State mandates for Yorba Linda housing

Yorba Linda, along with California's other 481 municipalities, is required by state law to meet several mandates regarding the provision of housing within the city's 20-square-mile territory.

One of the most significant is the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, commonly known as RHNA (rhee-nah), which dates back to 1969 legislation requiring cities and counties to plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community.

The Southern California Association of Governments develops the housing numbers assigned to the 197 jurisdictions in six southern California counties. The 2021-2029 numbers will be re-leased in draft form in February, with final numbers known in August after an appeals process.

For Yorba Linda, 2,039 housing units were assigned in 2008-2013 and 669 units in 2014-21, which include very low, low, moderate and above-moderate categories of household income.

Details of the RHNA process and a description of planning factors Yorba Linda officials say will impact housing numbers for the city are outlined in my Sept. 19 and 26 columns, which are posted on the Orange County Register website (type my name in the search bar).

The latest housing issue that will impact Yorba Linda involves accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, which are commonly called “granny flats,” “in-law” or “bonus” units or “casitas.” The units can provide rental income or house a family member.

Yorba Linda's five-member, City Council-appointed Planning Commission will act on an amendment to the city's zoning code regarding ADUs at a future session, after adopting a resolution to initiate the process at the panel's November meeting.

The amendment will align the city's code with new state legislation limiting the regulations a city can impose on the units, thus allowing more units to be built on parcels with single- and multi-family residential zoning.

The new state law allows two accessory dwelling units on lots with single-family homes and multiple units on lots with multi-family homes, prohibits minimum lot sizes and prohibits set-backs for units built within an existing structure or a new structure built in the same footprint.

The law also prohibits charging development impact fees for units less than 750 square feet and limits the fees for larger units, prohibits owner-occupancy requirements until 2025 and prohibits requiring replacement parking when parking is eliminated to create a unit.

Update to my Nov. 2 column on bond elections: Yorba Linda and statewide voters will cast ballots on school bonds March 3, when a $15 billion measure will be on the state's primary ballot, $9 billion for preschools and K-12 schools, $4 billion for universities and $2 billion for community colleges.

Also on the same ballot, a small number of Yorba Linda's registered voters – about 60 – who reside in the Rancho Santiago Community College District will help decide the fate of a $496 million bond measure.