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Housing Element Update

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The Housing Element of the City’s General Plan identifies Santa Barbara’s housing needs and establishes goals, policies, and actions to further the City’s commitment to the production of affordable housing and sound community planning. The Housing Element is updated every eight years and is currently being updated to address the 2023 to 2031 planning period.

2023 - 2031 Housing Element Drafts

Revised Draft (April 10, 2023)

The Revised Draft Housing Element (April 10, 2023) was prepared based on HCD's November 2022 response letter to the City with revisions necessary to comply with State Housing Element Law. Per State law, this Revised Draft is posted for public review for seven days prior to submittal to HCD on April 18. Public comments are welcome throughout the 60-day HCD review period (up to approximately June 16) and can be submitted to HEU@SantaBarbaraCA.gov. The Revised draft is posted below in two formats:

On June 16, 2023, HCD submitted a letter to the City with comments on the revised Draft Housing Element, posted below.

June 16, 2023 Letter From HCD

Housing and Community Development Draft (August 19, 2022)

The Public Review Draft was revised and sent to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on August 19, 2022 for an up to 90-day review period. The revised draft is posted below in two formats:

On November 16, 2022, HCD submitted a letter to the City with their comments on the draft Housing Element, posted below. Public comments can be submitted to HEU@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.

HCD Review Letter

Public Review Draft (July 5, 2022)

The Public Review Draft of the 2023 – 2031 Housing Element was released on July 5, 2022 for a 30-day public comment period. Per state law, the City considered and incorporated public comments for a minimum of 10 business days. Public comment emails and the City’s responses are posted under the Documents heading as follows:

Suitable Sites Inventory

The Housing Element includes an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development to meet the City's regional housing needs by income level. Click on the Suitable Sites Inventory button below to view a map of the City's 2023 - 2031 Suitable Sites Inventory.

Environmental Review

Environmental review for the Housing Element is underway with a Housing Element Update Program EIR. Click here for more information.

Annual Progress Reports

Annual reports on the progress of the 2015 – 2022 Housing Element are provided to City Council and HCD. To view the most recent Housing Element Annual Progress Report, click here.

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Update: New June 1 Date for Planning Commission Hearing and Revised HCD Draft Housing Element for Review

The Planning Commission hearing date on the Revised Draft Housing Element has been changed from May 4 to June 1, 2023. On June 1, the Planning Commission will receive a presentation and public comment on the Revised Draft Housing Element,…

April 25, 2023

Planning Commission Hearing and Revised HCD Draft Housing Element for Review

In August 2022, the City’s submitted the initial draft 2023-2031 Housing Element to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review. In November 2022, HCD sent a response letter to the City with revisions…

April 10, 2023

Revised Draft Housing Element for Review

On August 19, 2022, the City’s draft Housing Element was submitted to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review (HCD Review Draft). The HCD Review Draft incorporates public comments received up to August 3…

August 23, 2022

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What are the goals of the Housing Element Update?

Establishing overarching, agreed-upon goals for housing is one of the first steps in updating the Housing Element. Per Government Code §65583(b), the goals must reflect the City’s commitment to affirmatively furthering fair housing and to the maintenance, preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The goals set the stage for policies and specific programs to achieve the stated goals and objectives. Per the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the programs (i.e., implementation actions) must include a description of the City’s specific role in implementation; definitive implementation timelines; objectives, quantified where appropriate; and identification of responsible agencies and officials.

City Council approved these goals at its meeting on May 17, 2022:

Goal 1 Create New Housing: Create new healthy, safe, and energy-efficient housing that meets community needs, within our resources.

Goal 2 Prioritize Affordable Housing: Prioritize housing that is affordable to the City’s workforce and vulnerable communities, by use of deed restrictions and other measures, over other types of development, with special emphasis on housing that meets the needs of extremely low, very low, low, moderate, and middle income, and special needs households.

Goal 3 Provide Housing Assistance: Provide financial resources and supportive services for members of the community who need housing assistance.

Goal 4 Promote Housing Stability: Implement tenant protection measures, promote full-time occupancy of existing housing, and discourage conversion of housing to other uses.

Goal 5 Preserve Housing: Maintain and improve the physical condition of existing housing at all affordability levels.

Goal 6 Engage the Community: Educate the community about housing issues, affordable housing opportunities, and available resources and programs.

Goal 7 Coordinate with Regional Partners: Coordinate with surrounding communities and regional agency partners to address regional housing issues, homelessness, and the jobs/housing balance.

Goal 8 Fund Affordable Housing: Develop a permanent source of local funding to produce deed-restricted affordable housing.

What is the Housing Element Update?

The Housing Element of the City’s General Plan identifies Santa Barbara’s housing needs and establishes goals, policies, and actions to further the City’s commitment to the production of affordable housing and sound community planning. The City’s current Housing Element was adopted in 2015 and addresses the 2015 to 2023 planning period. To view the most recent Housing Element Annual Progress Reports required by the state, click here. The file is large, please give it time to open. Once you see the file on the left-hand side of the screen click it, then you can download it with the download icon on the upper left of the screen. The excel file has multiple tabs of information.

Why update the Housing Element?

What is included in a Housing Element Update?

The components of the Housing Element Update are largely dictated by the State. The following chapters must be included:

A detailed analysis of the City’s demographic, economic and housing characteristics.
A comprehensive analysis of constraints to producing and preserving housing.
A review of the City’s progress in implementing current housing policies and programs.
Identification of goals, objectives, policies and programs that will implement the vision of the plan.
A list of sites that could accommodate new housing, demonstrating the City’s ability to meet our Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).

What is RHNA?

RHNA stands for “Regional Housing Needs Assessment.” Every eight years, the State provides the regional number of housing units that should be accommodated to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), who then allocates that number to all the jurisdictions in the region. As a part of the Housing Element update, the City must demonstrate to the State that there is available zoning capacity for the units allocated. It is important to note that RHNA is not a mandate to build housing, but a requirement to plan for the capacity to accommodate those units and ensure that the City’s policies do not limit development.

This year, the regional allocation, and therefore our City’s allocation, was significantly larger than it has been in past years. This allocation was a result of the State responding to the housing crisis by considering both “projected need” (i.e., units we need to accommodate new residents) and “existing need” (i.e., units we need to alleviate challenges like overcrowding and homelessness). The allocation also takes affordability into account by identifying the percentage of units that are needed at each income level. The City’s allocation for the 2023-2031 planning period is 8,001 units.

Income Level	2023-2031 RHNA Allocation
Very Low (0-50% AMI)	2,147 units
Low (51%-80% AMI)	1,381 units
Moderate (81%-120% AMI)	1,441 units
Above Moderate (>120% AMI)	3,032 units
Total	8,001 units

What if the State does not Certify the City’s updated Housing Element?

The penalties for non-compliance have increased in scope and severity over the past few legislative cycles, and they currently include limited access to state funding, including transportation funding for local roadway maintenance and capital improvement projects. If the Housing Element Update is found to be out of compliance, its General Plan is at risk of being deemed inadequate and therefore invalid, opening the possibility for lawsuits. Additionally, the State can imposed fines of up to $600,000 per month. The statute also allows the state to collect these fines by withholding state funding due to the city.

Over the past 20 years, cities and counties throughout California have faced legal challenges to the adequacy of their housing elements. In virtually every case, the city settled by amending its housing element and/or zoning ordinance to accommodate more housing and paid the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees. Each of these cases were filed prior to the most recent amendments to the state housing law which make it exceedingly more difficult for cities to win such cases.

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