The City of Garden Grove is updating its Housing Element for the 2021-2029 planning period, to identify goals and strategies to meet the housing needs of existing and future residents for the production of safe, decent, and affordable housing for all persons in the community.  This plan is required by State Housing Law and must be updated every eight years. The Housing Element must be certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by October 15, 2021.

The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) is mandated by State Housing Law as part of the periodic process of updating local Housing Elements of General Plans. The RHNA quantifies the housing need, for all income levels, within each jurisdiction. Garden Grove’s RHNA allocation for the 2021-2029 planning period is projected to be 19,122 units. The State of California requires the City of Garden Grove to plan for 19,122 future homes to accommodate growth in the region.  The City has officially submitted an application to SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) to appeal its RHNA allocation.  

As part of updating the Housing Element, the Land Use Element and Zoning Code and Map will also be updated, to accommodate the City’s RHNA allocation.

The process of updating the City’s 6^th Housing Element Cycle began in August 2020 with a series of public engagement efforts led by the consulting team of MIG Inc. Part of the Housing Element Update presentation will highlight potential strategies and approaches, which were created based on the feedback received from the community, to develop a plan to meet the State’s RHNA allocation. 

State Housing Law also requires cities to specify exact locations where new housing can feasibly be added – this is called Sites Inventory. The City is required to show the exact locations (properties) that can feasibly accommodate the development of 19,122 new residential units. 

Public Engagement and Outreach

During the early public engagement stages of the process, the City received valuable input from key stakeholders and members/residents of the community, through focused group interviews and the First Community Survey.  The Second Community Online Survey (“2nd Survey”) was then developed based on feedback received from the early public outreach efforts.  The 2nd Survey, which is currently available to the public, started on November 4, 2020 and will extend through January 12, 2021. The 2nd Survey is an interactive mapping tool that helps illustrate the preliminary Land Use Alternative strategies and approaches being considered, as well as to garner community feedback.  The 2nd Survey is posted on the City’s website and available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean.  The survey is part of a larger public education and outreach effort that includes a Virtual Community Meeting, a study session for the Planning Commission, and a presentation for discussion for the City Council.

The Public Engagement Plan and a summary of the community outreach activities conducted thus far have been attached for reference.  The City’s community outreach efforts are ongoing and will be continuously extensive throughout the process.

The Virtual Community Meeting was held on November 18, 2020, and provided additional opportunities for the community and stakeholders to: (i) learn about the land use alternatives being considered; and (ii) to provide their direct input for additional comments and ideas.  The consultant presented an overview on the Housing Element, explained housing density, and discussed RHNA along with approaches to Land Use Alternatives. The interactive discussion illustrated the housing sites inventory map (potential sites to accommodate future housing) and the proposed increases in housing density (the number of housing units per acre of land) for properties with existing General Plan mixed use designations. Participant(s) comments included, but were not limited to:

• If there is a penalty for not building the 19,122 housing units to meet the City’s RHNA;
• Policy(ies) needed to build more affordable housing;
• Consider inclusionary housing program;
• If City has a plan for supportive housing;
• Consider impacts to building more housing (parking, traffic, services, parks);
• If environmental review is required as part of the Housing Element Update;
• If outreach has been conducted to Korean business districts;
• Rezone most commercial areas for higher residential density;
• If the City reviews and approves new housing before it is built;
• What the criteria is to selecting potential housing sites;
• If housing is planned in areas along Valley View Street;
• Brookhurst Street and Chapman Avenue area can accommodate higher residential density;
• If the OC Streetcar project is driving residential density around the upcoming new transit station at Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue;
• Western Avenue is a smaller street and may not be able to handle higher density housing since there is no existing housing along the street;
• Do not support more housing on Main Street and in the existing mixed-use areas by City Hall;
• Harbor Boulevard is already at capacity and cannot accommodate more housing;
• New housing along Harbor Boulevard is not likely to be affordable; and
• Areas close to the freeway (along Garden Grove Boulevard and Harbor Boulevard) are not ideal locations for increased housing density due to concerns with vehicle emissions.

On November 19, 2020 at the Planning Commission study session, MIG presented an overview of the Housing Element Update, details of the Land Use Alternatives under consideration, while also sharing public comments and feedback that were received at the Virtual Community Meeting.  Commissioner(s) comments included, but were not limited to:  

• What the scope and effectiveness was of the City’s outreach efforts to the community, thus far; 
• It is imperative that outreach efforts are extensive and reach all parts of the community;
• Incremental increases to density would be a preferred approach to addressing RHNA, instead of significant increases;
• In the Western Street industrial area, consider increasing residential densities (from 60 to 70 dwelling units per acre) to ensure housing can be built;
• If impacts on infrastructure and services have been considered;
• Harbor Boulevard is an opportunity corridor;
• If the upcoming OC Streetcar train station, at the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue, was a driving force in considering proposed housing density increases in the International West areas, along Harbor Boulevard; and
• What the status is of the City’s RHNA appeal efforts.

The proposed Land Use Alternatives identified certain housing density strategies to achieve the plan for 19,122 RHNA units. City Council feedback is requested. Prior to the meeting of December 8, 2020, the presentation materials will be provided to the City Council and posted on the City’s Housing Element Update webpage (http://ggcity.org/housing-element)