Item2.Addendum with Attachments 4-5PREPARED BY: Jocelyn Shoopman and Erin Walters
Associate Planner and Associate Planner
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
MEETING DATE: 03/16/2023
ITEM NO: 2
ADDENDUM TOWN OF LOS GATOS
HOUSING ELEMENT ADVISORY BOARD REPORT
DATE: March 15, 2023
TO: Housing Element Advisory Board
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Review and Discuss the Town’s Revised Draft Housing Element Addressing the
California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD)
Findings/Comment Letter Received by the Town on January 12, 2023.
REMARKS:
In response to a question from a Board Member, a comparison table of the Regional Housing
Needs Allocation (RHNA) that includes the proposed number of housing units and buffer
percentages for the 6th cycle Housing Element has been provided in Attachment 4.
Attachment 5 contains public comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, March 10, 2023,
and 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 15, 2023.
ATTACHMENTS:
Previously received with the March 16, 2023, Staff Report:
1.January 12, 2023, HCD Findings/Comment Letter
2.Response Memorandum to HCD’s Findings Comment Letter
3.Revised Draft Housing Element, Track Changes
Received with this Addendum Report:
4.RHNA Buffer Comparison Table
5.Public Comments received between 11:01 a.m., Friday, March 10, 2023, and 11:00 a.m.,
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
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RHNA Buffer Comparison Table
Jurisdiction 2023-2031
RHNA
Residential
Capacity to
Accommodate
RHNA
Buffer Over RHNA
Housing Units Percent
Santa Clara County Jurisdictions – Pending Certification by HCD
Palo Alto 6,086 6,866 780 13%
Saratoga 1,712 1,994 282 16%
Cupertino 4,588 5,375 787 17%
Monte Sereno* 193 227 34 18%
Los Altos Hills* 489 602 113 23%
Gilroy 1,773 2,215 442 25%
San Jose 62,200 77,587 15,387 25%
Milpitas* 6,713 9,397 2,684 40%
Sunnyvale 11,966 16,952 4,986 42%
Mountain View 11,135 16,514 5,379 48%
Morgan Hill* 1,037 1,756 719 69%
Campbell 2,977 5,300 2,323 78%
Santa Clara* 11,632 22,096 10,464 90%
Bay Area Jurisdictions with Certified Housing Elements
San Francisco* 82,069 94,349 12,280 15%
Alameda* 5,353 6,424 1,071 20%
Oakland * 26,251 34,831 8,580 33%
Emeryville* 1,815 3,687 1,872 103%
Town of Los Gatos – options presented in the March 16, 2023, HEAB Staff Report
Adopted 2023-2031 Housing
Element* 1993 2,312 319 16%
Revised Draft Housing Element
(Attachment 3 to March 16, 2023,
HEAB Staff Report)
1993 2,494 501 25%
After modification of Revised Draft
Housing Element to remove Sites
E-3 and F-2
1993 2,353 360 18%
Source: Respective Jurisdiction’s Housing Element Update Websites. Town of Los Gatos, Planning Department, March 10, 2023.
*Adopted Housing Element
ATTACHMENT 4
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3-15-23
To Town Manager, Laurel Prevetti; Town Clerk, Wendy Wood
CC: Gabrielle Whelan, Town Council, Rick Van Hoosen
Re: Review the Updated Version of the Town’s Housing Element Agenda Item 2
We have reviewed the timeline of events related to the Town’s submission to HCD of its
Housing Element. That timeline is as follows:
October 2022: The Town submitted its Initial Draft Housing Element to HCD.
January 12, 2023: The Town received HCD’s comments on the Draft Housing Element
January 30, 2023: The Town adopted a revised Housing Element with a finding that the
revised Housing Element substantially complied with state law
February 13, 2023: The newly-adopted revised Housing Element was submitted for
certification to HCD. We are now waiting to hear from HCD regarding certification.
March 2023: The Staff report for the upcoming HEAB is issued with several attachments,
including attachment 3. Attachment 3 is a redline markup of the Initial Draft Housing
Element. That is the one that was submitted to HCD in October, 2022.
We have several questions and concerns about this process. Specifically:
Why has the Staff marked up an old version of the Housing Element that is defunct and has
no current standing?
Has the Town Staff now determined that the adopted & submitted Housing Element is not
in substantial compliance with State law and that changes are necessary to become
compliant and achieve certification?
If that is the case:
o when did the Staff arrive at this conclusion
o what were the new facts that supported this conclusion
o why not wait until HCD completes its review of the adopted Housing Element so we
know all the changes required to obtain certification?
If that is not the case, why is the Staff proposing to make any changes at all?
Lastly, we remain very concerned about the Town’s ability to obtain certification and adopt a
compliant housing element by May 31, 2023. The LGCA has expressed this concern several times in
the past to Staff and the Town Council.
ATTACHMENT 5
In walking through the proposed timeline, if the Town submits a revised Housing
Element by March 27 (which is immediately after the mandatory 7-day public comment
period), the HCD has up to 60 days to provide formal comments. This suggests HCD’s
comments would be due on May 26, 2023. Assuming HCD is prepared to certify the
housing element (which is a questionable assumption), that will allow only 5 days to
hold public hearings, have the Planning Commission meet and make a recommendation, and the
Town Council to make a final decision.
Based on this, it appears highly unlikely that the Town will be able to meet the May 31, 2023. We
are concerned that the Staff memo does not fully outline the timeline for adopting a compliant
housing element by May 31, 2023, nor discuss the potential negative consequences of not meeting
the statutory deadline.
We would greatly appreciate hearing from you regarding these points.
Jak Van Nada – In Behalf of:
Los Gatos Community Alliance
Facts Matter; Transparency Matters; Honesty Matters
www.lgca.town