By Charles M. Kelly
The Avalon City Council last week voted unanimously to replace and update the first eight chapters of the municipal code and implement a new housing program.
The program, identified as housing program 17, was described in the Housing element of the General Plan.
Councilmember Lisa Lavelle was absent.
This was a Consent Calendar item. Consent items are voted on collectively, without discussion, unless a council member pulls one or more items for further discussion. Nothing was pulled from the Nov. 4 Consent Calendar.
Background
“On September 20, 2022, the City Council adopted the 2021-2029/6th Cycle General Plan Housing Element,” according to the staff report by Contract Planner Kelly Ribuffo.
“The Housing Element is a state-mandated section of the General Plan which identifies the housing needs, opportunities, and constraints in the of City of Avalon,” Ribuffo wrote.
“The Housing Plan section of the Housing Element further sets forth the City’s goals, policies and programs to address Avalon’s identified housing needs, including production of 27 new housing units as allocated by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RH NA) for the 6th review cycle,” Ribuffo wrote.
(Other cities received a larger RHNA allotment from SCAG. The overtown city of Seal Beach, for example, was required to plan for the construction of 1,243 units. By law, the state cannot legally force private property owners to actually build housing, but the state can compel cities to plan for their construction. To meet Regional Housing Needs Assessments, some cities have had to change their zoning codes.)
“The Housing Plan contains 26 programs adopted to implement the goals and policies of the Housing Element,” Ribuffo wrote.
“Some programs require one-time code amendments, while others have ongoing review schedules that require monitoring legislative actions and regular updates to the Avalon Municipal Code (AMC),” Ribuffo wrote.
“Over the next several months, the Planning and Building Department will bring forth a series of code amendments for consideration to implement all of the housing programs to ensure the City continues to be compliant with State law.
“The amendments proposed at this time are intended to address the requirements of Program #17 (Reasonable Accommodation Procedures),” Ribuffo wrote.
What is Program #17?
“Reasonable accommodation procedures ensure disabled persons have equal and effective access to City programs and services, and that reasonable and long-term modifications to City employment, building, and zoning rules, regulations, practices, and standards may be made for disabled persons to the extent required under federal and state disability laws,” including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Federal Fair Housing Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act,” Ribuffo wrote.
“Households that include persons with disabilities are some of the community’s lower-income households, as determined by the communitywide median household income survey prepared with the 6th Cycle Housing Element,” Ribuffo wrote.
“Providing reasonable accommodation procedures in compliance with State law will address the needs of both persons with disabilities and lower-income households,” Ribuffo wrote.
“Program #17 requires that the City review its adopted reasonable accommodation procedures annually and revise them as appropriate to ensure consistency with federal and state fair housing requirements,” Ribuffo wrote.
“Chapter 1-8 was last updated in 2014,” Ribuffo wrote.
After reviewing the existing reasonable accommodation regulations, it was determined by staff that updates are required to clarify the scope of the program and to streamline the process for application and approval of requested accommodations,” Ribuffo wrote.
