The State of California’s Housing and Community Development Department provided comments on Goleta’s adopted 2023-2031 Housing Element to the City on March 20, 2023. The State’s letter notes that the City’s adopted Housing Element addresses most statutory requirements and includes requests for additional information, analysis and revisions to align the document more closely with the requirements of State housing law.

Goleta’s Housing Element is important because it establishes City policies and programs for maintaining and improving existing housing and plans for how to accommodate the City’s share of the region’s housing needs as identified by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment. The City’s careful planning work included extensive public outreach and resulted in adoption of its Housing Element on time to meet the State’s February 15, 2023, deadline. In addressing the City’s housing needs, the adopted Housing Element prioritizes urban infill and containing sprawl, encouraging mixed use, walkability, and transit/alternative transportation connectivity in line with good planning principles and the State’s policy priorities to combat climate change. The adopted Housing Element continues the City’s approach to date to deliver much needed housing – over 1,300 new units over the last 8-year cycle.

City staff will work collaboratively with the State on the revisions in the coming weeks. Assessing our housing inventory and fair housing requirements will continue to be a focus. Revisions proposed to the Housing Element to address the State’s comments will return to the Planning Commission and City Council at a future date for consideration and adoption and provide more opportunities for public input.  

To learn more about the Housing Element Update Project and review the State’s comment letter, visit the project page on our website at www.cityofgoleta.org/housingelement.