The update leads to the creation of a Housing Plan, which evaluates the accomplishments of the last adopted element and establishes the goals, policies, programs and strategies to achieve the city’s housing goals for the next five years. Bobkiewicz said that the two community workshops are “intended to provide an opportunity for the community to hear more about the Housing Element and assist the city in identifying housing needs and priorities.”Judy Johnduff of the city’s Planning Department told the January meeting of Good Morning Santa Paula that updating Housing Elements is a “critical issue in the state,” meant to ensure that “all housing needs for each person in the city are met,” and that identifying existing housing units determines future needs.Housing Element Update meetings promise to be lively: Santa Paulans have voted down against development several times, although a 495-estate lot project at Adams Canyon did pass voter muster. Housing has become the focus of fierce public debate, especially centered on the creation of affordable and low-income housing.For further information, contact Planning Director Janna Minsk at 933-4214, ext. 244, or email Plan@ci.santa-paula.ca.us.
First Housing Element Update meeting to be held January 30
January 18, 2008
Santa Paula News
It comes around every five years, and now the community and the City of Santa Paula are getting ready to tackle the issue again: updating the Housing Element of the General Plan.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesIt comes around every five years, and now the community and the City of Santa Paula are getting ready to tackle the issue again: updating the Housing Element of the General Plan.Housing Element Community Workshops will be held January 30 and March 4. Both meetings will start at 6:30 p.m. and be held at the Community Center, located at the corner of Main Street and Steckel Drive. Community input will be forwarded to the Planning Commission and City Council, who will consider the Housing Element Update at a public hearing to be held at the Community Center in March.One of the seven mandated elements of the General Plan, the Housing Element is required by state law to be updated every five years “because it plays such a key role in planning for the housing needs of all economic segments of the community,” said City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz. All cities in the region, including Santa Paula, are required to have the Housing Element adopted and certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by June 30, 2008.Updates to the 2008-1014 Housing Element will include an analysis of the City’s demographic and housing characteristics and trends, evaluation of the nature and extent of specific city housing needs, an examination of potential constraints affecting the construction of new housing units, and maintaining and improving the city’s existing housing stock, including market mechanisms, government programs and regulations and infrastructure constraints.
