Housing Element Glossary
ADU
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have been known by many names: granny flats, in-law units, backyard cottages, secondary units and more. HCD is the state’s leader on local ADU ordinances, which — while optional — have grown exponentially in number as more cities, counties, and homeowners become interested in ADUs as one solution to increasing the supply of affordable housing.
Agreement
A Development Agreement (“Agreement”) is an agreement between an individual and a construction company, city or builder to develop a parcel of land for the individual’s personal or commercial use. The Agreement involves the submission of a Development Plan by the Developer to the Owner of the property. The development plan sketches out the project and lays down the ground rules of the build, such as the time frame, property limits etc.
Consultant
Jurisdictions hire consultants to assist them in preparing Housing Element Updates. Consultants can prepare community outreach materials, hold workshops, prepare site inventories & suitability analysis, analyze past progress and final draft the new Housing Element.
Density
The number of permanent residential dwelling units per acre of land. Densities specified in the General Plan may be expressed in units per gross acre or per net developable acre.
Density Bonus
The allocation of development rights that allow a parcel to accommodate additional square footage or additional residential units beyond the maximum for which the parcel is zoned, usually in exchange for the provision or preservation of an amenity at the same site or at another location.
Developer
Developers purchase a tract of land, determine the marketing of the property, develop the building program and design, obtain the necessary public approval and financing, build the structures, and rent out, manage, and ultimately sell it.
EIR
Environmental Impact Reports (or EIRs) are reports to inform the public and public agency decision-makers of significant environmental effects of proposed projects, identify possible ways to minimize those effects, and describe reasonable alternatives to those projects.
Entitlement
The entitlement process is what developers must go through in order to have their projects approved for construction.
Funding Sources
There are a number of federal, state, and local funding sources to finance affordable housing development. The guiding principle in affordable housing financing is that public and private financing sources must equal the total cost of building the building.
HCD
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) plays the critical role of reviewing every local government’s housing element to determine whether it complies with state law and then submits written findings back to each local government. HCD’s approval is required before a local government can adopt its housing element as part of its overall General Plan.
Housing Element
One of the seven State-mandated elements of a local general plan, it assesses the existing and projected housing needs of all economic segments of the community, identifies potential sites adequate to provide the amount and kind of housing needed, and contains adopted goals, policies, and implementation programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. Under State law, Housing Elements must be updated every eight years.
Inclusionary Housing
Through the local land-use approvals process, inclusionary housing policies require, or provide incentives to encourage, developers to reserve a percentage of units in new market-rate developments for low- and moderate-income families.
In-Lieu Fees
Rather than mandating the fulfillment of inclusionary housing requirements through new construction, some communities allow developers to pay a fee in-lieu of construction of the affordable units. The fee is generally based on the cost of development and may be determined by a formula or negotiated on a case-by-case basis. Fee revenue is normally allocated to a local affordable housing trust fund that is used to finance other affordable housing initiatives.
Mixed-Use
Properties on which various uses, such as office, commercial, institutional, and residential, are combined in a single building or on a single site in an integrated development project with significant functional interrelationships and a coherent physical design. A “single site” may include contiguous properties.
Non-profit Developer
Non-profit housing developers build affordable housing for individuals under-served by the private market. The non-profit housing sector is composed of community development corporations (CDC) and national and regional non-profit housing organizations whose mission is to provide for the needy, the elderly, working households, and others that the private housing market does not adequately serve.
Permanent Supportive Housing
Permanent Supportive Housing, also referred to as Supportive Housing, combines affordable housing with best-practice services for individuals and families with disabilities and a lengthy history of homelessness. This model has been demonstrated to permanently keep the majority of persons who enter the program from ever becoming homeless again.
RHNA
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) is a requirement of State housing law and is a process that determines projected and existing housing need for all jurisdictions (city or unincorporated county) in California. The process to determine a RHNA allocation is conducted by a council of governments, such as SCAG, every eight (8) years. Every jurisdiction must plan for its RHNA allocation in its housing element of its General Plan by ensuring there is enough sites and zoning to accommodate their RHNA allocation.
SCAG
As the regional Council of Governments (COG) for Southern California, State law requires SCAG to determine the existing and projected housing need for its region. SCAG’s region encompasses the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. SCAG takes the lead in overseeing the assessment by identifying measures to gauge housing demand and comparing those numbers against socioeconomic factors throughout the region.
Site Inventory & Feasibility
The housing element must identify specific sites or parcels that are available for residential development. Land suitable for residential development must be appropriate and available for residential use in the planning period. Identified sites that require rezoning may be included in the inventory, provided the housing element includes a program to accomplish the rezoning early within the planning period.
Preparation of a site-suitability analysis is the second step in addressing the adequate sites requirement. In addition to providing a listing of sites, local governments must prepare an analysis that demonstrates which identified sites can accommodate the housing needs, by income level, within the planning period of the housing element.
Zoning
Zoning is a tool that most cities use to govern “uses” (e.g. residential, commercial, or industrial), the size of buildings, and how buildings relate to their surroundings, including other buildings, open spaces, and the street.