6th Cycle Housing Element

Overview

The Housing Element is how Orinda plans to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community over an eight-year period. The Housing Element is one of the required elements of the City’s General Plan (the blueprint for how the city will grow and address changing needs for development). It is a plan that includes goals, policies and programs to direct decision-making around housing. Every eight years (referred to as “cycles”), each city, town and county in California must update their Housing Element and have it certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Orinda’s prior Housing Element, the 5th Cycle, planned for the period of 2015 to 2023. The 6th Cycle Housing Element plans for the period of 2023 to 2031.

Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)

Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is the number of new homes each jurisdiction must plan for in their Housing Element. HCD determines the number homes each region in California must plan for - and how affordable those homes need to be - in order to meet the housing needs of people at all income levels. HCD determined that the Bay Area must plan for 441,176 housing units in the 6th Cycle (2023 - 2031). The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) distributes the housing units assigned to the Bay Area to each individual jurisdiction. Orinda was assigned 1,359 units for the 6th Cycle Housing Element. In the 5th Cycle Housing Element, Orinda was assigned 227 units.

No Net Loss Law requires that each jurisdiction maintain an adequate number of sites throughout the duration of the Housing Element. If a site identified in the Housing Element is developed with a fewer residential units, with units of a different income category, or with a use other than housing, a jurisdiction must either (1) make a written “no net loss” finding that the remaining identified units are adequate to meet RHNA or (2) identify and make available within 180 days other sites zoned at a density sufficient for low- or moderate-income housing. In order to maintain an adequate number of sites, HCD recommends a buffer of 15-30% additional units for the lower income RHNA categories to prevent a “no net loss”.

Housing Element Components

 

Housing Needs Assessment

Examine demographic, employment, and housing trends and conditions that affect the housing needs of Orinda.

 

Community Outreach & Engagement

Implement a community outreach and engagement program.

Evaluation of Past Performance

Review the 5th Cycle Housing Element to measure Orinda’s progress toward implementation of the identified policies and programs.

 

Constraints Analysis

Analyze and recommend remedies for existing and potential barriers to housing development.

Housing Sites Inventory

Identify available site locations for housing development or redevelopment to ensure there is adequate capacity to address RHNA.

 

Policies and Programs

Establish policies and programs to fulfill the identified housing needs.

 

Housing Sites Inventory

The process of identifying and analyzing specific sites that are available and suitable for housing development in order to accommodate RHNA is known as the Housing Sites Inventory. The site inventory is a multi-step process that includes identifying sites, performing capacity analysis, determining adequate sites, and more. For more detail regarding the sites inventory process, read the HCD Housing Element Sites Inventory Guidebook.

5th Cycle Sites Inventory

The 5th Cycle Housing Element identified the following sites to accommodate the 227 RHNA units that were assigned to Orinda:

  • Units that were approved or under construction (166 total units)

  • Vacant land (229 total units)

    • Santa Maria church site

    • Wilder subdivision

  • Anticipated second unit production (57 total units)

6th Cycle Sites Inventory

Meetings were held with the Planning Commission on November 9, 2021 and the City Council on November 16, 2021 and February 15, 2022. At the meetings, staff presented the full list of potential sites to be included in the sites inventory. The following sites listed below were selected to be included in the adopted Housing Element.

  • Existing Capacity (sites currently zoned for residential use)

    • Vacant residential sites

    • Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

    • Santa Maria church site

  • Approved Projects [click here to see map]

    • Wilder CountryHouse Memory Care Project

    • Vista Verde Senior Housing Project

  • Downtown Precise Plan - select sites [click here to see map]

  • Housing Opportunity Sites [click here to see map]

    • Church-owned sites

      • Holy Shepherd’s Lutheran Church

      • St. Mark’s Church

      • St. John Orthodox Church

    • School-owned sites

      • Miramonte High School site (vacant portion)

    • Government-owned sites

      • Caltrans Gateway site (adjacent to Highway-24 Wilder Road exit)

Adopted 6th Cycle Housing Element

The revised draft Housing Element was published on January 25, 2023 and adopted by the City Council on January 31, 2023.

The adopted Housing Element was found in full compliance by HCD on March 30, 2023. See the HCD Compliance Letter here.

5th Cycle Housing Element

Orinda’s prior 5th Cycle Housing Element planned for the period of 2015 to 2023.