Over the last 18 months, staff has been working closely with Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to prepare the 2020 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). The RTP/SCS is a collective vision for the region’s future, balancing mobility and housing needs with economic, environmental and public health goals. The plan promotes smarter growth, using integrated transportation and land use strategies that will help the region achieve state-mandated greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and federal Clean Air Act requirements.

The RTP/SCS is produced by compiling data known as “local input” from each of the 197 jurisdictions throughout the SCAG region. Local input includes statistics regarding population and employment growth, as well as General Plan land use and existing zoning requirements. The local input gathered to produce the RTP/SCS is utilized in the RHNA to determine how SCAG distributes the regional housing determination figure assigned by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The number of housing units assigned to each local jurisdiction is known as their RHNA Allocation. Per State law, local jurisdictions are required to plan for the inclusion of these new housing units in their Housing Elements.

On June 27, 2019, staff submitted a letter to SCAG outlining the City’s position regarding the proposed distribution of the regional determination at the jurisdictional level.  On August 22, 2019, HCD released their final determination of 1,344,740 total housing units for the six-county SCAG region.  This figure reflects the number of housing units the region must plan for in the October 2021 – October 2029 planning period.

Below are the draft 2021-2029 RHNA allocations for Garden Grove based on HCD’s final determination, broken down by proposed methodology. (See Attachment for more detail):

As a basis for comparison, the City’s RHNA allocation for 2014-2021 was a total of 747 housing units.  Now that the final RHNA determination is known, and the City has a better understanding of how the total RHNA may be distributed to the local jurisdictions within the SCAG region, staff has submitted a second letter voicing objections to all methods of distribution. However, of the three proposed methodologies, staff is most supportive of Option 3. 

On November 7, 2019, SCAG Regional Council will select the methodology for the distribution of RHNA.  In January/February 2020, SCAG will adopt the final RHNA methodology and assign draft RHNA allocations to local jurisdictions.  February through July 2020 is the Draft RHNA Appeals Process.  Staff will continue to monitor the RHNA process, provide input as necessary, and keep council apprised of the process.  A copy of both public comment letters, the Proposed RHNA Methodology presentation and Garden Grove’s draft RHNA allocation based on the three proposed methodologies are attached for reference.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Receive and file this report.