Agenda

Return

C. 24

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:	November 12, 2019

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Authorization to Participate in and Apply for the SB 2 Planning Grants Program Funds

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 11/12/2019

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Kristen Lackey, (925) 674-7793

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: November 12, 2019
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Resolution No. 2019/629 to:


1. AUTHORIZE the Department of Conservation and Development Director to apply for, and execute documents to accept, grant funds from the State of California's Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) Planning Grant Program (PGP), a non-competitive allocation, in an amount not to exceed $310,000 to fund Department preparation, adoption, and implementation of plans, activities and programs approved by the State that streamline housing approvals and accelerate housing production, for the period March 28, 2019 through June 30, 2022;

RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)

2. ACKNOWLEDGE that the County will be subject to the terms and conditions included in the State of California Agreement (Standard Agreement).

FISCAL IMPACT:

100% State, no County match.This authorization by the Board of Supervisors is for the Department of Conservation and Development to apply for PGP non-competitive allocation funds from the State. All programs and activities proposed in the grant application will be funded by the grant.

BACKGROUND:

In 2017, Governor Brown signed a 15-bill housing package aimed at addressing the state's housing shortage and high housing costs. Specifically, it included the Building Home and Jobs Act (SB 2, 2017), which establishes a $75 recording fee on real estate documents to increase the supply of affordable homes in California. SB 2 directs the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to use 50 percent of the first year's revenue to establish a one-time program to provide financial assistance to local governments to update planning documents and land use ordinances, to streamline housing approvals and accelerate housing production, and provide on-going technical assistance to local governments.

Grant Requirements
To be eligible, local governments must have an adopted housing element found to be in substantial compliance by HCD and must have submitted the Annual Progress Report for the current year or prior year to HCD. The County meets this criteria. The proposed activities in the application, which can be retroactive to March 2019, must demonstrate a nexus to accelerating housing production, and must demonstrate consistency with State priorities. The PGP guidelines include the following Priority Policy Areas (PPA) that are automatically deemed to accelerate housing production: rezone to permit by-right, objective design and development standards, specific plans or form based codes coupled with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) streamlining, accessory dwelling units or other innovative building strategies, expediting processing, and housing related infrastructure financing and fee reduction strategies. For non-PPA activities, the County will be required to self-certify their consistency with State and other planning priorities such as Resources Protection, Affordability, Conservation, etc. The following are the projects to be included in the application:

General Plan and Zoning Ordinance Update
The Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) is currently working on the General Plan Update as the current General Plan only covers the period through 2020. This new effort to update the General Plan is underway and will include a Zoning Ordinance update. The intent is to simplify and consolidate the general plan and zoning ordinance land use designations and inconsistencies between the two. The update will address current trends on land use which may also include adaptive policies for housing development. The grant funds are intended to be applied towards a portion of the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance update efforts that relate to housing, density analysis, and land use designations. Completion of the General Plan update is expected by the end of 2020 and the Zoning Ordinance update is intended to be completed shortly thereafter. The update will provide simplification in the development potential of sites and streamline the review and approval process.

Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance Update

The County's Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance update includes activities that will update the existing Zoning Ordinance to meet the current state law requirements. Implementation of the update effort will include outreach, fee waivers, and DCD website enhancements.

Software and Electronic Permit Submittal Upgrades (PPA Qualified)

DCD is upgrading the existing electronic software systems in order to implement an electronic permit submittal system. The SB 2 funds will be applied towards the IT staff time required for the upgrades and updates to the existing system and joining different systems together to increase public access of information online, expand electronic application submittals, and commence with online processing of application and permits by June 2020.

SB 2 Funding Plan (PPA Qualified)

Develop a Funding Plan for anticipated funds generated by SB 2 in year two and beyond. In order to be eligible to receive future funding, local governments must adopt an HCD approved Funding Plan. The Funding Plan will outline the use of SB 2 funds including, but not limited to: low-income housing, moderate-income housing, homelessness programs, local matching funds to leverage State funding sources, and incentives for permitting new housing. The plan will include a comprehensive approach to County resources available for the development of affordable housing in the County, and evaluation of staffing levels necessary to apply for, implement and administer such programs. The County’s Housing and Community Improvement Division will prepare the Funding Plan with the assistance of a consultant.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Inaction or negative action will prevent the County from receiving non-competitive grant funds up to $310,000 from the State.