City Of Santa Monica: City Council Makes Changes To Draft Housing Element Update

Press release from the City of Santa Monica:

June 16, 2021 2:51 PM

The Santa Monica City Council at its meeting last night provided input and direction on the draft Housing Element update, which will guide housing production over the next eight years once adopted in October. The Council directed staff to transmit to the California Department of Housing and Community Development a draft Housing Element that complies with the State requirement that the City build 8,895 units, of which 69% must be affordable, over the eight-year cycle of the plan. Council adopted changes to the draft Housing Element, some of which were recommended by the Planning Commission, as outlined below.

“Our City Council has embraced the concept of 100% affordable housing on city-owned land, a concept that can be a foundation for robust affordable housing production for all communities, particularly those with high land costs,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “This Council understands that our community is more diverse because of our leadership in the production of affordable housing, and our direction is intended to help make that possible while also complying with state mandates on housing production overall.”

After significant community engagement, previous feedback from the Council, and direction from the Planning Commission, Housing Commission, and Rent Control Board, the following four key principles were selected to guide the plan:

Media Contact

Constance FarrellPublic Information Officer

constance.farrell@smgov.net

This press release was produced by the City of Santa Monica. The views expressed here are the author’s own.