City of Brentwood’s response to Grand Jury Report No. 2306

R1

Each city and the County should consider assigning a staff position with clear leadership, ownership and accountability to achieve allocated RHNA targets. The individual in this position would be responsible for establishing and promoting an operational plan to achieve the RHNA goals set forth in the housing element plan. The recommendation has been implemented. California’s Housing Element Law acknowledges that, in order for the private market to adequately address the housing needs and demands of Californians, local governments must adopt plans and regulatory systems that provide opportunities for (and do not unduly constrain) housing development. The City is not responsible for the development and construction of housing to achieve the allocated RHNA targets. Instead, the City is responsible for the effective implementation of its housing element and associated programs to address any existing constraints to housing and for tracking and reporting the City’s progress toward achieving its RHNA. The Community Development Department’s Planning Division is assigned with the responsibility of implementing the Housing Element and monitoring the City’s progress towards meeting its RHNA targets. Further, the Community Development Department has an Affordable Housing Program that, among other things, provides safe and affordable housing options to the residents of Brentwood, provides data on housing trends and affordability, and seeks funding opportunities and engages community stakeholders. Together, these two divisions implement the Housing Element’s programs and the City’s affordable housing programs

R2

Each city and the County should report AH progress and lack of progress using data across all four measured income groups. Special attention should be paid to tracking the housing needs of residents categorized as very low- and low-income. Cities and the County should communicate their progress biannually, against RHNA targets at council and supervisor Meetings. The recommendation has been implemented. State law (Government Code § 65400) requires the City to prepare an annual progress report (APR) on the jurisdiction’s status and progress in implementing its housing element (HE) using forms and definitions adopted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The APR allows HCD to track the progress of the implementation of the City’s Housing Element and requires its submission as a threshold requirement for several State housing funding programs (see APR Guidance). Through the forms and tables provided by HCD (link), the City must report annual data on housing in the APR, including the following: Housing development applications received (including proposed number of units, types of ● tenancy, and affordability levels) Building/construction activity ● Progress towards the RHNA ● Sites identified or rezoned to accommodate a shortfall in housing need ● Program implementation status ● Local efforts to remove governmental constraints to the development of housing ● Projects with a commercial development bonus ● Units rehabilitated or preserved ● Locally owned lands included in the sites inventory that have been sold ● Locally owned surplus sites ● Government Code § 65400 requires the City to provide this report to its legislative body (the City Council), HCD, and OPR by April 1 of each year (covering the previous calendar year). APRs must be presented to the City Council for its review and acceptance, usually as a consent or discussion item on a regular meeting agenda. The City of Brentwood provides the APR to the City Council annually prior to submitting it to HCD and OPR. Biannual reporting would divert staff time from other housing programs and would not provide data that is significantly different than the required APR.

R3

Each city and the County should consider creating a dedicated AH commission comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of diverse citizens and led by a current, nonelected, city expert in planning. Each commission would be charged with providing a community voice in the process and helping to identify and address obstacles that hinder the development of affordable housing projects in their community. The recommendation will not be implemented. We appreciate the thoughtful recommendation to create a dedicated Affordable Housing (AH) commission comprised of a multi-disciplinary team of diverse citizens, led by a current, non-elected, city expert in planning. While we acknowledge the potential benefits of such a commission, after careful consideration, we have decided not to pursue its implementation due to the following reasons:  Existing Planning Processes: Brentwood already has established planning processes, committees and commissions responsible for addressing affordable housing issues which are made up of elected and appointed residents and staffed by city planners and consultants that are subject matter experts. These include the Planning Commission, the Land Use and Development subcommittee of the City Council, and the City Council. These existing groups provide platforms for community engagement and collaboration, making the formation of a separate commission redundant and potentially duplicative of efforts.  Resource Constraints: Establishing and maintaining a dedicated AH commission would require additional financial and administrative resources. At present, the City already allocates resources to multiple initiatives aimed at addressing affordable housing needs, including the administration of the City’s inclusionary housing ordinance and the management of the Affordable Housing program. Adding another commission would spread already limited resources too thin and hinder the efficiency of current efforts.  Community Involvement: Instead of forming a separate AH commission, we are committed to continuing our practice of involving community members and experts in our existing planning and housing committees. Robust public outreach in multiple languages and via multiple formats, conducting regular workshops and study sessions, and encouraging community feedback will remain focal points in our efforts to address obstacles hindering affordable housing development. While the City does not intend to pursue the recommended dedicated AH commission, the City values the underlying principle of community engagement and recognize the importance of community input in the decision-making process. The City will continue to explore strategies that promote transparency, inclusivity, and community-driven solutions for affordable housing development in Brentwood. The City remains committed to finding the most effective and sustainable approaches to address affordable housing challenges, working in collaboration with stakeholders and community members to achieve our shared goals.

R4

Each city and the County should consider reviewing existing processes and identifying changes that would address or resolve the specific obstacles identified in this report that hinder achieving RHNA allocation targets for very low- and low-income housing in their Community. The recommendation has been implemented. As required by State law, the City reviews existing processes and identifies programs to address any potential constraints to housing development through the Housing Element’s constraints analysis section. (See Section 3: Housing Constraints, Resources and Fair Housing of the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element adopted by the City Council on March 14, 2023.) As part of the 6th Cycle Housing Element update, Brentwood has conducted a thorough review of a number of potential factors that may affect the provision of adequate housing or access to opportunities for current and future residents in the City of Brentwood. These factors include governmental and nongovernmental constraints. The analysis identified a number of nongovernmental constraints that impact the provision of housing in the city, including factors such as the cost of land, the cost of construction and the availability of financing. Where governmental constraints were identified, Section 4: Housing Plan of the Housing Element identifies policies and actions to minimize or eliminate constraints. These include: adopting objective residential design standards; providing development incentives for affordable housing; and, pursuing affordable housing assistance funds. As a result of these actions, tangible progress can be made towards meeting RHNA allocation targets for very low- and low-income housing in Brentwood.

R5

Each city and the County should consider developing a public dashboard to report progress against RHNA targets. The recommendation has been implemented. As stated above, Brentwood must prepare an APR on the City’s status and progress in implementing its Housing Element using forms and definitions adopted by HCD. (Government Code § 65400.) Each jurisdiction’s APR must be submitted to HCD and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) by April 1 of each year. HCD compiles and showcases all APRs through their interactive digital data dashboard with downloadable data sets. (link)

R6

Each city and the County should consider, in their individual Housing Element plans, putting forth land zoned "suitable for residential use," without development obstacles, and located strategically close to existing services, for AH purposes. The recommendation has been implemented. As required by State law, jurisdictions are required to prepare a site inventory identifying land suitable and available for residential development to meet the locality’s regional housing needs by income level. Please see the response to Finding 6 for details. Further, in addressing HCD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) requirements, there is a thorough review of the site selection via the Tax Credit Allocation’s Committee (TCAC) Resource Map that designates areas of low-, moderate-, high-, and highest- resource within a jurisdiction and requires specific justification for placing affordable housing projects within low-resources areas. All of the sites identified as suitable for residential development in Brentwood’s Housing Element are located in high resource areas of the city.

R7

Each city and the County should consider reviewing their zoning policies to identify restrictive zoning policies unique to their jurisdiction that impede AH projects and consider making zoning changes in light of that review that will support AH in their community. The recommendation has been implemented. Through the Housing Element process, Brentwood has reviewed its zoning policies and identified potential affordable housing development constraints. Housing Element Section 4: Housing Plan outlines forthcoming changes to zoning policies with specified timeframes to address the identified constraints.

R8

Cities should consider adopting an inclusionary housing ordinance as part of their standard development policy (if not already in place). The recommendation has been implemented. The City has an adopted inclusionary housing ordinance that requires developers of eligible projects to provide a minimum of 13% of the total units affordable to very low-, low-, and moderate-income households. See Brentwood Municipal Code Chapter 17.725 AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Since its implementation, the inclusionary housing ordinance has created 100 deed-restricted affordable housing units and generated in-lieu fees to fund affordable housing and affordable housing programs. Overall, the successful implementation of the inclusionary housing ordinance has been a significant step towards promoting inclusive and affordable housing development in our city.

R9

Each city and the County should consider how to prioritize the implementation of housing projects that promote development of very low- and low-income housing. The recommendation has been implemented. The City must process all residential development applications in accordance with the timelines established by State law. These timelines include provisions for streamlined, ministerial review for qualifying affordable housing projects, which encourages developers to prioritize the creation of affordable housing. The City’s density bonus ordinance also encourages developers to prioritize affordable housing by providing increases in density and waivers and concessions from certain development standards to increase the feasibility of affordable projects. Additionally, the promotion of Accessory Dwelling Units is a key strategy identified in our 6th Cycle Housing Element.

R10

Each city and the County should consider prioritizing Measure X funding requests that support projects that address RHNA targets for very low- and low-income residents. Each city and County should consider reporting regularly to their residents on the use of Measure X funds for such purposes. The recommendation will not be implemented. Measure X is a countywide 20-year, ½ cent sales tax approved by Contra Costa County voters on November 3, 2020 “to keep Contra Costa’s regional hospital open and staffed; fund community health centers, emergency response; support crucial safety-net services; invest in early childhood services; protect vulnerable populations; and for other essential county services.” Under the Measure X Program Allocation Summary, only $10 million dollars (about 13% of FY 2022-23 funding and about 4.5% of total funding) were allocated to a Local Housing Trust Fund; for FY 2023-24, $12 million dollars were allocated. The Measure X Housing Funds are to be dispersed by the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) and the Health Services’ Health, Housing and Homeless (HSD-H3) Services and the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa. The use of Measure X funds for housing are reported by the County here: https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/8530/Measure-X The City has not received Measure X funds but has identified local funding sources for each of the Program Actions in our 6th Cycle Housing Element to support affordable housing projects that address RHNA targets for very low- and low-income residents.