Good News About RHNA and ADUs
I was considering writing about the current town controversy, but Joe Siudzinski suggested that people are tired of hearing about it and would appreciate learning something positive. I’m so glad he said something. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative and ignore good news.
What is RHNA ? To alleviate the housing shortage ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments) sets a target for the development of new market rate and affordable housing in each Bay Area community every 8 years. The target is called RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation). Each community is assigned a specific number of new housing units that correspond to 4 different income categories: very-low, low, moderate and above moderate or market rate. The town has consistently approved and met the housing target in the market rate category, but struggled to meet the affordable housing objectives. However, due to a change in state law and the corresponding increase in new ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), we’re on our way to hit our 2023 goals.
The current housing cycle (number 5) ends in January 2023. LAH was allotted a RHNA of 121 units and as of 2020 we need to add 37 very-low, 16 low and 11 moderate income units to meet our allocation. At the current rate of ADU permit requests we are on track to achieve the goal for all income categories. We’ve exceeded our above-moderate target by 28 units already. Many more details are in the staff report (starting at page 99 in the packet)
Our progress is good news but it may not last. New RHNA numbers will come out in 2023 and they are expected to be higher. It’s not clear how long adding ADUs will meet the targets as the state may restrict the number of ADUs that count towards affordable housing. We may have to become more creative in how we add low and moderate income housing.
A bigger question is how RHNA will be affected if SB9 passes. As a community we’ve stepped up and tried to hit our housing targets, but SB9 could significantly change how housing is built not only in LAH, but all over the state. RHNA may become irrelevant.
SB9 and SB10 are making progress through the legislature. If you haven’t yet signed the petition, please do. I wrote more in my last email.
Special thanks to Steve Padovan, Principal Planner, for making sure my descriptions and numbers are correct.