Speakers fault housing element update for lack of transparency, slow affordable production

Several members of the public used the council's public-comment period to raise concerns about the city's housing element update process, transparency around committee membership, and the city's pace of affordable housing production.

A speaker identified as Mark Herbert (anaheimgrease.com) summarized state targets from previous and current housing cycles and said the city has fallen far short. He said the Fifth Cycle (2014–2021) required 5,700 units (3,200 affordable) and the city completed 453 affordable units (14% of the target). For the Sixth Cycle (2021–2029), Herbert said the state target is 17,453 units (9,100 affordable); he reported the city has produced 498 units so far (about 5.4% of the target), and he criticized what he called a multi-year shutdown of the Housing Element Update Committee.

Public commenters also questioned why committee rosters had a name removed (they identified Todd Ament) and said meeting summaries do not include answers to questions asked at meetings; recordings, they said, are not publicly available. One speaker asked whether the meetings were governed by the Brown Act; city staff told a committee member during a prior meeting that the committee meetings were not governed by the Brown Act.

Speakers asked city officials to explain why records and recordings were missing, to clarify who represented particular interests on the committee, and to make committee deliberations and staff responses more accessible. No council action was taken at the meeting on the housing element itself; the remarks were submitted as part of public comment and the council agreed to accept public testimony.