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Policy Update, January 2023

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 draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on December 9, 2022 for the 90-day review period. They will be out of compliance with state law after January 31, 2023.
      • 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. They will be out of compliance with state law after January 31, 2023
    • Healdsburg: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on November 15, 2022 for the 90-day review period. They will be out of compliance with state law on January 31, 2023. 
    • Petaluma: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on October 31, 2022 for the 90-day review period. They are expecting a letter from HCD on January 27, 2023. They will review those comments and make the necessary revisions to the Housing Element. They are expected to be out of compliance with state law after January 31, 2023.
    • Rohnert Park: The City Council formally adopted their Housing Element on January 25, 2023. It will now be remitted to HCD for certification.
      • Click here to track Housing Element updates on their website
    • Santa Rosa: The 90-day review period by HCD has ended. The Santa Rosa Planning Commission will review the Housing Element on January, 26 2023. For meeting information and to view the agenda, click here. Assuming the Planning Commission approves this draft, the City Council will consider formal adoption of the Housing Element on February 14, 2023. 
      • 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: The Sebastopol City Council formally adopted their Housing Element on January 3, 2023. It will not be remitted to HCD for certification.
      • Click here to track Housing Element Updates on their website
    • Sonoma: The HCD 90-day review of the draft Housing Element ended on January 24, 2023. The City Council will consider formal adoption during a Special City Council meeting on January 31, 2023.
    • Windsor: The draft Housing Element was officially submitted to HCD on November 2, 2022 for the 90-day review period. They expect to receive a letter with comments from HCD soon. 
    • 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!

New Year, New State Legislation

A full list of endorsed legislation is expected to be posted on our website by the end of February. Several important bills are in late stage development and working towards official introduction to the State Legislature in the next couple of weeks. 

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. Support for this legislation continues to increase and we are excited to see it gaining so much momentum this early in the process. This same bill has come close to reaching the Governor’s desk in the past, but has ultimately died in Assembly committees 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.