WHAT IS A HOUSING ELEMENT?

The Housing Element is one of seven required chapters (“elements”) in the General Plan.  The City's Housing Element outlines Gilroy’s goals, policies, and implementation programs for the preservation, conservation, improvement, and production of housing. The Housing Element also identifies the specific actions the City will take to address existing and future housing needs.

WHY ARE WE UPDATING THE HOUSING ELEMENT?

The State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) requires cities to update their Housing Elements every eight years. The current Housing Element covers the period from January 2015 to January 2023. The upcoming planning period will be from 2023 to 2031. The update process is an opportunity to reflect on Gilroy's changing needs, resources, and conditions. An effective housing element provides the necessary conditions for developing and preserving an adequate supply of housing, including housing affordable to seniors, families, and workers. 

While the Housing Element must address specific state requirements, it is ultimately a local plan and should reflect the priority of the community. Community outreach and feedback will be a vital component of Gilroy's Housing Element update process.

WHEN ARE WE UPDATING THE HOUSING ELEMENT?

The Housing Element update process is tentatively scheduled to begin in July 2021 and continue through November 2022. 

Stay tuned for more details! Click on the green banner above to sign-up for our interest list.

WHAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE HOUSING ELEMENT?

A successful Housing Element will outline the strategies the City will take over an eight year period and include:

1. An analysis of the existing and projected housing needs and available resources to address the City’s housing needs, including for special-needs populations such as farmworkers, large families, female-headed households, seniors, people with physical or developmental disabilities
2. A sites inventory of land suitable for housing development
3. An identification and analysis of governmental constraints to maintaining, improving, or developing housing for all income types and special needs populations, which includes zoning and land use controls, fees and permitting procedures
4. A program of policies and goals that include specific steps to achieving the goals, such as strategies to preserve affordable units from conversion to market rate units, provide equal housing opportunities, etc.