After extensive community engagement and public hearings to gather information about community needs, values, and priorities, the City of West Hollywood’s draft Housing Element Report for 2021 to 2029 is available for public review until June 6, 2022, as required by state law. The Housing Element serves as a policy guide that provides an indication of housing needs in the community – in particular, the availability, affordability, and adequacy of housing.
The City of West Hollywood encourages community members to take part in the process of reviewing the draft Housing Element Report and providing comments and input. The forthcoming Housing Element is for the period of 2021 to 2029 and it will assist the City in completing its housing policy framework for the future to address vital housing needs in the community.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will review the draft after the public review period is complete and will provide comments to ensure that the Housing Element meets all State requirements. Should HCD have additional comments, staff will amend the Plan as necessary. Additional changes will be made to future drafts based on City Council requests for policies that create additional affordable housing in the City, and changes to the site inventory, which provides a conceptual plan for where housing could be built over the next eight (8) years. The community will be able to weigh in as future drafts are published for public review. Once HCD approves the plan, the West Hollywood City Council will then adopt the plan as a part of the City’s General Plan. Additionally, the City will continue to study the environmental impacts of the Plan and will certify an Environmental Impact Report upon adoption of the Plan.
The Housing Element is required by the State of California to be included in the City of West Hollywood’s General Plan and it must be updated every eight years to demonstrate that the housing needs of all community members can be met regardless of income. The purpose of the Housing Element is to achieve an adequate supply of safe and affordable housing. It assesses housing needs for a variety of income groups and lays out a program to meet those needs as part of a strategy for addressing housing needs across the economic and social spectrum.
The draft Housing Element Report for 2021 to 2029 is available for viewing at www.weho.org/housingelement.
For more information or to submit written feedback, please contact Rachel Dimond, City of West Hollywood Senior Planner, at [email protected] or by postal mail to West Hollywood City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
Thank you for posting.
Unlike other cities, West Hollywood has always been committed to creating affordable housing. Unfortunately Sacramento keeps moving the goal posts and tries to apply “one size fits all” housing policies that might be great for Riverside or Simi Valley but are absurd for a fully built out city like West Hollywood. That said, if we are going to meet our housing goals without demolishing existing rent controlled housing, we need to tweak our mixed use ordinance so that it reflects that decreasing need for retail space. We also need to adjust the ratio of “very low” income inclusionary units that… Read more »