Housing Element Resources

A Low Barrier Navigation Center (LBNC) is defined as a service-enriched shelter providing temporary living facilities, with the low-barrier component allowing persons to be admitted as they are with as few entry restrictions as possible. With the passage of Assembly Bill 101 in 2019, a Low Barrier Navigation Center must be allowed by right in mixed use zones and nonresidential zones permitting multifamily uses. See Government Code Section 65660 and 65668.

• AB 101 Advisory (HCD)
• Example Ordinance (HCD)
• Checklist (HCD)

State law requires local jurisdictions to strengthen provisions for addressing the housing needs of persons experiencing homelessness, including the identification of a zone or zones where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use permit. Zone(s) where emergency shelters are allowed as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit must also have sufficient capacity to accommodate the need for emergency shelter. AB 139 requires the need for emergency shelter to be assessed based on the capacity necessary to accommodate the most recent homeless point-in-time (PIT) count. State law also states that emergency shelters “may only be subject to those development and management standards that apply to residential or commercial development within the same zone” along with a list of specific objective standards that may be made. Local governments that already have one or more emergency shelters within their jurisdiction or “pursuant to a multijurisdictional agreement” that accommodates that jurisdiction’s need for emergency shelter are only required to identify a zone or zones where new emergency shelters are allowed with a conditional use permit. Further, State law dictates that parking requirements for emergency shelters be no more than is sufficient to accommodate all staff working in the facility. Further, Assembly Bill 2339 (2022) expands the definition of emergency shelters to include other interim interventions, including but not limited to, navigation centers, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care. AB 2339 also requires that zoning designations identified to allow emergency shelters as a permitted use without a conditional use or other discretionary permit must allow residential uses. This could include zones that allow mixed uses that permit residential.

• AB 2339 Advisory (HCD)
• Example Ordinance (HCD)

State law requires local jurisdictions to permit transitional and supportive housing as a residential use in all zones allowing residential uses, subject only to restrictions imposed on similar residential dwellings (i.e., single-family, multifamily) of the same type in the same zone. Recent changes to State law add further requirements related to supportive housing. AB 2162 (Chapter 753, statutes of 2018) streamlines and expedites the approval of supportive housing to better address the need of Californians experiencing homelessness. The legislation requires a local government to approve, within statutory timelines, a supportive housing development that complies with specified criteria. Requirements include:

• Supportive housing shall be a use by right in zones where multifamily and mixed uses as defined by Government Code Section 65583.2(i).
• A local government is required to notify the developer whether the application is complete within 30 days of receipt of an application to develop supportive housing.
• After the application is complete, local governments shall complete its review of the application within 60 days for smaller projects (50 or fewer units) and 120 days for larger projects (more than 50 units).
• Local governments shall not impose any minimum parking requirements for units occupied by supportive housing residents if the development is located within one-half mile of a public transit stop.

• SB 745 Advisory (HCD)
• AB 2162 Advisory (HCD)
• Supportive Housing Checklist (HCD)

Under State law, jurisdictions are required to permit licensed residential care facilities that serve six or fewer persons by right in all residential districts. Additionally, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) finds that the subjective nature of the typical conditional use permit process constrains the development of care facilities serving seven or more.

Example Program Language:

Small Group Homes. The City/County shall amend the zoning code to permit group homes of six or fewer in all zones allowing single-family uses, subject only to the requirements of single-family homes.

Large Group Homes. The City/County shall update the zoning code to permit group homes for seven or more persons in all zones allowing residential uses, based on objective criteria to facilitate approval certainty, and subject only to the requirement of residential uses of similar form in the same zone, within six months of adoption of the Housing Element.

• Group Home Technical Advisory (HCD)

State law requires jurisdictions to identify zoning and development standards that allow for and encourage the construction of new SROs. Jurisdictions should consider including programs that commit to preserving and rehabilitating existing residential hotels and other buildings suitable for SROs.

Jurisidcitons must remove land use and zoning constraints to the development of housing for individuals with disabilities and provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to housing.Within the housing element, jurisdiction much evaluate reasonable accommodation procedures in order to:

• Identify and analyze whether the locality has an established reasonable accommodation procedure.
• Describe the process for requesting a reasonable accommodation retrofit (e.g. ramp request).
• Describe the extent to which existing requirements constrain or facilitate the application of an existing or proposed reasonable accommodation procedure (e.g. permit processing, zoning, building codes, accommodating procedures for the approval of licensed, residential-care facilities and Fair Housing Amendment Act physical accessibility efforts (e.g. American Disabilities Act retrofit efforts or other measures that provide flexibility).

• Example Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance (HCD)
• Reasonable Accommodation Checklist (HCD)

California Health and Safety Code Sections 17021.5, 17021.6, and 17021.8, relating to employee housing and labor camps supersede any ordinance or regulations enacted by local governments. Specifically, Section 17021.5 mandates that “employee housing providing accommodations for six or fewer employees shall be deemed a singlefamily structure with a residential land use designation.” Additionally, farmworker employee housing, as described above, cannot be subject to conditional use permits, zoning variances, or other zoning clearances that are not required of any other single-family dwelling in the same zone. Under Code Section 17021.6, larger employee housing facilities featuring a maximum of 36 beds in group quarters, or 12 single-family units, are considered an agricultural use and cannot be subject to any restrictions, conditional use permits, zoning variances, fees, taxes, or other requirements not imposed on other agricultural uses in the same zone. Finally, Code Section 17021.8 requires jurisdictions to provide streamlined, ministerial review for eligible agricultural employee housing developments.

• UC Merced Study
• The UC Merced Farmworker Health Study includes a description of housing conditions for farmworkers statewide. HCD has requiested that, in the absense of local data, this data be incorporated into the Housing Needs Assessment. The study is linked here, as is an excerpt that inlcudes the relevant information.

Jurisdictions must allow mobile home parks in all residential zones in compliance with Government Code Section 65852.7.

California Government Code Sections 65852.3 and 65852.4 require jurisdictions to allow the installation of manufactured homes on a foundation in the same manner and zones as all lots zoned for conventional single-family residential dwellings, with the exception of some architectural requirements including roof overhang, roofing material, and siding material.

• Sample Programs – Displacement
• Sample Programs – Displacement (from HCD)
• Sample Programs – ADUs (from HCD)
• Sample Programs – ADUs (from HCD)
• Sample Programs – Sites Inventory
  1. Rezoning to Meet a RHNA Shortfall
  2. Recycled/Previously Used Sites
  3. Non-vacant Sites
  4. Mixed Use Sites
  5. Annexation Sites
  6. Small Sites
  7. Large Sites:
  8. Increasing Capacity Beyond the RHNA
• Sample Programs – Missing Middle Housing
• Sample Programs – AFFH
• Sample Programs – Place-based Strategies for Community Revitalization
• Sample Programs – Replacement Unit Program
• Sample Programs – SROs

• Rural 7th-cycle: Draft Housing Element – Lassen County – (Prepared by 4Leaf)
• 6th Cycle Housing Element – City of Lodi
• 6th Cycle Housing Element – City of Visalia
• 6th Cycle Housing Element – City of Pleasant Hill
• 6th Cycle Housing Element – City of St. Helena
• 6th Cycle Housing Element – City of Solvang
• 6th Cycle Housing Element – City of Carlsbad

• Revised Adopted Housing Element
  • Click this link to view an example draft housing element that has documented changes from several rounds of HCD formal and informal review. Track change versions are required by HCD and are very helpful for providing transparency to the public and decision on revisions made after the public review period.
  • HCD Letter – Adopted Housing Element- Out of Compliance
  • HCD Letter – First Informal Review Comment Matrix
  • HCD Letter – Second Informal Review Comment Matrix
  • HCD Letter – Draft – Out of Compliance
  • HCD Letter – Draft – Compliant
  • HCD Letter – Adopted – Substantial Compliance
  • HCD Letter – Adopted – Compliant – Readoption Required
  • HCD Letter – Adopted In – Full Compliance
  • Response Matrix
    • Click this link to view an example response matrix outlining HCD comments the Project Team’s response to each.