Taft council adopts 2023–31 housing element, council finds update exempt from CEQA

The Taft City Council on Aug. 19 adopted Resolution approving General Plan Amendment No. 2023-01 to adopt the sixth-cycle housing element for 2023–2031 and found the update exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Guideline 15061(b)(3).

Jenna Chilingarian, senior planner with Precision Civil Engineering, presented the update at the start of the public hearing and said the document was prepared through an extended process of state and local review, community outreach and revisions. She told the council the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for the period is 538 housing units and that the sites inventory the city compiled shows capacity that exceeds that number across income categories.

The housing element, Chilingarian said, analyzes future housing needs, identifies adequate sites to meet RHNA, assesses governmental and other constraints, addresses Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirements, and lists programs to achieve housing goals and objectives. She said the update contains 52 programs across 10 program areas, including adequate sites, housing rehabilitation, ADUs, tenant protections, fair-housing services and homelessness prevention. Chilingarian also told the council a clerical error in Appendix A has been corrected and does not constitute a substantive change.

Among the numbers presented: the consultant’s sites inventory shows capacity for about 336 lower-income units, roughly 1,100 moderate-income units and more than 2,600 above-moderate units; taken together the inventory materially exceeds the 538-unit RHNA. Chilingarian said the draft received state review and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) issued a notice in late June that the revised draft “substantially complies” with state housing element law and will be eligible for final HCD certification following local adoption.

Public comment focused heavily on homelessness, local services and how the housing element would address people experiencing homelessness. James Carter, who identified himself as a resident, thanked council and staff but urged planning for impacts on schools, saying, “As we bring more families to our community, we must also plan to educate their children. Our schools are the heartbeat of our community and we need to ensure they're equipped for the future.”

Several speakers described the local experience of homelessness. Jerry Casto, who said he had lived unhoused, said: “It's quicksand. To become homeless, it's more expensive to live without a home than it is to live with a home.” Other speakers, including representatives of Faith in the Valley and local clergy, urged the city to pursue rezoning and program actions listed in the element to permit navigation centers, bridge housing, transitional housing and other low-barrier shelter options.

Speakers noted local resource gaps the housing element also documents: the consultant and commenters said the nearest homeless shelter is more than 30 miles away, transportation is a barrier to accessing distant services, and several listed service providers in the draft element either have curtailed operations or are not offering shelter in Taft. The element identifies program 5R, which calls for biannual public meetings on housing and homelessness, targeted outreach to lower-income and special-needs households, and improved communications and translated materials.

Council members thanked staff and the consultant for the work. Mayor Pro Tem Josh Bryant moved adoption of the resolution; the motion was adopted on a 5–0 roll-call vote (Council member Kreier — yes; Mayor Pro Tem Bryant — yes; Council member Waldrop — yes; Council member Chavira — yes; Mayor Noor — yes). The council’s action finds the housing-element update exempt under CEQA Guideline 15061(b)(3) because it is a policy document that will not result in direct physical changes to the environment as part of the adoption step, and directs submission of the adopted element and resolution to HCD for final certification and subsequent implementation and reporting.

The housing element process, as described in the presentation and public remarks, included a community survey with 235 responses, three workshops at the Taft Transit Center and one at Taft Union High School, stakeholder focus groups (42 parties invited with four meetings held), four draft releases with comment periods, and planning commission review earlier in August. The element retains seven programs carried over from the fifth cycle and adds other state-required items related to AFFH and new state legislation.

What the council adopted tonight sets local policy and zoning tools to accommodate the RHNA and to pursue a number of programmatic actions, but several speakers and council members emphasized that implementation depends on external funding, county partnerships and HCD certification. Faith in the Valley representatives urged early collaboration with county partners and cited state and federal funding sources discussed during public comment as possible means to build navigation or bridge-housing capacity.

The council’s adoption means the city will forward the resolution and adopted document to HCD for final certification; if HCD certifies the housing element, the city will move into implementation and required progress reporting for the 2023–2031 planning period.