Housing Element Update 2023-2031
- Notice of Public Review - PDF | English | 中文 | Español | Tiếng Việt | Tagalog |
- Project Description - PDF | English | 中文 | Español | Tiếng Việt | Tagalog |
The County Housing Element is a component of the County General Plan that primarily addresses housing matters for the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. Under State law, the Housing Element must be updated on an eight-year cycle, which is overseen by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
The County Housing Element is currently being updated for the sixth cycle, which encompasses the 2023-2031 planning period. The draft updated Housing Element along with the appendices are now available for public review.
Public comment may be submitted until April 20, 2023, 5:00 p.m.; however, an earlier response, if possible, would be appreciated.
Comment may be provided in the comment form below, by emailing [email protected], by giving verbal comment at a public meeting on this topic (three of which are upcoming and listed below) or by submitting a written comment letter to this address:
County of Santa Clara Planning Office
Attention: Michael Meehan, Principal Planner
County Government Center
70 West Hedding, 7th Floor, East Wing, San José CA 95110
In addition to posting the draft Housing Element Update for a 30-day public comment period, the County has issued a revised Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to address changes to the project description, which covers updates to both the County Housing Element and the Stanford University Community Plan. A subsequent notification and public comment period for the EIR will occur when the draft EIR is made available to the public, anticipated in Summer 2023.
This project website is your destination for project information. Continue to check back for updates. We encourage you to register for project updates by email so that we can keep you informed of upcoming events, project updates and other ways to get involved.
Draft Housing Element Update
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 - Overview of Housing Element Update 2023-2031
- Chapter 2 - Housing Needs and Production
- Chapter 3 - Fifth Cycle Performance Review and Sixth Cycle Housing Strategies and Policies
- Chapter 4 - County Housing Strategies, Policies, and Programs
Draft Housing Element Update Appendices
- Appendix A - County Site Inventory
- Appendix B - Engagement Summaries
- Appendix C - ABAG Housing Needs Data Report
- Appendix D - Race and Homelessness in Santa Clara County
- Appendix E - Urban County Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan
- Appendix F - Community Plan to End Homelessness
- Appendix G - Ending Homelessness: The State of Supportive Housing System Reports
- Appendix H - No Place Like Home Program
- Appendix I - ABAG Segregation Report
Upcoming Events
- San Martin Planning Advisory Committee, March 22, 2023, starting at 7:00 p.m. This meeting will be held at the South County Office Building, 80 West Highland Avenue, San Martin, CA 95046. This meeting cannot be attended remotely.
- County Planning Commission, March 23, 2023, starting at 6:00 p.m. This meeting will be held at the Board of Supervisors' Chambers, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, 1st Floor, San José, CA 95110. This meeting cannot be attended remotely.
- Board of Supervisors Regular Meeting, April 18, 2023, starting at 9:30 a.m. This meeting will be held at the Board of Supervisors' Chambers, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, 1st Floor, San José, CA 95110. The meeting can also be attended remotely. The zoom link for the meeting will be posted in the meeting's agenda.
Past Events and Materials
Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report
The County will prepare a program-level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) regarding proposed updates to the County’s General Plan, including updates to the General Plan’s Housing Element and the Stanford Community Plan (the “Project”). The County requests your input on the scope and content of the environmental information to be included in the EIR that is germane to your agency’s statutory responsibilities in connection with the proposed Project. A brief description of the Project, its site boundary, and a summary of the potential environmental effects are provided on the following pages.
- Notice of Preparation [a revised version is available at the top of this page]
Community Workshop #3 - September 7, 2022 – Time 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
The County presented draft policies to and sought feedback from the community to refine the draft policies, add additional policies, or address issues that may have been missed from previous engagement efforts.
- Recording
- Presentation
- Minutes - English, 简体中文, Español, Tiếng Việt, Tagalog
Stakeholder Workshop #3 - August 29, 2022 – Time 10:00 AM (Virtual Meeting)
The County will present draft update policies to adequately address the identified housing opportunities and challenges in Santa Clara County. Input from Stakeholders will be sought to inform edits to the drafts and/or the addition of new draft policies. A recording of the meeting, presentation slide and summary will be posted after the meeting.
- Recording
- Presentation
- Minutes - English, 简体中文, Español, Tiếng Việt, Tagalog
Stakeholder Workshop #2 - August 17, 2022, Time 10:00 AM (Virtual Meeting)
The County presented County strategies & policies that address the identified housing opportunities and challenges in Santa Clara County. Stakeholders provided their inputs that will inform updated to the Strategies and policies. A recording of the meeting, presentation slide and summary will be posted after the meeting.
Focused Stakeholder Meeting - Housing Development – August 2, Time 10:00 AM (Virtual Meeting)
The County invited affordable housing & housing developers, and housing advocates to discuss challenges to building housing in unincorporated County to be considered in the County’s Housing Element Update.
- Presentation
- Minutes - English, 简体中文, Español, Tiếng Việt
- Recording
Community Workshop #2 - Urban Community - July 21, Time 6:00 PM (Virtual Meeting)
The County introduced the Housing Element Update process and sought input on the key issues that the County will be addressing in the update. This community workshop focused on County Islands within cities; neighborhoods that are with Urban Service Areas.
Community Workshop #1 - Rural Community - July 19, Time 6:00 PM (Virtual Meeting)
The County introduced the Housing Element Update process and sought input on the key issues that the County will be addressing in the update. This community workshop focused on the South County, San Martin, and other rural areas in the county.
- Rural Focus Meeting Recording
- Presentation
- Minutes - English, 简体中文, Español, Tiếng Việt
Stakeholder Workshop #1 - July 6, 10:00 AM
An introduction to the Housing Element Update, seeking input on the key issues in the County that should be addressed by the update.
Housing Element law requires local governments to adequately plan to meet their existing and projected housing needs, including their share of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). In order to effectively plan for developing and preserving an adequate supply of housing, local jurisdictions must first understand the housing needs in their communities. Accordingly, the Housing Needs section of the Housing Element requires local jurisdictions to provide a descriptive analysis of the housing needs of different populations and the resources available to meet those needs. (Association of Bay Area Governments, 2021)
State Law Requires that the Housing Element include the following sections identified below:
The Housing Element Update must document how the previous Housing Element (2015 - 2022) met the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) during its eight year implementation cycle and how it approached the amount of housing forecasted to be produced during the same time. Typically, this information is documented in tables demonstrating projected and achieved housing production.
A primary component of Housing Elements is to demonstrate the capacity to accommodate the housing need projected for the community and for each income category. The County demonstrates this through a combination of relaxed zoning for secondary dwellings, higher density student housing on Stanford lands, and overall capacity for homes in rural areas. The Regional Housing Need Allocation for each jurisdiction is divided into income categories. The RHNA for the unincorporated County by income category is shown in the table below:
| Unincorporated Areas in the County of Santa Clara |
|
|---|---|
| Very Low Income | 828 |
| Low Income | 477 |
| Moderate Income | 508 |
| Above Moderate Income | 1,312 |
| Total | 3,125 |
*Very Low Income (<50% of Area Median Income); Low Income (50-80% of Area Median Income); Moderate Income (80 120% of Area Median Income); Above Moderate Income (>120% of Area Median Income). The above allocations are still in draft form and need to be approved by the State of California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD).
The Housing Element Update will document the number of available sites zoned and suitable for the development of housing. For example, the previous Update identified development capacity in Urban Unincorporated Areas, Stanford University Lands and Rural Unincorporated Areas. This analysis paints a picture of the overall land available to develop new housing as an indicator relative to the target set by the California HCD.
This requirement will see the County conduct a broad review and evaluation of governmental factors that influence housing production and affordability. This may include an overview of topics including land use policies and regulations referred to generally as “land use controls,” impact fees, secondary dwelling provisions, building codes, development and site improvement standards, fees and exactions, processing and permitting procedures, special needs housing, and code enforcement among other subjects.
The housing policies and programs developed for the Update are the implementable solutions designed to address housing issues identified through engagement with stakeholders and the community in complement to analysis and best practice review completed by the County of Santa Clara. Policies and programs will cover a broad spectrum of challenges facing the County today as well as issues that are anticipated to emerge over the next eight years.
State housing law requires each jurisdiction’s housing element to include a statement of goals, quantified objectives, and policies relative to the maintenance, preservation, improvement and development of housing. To satisfy this requirement, the County of Santa Clara will provide data summarizing the probable dwellings to be developed over the lifecycle of the Update. It will also include the probable number of dwelling un its to undergo rehabilitation during the same timeframe. This information is typically calculated using historical production data, business cycle information, annexations and changes to zoning and policies.
This dashboard provides key information about population and housing trends in the County of Santa Clara. This information will inform the development of policies and programs for inclusion in the Housing Element Update.
Population Growth (2015 – 2020)
Population has decreased in Unincorporated Santa Clara by 1.5%, and increased in Santa Clara County by 1.6% and the Bay Area by 2.5%
Population by Race (2019)
This graph demonstrates the breakdown of ethnicities in Unincorporated Santa Clara, Santa Clara County and the Bay Area
Jobs to Household Ratio in 2018
The job to household ratio is 1.10 in Unincorporated Santa Clara, 1.71 in Santa Clara County and 1.47 in the Bay Area
Housing Type Trends in 2010 and 2020
This graph demonstrates trends in housing type development in Santa Clara County
Zillow Home Value Growth (2015 – 2020)
The value of homes has grown in Unincorporated Santa Clara by 31%, Santa Clara County by 41% and 29% in the Bay Area
Median growth in Rent Costs (2015 – 2019)
Rent costs have increased in Unincorporated Santa Clara by 13%, Santa Clara County by 32% and 28% in the Bay Area
Household Average Median Income
This graphic shows the percentage of people in different income levels in Unincorporated Santa Clara, Santa Clara County and the Bay Area
5th RHNA Cycle data
This table shows the Regional Housing Needs Assessment values compared to housing units built in the County of Santa Clara for the 5th Cycle across various income categories.
