plan for approximately 3,000 units, a 349% increase.
*Per the Staff Report for Tuesday night's agenda item (N-1), even though the number is still not final, "staff does not believe the numbers will substantially change with the final adoption by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) anticipated in late 2021."
What about other cities?
Given population growth, job creation and the historical underproduction of housing units, the 9-county Bay Area Region must add over 440,000 units of housing over this upcoming 8-year cycle. Cities were assigned their RHNA based on a variety of factors, including proximity to jobs, quality of transportation, access to opportunity areas (schools, services, etc.) and equity. You can read about the allocation methodology here. Below is a map from p. 45 of the methodology report that shows approximately how many housing units each city must add.
Are we talking about affordable or market rate housing units?
Yes and yes. We desperately need to add affordable housing so that people of all income levels can live in our community. The Housing Element covers housing at all income levels. Menlo Park's RHNA of approximately 3000 units is distributed among 4 income categories.
The chart below from a Let's Talk Housing San Mateo County event, illustrates the number of units, across income levels, that Menlo Park must plan to add. The first column lists the income category. Note that AMI stands for Average Medium Income for the area. For San Mateo County the median is $174,000 for a family of four, so to qualify for a moderate income level unit (80% of AMI), a family of four would need to make below $139,200 a year. The second column is Menlo Park's number from the last Housing Element cycle, AKA RHNA 5 covering 2015-2023. The total units to date show how Menlo Park is performing vis-a-vis our RHNA 5 targets. As you can see, we are overperforming in the Above Moderate category, but underperforming for all other income groups. The RHNA 6 column is what our upcoming Housing Element will cover. The final column shows the substantial increase from last cycle to this cycle.
Where will all this housing go?
Figuring out where housing can be added in Menlo Park is the core of this process. The Housing Element will include a site inventory that must include enough locations to accommodate the large increase in housing units. Per the staff report, this "is anticipated to involve both a mix of rezoning of sites as well as program changes such as zoning ordinance amendments that may modify existing land use regulations and or create new zoning districts." Potential strategies that will be considered, include, but are not limited to, "looking at existing development in the pipeline, conversion of commercial zoning to mixed-use, intensification of sites near transit and other services, and further incentivizing accessory dwelling unit production."
Note that there is a new requirement for this cycle of the Housing Element called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AB 686) which means that we must take "meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics." For this reason, among others, it is expected, per the staff report, that the city will rezone land and create a balance of housing throughout the city.
How can I provide input into this process?
There will be many opportunities over the coming months to participate in the Housing Element process. Be on the lookout for community workshops, surveys, interviews, focus groups, gallery walks and many meetings on this topic. For the most up-to-date information about the Housing Element process, sign up for updates via the city here: https://publicinput.com/hub/Subscriptions/2463. My newsletters will also be highlighting key feedback opportunities. There will also be agenda items covering this topic at Housing Commission, Planning Commission and City Council meetings. The city is also creating a Housing Element Community Engagement and Outreach Committee whose main task will be to communicate opportunities for input on this topic.
What is the timing of this?
The City must have a certified Housing Element update by January 2023, which means we have approximately 18 months to complete the process. That being said, the first four to six months will be critical in getting community feedback that will guide the development of the plan. The staff report for tomorrow night's City Council meeting has a detailed timeline on page 9. A broad timeline from a Let's Talk Housing San Mateo County presentation is below.
Where can I get more information about the Housing Element?
To learn more about the Housing Element, I encourage you to listen in (or watch later here), Tuesday night's agenda item N-1 on this topic. There is also a city webpage about the Housing Element here, and more information will be added in the weeks to come. The County's Let's Talk Housing webpage here also has a lot of good overview information about this topic.
As always, feel free to reach out to me directly (contact info below) if you have any questions or feedback you'd like to share about this process or anything else.
Anything else?
While updating our Housing Element is a state-mandated legal requirement, it is also an opportunity for us to come together to think about the type of community we want to live in, not just today, but in the years to come. I look forward to working with my neighbors to plan for a more sustainable and equitable city, for people of all ages, backgrounds and income levels. Here's to a robust and fruitful community conversation.
City Council Meeting Tuesday, May 25th at 5pm*
*Note: The City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 25th, will begin with a closed session at 5pm. The closed session is not open to the public - though public comment can be received on the item (labor negotiations) per the agenda's instructions. The regular open session portion of the meeting will start once closed session ends. The timing of that depends on how long closed session lasts, which is unknown.
The full City Council agenda is here. Like all City Council meeting agendas, it includes links to staff reports for each item, login/call-in information and ways to weigh in on the issues being discussed.
In addition to Housing Element agenda item (N-1), below are just a few of the many other agenda items coming before Council during open session on Tuesday:
L4 - Agreement with the County of San Mateo to continue animal control services for a new 5-year term.
L5 - Preliminary approval for the Landscape Assessment District and the intention to order the levy and collection of assessments for it.
M1 - Adopt the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
N2 - Create a special revenue fund titled "2017 Bayfront City Services Contribution" and establish effective date. Note that this revenue was previously used to fund policing known as the Community Response Team (CRT), Facebook Unit and/or Beat 4.
