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Draft Housing Element, EIR, and General Plan Amendments Planning Commission 2 of 11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City’s 2023-2031 (6th Cycle) Housing Element update process has been underway since March 2021 and is nearing completion. The Draft Housing Element has been formed through a public participation process and in accordance with the statutory requirements of state housing element law. Throughout the process key input has been provided by the public, Housing Commission and Planning Commission, and City Council. City Council direction has been incorporated in the document based on their review of the Draft Housing Element on December 20th, which included revisions in response to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Staff requests the Planning Commission’s review and recommendation to City Council on the final Housing Element document. In a parallel process, work has proceeded since August 2022, to develop planning guidance for one of the major Housing Element sites, Stoneridge Mall (Stoneridge Mall Framework). Reflecting the updated Housing Element and Stoneridge Mall Framework, a series of General Plan Land Use Element modifications are also recommended for adoption. The amendments align the rest of the General Plan with the updates. Staff requests the Planning Commission’s review and recommendation to City Council on the proposed amendments. Lastly, the City prepared a Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Update. The EIR focuses on changes to land use designations to accommodate residential uses for sites identified in the Housing Element Update and evaluates the potential environmental impacts of those land use and zoning changes. It also focuses on the implementation of policies and programs included in the Housing Element Update. Staff requests the Planning Commission’s review and recommendation to City Council for certification of the EIR, which must occur before action is taken to adopt the Housing Element update or General Plan amendments. BACKGROUND The Housing Element is part of the City’s General Plan and is a comprehensive statement by the community of its current and future housing needs and proposed actions to facilitate the provision of housing to meet those needs at all income levels. Periodic updates of the Housing Element are required by state law. The City’s current Housing Element, which was adopted in 2015, covers the 5th Cycle planning period from 2015 to 2022. The Draft Housing Element currently under review covers the 6th Cycle planning period from 2023-2031. RHNA Process A key component of the Housing Element is the RHNA, which is a planning target representing the City’s “fair share” of the regional housing need, as determined by HCD and the regional Council of Government (in the Bay Area, ABAG). The City’s RHNA is established at 5,965 units – this number was assigned to the City based on a methodology developed by ABAG in consultation with various stakeholders, through a multi-month process in 2020 and 2021.