COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Planning and Building Department

DATE:

January 31, 2011

BOARD MEETING DATE:

February 15, 2011

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

10-Day Notice

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Jim Eggemeyer, Community Development Director

SUBJECT:

County’s Membership and Participation in a Countywide Regional Housing Needs Allocation Subregion

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution authorizing the County of San Mateo’s membership and participation in a countywide Regional Housing Needs Allocation subregion, an entity that would jointly and locally administer the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Regional Housing Needs Allocation process for the 2014-2022 Housing Element cycle.

BACKGROUND:

State law requires that during each State-designated Housing Element cycle, local jurisdictions (cities and counties) must demonstrate in the Housing Elements of their General Plans how they will meet their designated share of regional housing need (their “Regional Housing Needs Allocation,” or “RHNA”), as determined in aggregate by the State and allocated to each individual jurisdiction by the region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

However, rather than each local jurisdiction receiving its share of regional housing need directly from the MPO, State law also allows jurisdictions to join together in a “subregion,” which is a consortium formed to administer the RHNA program at the local level. A subregion may be comprised of any two or more contiguous cities and/or counties. In order to form the subregion, each member jurisdiction must submit a resolution to the MPO (in the Bay Area, the MPO is the Association of Bay Area Governments, “ABAG”), requesting authority to locally administer the program. Formation of a subregion allows the jurisdictions to receive an aggregate Regional Housing Needs Allocation from the MPO for the entire subregion, and to work collectively at the local level to apportion the allocation among the various jurisdictions in the subregion. Subregions must follow the same substantive and procedural rules and guidelines that the MPO follows when distributing housing need allocations, and must also enter into an agreement with the MPO that specifies the process, timing, and other terms and conditions for administering the local housing needs determination process.

In 2006 and 2007, the County of San Mateo worked with the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG) to facilitate the formation and operation of a San Mateo County subregion for the 2007-2014 Housing Element cycle. The San Mateo County subregion included 20 cities and the County. Through the subregion, the cities and the County collectively received the total Regional Housing Needs Allocation for the entire subregion, and worked together to distribute it among the various member jurisdictions. These allocations were then used for each jurisdiction’s 2009 Housing Element. The process allowed significant local involvement in, and control over, the RHNA process, and resulted in positive engagement and outcomes for the cities and the County.

To form a subregion for the preparation of the next Housing Element (2014-2022), requests must be submitted to ABAG by March 16, 2011. Upon ABAG’s approval of the subregion, the County and participating cities would again work collectively to apportion the aggregate RHNA for the County subregion. This process would establish the amount of housing need to be used by each jurisdiction for their next Housing Element update. C/CAG intends to work with the jurisdictions to form a subregion again comprised of all 20 cities and the County, and C/CAG has committed to provide facilitation assistance and staff support for subregion formation and operation throughout the housing needs allocation process.

DISCUSSION:

Creating a subregion in San Mateo County to administer the allocation process significantly increases local control. Each member jurisdiction will be able to participate in the allocation of housing need to the various jurisdictions, and members of the subregion will also have the flexibility to negotiate with other members for adjustments to their allocations. For instance, jurisdictions desiring fewer units might offer various incentives to other jurisdictions to accept additional units. While this concept of negotiated trade between jurisdictions is not possible under State law when jurisdictions receive allocations directly from ABAG, it can be included in the subregional allocation process, and some jurisdictions did in fact trade portions of their allocations during the last Housing Element cycle. Participation in the subregion will allow the County greater control over both the amount and type of housing need allocated to the County.

Participation in the subregion will require periodic participation by County representatives, including elected representatives and/or staff, in committee meetings and other forums to oversee and approve the allocation process.

Formation of a subregion for purposes of allocation of Regional Housing Needs is not a project subject to environmental review, as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

County Counsel has reviewed and approved the Resolution as to form and content.

Formation of and County participation in a RHNA subregion contributes to the 2025 Shared Vision outcome of a Livable Community by promoting better allocation of housing need by amount and income level among the various jurisdictions in San Mateo County, resulting in a better alignment of housing need and housing provision for County residents.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Formation of and participation in a RHNA subregion will require commitment of staff time, primarily from the County Planning and County Housing Departments. However, most of this staff time (and perhaps more of it) would also be incurred in the process of receiving, reviewing, and adopting a Regional Housing Needs Allocation directly from ABAG. Greater local control over the County’s share of the RHNA, which will ideally result in a better alignment of housing need and housing resources, will also result in time and workload efficiencies in drafting the County’s next Housing Element update. In addition, C/CAG has committed to provide staff assistance to offset local jurisdictions’ time and staff commitment. Therefore, staff concludes that there is no significant fiscal impact from formation and participation in the RHNA subregion.