Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Element topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Nevada City staff reports progress on sixth‑cycle housing element; city exceeds lower‑income target and receives much larger seventh‑cycle allocation
Summary
City planner Jessica Henkins reported the city met and exceeded its sixth‑cycle lower‑income goal (59 units vs. required 52) and said Nevada City received a seventh‑cycle RHNA allocation of 424 units, including more than 200 low‑income units; the commission will forward the annual report to city council for approval and submittal to the state.
City planner Jessica Henkins told the Nevada City Planning Commission that the city’s annual progress report on the sixth‑cycle housing element shows substantial work but incomplete overall progress toward the 135‑unit allocation for the cycle.
“We have a housing allocation of 135 units of which 52 units have to be lower income,” Henkins said, and staff reported the city has achieved 59 lower‑income units to date, exceeding that statutory minimum.
Henkins said staff has advanced a number of implementation items in the past year, including updates to accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules and near‑final pre‑approved ADU plans. “We are going to city council next week with this annual progress report for their approval, and once they approve it, we’ll submit that to the state housing and community development agency,” she said.
Consultant Gary Price, who has supported the housing element update, added that the city has been active in coordinating regionally and implementing measures to reduce development constraints for lower‑income and workforce housing. He noted HCD’s recent emphasis on furthering fair housing and said the seventh‑cycle requirements include new obligations around equity and vulnerable populations.
Henkins also told the commission that Nevada City’s RHNA allocation for the upcoming seventh cycle is markedly larger than the current cycle: the city’s new allocation is 424 units, with just over 200 identified as low‑income allocations. Commissioners asked for the HCD methodology underlying the new numbers; Henkins said staff would circulate the HCD presentation and the related methodology letter presented at a regional workshop.
Commissioners agreed to receive and file the annual report and to forward it to city council for approval, as staff recommended. The council’s approval will allow staff to finalize the submittal to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
