The Housing Element (HE) is the chapter of the General Plan related to affordable housing and other housing options in a jurisdiction, and must be updated every eight years. It is the only section of a General Plan subject to review and certification by the State of California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). All Bay Area jurisdictions must update their HEs and have them approved by HCD by the start of the next cycle, 2023-31, referred to as the "6th Cycle". Due to this deadline, the Housing Element work is on an accelerated trajectory compared to the General Plan update, underway with the same lead consultant, Placeworks. However, the HE will incorporate the community input about housing received as part of the County's General Plan update thus far.  
  
State housing law continues to change, and requirements for Housing Elements have evolved since the Board approved the 5th Cycle HE, which covers 2015-23. Additionally, HCD has given every region in California a target for new residential units for the 6th Cycle. Through an allocation process managed by the Association of Bay Area Governments, unincorporated Contra Costa County must show capacity for 7610 new units in the planning period, and then report annually on satisfactory progress in meeting that target or lose discretionary approval powers over certain land use decisions. In the current 5th Cycle, the County's unit target was 1,367, and as of Dec. 31, 2020, 1881 units had been permitted, exceeding the overall goal while concurrently falling short on the income categories.  
  
Placeworks staff will attend the Board meeting to update the Board on the HE's technical framework, steps on the road to HCD certification, what has worked in other jurisdictions, and to receive any preliminary feedback from the Board about policy direction for the 6th Cycle Housing Element.

N/A (not an action item).