Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Housing Element Annual Housing Report for Calendar Year 2024. End
End
From: Sheri VanderDussen, Interim Community Development Director
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Alice Tieu, Associate Planner
____________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
A. Receive and file the report; and
B. Direct staff to submit the report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR).
end
BACKGROUND
Government Code Section 65400 requires each county and general law city in California to prepare and present, to its decision-making body, an annual report describing progress made in:
• Implementing its Housing Element and housing programs (a component of the City’s General Plan), and
• Meeting its share of regional housing needs as determined through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
This year’s 2024 Annual Progress Report (APR) (Attachment 1) is the third reporting year and discusses how the City has made significant progress toward its implementation of the 6th Cycle 2021-2029 Housing Element in accordance with the City’s allocated share of the RHNA. In addition to adopting the City’s Mixed-Use zoning standards and the Westminster Mall Specific Plan in 2022, the City Council adopted a resolution in November 2024 to implement recommendations made in an Economic Feasibly Study to upzone the mixed-use zones for residential development and expand the area within the Mixed-Use Zoning Districts.
Housing Element
State law requires each city to adopt a Housing Element as part of its General Plan. The Housing Element guides housing development in the City and addresses a wide range of housing issues through a series of established goals, programs, and objectives. California’s housing element law further requires each city to plan for its RHNA allocation by developing housing programs designed to meet its “fair share” of existing and future housing needs for all income groups. The Housing Element addresses the planning period of October 1, 2021, through October 1, 2029, known as the 6th cycle. Westminster’s 6th Cycle Housing Element was established in accordance with State law and adopted by the Mayor and City Council on January 26, 2022. The adopted Housing Element was sent to HCD on February 1, 2022, for its certification. However, HCD provided comments listing revisions that were necessary to comply with the State Housing Element Law (Article 10.6 of the Gov. Code) (State law). The City made minor amendments to address the state’s comments, but the majority of the housing programs were not affected. The Mayor and City Council re-adopted the Housing Element on March 22, 2023, and the State certified the Housing Element on May 22, 2023. The 2024 housing progress report is based on the City’s Housing Element that was adopted in March 2023.
Since the 1980s, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has been required to establish housing need projections for jurisdictions in Orange County, officially known as the RHNA, and SCAG forecasts and allocates housing needs over an eight-year period. Each jurisdiction’s RHNA is further defined based on four household income categories: above moderate income, moderate income, low income, and very low income. The share of the region’s housing needs allocated to the City of Westminster is shown below in the household income categories.
|
Very Low-Income (<50% AMI) |
1,881 units |
|
Low-Income (50-80% AMI) |
1,473 units |
|
Moderate-Income (80-120% AMI) |
1,784 units |
|
Above Moderate (>120% AMI) |
4,621 units |
|
Total |
9,759 units |
2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR)
The 2024 Progress Report (Attachment No. 1) discusses the specific progress the City has made toward the implementation of each Housing Element program, including the number of reviewed, approved, and permitted housing units for 2024. In 2024, the City permitted a total of 227 dwelling units and 170 dwelling units were completed (constructed). The progress report confirms that the residential development trend in the City is dominated by the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs); 95% of all the housing units completed (constructed) were ADUs (162 out of 170). Also, 92% of the housing units permitted in 2024 were ADUs (209 out of 227 units). The City also approved two multi-family developments, including one 54-unit housing project (with 53 lower-income senior housing rental units) on April 10, 2024, and a 25-unit townhome project with two (2) very low-income housing units on July 3, 2024.
The City is making important progress toward meeting the City’s RHNA allocation of 9,759 units. As of the completion of this report, the City still has a remaining RHNA of 9,084 units. It is anticipated that the City will continue to see a trend of a higher number of residential units permitted or constructed each year as the City has recently implemented the Westminster Mall Specific Plan, adopted the Mixed Use Zoning District, and is currently working on code updates to facilitate and streamline residential development. In addition, the Mayor and City Council recently used LEAP grant funds to conduct an economic development analysis which assessed appropriate residential densities and regulatory considerations to support housing development in the Mixed-Use Districts. The Mayor and City Council adopted a resolution in 2024 to implement the study recommendations to increase density in the mixed-use zones and expand the Mixed-Use Zoning Districts. Staff is actively working to encourage and accommodate higher density residential developments as required by the State housing laws. Table D of the 2024 Progress Report discusses specific “actions” made by the City to implement the housing program and its goals during the past year.
The attached 2024 progress report has been prepared using the forms provided and required by the State. There is no applicable data to report for tables C, E, F, F2, G, H, J, and K. Thus, these tables have been left blank.
Recent Bills that Streamline Housing Development
The City continued to address the statewide housing shortage and new housing bills that took effect in 2024. SB 684, which took effect on July 1, 2024, requires ministerial approval of subdivisions with 10 units or less that meet certain requirements for development on sites of less than 5 acres zoned for multifamily development. SB 1123, effective July 1, 2025, allows that provision to be extended to vacant single-family zoned lots no larger than 1.5 acres. SB 1211, which became effective in 2025, increases the maximum number of detached ADUs allowed on existing multifamily properties from two (2) to eight (8) units, but the number of ADUs cannot exceed the maximum number of existing multifamily units. Lately, every year, the State of California has adopted new housing legislation to expedite the housing process. In response, staff have continued to work on streamlining ADU review and the approval process. This includes implementing pre-approved ADU plans and eliminating a separate ADU screening process that was required prior to submitting for plan check. As always, staff will continue to monitor these legislative changes and initiate code amendments to implement these legislative changes for all housing development. In addition, the Planning Division has recently implemented new procedures to review discretionary applications to reduce the overall time required to process applications and will be applying these procedures to housing applications that qualify for ministerial review.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
Since the beginning of the 6th Cycle RHNA, the City has permitted 675 housing units and continues to work towards providing a range of housing opportunities for the community. Although the City made notable progress towards meeting the 6th Cycle RHNA allocation, the City has a remaining RHNA allocation of 9,084 units. The City will continue to monitor and implement state laws, explore opportunities to create affordable units, streamline our review processes, and remain in compliance with the City’s Adopted 2021-2029 Housing Element.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager