Sonoma County Housing Element Digest
The County of Sonoma Planning Commission held two meetings to deliberate concerns related to their draft Housing Element’s policies and site inventory. Over the course of both meetings, considerable attention was devoted to the sites identified in the Graton area for upzoning. Important takeaway – the site inventory can be amended later during this planning cycle. When the Airport Specific Plan (as an example) zoning process is finalized, those sites can be evaluated for possible substitution with other sites currently included in the proposed inventory. The Board of Supervisors will review the draft Housing Element and the Planning Commission comments on August 22, 2023 – be sure to submit comments ASAP to Permit Sonoma prior to the meeting. If you want to learn more about recent Planning Commission deliberations, or if you have any questions for our Policy Director, send him an email at calum@generationhousing.org.
In other Housing Element news, Cloverdale continues to await final certification from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”) and the Town of Windsor continues to work on revising their draft Housing Element after receiving additional requests for further amendments to the final document.
We will be certain to share additional updates via our Action Alerts and social media as that information becomes available.
Check out our Housing Element tracker, posted on our website here!
State Legislative Download
All legislation that is moving forward this year is now in the “second house”. If it’s an Assembly bill, it’s now in the Senate and vice versa. At this point, most of the high- priority bills for Generation Housing are nearing the end and expected to advance to the Floor for a final vote before being remitted to the Governor’s office. Keep your eyes on our Housing Bill Tracker in order to follow our endorsed legislation!
Summer Recess is just around the corner! From July 17 – August 11, the Legislature will close for recess and open more opportunities to directly engage our local state representatives on our regional priorities (a.k.a, it’s Lobby time!). So get your comments together, prepare your materials, and get time on the calendar with your state elected. If you want assistance with engaging in this process, feel free to contact Calum Weeks at calum@generationhousing.org or follow our weekly Action Alerts for more information.
Be certain to check out the comprehensive California Housing Legislation Highlights graphic prepared by Alfred Twu. Click here to view it.