Housing Element Revisions Underway for Resubmittal to State

Almost one year ago (January 23, 2023), the City Council adopted a Housing Element to plan for residential growth in Lafayette over the next eight years. As required by State law, the Plan was submitted to the CA Dept. of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for certification. Like most other cities, during this current housing cycle, the State rejected our initial Housing Element. Periodically since then, the State has provided comments and new information that required us to revise the Housing Element.

In response to recent public comments, on November 13th, the City Council discussed several alternatives for Housing Element opportunity sites, which are properties that are potential candidates for housing development in the next eight years. In addition, the Council addressed how different affordability levels are distributed throughout the inventory, added the DeSilva South property at 35 dwelling units/acre, modified downtown residential densities to a maximum of 60 dwelling units/acre in certain portions of the downtown, and included properties owned by faith-based organizations in the inventory of sites. The City Council directed staff to incorporate the revisions, publish for a 7-day statutory public review period, and then submit the revised Housing Element to the State for review. After the City resubmits the revised draft, the State has 60 days to provide any comments or certify it.

Unfortunately, we are also faced with the State’s looming January 31, 2024 deadline for the City to complete rezoning for areas with increased densities resulting from the Housing Element. After January 31, the City can face increased exposure to a “Builder’s Remedy” project that might not meet the community’s established standards. We will bring the zoning changes to the City Council after the State certifies our Housing Element.

If you would like to be notified when the revised draft Housing Element is ready for public review, subscribe for email updates on the Contact Us page at www.planlafayette.org.