FAQ

What is the Housing Element?

The Housing Element identifies the City of Roseville’s housing needs and establishes programs and policies to define how those needs will be met. The Housing Element is a critical part of the City’s efforts to preserve, improve, and develop housing accessible to everyone in our community.

How is the Housing Element related to the General Plan?

State law requires Cities and Counties to maintain a General Plan and defines the subjects the General Plan must address. These are called the Elements of the General Plan. The Housing Element is a required component of the General Plan, but while other Elements are updated at the sole discretion of the City, state Housing Law requires compliant Housing Elements be updated on eight-year cycles and be subject to the review and approval of the California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). State Housing Law also establishes detailed and extensive informational requirements for Housing Elements.

Why is the Housing Element process different?

State law has declared “the availability of housing is a matter of vital statewide importance and the attainment of decent housing and a suitable living environment for all Californians is a priority of the highest order” (Gov. § Code 65580). Therefore, provisions in Housing Law are substantially more specific and directive than other Elements and contain detailed guidance and review by HCD.

What does the Housing Element cover?

An introduction, reviewing the purpose and scope of the Housing Element;
An analysis of the City’s demographic profile, housing characteristics, and existing and future housing needs;
An analysis of market, governmental, and non-governmental constraints affecting the production of housing;
An evaluation of the land, financial, and organizational resources available to address the City’s housing needs and goals;
An evaluation of the effectiveness of existing Housing Element policies and programs;
A Housing Plan to address the City’s identified housing needs, including housing goals, policies, and programs; and
An inventory of suitable land to accommodate the City’s share of regional housing needs.

What is the City’s housing need, and how is this determined?

The City has been allocated a total of 12,066 units, out of which 6,178 must be lower income.

State Housing Law defines the process for determining housing needs, and it begins at the state and regional level. The California Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) estimates future housing needs based on population projections which are adjusted based on cost burdens, vacancy rates, overcrowding rates, and other information. HCD works with the regional council of governments—which for our region is the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)—to finalize the regional housing need, called the Regional Housing Need Determination. The final determination for SACOG was issued in July 2019 (see Documents) and allocated the region a total of 153,512 housing units.

Housing Law subsequently requires SACOG to develop a methodology for allocating the total units to each jurisdiction. SACOG and member jurisdictions worked together beginning in August 2019 to develop the methodology and allocate units. The final plan was adopted by SACOG in March 2020 (see the Regional Housing Needs Plan in Documents). The total share of housing units is based on the projected population within each jurisdiction, while the proportion which must be allocated to lower income is primarily driven by three factors: jobs-housing balance, fair housing, and regional income parity. Essentially, state Housing Law directs that a greater share of lower-income units be directed toward communities which have the most jobs, opportunities, and higher incomes. The intent is to avoid an overconcentration of lower income housing in areas which are economically and environmentally disadvantaged.

How does this compare to previous housing need determinations?

Jurisdictions across the state have seen substantial increases in their housing need determinations compared to previous Housing Element cycles. For Roseville, the City’s total allocation is 42 percent higher than the previous cycle (12,066 units compared to 8,478 units), while the lower income allocation is 60 percent higher (6,178 units compared to 3,858 units). The City expressed significant concerns about this increase during the SACOG Regional Housing Needs Plan adoption process. The City’s comment letter on the methodologies is available in Documents.

How will we accommodate the City’s housing need in the Housing Element?

The City will accommodate the housing needs through a combination of existing sites and implementation of Housing Element Program 14, Rezone Program. The Rezone Program is located on Housing Element page X-22, with further details in Appendix E.

How do I get involved and learn more?

The City is excited to have the participation of our community in this important process. Please check the Get Involved page for information on upcoming outreach and notification lists. A more extensive description of the project is included on the Project Details page, which will be updated regularly as the project develops. The Documents page includes links to the public information released by the City to date, as well as background documents describing the state’s Regional Housing Needs Determination and the final SACOG Regional Housing Needs Plan.