Staff Report.Housing Element
PREPARED BY: Erin Walters and Jocelyn Shoopman
Associate Planners
Reviewed by: Planning Manager, Community Development Director, and Town Attorney
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6872
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT
MEETING DATE: 11/15/2023
ITEM NO: 1
DATE: November 10, 2023
TO: Planning Commission
FROM: Joel Paulson, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Consider and Make a Recommendation to the Town Council on the Draft
Revised 2023-2031 Housing Element. Location: Town-Wide. General Plan
Amendment Application GP-22-003.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission hold the public hearing, ask questions of staff,
and receive any verbal public comment from those in attendance, and continue the item to a
date certain of November 29, 2023, for a special meeting to continue the public hearing for any
additional public comment, deliberation, and a recommendation.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Town of Los Gatos has prepared a revised update to the Housing Element of the General
Plan to affirmatively further fair housing and accommodate the 1,993-unit Regional Housing
Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the 2023-2031 Housing Element cycle. The content of the Draft
Revised 2023-2031 Housing Element is structured for further consistency with the requirements
set forth in State law. In addition to responding to requirements of State law, the Housing
Element also demonstrates the Town of Los Gatos’ strategy to meet the Town’s locally
determined housing needs, and that these needs are addressed through policies and programs
outlined within the Housing Element. Public review and input have been a critical component
of this 6th cycle Housing Element update. A copy of the Draft Revised 2023-2031 Housing
Element is available on the Town’s Housing Element website:
www.losgatosca.govHousingElement.
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
BACKGROUND:
California Government Code Section 65580 and following regulates the use and requirements
of housing elements in California. State law requires that the Town update its General Plan
Housing Element every eight years. State law further requires adoption of an updated Housing
Element by January 31, 2023.
Starting in early 2021, the Town has taken the steps to comply with State law with the goal of
adopting a Housing Element prior to the January 31, 2023, deadline.
On January 30, 2023, the Town Council adopted the Draft Housing Element with modifications to
the Sites Inventory and directed staff to continue to work with the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD) to resolve additional comments provided during their review.
On February 13, 2023, after the required seven-day review period, the Town submitted the
adopted Draft Housing Element to HCD for preliminary review, which consists of a 90-day
review.
On March 31, 2023, after the required seven-day review period, the Town submitted the Draft
Revised Housing Element, in response to the January 12, 2023, HCD findings/comment letter to
HCD for preliminary review.
On April 14, 2023, the Town received HCD’s findings/comment letter on the Draft Revised
Housing Element that was submitted to HCD on February 13, 2023.
On May 30, 2023, the Town received an updated findings/comment letter from HCD on the
Draft Revised Housing Element that was submitted to HCD on March 31, 2023.
On October 2, 2023, after the seven-day review period, the Town submitted the Draft Revised
Housing Element (dated September 2023), in response to the May 30, 2023, HCD
findings/comment letter to HCD for review. The documents submitted to HCD can be viewed on
the Housing Element update website at: www.losgatosca.gov/HousingElement.
On November 7, 2023, staff and the consultant met with the Town’s HCD reviewer and received
preliminary feedback on the Draft Revised Housing Element submitted to HCD on October 2,
2023. A preliminary review matrix of the HCD reviewer’s comments on the Draft Revised
Housing Element will be provided to the Planning Commission for the November 15, 2023,
Planning Commission meeting in an Addendum Report.
The primary purpose of this agenda item is to ask questions of staff and the Town’s Housing
Element consultant on the Revised Draft Housing Element (September 2023), discuss potential
modifications to the document based on the preliminary feedback provided by the Town’s HCD
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
BACKGROUND (continued):
reviewer, receive any verbal public comment, and continue the item to a date certain. At the
following meeting the Planning Commission will have the opportunity to deliberate further
based on additional revisions and make a recommendation to the Town Council on whether to
adopt the Draft Revised Housing Element.
DISCUSSION:
This section lists the required components of Housing Element updates per State law, and then
provides an expanded discussion of each including a reference to where it is addressed in the
Town’s Draft Revised Housing Element, and the areas where additional edits have been made
since January 30, 2023.
Required Components of a Housing Element
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583, local governments are required to include the
items below within their Housing Elements, and subsequent updates thereto.
1. Housing Needs Assessment: Examine demographic, employment, housing trends and
conditions, and identify existing and projected housing needs of the community, with
attention paid to special housing needs (e.g., large families, persons with disabilities). This
Section includes a community’s RHNA as determined by a community’s regional planning
body in partnership with HCD.
2. Housing Sites Inventory: Identify locations of available sites for housing development or
redevelopment to demonstrate there is enough land zoned for housing to meet future need
at all income levels.
3. Constraints Analysis: Analyze and recommend remedies for existing and potential
governmental and nongovernmental barriers to housing development.
4. Policies and Programs: Establish policies and programs to be carried out during the 2023-
2031 planning period to fulfill the identified housing needs.
5. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH): Analyze and address significant disparities in
housing needs and access to opportunity by proposing housing goals, objectives, and
policies that aid in replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced
living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas
of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing
laws.
6. Evaluation of Past Performance: Review the prior Housing Element to measure progress in
implementing policies and programs.
7. Community Engagement: Implement a robust community engagement program that
includes reaching out to individuals and families at all economic levels of the community,
plus historically underrepresented groups.
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
Housing Element Requirements
The following sections expand on these major topics covered by the Town’s Housing Element
and the work that has been completed since the January 30, 2023, adoption.
A. Housing Needs Assessment
As part of the Housing Element update process the Town is required to analyze the existing
and projected housing needs of the Town, including its fair share of RHNA requirements.
The Town’s analysis of housing needs is required to include an assessment of detailed
demographic data including: population age, size, and ethnicity; household characteristics;
overpayment trends; housing stock conditions; units in need of replacement or
rehabilitation; and needs of special needs populations including the elderly, persons with
disabilities, unhoused persons, extremely low-income households, and farmworkers.
Utilizing the Housing Needs Data Report provided by ABAG, the 6th cycle Housing Element
update outlines the Town’s housing needs. Since the January 30, 2023, adoption of the
Housing Element, additional data and analysis has been provided by Root Policy Research
and Vernonia Tam and Associates, that can be found in Appendix B of the Draft Revised
Housing Element.
B. Housing Resources and Sites Inventory
As part of the 6th cycle Housing Element update, the Town is also required to identify
resources available to the Town for the preservation, rehabilitation, and production of
housing throughout the community. These resources also include land within the Town of
Los Gatos that are identified as eligible for accommodation of the Town’s RHNA
requirements. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.2(a), the following resources
are eligible for accommodation of the Town’s RHNA: vacant sites zoned for residential use;
vacant sites zoned for nonresidential use that allows residential development; residentially
zoned sites that are capable of being developed at a higher density; or sites zoned for
nonresidential use that can be redeveloped for residential use, and for which the Housing
Element includes a program to rezone the sites. The Town’s Housing Sites Inventory is
summarized in Appendices D and H of the Draft Revised Housing Element.
The Sites Inventory of the Draft Revised Housing Element includes sufficient sites to meet
the RHNA requirement in each income category, with a surplus of approximately 57 percent
above the remaining RHNA as described in Section B of this report.
Since the January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing Element, the following modifications
have been made to the Sites Inventory of the Draft Revised Housing Element:
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
1. The removal of site A-1 (50 Park Avenue and 61 Montebello Way). The Regional
Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) capacity only accepts net new units. Site A1 has a
minimum capacity of five units, whereas there are 11 housing units on-site. Due to the
housing capacity resulting in less than the exiting number of units on-site, the site has
been removed from the Sites Inventory. This results in a total of 48 sites in the modified
Sites Inventory.
2. The income distribution for sites D-3, D-4, and D-5 were modified to place all housing
units in the above moderate-income category since each site is less than half an acre
and deemed inadequate to accommodate housing for lower-income housing.
3. The net capacity for sites B-1, D-1, D-2, D-3, D-4, D-5, D-6, D-7, and E-1 was reduced by a
total of 21 units to account for existing housing units on-site.
4. The Pipeline Projects were reduced from 201 units to 191 units based on the net
capacity of existing housing units on-site.
5. The RHNA planning period for the ABAG region started on June 30, 2022. Housing units
that were finaled, permitted, or approved after this date, or were under construction as
of June 30, 2022, up to January 31, 2023, can be credited toward the RHNA, resulting in
a total of 250 housing units. Based on the preliminary feedback provided by the Town’s
HCD reviewer on November 7, 2023, staff and the consultant will continue to review this
section of the Draft Revised Housing Element.
C. Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)
In January of 2022, HCD approved ABAG’s adopted Final RHNA Plan for the San Francisco
Bay Area: 2023-2031 (Plan) which establishes a total RHNA for the San Francisco Bay Area
of 441,176 residential units for the 6th cycle Housing Element update 2023-2031 planning
period. ABAG’s Plan further distributes this RHNA across the Bay Area’s nine counties, and
101 cities based on demographic and population data received from the California
Department of Finance (DOF). Local jurisdictions must then utilize their ascribed RHNA to
update the housing elements of their general plans for the 6th cycle planning period,
inclusive of identifying eligible land resources to accommodate their RHNA.
RHNA requirements are organized into four affordability categories, established according
to the Area Median Income (AMI) of a geography. These categories include very low-
income residential units, which are affordable to households earning less than 50 percent of
AMI; low-income residential units, which are affordable to households earning between 50
percent and 80 percent of AMI; moderate income residential units, which are affordable to
households earning between 80 percent and 120 percent of AMI; and above moderate-
income residential units which are affordable to households earning over 120 percent of
AMI. The Town’s RHNA is summarized below:
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
Town of Los Gatos RHNA
Income Category
5th Cycle RHNA
(2015-2023)
6th Cycle RHNA
(2023-2031)
Very Low (less than 50% of AMI) 201 537
Low (50-80% of AMI) 112 310
Moderate (80-120% of AMI) 132 320
Above Moderate (More than 120% of AMI) 174 826
Total 619 1,993
RHNA Credits/Surplus
New “no net loss” provisions of Government Code Section 65863 require the Town to
ensure an adequate supply of land be made available for housing development throughout
the duration of the 2023-2031 planning period. This means that if housing sites identified
within the jurisdictions 6th cycle Housing Element are developed with non-residential uses,
lower residential densities, or residential uses at affordability levels that are different than
anticipated by the Housing Element, the Town will need to rezone other properties in order
to make up the shortfall.
Since the January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing Element, the Sites Inventory has been
revised to reflect RHNA credits for housing units that were finaled, permitted, or approved
after this date, or were under construction as of June 30, 2022; ADU projections; Senate Bill
9 projections; and the Pipeline Projects amount to 737 units. The remaining RHNA that
needs to be accommodated by the Sites Inventory is 1,256 units, as shown in Table 10-3 in
the Draft Revised Housing Element and on the following page.
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
Table 10-3 RHNA Credits and Sites Strategies
RHNA Credit
Affordability Credit
Very Low-
Income
Low-
Income
Moderate-
Income
Above-
Moderate
Income
Total
Entitled/Permitted/Under
Construction/Finaled (June 30, 2022, to
January 31, 2023)
- Single-Family Units and Housing Projects 49 0 2 176 227
- ADUs 0 3 11 9 23
Pipeline Projects 0 1 0 190 191
Projected ADUs (1/1/2023-1/31/2031) 60 60 60 20 200
SB 9 Units 0 0 0 96 96
Total 109 64 73 491 737
RHNA 537 310 320 826 1,993
Remaining RHNA 428 246 247 335 1,256
Housing Element Overlay Zone (HEOZ) Sites 634 357 340 640 1,971
- Owner Interest/Conceptual Development
Plans 480 283 264 320 1,347
- Additional Sites 154 74 76 320 624
Surplus above Remaining RHNA 206 111 93 305 715
% Surplus 48% 45% 38% 91% 57%
Source: Town of Los Gatos, Town of Los Gatos 6th Cycle 2023-2031 Housing Element Update, HCD Draft Revised, September 2023, Clean Copy
The Sites Inventory accommodates a net capacity of approximately 1,971 units, a surplus of
approximately 57 percent above the remaining RHNA of 1,256 units, which would equal
capacity of approximately 715 additional units. These sites, in addition to Accessory
Dwelling Units Projections, Senate Bill 9 Projections, and Pipeline Projects have a total, net
capacity of 2,708 units. This “cushion” for capacity above the base RHNA number is highly
recommended because of the State’s “no net loss” requirements. The “cushion” provides a
degree of flexibility for policy makers as they make development decisions. Based on the
preliminary feedback provided by the Town’s HCD reviewer on November 7, 2023, staff and
the consultant will continue to review this section of the Draft Revised Housing Element.
D. Constraints Analysis
In addition to analyzing the existing and projected housing needs of the Town, the Housing
Element must also identify and analyze potential and actual governmental and
nongovernmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, or development of
housing for all income levels in the community, regardless of protected class. Since the
January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing Element, additional information and analysis has
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
been provided by Veronica Tam and Associates, that can be found in Appendix C of the
Draft Revised Housing Element.
E. Goals, Policies, and Implementation Programs
The Housing Element includes a set of goals, policies, and implementation programs
intended to promote the preservation, rehabilitation, and production of housing
throughout the Town. Goals are long-range, broad, and comprehensive targets that
describe future outcomes the Town desires. A policy is a specific instructional guideline
that seeks to promote a goal. Together, goals and policies are implemented through a
series of programs that identify specific, quantifiable actions the Town will undertake during
the 6th cycle planning period. The Town’s Draft Goals, Policies, and Implementation
Programs are summarized in Section 10.6 of the Draft Revised Housing Element. Since the
January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing Element, the Implementation Programs have
been reorganized through combining similar programs and removing programs that are
required routinely. Additionally, a new Policy and Implementation Program was added that
supports local labor, per the direction of the Housing Element Advisory Board (HEAB).
F. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)
Assembly Bill (AB) 686, passed in 2018, created new requirements for jurisdictions to
affirmatively further fair housing as part of the Housing Element update process. These
requirements, found in Government Code Section 8899.50, are intended to address racial
inequalities seen today throughout California which developed through historical policies
and practices enacted at Federal, State, regional, and local levels and across the public and
private sectors. Though many of these explicit forms of historical discrimination have been
outlawed, the results of these systems have left a lasting imprint on both the Bay Area
region and the Town. Racially explicit practices (e.g., racial covenants) which excluded
persons of color from predominately white neighborhoods have been replaced with race-
neutral land use policies that continue to exclude these same groups. Furthermore, rapidly
increasing housing costs have deepened racial and economic disparity and segregation,
displacing many low-income people and people of color to the peripheries of the region or
out of the Bay Area all together.
Accordingly, the Town must incorporate fair housing considerations into its 6th cycle
Housing Element to increase housing opportunities in high resource neighborhoods. The
following summarizes the components of the required AFFH component of the Town’s
Housing Element and can be found in Appendix A of the Draft Revised Housing Element:
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
• Targeted Community Outreach;
• Assessment of Fair Housing;
• Fair Housing Outreach Capacity and Enforcement;
• Segregation and Integration Patterns;
• Racially and/or Ethnically Concentrated Areas of Poverty (R/ECAPS) and Racially
Concentrated Areas of Affluence (RCAA);
• Disparities In Access to Opportunity;
• Sites Inventory Relative to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing; and
• Goals, Polices, and Implementation Programs that Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.
Since the January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing Element, additional maps and analysis,
including, but not limited to the distribution of RHNA units by AFFH variables have been
added to Appendix A of the Draft Revised Housing Element, as well as an analysis of trends
and patterns related to access to transportation on a local and regional level.
G. Evaluation of Past Progress
Pursuant to State Law, the Draft Housing Element summarizes the implementation status of
Goals, Policies, and Implementation Programs from the Town’s 5th cycle Housing Element.
Since the January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing Element, further refinement was made
to Appendix E of the Draft Revised Housing Element.
H. Community Engagement
Beginning in the summer of 2021, the Town has conducted a comprehensive community
engagement and outreach strategy, as required by Government Code, to inform the 6th
cycle Housing Element update process. Since the January 30, 2023, adoption of the Housing
Element, the Town has continued with community engagement strategies, which have
included six HEAB public meetings; a joint study session with the Planning Commission and
Town Council on statewide housing laws that apply to applications for housing development
projects in the Town; and seven informational booths at the farmer’s market. The Town has
a dedicated Housing Element update website which has provided the public information
regarding the Housing Element process timeline and engagement opportunities.
Community engagement opportunities have been publicized on the Town’s website,
through the Town’s multiple social media platforms and through targeted email updates to
the Town’s Notify Me subscriber list for the 2040 General Plan Update and Housing Element
update. Announcements have been provided in the local newspaper for all HEAB meetings.
Feedback received throughout the ongoing community engagement and outreach process
has assisted staff and the consulting team in preparing the Draft Revised Housing Element.
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
DISCUSSION (continued):
Next Steps
On November 7, 2023, staff and the Housing Element consultant met with the Town’s HCD
reviewer and received preliminary feedback on the Draft Revised Housing Element submitted to
HCD on October 2, 2023. A preliminary review matrix showing HCD’s preliminary comments will
be provided prior to the November 15, 2023, Planning Commission meeting in an Addendum
Report.
In parallel with the discussion of the Draft Revised Housing Element tonight, Town staff and the
consultant will continue to work on implementing modifications to the Draft Revised Housing
Element based on the preliminary feedback that was provided on November 7, 2023. Staff
recommends continuing the item to a date certain of November 29, 2023, at which time the
Planning Commission will review, deliberate, and make a recommendation to the Town Council
on whether to adopt the Draft Revised Housing Element with additional modifications. The
Planning Commission’s recommendation on the adoption of the Draft Revised Housing Element
is tentatively scheduled for consideration by the Town Council on December 19, 2023.
As required by Assembly Bill 215, the Draft Revised Housing Element must be made available to
the public for a seven-day review period prior to resubmittal to HCD. Staff expects to start the
seven-day review period on Friday, November 17, 2023, through Monday, November 27, 2023,
by 5:00 p.m. The Town expects to receive its comment letter from HCD on the Draft Revised
Housing Element by December 1, 2023.
Based on HCD’s review, to be completed by December 1, 2023, it is possible that additional
revisions may be needed before HCD would certify the Housing Element. This means that
additional Planning Commission and Town Council hearings for adoption of a revised Housing
Element may need to be conducted.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
An Environmental Analysis was prepared for the Housing Element update. All potentially
significant effects have been analyzed adequately in the Town of Los Gatos 2040 General Plan
Environmental Impact Report (EIR), pursuant to applicable standards including CEQA Guidelines
Section 15168(c)2, because the Housing Element update is consistent with the growth
projections evaluated in the General Plan EIR.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
At the time of this report’s preparation, the Town has not received any public comment.
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SUBJECT: DRAFT REVISED 2023-2031 HOUSING ELEMENT/GP-22-003
DATE: November 10, 2023
CONCLUSION:
A. Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission hold the public hearing, ask questions of
staff, and receive any verbal public comment, and continue the item to a date certain of
November 29, 2023, for a special meeting to continue the public hearing for any additional
public comment, deliberation, and a recommendation to the Town Council.
EXHIBITS:
Previously received (available online at: www.losgatosca.gov/HousingElement):
1. Draft Revised 2023-2031 Housing Element
2. Environmental Analysis
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