Commission to consider Housing Element OK

With the next cycle of a plan to outline housing goals expected to go before the City Council in the coming months, it will first go before the Dixon Planning Commission. The commission will consider recommending the council approve the 2023-2031 Housing Element at its Tuesday meeting.

Under California Government Code, jurisdictions are required to update the Housing Element portion of their General Plans every eight years, subject to the review and approval of the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The Housing Element outlines adequate levels of housing for their chosen jurisdictions and was last adopted by the council in 2015 for the period covering 2015-2023.

With the last cycle having already expired but within the 120-day grace period before the absolute deadline, the subject matter is heading toward approval.

According to a staff report by Community Development Director Raffi Boloyan, the council became a member of the Solano County subregion to administer the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for Solano County in the 2023-2031 Housing Element update back in 2020.

“The County as a whole was assigned 10,992 units throughout the four income ranges to plan for as part of the Housing Element updates,” he wrote. “All jurisdictions worked together under the authority of the Solano City-County Coordinating Council (4C's), to develop methodology to allocate the housing needs amongst its member jurisdictions.”

The council also approved General Plan 2040 in 2021, which did not include a Housing Element update because it was expected the document would be completed before the timeframe of the 2023 to 2031 cycle.

Following a series of meetings throughout 2022 and submittal of a draft Housing Element to the HCD, the agency submitted a formal comment later back requesting some changes to be made, including an analyses of extremely low-income housing needs, special housing needs such as farmworkers and governmental constraints, as well as clarifying concerns raised by members of the public regarding the outreach process.

“The City clarified the content of comments received during the outreach process and how they were used to inform the development of the Housing Element,” Boloyan wrote. “Within the Housing Needs Assessment, staff expanded the analysis of the non-English speaking population and added language to Program 7.2.1 to provide translation to Spanish and Asian Pacific Islander languages for program availability and funding announcements. Further, the City expanded the discussion of the results of the housing conditions survey as it relates to socioeconomic characteristics to identify strategies to target rehabilitation assistance outreach in neighborhoods with the greatest need.”

Boloyan wrote that the city also revised the analyses of senior, farmworker and ELI households to address cost burden, housing choices and resources for these populations.

In addition to the recommendation for the council to approve the project, the commission will consider an addendum to the General Plan's Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and edits to the Natural Environmental Element and suspension of Measure B, a residential growth implementation plan approved by voters in 1986, for the Housing Element.

This is the only significant item on Tuesday's agenda. Final adoption of the 2023 to 2031 Housing Element is tentatively scheduled to go before the council at its March 7 meeting.

The commission will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 600 East A St. The public may also participate via Zoom at Us02web. zoom.us/j/9886211137?pw d=R2dxZ3RkbU9SQXdlU VllRkc0QlQwZz09 or teleconferencing at (669) 9009128. The meeting ID is 988 621 1137, and the passcode is 604754. To speak during public comment over Zoom or teleconferencing, press “Raise Hand” or *9.