The supply of housing is critical to achieving a variety of community objectives, including economic development, greenhouse gas reduction (by building homes near transit), improved health (through safer, less-dangerous housing and increased family stability), and community building.
An effective housing element provides the necessary conditions for preserving and producing an adequate supply of housing affordable to people at a variety of income levels. Among other things, the housing element provides an inventory of land adequately zoned or planned to be zoned for housing, certainty in permit processing procedures, and a commitment to assist in housing development through regulatory concessions and incentives. In addition to this fundamental framework, the housing-element update process provides a vehicle for establishing and updating housing and land-use strategies to reflect changing needs, resources, and conditions. For example, the housing-element update process can serve as the vehicle for a jurisdiction to adopt new strategies that promote infill or mixed-use development or downtown revitalization.
The housing element also provides a powerful tool to address the special housing needs of farmworkers, people with disabilities, and people who are experiencing homelessness. The housing-element process ensures local governments promote a variety of housing types, including multifamily rental housing, manufactured housing, and transitional and other types of supportive housing. For example, California’s Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63) provides financial resources to build supportive housing and addresses homelessness for people who have mental-health issues.
The housing-element update process also creates opportunities to increase interest in smart-growth planning. The housing element provides practical policy tools to promote efficient land-use patterns while meeting critical housing needs. The housing element process provides a vehicle for coordinating infrastructure, housing finance, and long-term land-use planning. For example, the housing element is often a coordinating document, providing a schedule for local housing departments to apply for important housing and community development funds. The update process also provides a mechanism to review ordinances; identify outdated policies; or modify codes that inhibit housing supply, affordability, and choice. Many local governments have established new permit procedures to streamline the approval process for infill or higher-density housing during the update of the housing element.
Not only does the housing element update process result in strategies to address local housing needs, it is also frequently the most-effective tool to implement broader general plan and regional strategies, including “California regional blueprints” or “sustainable community strategies” (SCS). Local governments can promote land-use patterns consistent with the region’s SCS while meeting critical housing needs. Without adequate planning of affordable housing near jobs, development patterns may result in increased vehicle miles traveled and negatively impact greenhouse gas reduction goals outlined in the region’s SCS.