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Policy Update December 2022

Important Meetings in the New Year! 

Generation Housing plans to attend the following January meetings and encourage you to consider joining us, as they will have a significant impact on the respective jurisdictions’ long-term planning for housing. The agendas for all of them have yet to be released – but until then, please MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

  • 1/3 Sebastopol City Council, Housing Element Review and Possible Adoption (w/o HCD certification)
  • 1/10 Santa Rosa City Council, Budget Priorities; Update to City Council Policy 000-40 Legislative Advocacy; Residential Permit Program
  • 1/12 Rohnert Park Planning Commission, Housing Element Review and Consideration of a Resolution for City Council to Adopt the Housing Element
  • 1/24 Santa Rosa City Council, Study Session: Annexation opportunities for Santa Rosa; State Legislative & Federal Legislative Platform
  • 1/24 Rohnert Park City Council, Housing Element Review and Possible Adoption (w/o HCD certification)
  • 1/26 Santa Rosa Planning Commission, Review and Possible Resolution Recommending the Santa Rosa City Council adopt the 6th cycle Housing Element

Sonoma County Housing Element Digest 

We continue to monitor progress on respective Housing Element processes and timelines as the January 31, 2023 deadline approaches. After this deadline passes, some jurisdictions might become subject to the “Builder’s Remedy”. To qualify, projects would need either 20% of the units in the project to be affordable to lower-income households, or 100% affordable to moderate-income households. If the project meets these criteria, then it would allow developers to bypass the local zoning code and general plan of cities with a non-compliant Housing Element. 

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.

  • Cloverdale: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on December 9, 2022 for the 90-day review period.
    • 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: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on November 21, 2022 for the 90-day review period. 
  • Healdsburg: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on November 15, 2022 for the 90-day review period.
  • Petaluma: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on October 31, 2022 for the 90-day review period. 
  • Rohnert Park: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on September 20, 2022 for the 90-day review period. On Tuesday, December 13, 2022 they released an updated draft for a 7-day review. 
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
    • The Housing Element Environmental Document is now available at the link above as well. Public comment on this document extends through December 23, 2022. 
    • You can still submit public comment on the draft by emailing housingelement@rpcity.org. 
    • Click here to get Rohnert Park specific action alerts!
  • Santa Rosa: The 90-day review period by HCD has ended. The City has received and posted to their website a letter from HCD that provides comments and additional direction on addressing some outstanding issues. Additional work is being conducted by the City with Generation Housing and other stakeholders to refine the draft before submitting a revised version to HCD for a second review period of 60 days. For more information about this, please email our Policy Director Calum Weeks at calum@generationhousing.org. More information will be released soon from the City of Santa Rosa and all updates will be shared.
    • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
    • Comments on the draft Housing Element can still be submitted via email srforward@srcity.org, through their website comment form, or by mailing or delivering handwritten comments in person to the following address: 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 3, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
    • Click here to get Santa Rosa specific action alerts!
  • Sebastopol: HCD concluded their 90-day review of Sebastopol’s draft Housing Element and provided comments via a digital letter available for review on their website (link below). On December 13, 2022, the Sebastopol Planning Commission prepared a resolution recommending the City Council adopt the draft Housing Element prior to HCD certification. We still have outstanding concerns regarding the Sebastopol draft Housing Element and we will share those comments prior to the next City Council meeting discussing adoption on January 3, 2023.
  • Sonoma: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on October 26, 2022 for the 90-day review period. 
  • Windsor: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on November 2, 2022 for the 90-day review period. 
  • County of Sonoma: The draft Housing Element official 30-day public comment period has closed. All additional commentary should be sent to the Permit Sonoma email below and the HCD email listed at the top of this update. At the time of writing this update (12/19), the County had yet to submit their draft Housing Element to HCD for their 90-day review.
    • 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!

2023-24 State Legislative Endorsement Alert

We’re proud to announce our early endorsement for SB-4 “The Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act” which would make building affordable housing easier, faster, and cheaper on land owned by faith-based institutions and nonprofit colleges. (See a little more info below.) We think this is a very powerful opportunity to increase the amount of land that can be developed, and at reduced cost and are sending the attached early letter of support.

This is an earlier endorsement than Generation Housing regularly gives, but we would like this to get some early momentum and publicity. This same bill has come close to reaching the Governor’s desk in the past, but has ultimately died in Assembly committee’s twice before. Both Senator McGuire and Senator Dodd offered their full support each time.  

Per a study by the UC Berkeley Terner Center, there are approximately 38,800 acres of land—roughly the size of the city of Stockton—used for religious purposes and are potentially developable. Unfortunately, the land that these organizations hold can often be locked into complicated and cost-prohibitive local zoning rules and regulations. This bill was introduced as SB 899 in 2020 and as SB 1336 in 2022. As of now, the bill already enjoys the support of the Carpenters Union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California School Employees Association (CSEA), Jewish Public Affairs Committee (JPAC), Nonprofit Housing of Northern California (NPH), Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing (SCANPH), and 80 plus faith-based groups across the state. This same coalition was behind the landmark passage of AB 2011 during the 2022 Legislative Session.