Affordable Housing, An Urgent Problem For Our Community*

Most of the required annual housing element updates are difficult to access by the public. Housing Elements are updated based on the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) cycle as determined by HCD. The most recent cycle, the 5th cycle, was a four-year cycle that ran 2014-2019. The next cycle, the 6th cycle, will run 2020-2028. Government Code §65400 requires that each city prepare an annual progress report on the status of the housing element of its general plan and progress towards its implementation and submit this annual progress report to HCD. HCD posts all of the data on their website. The progress report can also be found on the Planning Commission and City Council agenda packets, which are published on the City website. Atascadero will add links to the HCD website as well as a pdf of the progress report on our website.

The length and cost of the building permitting process is a major barrier to the construction of all housing, especially low income housing. The building permit process is set up to ensure compliance with the California Building and Fire Codes in order to protect public health and safety. The City of Atascadero recognizes that the time and cost of building permits impacts all housing production. Understanding the importance of this issue the City of Atascadero continues to have the lowest fees and quickest processing time in the County. The City has undertaken a number of proactive steps over the past few years to actively address these concerns, including: 1. Implement a new permit tracking system, which facilitates easier permit application, retrieval, and processing. 2. Maintaining a permit screening process that reduces plan check review time. 3. Consulting with a new construction plan check service who is dedicated to streamlining the process and reducing costs to the applicant.