CLEARLAKE >> Clearlake will need 467 new housing units by 2019, according to an update of the city’s General Plan.
Required by state law, the Housing Element is one of seven parts that comprises the General Plan and must be updated every five years. The purpose of the document is to assess characteristics and needs for community housing, as well as establish programs to improve housing concerns.
For the current cycle, which ends in 2019, both extremely and very low income categories were determined to need 54 units each, a total of 67 are needed for the low category, 87 for moderate households and 205 for above moderate.
As of the 2010 census, the city’s median income was a little less than $26,000. Comparatively, county and Lakeport residents have average incomes of $38,000 and more than $39,000, respectively.
Clearlake “has one of the highest poverty rates in the region with over 30.5 percent [of the population] living below the poverty line,” said Gary Price, the contract planner who prepared the update for the city.
During each cycle the California Department of Housing and Community Development determines the Regional Housing Need Allocation, which dictates the number of housing units each jurisdiction is required to accommodate for the projected household growth needs for all income levels.
Of the total five, the most critical income levels are extremely low, very low and low.
Households are considered extremely low if they earn less 30 percent of the area median income, whereas very low households earn 30 to 50 percent and low earns 51 to 80 percent.
The remaining two categories are moderate, which earns 81 to 120 percent of the area median income, and above moderate, which is for any household earning more than 120 percent.
Programs and goals in the housing element update include making revisions this year to the city’s Zoning Code, in order to promote flexibility, improve incentives for affordable housing production and comply with state law..
Initial outreach and public comment regarding the need for and development of congregate care and group housing for elderly and disabled people is also a part of the update.
The update concluded there is a need to identify potential opportunities within existing buildings for conversion to housing units.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
