Seal Beach council certifies EIR, adopts 6th-cycle housing element and introduces rezoning to meet state RHNA

The Seal Beach City Council on Oct. 27 certified a program-level environmental impact report and adopted the city's 6th-cycle housing element — actions the city said are required to meet state housing law and the region's RHNA allocation. Council also introduced three ordinances to implement rezoning and voted to overrule a finding by the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC), moves that staff said are necessary for state certification.

City staff and two consultant teams told the council and the public that state housing law (including California Government Code §65589.11 and related guidance) requires cities to demonstrate site capacity for a prescribed number of units. Interim Community Development Director Sean Temple said the city's RHNA allocation for the current cycle is 1,243 units and that the EIR evaluates a buffer and programmatic rezoning to provide flexibility to meet that number.

"The state's legislature has the intent to make housing available and affordable as a matter of statewide importance," Temple said, summarizing the statutory framework for the housing element and the need to show zoning capacity. Anna…