Facing legal action from the state, Costa Mesa leaders will consider changes on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to the city’s housing element, which determines where and how 11,760 state-mandated units could be built by the end of the decade.
The City Council will consider revising the city’s general plan, updating the list of housing opportunity sites that could accommodate new residential development at a variety of income levels, in addition to incorporating environmental justice policies.
In accordance with comments from the Department of Housing and Community Development, city staff modified the housing plan to include 94 new areas that can accommodate roughly 6,978 homes, according to a report to the council ahead of the meeting.
The proposed changes would also remove from the city’s inventory list more than two dozen sites that didn’t meet the criteria for redevelopment, whether because they lacked sufficient developer interest or didn’t account for enough housing at lower income levels.
HDC informed Costa Mesa leaders in an Aug. 21 letter that the revised element would satisfy the “statutory requirements” of state housing law and can be certified, provided that the city completes the rezoning of the remaining sites, including the Fairview Developmental Center.
The state’s housing element law requires cities to update their housing plans every eight years to zone for additional homes to alleviate the housing crisis in California. The sixth housing element cycle, which lasts from 2021 to 2029, requires cities to collectively plan for 2.5 million homes statewide.
The cities aren’t responsible for housing construction; they just have to create the zoning environment and identify areas for developers to build.
Costa Mesa is required to plan for 11,760 new homes this cycle, 40% of which must be targeted for low- or very-low-income households.
Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Costa Mesa and four other cities on in July for failing to adopt plans that meet their share of regional housing needs.
Costa Mesa submitted its housing element in 2022, but the state rejected the plan a year later, arguing that the city had not “completed necessary rezones to make prior identified sites available.” The state cited the Fairview Development Center and a group home as sites that should be part of the rezoning program.
The City Council is expected to discuss and vote on a final land use plan for the Fairview Development Center on Sept. 15.