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Policy Update, November 2022

Sonoma County Housing Element Digest 

The House Element process has been incredibly active over the past month for many of our jurisdictions as they race to meet the “soft” January 31, 2023 deadline for adoption of their new 2023-2031 Housing Element. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”) offers a 120-day grace period after this date in order to help jurisdictions avoid having a non-compliant Housing Element. Non-compliance can result in a variety of outcomes such as lawsuits, loss of permitting authority, financial penalties, and what’s known as the “Builder’s Remedy”,* among other things.  To learn more about the consequences of non-compliance, check out this helpful Association of Bay Area Government’s handout

The good news – all Sonoma County jurisdictions are currently on track to have HCD certified and adopted Housing Elements within the time period described above. We continue to monitor local activity around the Housing Elements and encourage everyone to follow our social media for updates or subscribe to specific action alerts here. We’re also providing all available information below. 

More transparency needed – Generation Housing and a coalition of partners have requested redlined versions of HCD Housing Element draft submissions that highlight how community input was integrated after jurisdictions’ respective 30-day public review periods. To date, only the City of Santa Rosa and the City of Sonoma have offered redlined versions. We continue to press for redlined versions being posted to city websites for public consumption. 

For your information – If you live in a jurisdiction that has already submitted their draft Housing Element to HCD for the 90-day review, fret not. 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 comment period closed on Sunday (11/27), however, we encourage you to still submit comments as you discover them. 
      • 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. No word has been received at this time as to whether HCD has provided initial informal feedback. 
      • 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 
      • 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!
    • 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 is currently available for public comment until December 4, 2022. 
    • 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!

To learn more about the Housing Element process and to track the progress for each jurisdiction, click here. You can find information about the Housing Element process here as well.

*Builder’s Remedy: A provision of California’s Housing Accountability Act (“HAA”) which affords a developer the opportunity to bypass local zoning code and general plans that are out of compliance with the Housing Element Law. It has only been used in a limited capacity until more recently. See this UCLA Lewis Center report for more information.

Important Meetings on the Horizon! All of these meetings are an absolute must attend and engage for Generation Housing, and we ask you to consider joining us, as they will have significant impact on the respective jurisdictions. The agendas for all of them have yet to be released, however, you can expect to see that information as soon as it becomes available. 

  • 12/5 Petaluma City Council – Introduction (First Reading) of an Ordinance Approving a Zoning Text Amendment to Chapter 11.040 (Alternatives to On-Site Parking) of the Implementing Zoning Ordinance to Provide a Reduction from the Parking Requirements in Table 11.1 (Number of Automobiles Required) for All Land Uses through a Conditional Use Permit
  • 12/13 Santa Rosa City Council – Downtown High-Density Multi-Family Residential Fee Incentives
  • 12/16 Board of Supervisors, Special Meeting – Specific Plan for Sonoma Development Center
  • 1/24 Santa Rosa City Council, Study Session: Annexation opportunities for Santa Rosa; Federal Legislative Platform