Although local ordinances and policies are enacted to protect the health and safety of citizens and further the general welfare, it is useful to periodically reexamine local ordinances and policies to determine whether, under current conditions, they are accomplishing their intended purpose or constituting a barrier to the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels.
Such an examination may reveal that certain policies have a disproportionate or negative impact on the development of particular housing types (e.g. multifamily) or on housing developed for low- or moderate-income households.
Ordinances, policies, or practices that have the effect of excluding housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households may also violate state and federal fair housing laws that prohibit any land-use requirements that discriminate (or have the effect of discriminating) against affordable housing.
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Government Code Section 65583(a) requires “An analysis of potential and actual governmental constraints upon the maintenance, improvement, or development of housing for all income levels,…including land use controls, building codes and their enforcement, site improvements, fees and other exactions required of developers, and local processing and permit procedures…”.
The analysis of potential governmental constraints should describe past or current efforts to remove governmental constraints. The analysis should identify the specific standards and processes and evaluate their cumulative impact on the supply and affordability of housing. Each analysis should use specific objective data (quantified, where possible).
In cases where the analyses identify existing constraints, the housing element should include program responses to mitigate the effects. A determination should be made for each potential constraint as to whether it poses as an actual constraint.
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Helpful Hints
Contact local affordable and market-rate housing developers to evaluate land-use controls for possible constraints. The local chapter of the Building Industry Association, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing, and the San Diego Housing Federation can provide information regarding the developers who are active in the region.
Parking
Pricing, supply, and management of parking in housing developments that are located near transportation can promote economic efficiency. Strategies include:
- Pricing parking in order to cover the full capital and operating costs of the parking, and paid for separately, rather than bundled with the cost of the housing.
- Providing residents free transit passes or discounted passes priced at no more than half of retail cost.
- Providing shared-parking between different uses, such as parking that serves housing residents at night and retail customers by day.
- Providing dedicated parking spaces for shared-vehicle only parking.
- Providing for no more that the following maximum parking spaces shown in the table below (excluding park-and-ride and transit station replacement parking).
Resources
Related Links
- Housing Strategies to Strengthen Communities and Improve the Quality of Life (2…
- Gaining Ground Information Database
- Parking Requirements Guide for Affordable Housing Developers (2004) (PDF)
- California Building Industry Association
- Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
- Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing
- San Diego Housing Federation