RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY – B. YOUNG

Annual Housing Element Progress Report for 2020.

SBC FILE NUMBER: 790

San Benito County’s General Plan includes goals, policies, and programs necessary to achieve the community’s vision for future development. The Housing Element within the General Plan provides policy direction on how the County will achieve local and State goals for the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing in San Benito County. Within the Housing Element are specific implementation programs set forth with specific timelines, goals, and objectives. Please follow the links below to access the General Plan and Housing Element:

•   San Benito County 2035 General Plan (adopted by the County Board of Supervisors July 21, 2015)

•   2014-2023 Housing Element(adopted by the County Board of Supervisors April 12, 2016)

•   2035 General Plan Background Materials and Historical Documents

As required by State law, an annual report must be submitted to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), identifying the progress made with various housing programs contained in the General Plan, including local efforts to remove governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. The 2020 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) identifies the actions undertaken by San Benito County in the previous calendar year to carry out the Housing Element’s implementation programs.

·         Table A – Includes data on housing units and developments for which an application was submitted and “deemed complete” during the reporting year.

·         Table A2 – This table requires information for a project’s affordability component and includes data on net new housing units and developments that have received (a) an entitlement; (b) a building permit; or (c) a certificate of occupancy.

·         Table B – Provides a summary of prior permitting activity (permits issued) in the current Cycle including activity for the current reporting year.

·         Table C (not applicable) – Sites identified or rezoned properties to accommodate shortfall housing need. This table only applies if the County identifies an accommodated need of sites from the previous planning period, has a shortfall of sites as identified in the housing element, or is identifying additional sites required by no net loss law.

·         Table D – Reports the status and progress of the housing element program and policy implementation for all programs described in the housing element.

·         Table E (not applicable) – This table only applies if the County approved any commercial development bonuses during the reporting year. To qualify, an applicant for a commercial development enters into an agreement for partnered housing to contribute affordable housing through a joint project or two separate projects encompassing affordable housing and the commercial developer receives a development bonus.

·         Table F (not applicable) – Identifies units rehabilitated, preserved, and acquired for alternative adequate sites.

·         Table G (not applicable) – Identifies locally owned lands included in the Housing Element Sites inventory that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed.

·         Summary Table – The summary table auto-populates from data entered on other tables related to project entitlements completed during the reporting year and if those projects received streamlined review pursuant to SB 35 Streamlining Provisions. It is important to note that for projects where building permits were issued in 2019, the entitlements were likely issued in previous years and are not reflected in this summary table.

Housing Needs

The Housing Element is approved and covers the present period through the year 2023. The total Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the unincorporated San Benito County is 837 total units. As listed in Table B of Attachment A The information shows the progress completed towards the RHNA. Currently we have constructed 86% of the entire housing needs for this period, which is 720 units. For Very Low to Low Income the allocation is a total of 318 units and 3 new units have currently been constructed. For Moderate Income the allocation is 164 and a total of 3 total units have been constructed. For above-moderate income the allocation is 355 and 714 units have been constructed, so we have exceeded our RHNA expectation for that specific category.

Permit Activity

2017-2020 have been some of the strongest construction periods for the County, compared to the previous Housing Element reports, where the average was below 30 units. In 2020, San Benito County finaled 211 housing building permits. A majority of the 211 building permits issued were for above moderate-income units from the Santana Ranch, Bennet Ranch, and Sunnyside Estates subdivisions. The 3 lower income units were added to the Southside Migrant Labor Camp to provide housing particularly with COVID-positive individuals.

Program Implementation

Program HOU 2-10 Affordable Housing Requirement: In 2020 Staff continued to meet with the Affordable Housing Ad Hoc Committee in public meetings to analyze affordable housing options and amendments to the current Affordable Housing Ordinance. In 2020 the Ad Hoc Committee proposed specific amendments to the ordinance and the changes were approved in December 2020. In 2021. Staff will continue to work with consultant,Vernazza Wolfe Associates to complete a feasibility study analysis. The feasibility study is expected to research and develop an in-lieu fee, if a development is approved to pay the fee.

Program HOU 1-1, 4, 5,6: Part of the program implementation includes functions completed by the Health & Human Services Workforce Development Division. In 2020, Health and Human Services Agency received various grants including Community

Services Development Grant (CSDG), and Home Emergency Assistance Program (HEAP). In particular, Health & Human Services received two CSBD Grant awards. CSBG-Regular Allocation the agency received $308,206 for the implementation of the Family Winter Shelter program for homeless families. Twenty families participated in this program. For COVID related assistance, CSBG Cares, the county received $414, 759. The assistances helps to provide a variety of services including for youth, seniors, veterans, homeless and other low-income community members. Eligible services include hotel vouchers to help mitigate the spread of COVID, rental assistance, school supplies for school age youth and other supportive services.

Program HOU 2-4 Annual Monitoring: Staff continues to complete annual monitoring to ensure residents are following resale restrictions.

There are a few programs, which have not been addressed such as expanding permitting for mobile home parks and identifying additional zoning districts mobile homes would be allowed.

Future Plans

San Benito County approved the Riverview II affordable housing project in December 10, 2019. The project will provide 24 single family homes for very-low and low-income households. The project received multiple funding sources and is being completed by the local non-profit Community Services Development Corporations (CSDC). Additionally, the Santana Ranch Development, though approved prior to this Housing Element, will be constructing approximately 110 low and moderate rental units, which when completed will be added to the RHNA, although the requirements for satisfying moderate income units for RHNA and the definition in the Santana Ranch Development Agreement conflict, so the extent that construction of multifamily rental units in Santana Ranch will satisfy RHNA requirements is uncertain.

In October 2019 San Benito County RMA applied for the Building Homes & Jobs Act (SB 2, 2017) Planning Grants Program, which our small jurisdiction was entitled to receive $160,000. In 2020, RMA staff received confirmation our application was approved. The Planning Grant Program award will be used to update current zoning/code ordinances. Staff is currently working with Interwest Consulting Group, to update our zoning code ordinances. In addition, San Benito County is seeking to use funding to create an accessory dwelling unit program, where the county provides pre- approved architectural approved site-plans. This will help decrease cost for future applicants and intend to increase the number of approved accessory dwelling units in our county.

Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) Grant provides a one-time non-competitive grant to cities/counties to update their planning documents and implement process improvements to prepare for the sixth cycle RHNA. San Benito is eligible to receive the $65,000 grant and is the final process of receiving confirmation from the State Housing & Community Development of the grant award contract. The application was due July 1, 2020 and must be expended by December 31, 2023.

Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant provides one-time grant funding to regional governments and regional entities for planning activities that will accelerate

housing production and facilitate compliance in implementing the sixth cycle of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation. San Benito County was allocated to receive

$79,743.9 and will use the funding to complete a Housing Element for the next sixth cycle RHNA allocation.

An additional non-competitive grant is the Permanent Local Housing Allocation grant (PLHA), which is the second year funding from the Building Homes & Jobs Act (SB 2, 2017). The purpose of the grant is to provide a permanent source of funding to help cities/counties implement plans to increase the affordable housing stock. Eligible grant activities include, but are not limited to down-payment assistance, rental assistance, predevelopment, development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of multi- family rental housing. The grant is a five-year plan, so the first round of expected funding for San Benito County is $121,182 with an anticipated five-year grant award to be about $727,093. San Benito County has not applied yet for the grant, but will need to meet with other agencies, like Health & Human Services to discuss the best way to use the resources in our county.

Staff has noticed with the continued availability of State funded grants major qualifying thresholds include a jurisdiction submitting the required Annual Housing Element Progress Report and having an approved Housing Element. If a jurisdiction has not followed the State regulations, they were not eligible to the grant funding. It is critical for the department to continue to submit the Annual Housing Element Report and ensure the next Housing Element is approved by HCD.

The current Housing Element is set to expire in 2023 and San Benito County staff plans to begin the process to develop the sixth cycle housing element in 2021. At this time, the anticipated RHNA has not been released, but staff will continue to work directly with our local jurisdictions, Council of Governments (COG), and Association of Monterey Bay Governments (AMBAG) as the process continues.

Additionally, with expanded changes to state law the County will continue to find ways to develop multiple types of housing that fit the needs of all income categories. It is apparent we have not met our current goals of providing lower income housing. But with the addition of grant funding, new affordable housing provisions, both local and state- wide, San Benito County can be able to plan and guide future development.