After defeat in November election, Yorba Linda City Council to tackle housing issue this year

 

One of the challenging issues facing Yorba Linda's City Council members in 2023 is how to meet the state mandate to provide opportunities for 2,415 new housing units through 2029.

A first effort to meet the state requirement by designating 19 sites for rezoning to accommodate 75% of the mandated units failed, with 21,937 voters opposing and just 7,221 voters supporting Measure Z in the November election, for the most lopsided defeat in city history.

But now, city officials are pledging to develop a new plan to satisfy the mandate that will involve more community input. At a December council meeting, both Mayor Gene Hernandez and City Manager Mark Pulone said the matter will be a top priority in the coming months.

The public vote on a new plan could come next year during the March primary or November general election. Before then, community workshops and city commission and council study sessions will provide details and collect input on the plan.

The Measure Z defeat was not unexpected, based on a lengthy city history of opposition to higher density zoning and increasing building heights. Last year's mayor, Carlos Rodriguez, opposed the measure as part of his re-election campaign that he won as the top vote-getter.

Other council members supported the 19-site rezoning effort, and Hernandez and Beth Haney signed the ballot arguments in support of a “yes” vote. The pair noted that while “cities do not build housing,” cities “must zone for housing” under the state mandate.

Opponents, including Russell Heine, Steven Harms and Janice Morger, claimed the 19-site plan “needs work.” They said, “We need to support rational state housing needs and should allocate those needs equitably across the city. … Let's wait and get this measure right.”

The state mandate is administered through the Southern California Association of Governments under a process called the Regional Housing Needs Assessment that has set housing goals in California communities since 1969.

Yorba Linda's current cycle of 2,415 units includes 765 units for very low-income households (defined as earning up to 50% of area median income), 451 units for low-income households (51% to 80% of median), 457 units for moderate-income households (81% to 120% of median) and 742 units for above moderate-income households (above 120% of median).

An estimated 381 of the 765 very low-income units are for extremely low-income households earning less than 30% of median.

The city requires a public vote on major changes to zoning documents under a requirement of Measure B, passed by 299 votes (6,921 “yes” to 6,622 “no”) in 2006, still the most expensive campaign in city history, with $174,150 raised by opposition building and real estate interests.

If Yorba Linda voters don't approve the needed zoning changes to permit the state-mandated housing opportunities, state courts could invalidate the public vote requirement of Measure B.