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State Housing Element Law Page 2 balance the need for growth, including the need for additional housing, against other competing local interests. Housing element law promotes the State's interest in encouraging open markets and providing opportunities for the private sector to address the State's housing demand, while leaving the ultimate decision about how and where to plan for growth at the regional and local levels. While land -use planning is fundamentally a local issue, the availability of housing is a matter of statewide importance. Housing element law and the RHNP process requires local governments to be accountable for ensuring that projected housing needs can be accommodated. The process maintains local control over where and what type of development should occur in local communities while providing the opportunity for the private sector to meet market demand. In general, a housing element must at least include the following components: gl A Housing Needs Assessment: Existing Needs The number of households overpaying for housing, living in overcrowded conditions, or with special housing needs (e.g., the elderly, large families, homeless), the number of housing units in need of repair, and assisted affordable units at -risk of converting to market -rate. Projected Needs The city or county's share of the regional housing need as established in the RHNP prepared by the COG. The allocation establishes the number of new units needed, by income category, to accommodate expected population growth over the planning period of the housing element. The RHNP provides a benchmark for evaluating the adequacy of local zoning and regulatory actions to ensure each local government is providing sufficient appropriately designated land and opportunities for housing development to address population growth and job generation. a A Sites Inventory and Analysis: The element must include a detailed land inventory and analysis including a site specific inventory listing properties, zoning and general plan designation, size and existing uses; a general analysis of environmental constraints and the availability of infrastructure, and evaluation of the suitability, availability and realistic development capacity of sites to accommodate the jurisdiction's share of the regional housing need by income level. If the analysis does not demonstrate adequate sites, appropriately zoned to meet the jurisdictions share of the regional housing need, by income level, the element must include a program to provide the needed sites including providing zoning that allows owner- occupied and rental multifamily uses "by- right" with minimum densities and development standards that allow at least 16 units per site for sites.