All jurisdictions are required to provide the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) with an annual report on the implementation of the General Plan and a separate report on the implementation of the Housing Element, per Government Code Section 65400. The reports are due to OPR and HCD by April 1st.
City staff has submitted Housing Element Annual Progress Reports to HCD since 2018. The General Plan Annual Progress Report for the calendar year 2022 will be the first annual report the City has submitted to OPR. Both reports were submitted to the State on March 31, 2023, to meet the statutory deadline of April 1st. The Planning Commission adopted Resolution 2023-018-PC on April 12, 2023, recommending City Council acceptance of the General Plan and Housing Element Annual Progress Reports for the Calendar Year 2022 (Attachment 2). Should the City Council request any changes to the reports, staff will update and resubmit them to the State.
General Plan Annual Progress Report
State law requires each city and county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the community. The law further requires each plan to include a land use element, circulation element, housing element, conservation element, open space element, noise element, and safety element. Additional elements can be included at the city's discretion. In addition to the seven required elements, the Carmel General Plan includes a community character, coastal access and recreation, coastal resource management, and public facilities and services elements.
The General Plan Annual Progress Report is an opportunity to highlight how land-use decisions relate to the adopted goals, policies, and implementation measures of the General Plan. There is no standardized format for the preparation of the annual report. Each jurisdiction is allowed to determine what locally relevant issues are important to include in the report.
The 2022 reporting period did not include any amendments to the Carmel-by-the-Sea General Plan, nor the passage of any moratoria or emergency ordinances, related to land use. However, the City did make significant accomplishments related to General Plan implementation. The 2022 General Plan Annual Progress Report (Attachment 3), summarizes various projects and accomplishments related to specific goals, policies, and objectives from each general plan element. The report is not intended to be exhaustive or all-inclusive; rather, it is a snapshot of the 2022 calendar year.
Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR)
Since 1969, California has required that all local governments (cities and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. California’s local governments meet this requirement by adopting housing plans (aka housing elements) as part of their General Plan. General Plans serve as the local government’s "blueprint" for how the city will grow and develop and includes seven mandatory elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, and housing.
Each jurisdiction must prepare an annual progress report on the status and progress in implementing its housing element using forms and definitions adopted by HCD, per Government Code Section 65400. Each jurisdiction’s APR must be submitted to HCD and OPR by April 1 of each year (covering the previous calendar year (CY)).
The annual housing element report (Attachment 4) includes tables for jurisdictions to report permit activity during the prior calendar year. Below is a summary of the applicable tables.
Table A: Housing Development Applications Submitted. Table A lists all Track 2 Design Study/Review applications submitted for new housing units. This table does not include the demolition of an existing single-family residence and construction of a new single-family residence unless the project nets a new housing unit (i.e., the project includes an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit).
During the calendar year 2022, the Community Planning & Building Department received 33 Track 2 Design Study/Review applications, and of those, two applications included new housing units. One application included a new Accessory Dwelling Unit, and the other proposes eight units in a new multi-family building.
Table A2: Annual Building Activity Report Summary. During 2022, the Community Planning & Building Department approved 23 new housing units, issued building permits for 5 new housing units, and granted final occupancy of 3 new housing units.
Table B: Regional Housing Needs Allocation Progress. Table B reports on the city’s progress in constructing the regional housing needs allocation (RHNA). The city’s RHNA is 31 units, of which 18 must be affordable to very low, low, and moderate-income households, with the remaining 13 being above moderate or market-rate housing. In 2022, the Community Planning & Building Department issued 5 building permits for above-moderate-income households.
Table D: Program Implementation Status. Table D includes all housing element programs and the city’s progress in achieving each program objective during the calendar year. Programs include, but are not limited to, preserving existing second-floor residential units and encouraging the creation of new units in the commercial district; continuing to enforce the prohibition of short-term rentals in the R-1 district; restricting the conversion of apartments to condominiums; and encouraging Accessory Dwelling Units.
Additional reporting not applicable to Carmel includes:
- Table C, sites identified or rezoned to accommodate shortfall housing needs and no net loss laws;
- Table E, commercial development bonuses approved pursuant to Government Code Section 65915.7;
- Table F, units rehabilitated, preserved, and acquired for alternative adequate sites pursuant to Government Code Section 65583.1(c);
- Table F2, above moderate-income units converted to moderate income pursuant to Government Code Section 65400.2;
- Table G, locally owned lands included in the housing element sites inventory that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of;
- Table H, locally owned surplus sites;
- Table I, units created pursuant to SB 9; and,
- Table J, student housing development for lower-income students.