LAKEPORT >> On February 20, the Housing and Implementation Plan, HAIP addresses housing plans throughout (unincorporated) Lake County yet much of it applies to Lakeport and Clearlake, noted a PlaceWorks, Inc. consultant to the General Plan Advisory Committee at its Meeting Three, part two.
Nicole West, is a senior planner for PlaceWorks, Inc. She has 18 years of experience in community planning, particularly with housing and community development. “HAIP is related to but not a part of the General Plan, yet it is a good foundation for the housing element,” she said. “We’ll discuss the strategies for implementing the goals and analyzing sites across the county and show those on an interactive web map. This has gone through an administrative review at staff and it’s getting closer to having a draft released to the public.”
West continued that there is a need for a variety of different housing types, and also a need for affordable housing for people at all income levels. “And I’m not talking about just having housing reserved as affordable, but of price points across a range of incomes,” she said.
She also noted there was BOS support for zoning regulations to be more flexible to speed up residential construction. They could consider using homes needing rehabilitation and includes revitalizing neighborhoods by doing adaptive reuse, which is the process of repurposing existing buildings for new uses, often transforming spaces like warehouses, factories, or office buildings into apartments, retail spaces, or cultural venues.
West pointed out there is strong support in the county for residential infill. It’s the practice of constructing new homes or buildings on vacant or underused lots within existing urban or suburban areas. It can involve revitalizing run-down lots, subdividing existing lots, or adjusting lot lines to create new housing options. “We need to keep development away from agricultural land and wildfire hazards, she said. “Also, get benefits of development where there’s already infrastructure, curbs, gutter, sidewalks, water and sewer services. In Fill development also provides access to retail, restaurants, office, parks and civic amenities.”
Another component of infill includes conductivity to public transportation, West noted. It also encompasses neighborhoods with walkability and safe bike routes. “We’re not talking about Manhattan style urbanism but neighborhoods that can link, on a pedestrian scale. They’d have a liveliness that residents could enjoy.” Currently, it is still at the idea stage, but they could do a mix of infill along with combining districts. The aim is to encourage infill development which allows for greater variety. This includes residential development, which are not currently allowed in certain existing neighborhoods.
“We’re talking about getting GPAC and the LAPACs to talk to the board, since this is just being introduced,” West said. “It can be based on location and we’re looking at parcels that score high on a competitive tax credit application for affordable housing. But also, for some places not currently allowing housing, yet be good candidates for obtaining extra credits on their CPAC applications. This refers to the housing element; the county plan for meeting its fair share of the regional housing need. This process is called the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
And it starts at the state level with the Department of Housing and Community Development calculating the overall future housing needs for each region in the state over a planning period. The regional council of governments within each region must then develop a methodology to distribute that overall regional housing need among all of the cities and counties within the region. The RHNA quantifies the need for housing within each distinct jurisdiction during specified planning periods.
Mireya Turner, Community Development Department director, noted there was strong support for mixed use development among the different LAPACS. Surveys speak to how the county will meet its next RHNA numbers. “It will be an ability to encourage housing development, while still maintaining rural character, another survey priority,” she said. She added, RHNA numbers have not been issued yet. But once they are provided, they are forwarded to a county agency, Area Planning Council. “It also operates as a Lake and Mendocino County transportation planner,” she explained. Those numbers are divided among the counties and the cities. They will not necessarily be part of the Lake County 2050 Plan, as the county is not implementing the housing element just yet, Turner noted, but it is crucial the Lake County region meets the number requirement.
Turner was also questioned about where in the county is housing potential. One public commentor pointed out there are about 600-700 lots in the Rivieras with water and sewer infrastructure. Yet Turner explained any vacant parcels that could be used for housing must meet certain criteria. “RHNA numbers are on a 6-year period cycle,” Turner said. “And we’ve identified some of those spots so far. But the community needs to provide feedback as to where the housing goes.”
Turner informed the GPAC the meeting was informational only to pass on to the board for recommendations.
