The updated housing plan must show the exact locations where future housing can be built and identify the potential number of homes that can be built at those locations. The City’s Housing Element will include an inventory of the sites that are compliant with current legislation and shows where housing units can be accommodated. The sites must be vacant or underutilized and have potential for development during the eight-year planning period. Some of the sites identified may be already zoned for housing that can accommodate a certain percentage of the RHNA income categories.
The City may establish criteria and eliminate sites based on the following:
- Topography is not conducive to building
- Sites are not safe because they are in a flood zone or high-fire area
Criteria to support housing on sites may include:
- Vacant lots
- Underutilized sites, such as lots with uses or structures that are no longer needed or need rehabilitation
- Locations where housing could be become denser than it is today
- Locations near public transit and essential services like neighborhood serving retail centers
- Sites where infrastructure, such as water and sewer service, can support more housing
Per the HCD Site Inventory Guidebook, sites best suited to accommodate the RHNA for lower income households should include factors such as:
- Proximity to transit
- Access to high performing schools and jobs
- Access to amenities, such as parks and services
- Access to health care facilities and grocery stores
- Locational criteria that meet Low-income Housing Tax Credit Program funding
- Proximity to available infrastructure and utilities
- Sites that do not require environmental mitigation