The Housing Element is comprised of the following major components:

• Review of effectiveness of existing Housing Element

• Assessment of existing and projected housing needs

• Identification of resources ' financial, land, administrative

• Evaluation of constraints to housing

• Housing Plan ' goals, policies and programs

Results from each of the four key components of the analysis -- review & revise, housing needs, resources, and constraints -- are reflected in the Housing Element's goals, policies and programs in the implementation plan. The entire process must reflect public participation from the draft stage to final adoption.

Based on California's continued population growth, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) estimates that the state needs upwards of 200,000 housing units per year in order to maintain a healthy housing sector. Currently, the market is producing less than half of that amount. This scarcity has driven California's housing costs to be the highest in the nation, prohibiting occupations like teachers, nurses, public safety officers and younger professionals the ability to afford owning a home, essential for building a stronger and vibrant economy.

California law requires each city and county to plan for their 'fair share' of the State's housing growth needs. Based on economic and demographic forecasts, the State has determined that the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region needs to accommodate 1,341,827 housing units between 2021 and 2029 to meet housing demand.

SCAG has allocated the region's 1,341,827 housing unit growth needs to each city and county through a process called the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). Duarte's draft RHNA for the 2021-2029 planning period (6th RHNA cycle) is 886 units, distributed among the following income categories:

The RHNA represents the minimum number of housing units Duarte is required to plan for in its Housing Element by providing 'adequate sites' through general plan and zoning. The State requires that jurisdictions create a sufficient buffer in the Housing Element sites inventory beyond that required by the RHNA to ensure adequate site capacity exists throughout the planning period.

The City's RHNA represents a planning target and is not a building quota. However, the City must provide sufficient sites, which are realistic and probable for housing development within the prescribed timeframe, and the City cannot impose constraints to development. Otherwise, if the City falls short of its RHNA goals, the City can be penalized. For example, in jurisdictions that did not permit enough housing consistent with RHNA goals for the current (5th Cycle) planning period, residential projects that meet certain conditions may proceed under a streamlined approval process with no public hearings.

The City's 2014-2021 RHNA was for 337 total new housing units, including 239 affordable units (very low, low and moderate income). The City was able to demonstrate the availability of adequate sites using a combination of the following methods:

• Already approved residential development projects (having zoning entitlements)

• Vacant residentially zoned sites

• Gold Line Station Transit Oriented Development

• Santa Teresita Senior Housing Community

• Residential second units (now referred to as Accessory Dwelling Units)

• Housing Authority Properties

Duarte's residential sites inventory from the above sources provided capacity for up to 657 additional units, including sites suitable for development of 525 lower income units, 10 moderate-income units, and 122 above moderate-income units. During the first six years of the Housing Element (2014-2019), the City issued building permits for a total of 266 new housing units, including 61 units affordable to lower and moderate-income households.

State and Federal definitions of housing affordability are generally based on the standard of spending no greater than 30% of household income on housing costs, including utility payments, taxes, insurance, homeowner association fees, etc. Affordable housing is relative to the amount households of different income levels and sizes can afford to pay for housing. For example, the 2020 maximum affordable rent for a very-low income, 3-person household (2-bedroom unit) in Los Angeles County is approximately $1,268, whereas affordable rent for a 3-person, low-income household is approximately $2,028.

Housing Element law provides for the use of 'default densities' to assess affordability when evaluating the adequacy of sites to address the RHNA affordability targets. Based on its population within Los Angeles County, Duarte falls within the default density of 30 units per acre for providing sites suitable for development of housing for very low- and low-income households, and 12 units/acre for sites suitable for moderate income households. This is generally consistent with the default density approach that applied when the City updated the Housing Element in 2014, except that for this new 6th RHNA cycle housing sites will need to be designated and zoned with a minimum allowable density at these levels to count toward the associated lower and moderate income categories.

Communities with little or no remaining vacant land cannot escape RHNA -- they must still update their Housing Element to accommodate the RHNA. In these cases, the Housing Element may evaluate existing developed properties as 'underutilized sites'. Such properties may be available for intensification, or they may be non-residential sites with potential for re-designation and redevelopment for housing or mixed-use development. Examples of land with potential for recycling may include fragmented sites suitable for assembly, publicly owned surplus land, areas with mixed-use potential, properties facing substantial functional obsolescence, and blighted areas with abandoned or vacant buildings. Second units (aka 'accessory dwelling units') also provide a means of accommodating additional housing in built-out communities. Under limited circumstances, a portion of the City's RHNA may be met through conversion of existing market rate apartments to affordable levels; preservation of affordable units at-risk of conversion to market rate; and substantial rehabilitation of substandard apartment units combined with long term affordability covenants.

There are a number of potentially significant consequences:

• Risk of litigation from housing advocacy groups, an aggrieved housing developer, or other entity or person based on the City having a legally inadequate General Plan. If they rule the Housing Element invalid, courts can impose a range of sanctions including placing State HCD into the role of reviewing and approving housing development projects in the City, or having such matters decided ministerially (no hearings) via a court-appointed official; and placing a moratorium on non-residential development and other local land use authorities until the Housing Element is brought into compliance. Furthermore, the jurisdiction is responsible for paying the litigant's attorney fees. Settlement agreements between the parties often include stipulations for mandatory rezoning and affordable housing production requirements.

• State housing and related parks and infrastructure grant and loan funds typically require verification of Housing Element compliance for eligibility, so failure to secure an HCD certification can result in a loss of funding.

• And where a jurisdiction's prior Housing Element failed to identify adequate sites to address the RHNA, this unmet RHNA carries over to the next Housing Element, rendering HCD compliance in future housing element cycles tremendously challenging.

AB 72 now expands HCDs enforcement authority to refer non-compliant jurisdictions to the State Attorney General's Office for litigation, as evidenced by the 2019 lawsuit the State brought against the City of Huntington Beach.

2018 Housing Strategy

In 2018, the City developed an updated housing strategy to guide the implementation of the housing programs and projects to maximize financial resources to effectively address Duarte's housing needs and priorities. This was done in part because of the rapidly changing local and regional housing market.

The Los Angeles County Community Development Commission (CDC) offers assistance for first-time homeowners through their First Time Homebuyers Programs. For information on the Home Ownership Program (HOP), Mortgage Credit Certificate Program (MCC) or the First Home Mortgage Program, please call 626-586-1839 or 626-586-1837 or visit the Los Angeles County Development Authority website. The City of Duarte does not directly administer or fund these programs.

An informational guide regarding foreclosure assistance is available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HUD website will also direct you with web links to helpful resources and information regarding foreclosure aid.

For information on rental housing, please visit the Los Angeles County Housing Resource Center website. The site assists residents in locating housing resources for affordable, special needs, and emergency housing by providing listings of available rental units by city. It is free for both prospective tenants to search and for landlords to list properties.

What should a tenant do if his or her apartment needs repairs? Can a landlord force a tenant to move? How many day's notice does a tenant have to give a landlord before the tenant moves? Can a landlord raise a tenants' rent? The California Department of Consumer Affairs' publication "California Tenants - A Guide to Residential Tenants' and Landlords' Rights and Responsibilities" answers these and many other frequently asked questions. The publication is an informational guide and practical resource for both tenants and landlords published by the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs. This publication can be viewed online at California Tenants: A guide to residential tenants and landlords rights and responsibilities.

Section 8 is a federally funded rental assistance program that subsidizes the cost of rental housing for eligible households. For information on the Section 8 Rental Program, please contact the Los Angeles County Housing Authority at (626) 262-4510 or visit the Los Angeles County Development Authority website.

For information regarding the City of Duarte's senior housing opportunities, please contact each of the listed communities individually for specific information concerning qualifications and availability of units. For information on services for seniors and adults with disabilities within the County of Los Angeles, please call the Senior Referral Line at (213) 738-4004.

• Senior Citizen Housing

For information regarding unfair evictions and/or discrimination, please contact the following:

• L.A. County Dept. of Consumer Affairs: 1-800-593-8222

• L.A. County Housing Rights Center: 1-800-477-5977

• HUD Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity: 1-800-347-3739