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La Habra Heights council adopts sixth-cycle housing element, approves rezonings and implementation steps
Summary
The La Habra Heights City Council voted July 28 to adopt its 2021–2029 (sixth-cycle) housing element, directing staff to submit required code amendments and rezonings to the California Department of Housing and Community Development and pre-funding a $500,000 sewer reimbursement program to help sites meet RHNA requirements.
The La Habra Heights City Council on July 28 adopted its sixth-cycle housing element, directing staff to return required code and map changes to state reviewers and to begin work on infrastructure steps to make sites developable.
City manager Rafferty (staff) told the council the update reflects a regional housing needs allocation of 244 units and includes targeted rezonings of sites where sewer access exists. He said the city had previously rezoned properties near Harbor Boulevard but HCD raised concerns about sewer access, so staff identified alternative properties along Hacienda Road and a school-site parcel that could be rezoned for multifamily housing if utilities and evacuation access can be assured.
The action matters because California law requires jurisdictions to plan for their RHNA totals; adoption allows La Habra Heights to move forward with zoning changes, submit the element to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for certification and keep the city eligible for housing-related grants and programs.
Staff told the council it had pre-funded a $500,000 capital improvement program (CIP) reimbursement mechanism to offset sewer installation costs if a developer seeks to make a site serviceable for RHNA. City staff also discussed potential use of state laws such as SB 4/AB 1851 to enable religious institutions to develop affordable units on their properties, and said a strengthened ADU program remains part of the strategy.
Council members pressed for neighbor notice for properties proposed in overlay zones. One council member requested that “immediate neighbors” be directly notified so they have “their full opportunity to make comment” before final action; staff and the city attorney agreed to provide that targeted notice prior to the next hearing.
A motion to adopt the housing element and related general plan and zoning amendments carried on a council vote. The adoption directs staff to submit the City’s housing element and associated ordinance amendments to HCD for review and certification and to return to council with final zoning ordinances and implementation steps.
The council closed the public hearing on the item after the vote. The housing element adoption becomes the basis for subsequent ordinance changes and any rezones will still require additional environmental review and procedural hearings where appropriate.
