COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AGENCY

Date:

December 4, 2001

Set Time:

9:45 a.m.

Hearing Date:

December 18, 2001

To:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

From:

Marcia Raines, Director of Environmental Services Agency

Subject:

Consideration of partial revisions of the Housing Chapter Update of the General Plan

PROPOSAL

Send partial revision to the Housing Chapter of the General Plan to the State for review and comment.

RECOMMENDATION

1.

Review and comment on the partial revisions of the Housing Chapter update of the General Plan.

2.

Recommend that the Board of Supervisors authorize staff to transmit the partial revisions to the State for review and comment.

BACKGROUND

A.

LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS

Staff is currently working on updating the Housing Chapter of the General Plan. Staff has developed a process for completing the update and would like to inform the Commission of this proposal.

State law requires that cities and counties prepare and adopt a housing chapter of the General Plan. This chapter must document housing needs, identify potential sties for new housing, analyze constraints on housing development, and state explicit policies for meeting housing needs.

The current Housing Chapter was adopted ten years ago in 1991. State law requires that all Bay Area jurisdictions adopt updated Housing Chapters by December 31, 2001. The law requires that the County refer the updated chapter to the State for review and comment at least 60 days in advance of adoption.

B.

PLANNING PROCESS

Staff proposes to produce an update in two phases. In phase 1, staff will revise the chapter where necessary to meet State law requirements. We have called these changes partial revisions. This phase would end when the Board approves the revisions for transmittal to the State on December 18, 2001. Comments from the State should be received by March 2002.

Phase 2 would then begin. This phase would consist of a very thorough update using the latest Census 2000 data as it gradually becomes available. Comments from the State on the Phase 1 partial revisions would then be incorporated into the Phase 2 revisions. Phase 2 would involve extensive public participation, adequate Planning Commission and Board hearings, and a 60-day review period by the State prior to final County adoption. Phase 2 would probably end in the fall of 2002.

C.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Staff is updating the list of public and private housing interest groups. Staff plans to send these groups a letter explaining our approach, including the dates and times of Phase 2 reviews by the Commission and the Board. We will encourage these groups to express their issues and concerns. Staff will also announce the formation of a housing task force to assist staff with the update.

DISCUSSION

A.

KEY ISSUES

1.

Policy Changes

For Phase 1, staff is recommending only one policy change from the 1991 Housing Chapter: add a new policy (14.37), consistent with recent Board actions, which supports the establishment and funding of a Housing Trust Fund. Otherwise, no new or revised policies are recommended at this time. In Phase 2, a thorough review and analysis of existing policies and recommendations for revision, deletion, and/or addition will occur.

2.

Census 2000 Data

There is a major advantage to completing the Housing Chapter in the next year: use of the Census 2000 data. At present, only portions of the Census 2000 data are available. For instance, there is no information on house value or rent, persons per room, or household income. This makes it difficult to calculate housing needs. As census data are released next year, the County can conduct up-to-date assessments on housing needs. Because of timing requirements, both previous Housing Chapters had to rely on census data that was ten years old. Now, the County has the opportunity to develop an updated Housing Chapter with the latest census data.