2023-2031 Housing Element Update

City staff have prepared revisions in response to HCD’s input. The revisions were posted on the Housing Element website (www.hmbcity.com/housingelement) and emails were sent to interested parties on August 22, 2023, commencing a required seven-day comment period running from August 23, 2023 – August 29, 2023. Comments can be submitted via email at housingelement@hmbcity.com. Comments received will be made part of the record and will be provided to HCD. The City will provide updates about the next steps in the process a􀅌er the City reviews HCD’s letter which is expected on or before August 31, 2023.

This document includes City staff’s proposed revisions, which are presented for each section of the Housing Element, by page number of the Housing Element submitted to HCD. Underlined text is an insertion and strikethrough text is a deletion. Grey highlighting is used to distinguish the text being amended from the topic. The intent is that revisions will be incorporated into the next draft of the Housing Element along with technical corrections to data in various tables affected by these revisions, as well as corrections of non-substantive typos, formatting, etc. 

Link to proposed revisions to HCD Draft Housing Element. 

The Draft Housing Element 2023 - 2031 (Cycle 6) was submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on May 31, 2023. 

A copy of the document is available for viewing below:

HCD Draft Housing Element - Full Version (PDF)

• Cover HMB Cycle 6 (PDF)
• Table of Contents (PDF)
• Introduction and Executive Summary (PDF)
• HMB Housing Plan (PDF)
• A. Housing Needs Assessment (PDF)
• B. Constraints (PDF)
• C. Housing Resources (PDF)
• D. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) (PDF)
• E. Community Engagement (PDF)
• F. Cycle 5 Housing Element Accomplishments (PDF)
• Glossary of Terms and List of Acronyms (PDF)

Highlights from Public Review Period April 17 to May 16, 2023

The First Public Draft Housing Element was made available for a 30-day public comment period running from April 17 - May 16, 2023. The Element was provided on the City’s website as a combined and searchable PDF file, as well as by individual section. Hard copies of the Element were available at the Half Moon Bay Library and City Hall. Announcements about the Housing Element’s availability and comment period were broadly circulated as follows:

• City ENews Notifications:                                                        8,884 email addresses
• City social media (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram):          14,015 following
• Housing Element website
• Announcements at public meetings

To further ensure that interested parties had an opportunity to learn about the Housing Element and provide comments, the City held a Work Session on May 9, 2023. The session started at 6:00 PM with a one-hour reception for community members to discuss the Housing Element with each other and City staff. Display boards presented the Housing Element’s Goals, Housing Opportunity Sites, and RHNA. The Work Session was held jointly by the City Council and Planning Commission and commenced at 7:00 PM. The session was offered in a hybrid format and also televised. The public comment period was open for in-person and Zoom attendees. The City also set up a Housing Element email to facilitate the submittal of written comments, which resulted in twenty-one emailed comments being received. 

A detailed overview of comments received from the public as well as feedback from Councilmembers and Commissioners is included in Appendix E. Community Engagement of the HCD Draft Housing Element. Additionally, all written comments are attached to that appendix section. Key themes and responses included the following items:

• Housing for Older Adults
• Family Housing
• Manufactured Homes 
• Stone Pine Road Housing Opportunity Site
• Teacher Housing 
• Agricultural Land Use and Farmworker Housing
• Residential Densities and Measure D 
• Community Character
• Town Center Incentives 
• Neighborhood Diversity
• Home Sharing and Co-Housing
• Parking
• ADUs and Measure D
• Funding 
• Glossary Terms
• Vacant Houses

Questions about the Housing Element can be submitted via email at housingelement@hmbcity.com.

Next Steps

HCD has up to 90 days of review from the May 31, 2023 submission date to send the City comments on the Cycle 6 Draft Housing Element. Once the City has had the opportunity to address HCD feedback and make necessary edits the City may choose to submit revisions to HCD and/or adopt the Housing Element. Any subsequent revisions to HCD will take up to 60 days.