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February 2023 Policy Update

Sonoma County Housing Element Digest

Since our final policy update of 2022, two City Council’s, Sebastopol and Rohnert Park, have by resolution formally adopted their respective Housing Elements. The adopted Housing Elements will be remitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for certification. Once secured, the Housing Element update process would officially end for those communities. As a refresher, all jurisdiction’s must have a substantially compliant and adopted Housing Element by January 31, 2023 or they will be subject to the “Builder’s Remedy” – a tool that allows developers to bypass the local zoning code and general plan of cities with a non-compliant Housing Element so long as 20 percent of the units in a proposed project are deed-restricted affordable. 

For your information – If you live in a jurisdiction that has already submitted their draft Housing Element to Housing and Community Development for the 90-day review, you can still submit public comment to the jurisdiction, just be certain to carbon copy (“cc”) – housingelements@hcd.ca.gov.  We would also love to see your comments too, so feel free to add calum@generationhousing.org to your cc line.

Check out our Housing Element tracker, posted on our website here!

  • Cloverdale: The final day for HCD to share initial comments during the 90-day review period is March 9, 2023. We will know more after that letter is shared with the City.
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
    • You can submit public comment to the City of Cloverdale by emailing CloverdaleHousingElement@4leafinc.com or mail/deliver to Cloverdale City Hall (124 N. Cloverdale Blvd)
    • Click here to get Cloverdale specific action alerts!
  • Cotati: They received a comment letter from HCD on February 16, 2023. Adoption hearings are anticipated for March/April.
  • Healdsburg: They received a comment letter from HCD on February 13, 2023. Adoption hearings are anticipated for March/April
  • Petaluma: The City has received formal comments from HCD regarding their draft Housing Element. On February 27, 2023, the City Council will review the comments from HCD in line with the comments from the Planning Commission meeting on February 14, 2023. No official decision will be made at the City Council meeting. We encourage the public to show up and share their comments and concerns before it’s too late!
  • Windsor: They received formal comments from HCD on January 31, 2023. They are currently working on amending their draft Housing Element. Adoption hearings are anticipated for March/April.
  • County of Sonoma: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on December 30, 2022 for the 90-day review period.
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
    • Comment on the draft Housing Element can be submitted via email to PermitSonoma-Housing@sonoma-county.org or by regular mail to Permit Sonoma, Attn: Eric Gage, 2550 Ventura Ave., Santa Rosa, California 95403.
    • Click here to get Unincorporated County of Sonoma specific action alerts!
  • Sebastopol: Adopted on January 3, 2023.
    • Click here to track Housing Element Updates on their website
  • Sonoma: Adopted on January 31, 2023.
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
  • Rohnert Park: Adopted on January 25, 2023.
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
  • Santa Rosa: Adopted on February 14, 2023.
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website

State Legislative Download

Can you bill-leave the 2023 Legislative Session is in full swing? We can’t!

On Feb 17, 2023, the window for introducing new bills closed. This means we are actively engaged once more with the process of reviewing legislation for endorsement consideration. We will also be monitoring bills as they begin moving through their respective policy committees. 

To date, we have endorsed the following bills:

  • SB 4 (Weiner), “Faith Lands Act” – This bill removes local zoning restrictions to make it easier for faith-based institutions and nonprofit colleges to develop housing on excess land they own.
  • AB 309 (Lee, Wendy Carrillo, Kalra), “The Social Housing Act” – This bill is returning to the Legislature. In 2022, AB 2053 made it to the Senate and died in committee. It should be noted, this was the farthest a bill proposal of this subject matter has made it in the Legislature. AB 309 will aim to do better and largely remains the same at this moment. The bill establishes the intent to create the California Housing Authority, an independent state agency with the ability to construct housing and lease it to a mix of household income ranges through both an ownership and rental model. The Authority would ensure rent and mortgage payments are affordable to residents at no more than 30% of their monthly income. We will post more information to our website soon. 
  • SB 423 (Weiner) – This bill permanently extends the provisions of SB 35, and expands them to cover mixed-income housing developments. SB 35, which is scheduled to sunset in 2026, was signed into law in 2017.

Please expect a public-facing legislative endorsement tracker on our website by mid-March. When the content is posted, we will share an update via our social media channels.