ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL ON AUGUST 3, 2021
(Case No. 2021 - 14GP)

The City Council adopted the Housing Element Update of the General Plan on August 3, 2021.

The Housing Element is a state-mandated comprehensive strategy for promoting the production, preservation, and maintenance of affordable housing to meet current and future community housing needs. The Housing Element establishes goals, policies, and programs to address housing needs for an eight-year planning period (April 2021 through April 2029).

In compliance with Section 15070 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, a draft Negative Declaration (ND) was prepared and advertised for public review from February 17, 2021 to March 19, 2021 in accordance with CEQA and the draft ND was routed for state agency review through the Clearinghouse (SCH# 2021020241) from February 17, 2021 to March 19, 2021.

The Housing Element is available online and at the National City Housing Authority at 140 E 12th Street, Suite B National City, CA. For more information, please contact us at (619) 336-4254 or housing@nationalcityca.gov.

National City Housing Element (PDF) and Certification Letter from HCD (PDF) 

What is the Housing Element?

The Housing Element of the General Plan is a state-mandated comprehensive strategy for promoting the production, preservation, and maintenance of affordable housing to meet current and future community housing needs. State housing law has declared that the availability of decent housing and a suitable living environment “is of vital statewide importance” and “a priority of the highest order.”

The Housing Element assesses current and future housing needs and constraints; and it establishes goals, policies, and programs to address these housing needs for the eight-year planning period. The City faces the challenges of high regional housing costs, relatively low household incomes, and of accommodating its share of the regional housing need given the limited availability of undeveloped, vacant land in a highly developed urban setting.

The 6th Cycle Housing Element has been organized in the following manner:

Chapter 1. Introduction – Introduction to the purpose of the Housing Element; organization of the Housing Element; a brief summary of the legislation that guided the development of the Housing Element in 2020 for the 6th Cycle.

Chapter 2. Community Profile – An updated profile on the demographics of the City using the latest data; a primer on the communities being served by this Housing Element using data sourced through the U.S. Census. Also provides an estimate of housing needs and assessment of housing constraints.

Chapter 3. Public Participation – A summary of the community, stakeholder, and developer outreach completed to gather input on recommendations, challenges, and potential solutions to barriers to housing affordability and production. Includes a summary of the feedback received from these activities.

Chapter 4. Housing Resources – A summary of the existing affordable housing resources currently available in the City, including an analysis of units at-risk of losing their affordability within the next 10 years; a summary of the Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) Program and the updated income limits for qualifying for these vouchers; a list of administrative and financial resources available to the City to pursue housing-related opportunities. Also outlines the methodology used to determine potential sites for housing within the City for the 6th Cycle. The Site Inventory located in the Appendices provides a map and list of potential sites for this analysis.

Chapter 5. Last Cycle Program Accomplishments – A brief analysis of the quantified objectives set by the 5th Cycle Housing Element (i.e. the previous Housing Element) and an evaluation of the success of the programs of the 5th Cycle.

Chapter 6. Housing Plan 2021-2029 – Details the goals and policies that guide the development and implementation of the 6th Cycle Housing Element; the housing programs to be implemented during the 6th Cycle; and the quantified objectives the City commits to meeting during the planning cycle.

Appendices – Includes supporting information, including a site inventory map, list of adequate sites, case studies, and capacity analysis scenarios for the Downtown Specific Plan area.