The concept of housing availability will be heavily discussed during Tuesday’s Goleta City Council meeting.
The council will receive presentations on the Regional Housing Needs Allocation and its impacts on the city, as well as an update on the current status of affordable housing units and agreements within the city. The council will also review its draft homelessness strategic plan, according to the agenda.
State law requires the city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for its physical development. The plan must include seven “elements,” including: the regional housing needs allocation and how it relates to the housing element; what housing element certification is and why it’s important; how the RHNA affects land-use planning in Goleta; what communities do when they run out of vacant, buildable land; how different types of housing are treated through the RHNA; the current status of the RHNA; and the next steps to the RHNA and the housing element, according to the staff report.
“Goleta’s current Housing Element covers the 2015-2023 planning period, which is also referred to as the “5th planning cycle” in reference to the five required Housing Element updates that have occurred since the comprehensive update of the State housing law in 1980. The 6th Housing Element cycle will cover the planning period of February 2023 to February 2031,” the staff report reads.
In regards to the city’s affordable housing stock, there are currently 24 affordable housing projects in the city, for a total of 479 units for very low — to above-moderate households. Of the available affordable units, 140 are part of nine homeownership projects and 339 are part of 17 multi-family rental projects, according to the staff report.
A total of 20 projects have confirmed expiration dates, including two of which have already expired. An additional five projects, totaling 94 units, will expire within the next 10 years, according to the staff report. City staff has been notified that the Santa Barbara County Housing Corporation will work to renew the affordability status of the 16 apartments, according to the report.
Also Tuesday, the council will be asked to provide input on the city’s draft homeless strategic plan, including overall goals and objectives.
In other business, the council will receive a fiscal year 2019-20 fourth quarter financial review and the impacts of COVID-19.
According to the report, major discretionary revenue sources in the city’s general fund experienced “significant financial impacts,” though the actual impacts were offset by higher than anticipated revenue activity through all the city’s major revenue categories.
The city recovered $2.1 million of the $2.7 million projected revenue loss.
“When comparing the total actual revenues received to the original adopted revenue budget, this resulted in a revenue shortfall of approximately $548,842 or 1.9%. When comparing to prior year revenues, the city experienced a decrease of $1.8 million or 6.2%,” the staff report reads.
Actual expenditure activity in the general fund fell short of the expenditure budget at $25.5 million, or nearly 84% of the total revised expenditure budget allocation of $30.5 million. The decrease in spending is attributed to further department savings and deferred special projects and capital improvement program projects supported by the general fund, which were continued into the next fiscal year, according to the staff report.
The council will be asked to adopt a resolution to amend the city’s operating and CIP budget for fiscal year 2019-20.
Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. It will be broadcast on Channel 19 and online at https://tinyurl.com/GoletaMeetings.
email: mwhite@newspress.com
