The city of National City held a public hearing before approving an amendment to the General Plan to adopt the 2021-2029 Housing Element and adopting the Negative Declaration for the 2021-2029 Housing Element.
The Housing Element is just one component of the General Plan, a document the State of California requires all cities to have which serves as a long-term policy guide for physical, economic, and environmental growth and includes other elements such as Land Use, Mobility and Safety.
Director of National City Housing Carlos Aguirre said the housing element is the first milestone in the city’s effort to create a focused general plan update.
WSP Project Manager Tara Lake, who prepared the housing element report, outlined goals, policies and programs that would allow the city to meet housing elements for the next eight years.
“We conducted a site inventory and analysis,” Lake said, including zoning and lot sizes, whether or not lots were vacant, the age of current structures, and other factors. For commercial sites, she said, they also looked at whether the sites were for lease or sale, proximity to schools and other amenities, and mobility options. Together, those form a site analysis that helps better determine whether the city will reach their housing goals.
Some of those goals include: encouraging the development of housing stock that can meet diverse resident needs, including the elderly, students and lower-income individuals; facilitating new housing construction with smart-growth benefits such as proximity to public transit; conserving the affordability of existing housing stock; to support programs for housing vulnerable and special needs populations.
Additionally, the housing element seeks to promote economically viable and socially equitable land use and includes several programs such as rental assistance programs, first-time homebuyer programs, community land trust programs, parking studies, municipal code updates, home repair loan programs, complete communities incentive programs, and many other components that all add up to a robust approach for developing and maintaining a housing stock in National City.
Finally, the housing element includes certain actions such as designating Transit Priority Areas within half a mile of major transit stops and transit-oriented development opportunities to target public investment in affordable housing, active transportation and mixed-use development.
The Housing Committee submitted the Housing Element to the State on Feb. 15, received written comments on April 16, and is now in the process of revising the document for resubmission with alterations.
On July 19, the Planning Commission adopted a resolution recommending City Council approve and adopt the General Plan amendment and adopt the Housing Element and Negative Declaration.
City Councilman Marcus Bush said one of the statistics that “popped out at him” during Lake’s presentation is that 48.6% of National City’s population is rent-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on rent.
“It’s crazy that half our population is struggling,” Bush said.
Median apartment rentals are $1,300 for a one-bedroom and $1,700 for more, but rental costs have increased since that data was gathered in 2019, he said.
“I want to point out that 79% of the number of the units we’re supposed to have are for folks in National City making 80% and above area median income, AMI… However, only 67.5% of our population is making AMI… We need more with this housing crisis and I look forward to more policies on that in the coming months.”
Tiny homes and Accessory Dwelling Units could be part of those policies, Bush said, and asked to keep the conversation on housing options active while policy is written.
City Confirmable Mona Rios said she would like community outreach coordinators to reach out via weed abatement managers as they might have insight on how to enhance those areas. She also said she’d like to see areas with reduced parking targeted for transit passes to encourage use of public transportation. Finally, she suggested community outreach efforts could be applied to educate the public on how Accessory Dwelling Units aren’t the same as formal home development, and encourage residents to pursue that outlet.
“I want our community to feel they can come ask about the building,” Rios said.
City Councilman Ron Morrison said the cost of construction “has gone through the roof” while affordable housing development is simultaneously, perhaps unrealistically encouraged. He also said some of the housing numbers are unrealistic and cautioned that the State of California is becoming more stringent in following up to confirm municipalities are following through with proposed projects, potentially paving the way for problems if the city cannot meet assigned metrics.
The Housing Element amendment resolution and Negative Declaration for the 2021-2029 Housing Element passed unanimously.
