The Goleta Planning Commission voted Monday evening to recommend that the City Council adopt a revised 2023-31 Housing Element update, after the first draft was sent back to the city following review by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The Housing Element, part of each city’s General Plan, is required by the state to be updated every eight years, and Goleta last updated its Housing Element in December 2014.
The city originally sent its draft Housing Element to the state on June 30 for a 90-day review, which was subsequently sent back to be revised on Sept. 27.
Goleta now has until Feb. 15 to adopt a revised Housing Element to send to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development.
Revisions that city staff made to the Housing Element with the state’s feedback include adding more information on housing needs, resources and constraints — including an increased focus on affirmatively furthering fair housing, more information on extremely low-income housing programs, constraints, analysis of special-needs populations, and more.
Consultant John Douglas said many of the changes can be categorized as “more specific commitments.”
Staff also added more information on housing programs, quantified objectives and how the Housing Element will maintain consistency with the General Plan.
Goleta’s regional housing needs allocation for the cycle from 2023 through 2031 indicates a need for 1,837 total new housing units — 1,006 units for very low- and low-income households, 370 units for moderate-income households and 461 for above moderate-income households.
According to the quantified objectives in the Housing Element, Goleta intends to construct 1,837 new housing units across all income categories, rehabilitate 158 units for the very low- and low-income categories, preserve 46 units for very low- and low-income categories, and preserve approximately 650 mobile home spaces within the city.
“The state of California is experiencing a housing crisis, and this whole process is a response to that,” public commenter Jason Chapman said. “In the bigger, historical picture, zoning has been used to separate people by race, class, and national origin, and it is the responsibility of modern planners to try to reverse that. As was mentioned in the Housing Element, having a variety in types of housing in attractive neighborhoods is a way to help bring in people from more backgrounds into neighborhoods.”
With some minor suggestions for city staff — including one regarding priority processing for affordable housing and clarification on which strategies the city will pursue — the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend adoption of the Housing Element to the Goleta City Council, where it will go next for final adoption before being sent back to the state.
