CityofSantaBarbara
By the City of Santa Barbara
The City of Santa Barbara is revising the draft 2023-2031 Housing Element in response to comments provided by California Housing and Community Development (HCD) staff. The August 2022 draft and the comment letter can be viewed here.
The City is also continuing to prepare a draft Program Environmental Impact Report to evaluate the changes that would result from implementing the Housing Element.
For almost 54 years, every city and county in the State of California has been required to plan for their housing needs. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation determines each jurisdiction’s projected share of new housing every eight years to account for population growth and other factors, such as: housing costs, overcrowding, and job growth. The City of Santa Barbara is expected to need 8,001 additional housing units by 2031 in various income categories.
The 2023-2031 Housing Element identifies properties that can best accommodate this growth and includes programs to reduce government constraints to facilitate housing. It also includes programs to fund affordable housing and provide housing-related services to lower-income residents. No rezoning is required to provide adequate capacity for these units.
HCD’s comments called for more specificity and detail throughout the document. The state has provided similar comments on draft Housing Elements from other jurisdictions. The level of detail and scrutiny of review of Housing Elements has increased substantially this cycle due to legislative and administrative changes. The Housing Element must be adopted by the City and certified by HCD to be considered compliant with state housing law.
The regional deadline for Housing Element adoption is February 15. Similar to the rest of the state, the City of Santa Barbara and most other jurisdictions in the county will not meet this deadline. We expect to release a public draft of the Program Environmental Impact Report and revised draft of the 2023– 2031 Housing Element this Spring and consider adoption and submittal to HCD for certification this Summer.
