City officials continue work to add 1,700 housing units
State has rejected development plan twice
In a year that has seen California cities hit with aggressive state mandates for new housing construction, Saratoga has seen its plan to add 1,700 new units rejected twice.
City officials are working to get the latest round of edits approved before May 31, after which Saratoga could see penalties that include delays or even ineligibility for state funding, and a shorter window of time to rezone.
If cities fail to have a compliant plan, they can be subject to consequences like “builder's remedy” housing developments, which can bypass local zoning rules like density, height restrictions and parking space minimums.
If they refuse to comply with the new mandates, they could be sued by the state.
Mayor Kookie Fitzsimmons remains upbeat that Saratoga will avoid those scenarios.
“I know the conversations haven't always been easy and we have heard a lot of frustration with state housing mandates, but I am optimistic we are near the end of the Housing Element update,” she said in a written statement.
While the number of units in Saratoga's Housing Element, as well as their distribution and locations, have satisfied the state's Department of Housing and Community Development, the proposed land use policies and programs to incentivize housing development are still in question.
In its latest round of feedback, the state is requiring Saratoga staff to include incentives such as reducing parking requirements, as well as additional review of its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing policy (AFFH), an antisegregation and discrimination policy. HCD argued that the city's current parking space requirements per housing unit could be seen as a potential barrier to housing development, so Saratoga staff reduced these requirements for its next draft to be sent to the state.
The AFFH promotes integrating all income groups in all areas of a city, rather than keeping the low-income housing all in one area. HCD asked Saratoga to provide more data and analysis of its housing at various income levels.
Debby Pedro, Saratoga's community development director, said her staff knew this round of the Housing Element would be a challenge because of the significant increase in required housing units this year compared to years prior.
Pedro met twice with Saratoga's HCD representative, who works as a liaison between the state and the city. who said that it's not uncommon to go through three to four rounds of comments on the Housing Element before final approval.
“She did say it's very close, but she did add that (we) should expect another round,” Pedro said. “We're hoping not; hopefully, the answers we provide this round will be satisfactory.”
The city submitted its first draft to the state on July 28, 2022, and received its first round of feedback on Oct. 26. Saratoga resubmitted its housing element on Jan 26, and HCD replied with its second round of edits on March 17.
Saratoga staff are expecting to hear back from HCD sometime in July, at which point the city will either have to make more revisions and submit a third time, or the state will approve the Housing Element and Saratoga will adopt it.
The Housing Element has been a controversial topic in Saratoga, drawing a record-setting turnout of nearly 600 residents to public hearings on the location and distribution of housing.
Many residents were frustrated that the majority of housing was concentrated north of Highway 85 and disproportionately impacted their neighborhoods, while those living near the hillside and Saratoga Village were not as impacted.
Of the proposed 1,900 units, 1,000 are located in north Saratoga, while 200 are in southern and eastern portions of the city. Another 713 units that are in the pipeline or could be built as ADUs were added to the final count of sites.