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Housing Element Update
What is a Housing Element?
The Housing Element is a local plan adopted by the City that provides an indication of the need for housing in terms of affordability, availability, adequacy, and accessibility.
The Element provides a strategy to address housing needs and identifies a series of specific housing programs to meet community needs. State law requires that Housing Elements be updated in 8-year cycles.
The City is currently in the 6th Housing Element cycle, also known as the 2021-2029 Housing Element planning period.
Public Involvement
If you have specific questions about the Housing Element update, please email eroess@cityoflagunaniguel.org .
If you would like to be added to the contact list for the Housing Element Update please sign-up for the Housing Element Update list.
March 21, 2023 - Adopted Revised 2021-2029 Housing Element
Laguna Niguel Site Inventory
Past Meetings
- March 21, 2023- City Council - Draft Revised Housing Element
- March 14, 2023- Planning Commission - Draft Revised Housing Element
- October 19, 2021 - City Council Public Hearing to Adopt Housing Element Update
- September 28, 2021 - Planning Commission Public Hearing to Consider proposed Final Housing Element Update
- May 25, 2021 - Planning Commission - Public Hearing to Consider Draft Housing Element Update
- April 15, 2021- Planning Commission - Housing Element Public Workshop
Download the Laguna Niguel Housing Element FAQs for more information: Click here for the FAQ
WHAT IS THE REGIONAL HOUSING NEEDS ASSESSMENT (RHNA)
The City's current Housing Element of the General Plan was approved in 2013 and outlines the City's housing goals from 2014 through 2021. The State of California requires that each jurisdiction's housing element be updated every eight (8) years and certified by the State. The City is currently updating its Housing Element for the 2021-2029 period. A major component of this update is the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment ("RHNA"), in which the State estimates each region's housing needs for all income groups.
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment ("RHNA") is a part of State housing element law that determines the projected and existing housing needs for each jurisdiction in the State. In its Housing Element, the City must demonstrate to the State that there are no unnecessary barriers to the housing approval process in order to meet the RHNA allocation for the City.
On March 22, 2021, SCAG released its final allocation of housing units for each jurisdiction in its region, which can be found here. The City has received a final allocation of 1,207 new units for this upcoming planning period.
The Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) and the Association of California Cities - Orange County (ACC-OC) have collaborated to create a video series designed to communicate the ins and outs of California’s complicated housing policies. The first two videos in the series introduce and provide an overview of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
Additional Resources:
- Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG): https://scag.ca.gov/housing-elements
- California Department of Housing and Development (HCD): https://hcd.ca.gov/community-development/housing-element/index.shtml
- Affordable Housing Orange County
- OC Housing Authority
- City of Laguna Niguel Vacant and Underutilized Sites Map