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Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)
RHNA is a representation of future housing needs for all income levels in a jurisdiction (city or unincorporated county) and is a requirement of California State Housing Law. Every jurisdiction must plan for its RHNA allocation in its Housing Element of its General Plan.
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is the organization tasked with developing a RHNA allocation plan for the Southern California region. SCAG is the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organization (MPO), which represents six counties and 191 cities, including the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
SCAG is in the process of developing the 6th cycle RHNA allocation plan which will cover the planning period October 2021 through October 2029.
On October 15, 2019, Planning Division Staff presented an information item to the City Council regarding the 6th RHNA Cycle process. For a copy of the report, please click here.
For additional information and resources on the development of the 6th cycle RHNA allocation plan, please see links below:
Regional Housing Need Determination
As part of the development of the 6th Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Cycle, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is required to first develop a RHNA methodology by which to distribute existing and projected housing needs to each jurisdiction. The State of California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is required to provide SCAG with an existing and projected housing need, referred to as the regional housing need determination. HCD recently provided SCAG with a regional housing need determination of 1,344,740 housing units among four income categories.
A copy of HCD’s regional housing need determination letter can be viewed here.
On September 18, 2019, SCAG submitted an objection letter to HCD regarding the Regional Housing Need Determination. A copy of the objection letter can be viewed here.
On October 15, 2019, HCD issued a letter in response to SCAG’s objection letter. A copy of the objection letter can be viewed here.
RHNA Methodology Options
On November 7, 2019, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Council considered and eventually approved a modified draft RHNA methodology to submit to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review. As previously reported, SCAG is in the process of developing the 6th Cycle RHNA Allocation Plan. As part of the process, SCAG is required to develop a RHNA methodology by which to distribute a regional housing need of 1.3 million housing units throughout the SCAG region in various income categories.
Under the draft RHNA methodology that was approved yesterday, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes will be required to provide a total of 619 housing units during the next RHNA planning period of 2021-2029. The City’s 619 RHNA allocation would be distributed across the following income categories:
- 244 Very-low income units
- 134 Low-income units
- 121 Moderate income units
- 119 Above-moderate income units
The City’s RHNA allocation under this most recent draft RHNA methodology is a significant increase from the previous SCAG staff-recommended RHNA methodology, which would have required the City to accommodate for 93 housing units during the next planning period. The increase in the City’s RHNA allocation and that of many coastal cities is a result of modifications to the factors that comprised the SCAG staff-recommend RHNA methodology (placing more housing where jobs and transit are located). The modifications to the previous SCAG staff-recommended draft RHNA methodology were in-part due to the request of representatives from Inland Empire cities. A copy of the request letter can be viewed here.
On January 13, 2020, HCD issued a letter informing SCAG that the draft RHNA methodology was approved. A copy of the letter can be viewed here.
On February 24, 2020, SCAG’s Regional Council will possibly be taking action on the approval of the HCD-approved RHNA methodology. A copy the meeting agenda can be viewed here.
Once a final RHNA methodology is approved, SCAG will distribute the RHNA methodology to all jurisdictions; thereafter, an appeals process for the RHNA allocations will occur during the summer 2020.
City of Rancho Palos Verdes Response
As part of developing the 6th cycle RHNA allocation plan, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) conducted a public hearing process to collect feedback regarding proposed RHNA methodology Options 1-3.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes submitted comment letters regarding the proposed methodology options 1-3. Copies of the City's comment letters are available below:
- A copy of the City’s 1st comment letter to SCAG, dated August 22, 2019 can be viewed here.
- A copy of the City’s 2nd comment letter to SCAG, dated September 9, 2019 can be viewed here.
On October 29, 2019, the City submitted a 3rd comment letter to SCAG, continuing to express concerns with the Draft RHNA Methodology. A copy of the letter can be viewed here.
South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) Response
The SBCCOG submitted a comment letter to SCAG regarding the proposed RHNA methodology Options. Please visit the following link to view the SBCCOG's response letter http://www.southbaycities.org/news/sbccog-comments-regional-housing-needs-assessment.
- Southern California Association of Governments website: http://www.scag.ca.gov/programs/Pages/Housing.aspx
Pursuant to Government Code section 65584.05, any local jurisdiction within the SCAG region may file an appeal to modify its allocated share or another jurisdiction’s share of the regional housing need included as part of SCAG’s Draft Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Allocation Plan.
On February 3, 2020, SCAG conducted a workshop related to the 6th Cycle RHNA Appeals Procedures. The appeal process is tentatively scheduled to begin on April 10, 2020 and will end May 25, 2020.
Please visit the following links for more information about the RHNA appeal procedures: