Oceanside to meet state-imposed housing requirements

OCEANSIDE – The town of Oceanside will meet its state-imposed housing requirements for most of the next decade, according to a staffing plan that Oceanside City Council approved in mid-June.

The board approved its update to the housing component on June 14 for the 2021-2029 planning period or sixth cycle. By state law, all local governments must meet the housing needs of all income levels in their communities by adopting a housing component. These elements must be updated every eight years.

The Sixth Cycle Housing Component for Local Governments of the Association of San Diego Governments (SANDAG) went into effect on April 15 of this year and will run until April 15, 2029. Oceanside had until August 15 to adopt and submit his housing component project. at the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

According to senior planner Rob Dmohowski, the plan did not need to be fully completed. He said staff will continue to work with HCD to sort out any remaining issues and will also propose changes to the plan for public review at later dates.

The main objective of the element is to identify the housing needs of all residents of Oceanside and to define goals and strategies to develop an adequate supply of housing.

SANDAG adopted the state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) for the region last summer, designating a requirement of 5,443 units for Oceanside.

Of this amount, approximately 2,574 units (47% of the total housing need) are needed for households with higher to moderate income, 1,268 units (23%) for very low income, 883 (16%) for households with low income. moderate income and 718 (13%) for low income.

Oceanside has received a credit of 2,611 units for units built, licensed or under review since June 30, 2020, leaving it with a remaining requirement of 2,832 units.

The city is seeking to meet these additional unit needs through infill, redevelopment and mixed-use rezoning along its main trade corridors.

Without the rezoning, the city would only have room for 1,441 new units. The plan is to rezone commercial properties within these busy boundaries like Oceanside Boulevard, Coast Highway and Vista Way to increase the mixed-use allowance from 35 housing units per acre to 43 housing units per acre. .

According to staff, there are 57 sites that could do 4,851 additional units with rezoning, creating a total inventory of 6,292 additional units and an RHNA surplus of 3,460 units.

A “Housing Action Plan” as part of the Housing Component Update details the goals and policies the city will implement to address other housing issues during the current cycle.

The plan includes promoting a high-quality urban environment with residential neighborhoods left untouched, exploring a possible cap on short-term rentals with the aim of saving long-term housing stock and encouraging the construction of inclusive housing on or off site for new housing projects instead of paying in-place fees, among other goals.

Preserving existing neighborhoods, limiting short-term rentals, building a variety of small and large homes, and tackling overcrowding and housing affordability were some of the many concerns residents raised in previous public workshops on the update of the housing element.

“Our staff have done such a good job with the housing element focusing on growing housing along transport corridors and smart growth sites in a way that matches our RNHA numbers for all income levels. while protecting neighborhoods and revitalizing trade corridors, ”said Oceanside. resident Diane Nygaard.

Nonetheless, Nygaard warned that all of the elements that are part of the Town’s General Plan update must work well together, noting that the South Morro Hills Community Plan as it stands now could jeopardize the approved update of the Townships. housing elements.

Dmohowski presented a draft framework for the South Morro Hills Community Plan to the city’s planning commission in March. However, no action has been taken and a draft plan will not be prepared until October.

The framework includes an allowance for clustered residential development on plots of 20 acres or more at a density of one dwelling per acre. The idea behind this is to preserve more farmland than dividing farms into 2.5 acre lots would.

Some residents opposed the idea of ​​cluster housing, while some farmers in the area expressed support.