2021 Housing Element Update

Overview

The Housing Element is one of seven mandatory elements of Placer County’s General Plan. Its purpose is to ensure that the existing and future housing needs for all Placer residents are met by identifying the County’s housing goals, policies, and programs. The County’s Housing Element Update will cover a period of 2021 through 2029 and will result in modifications to the current adopted 2013-2021 Housing Element to address the changing needs of County residents as well as changes to State housing law.

This website provides up-to-date information on the Housing Element Update process. It will provide you with information on upcoming community workshops, meetings, documents prepared for the Housing Element Update, and opportunities to be involved in the process and provide feedback.

Background - Regional Housing Needs Allocation

As a part of the Housing Element, the County is required to demonstrate that it can accommodate a specific number of units for each income category within a specific time frame – this process is known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) works with each region’s council of governments (COG) to determine the projected housing needs in the region. Placer County is within the jurisdiction of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and SACOG is responsible for distributing HCD’s housing needs allocation between the cities and counties within the region. More information on SACOG’s process for our regions RHNA process can be found here.

Housing Element Components

Housing Needs Assessment: Provides demographic and housing need information
Constraints Analysis: Analyzes governmental and nongovernmental constraints to the development of housing
Evaluation of Past Performance: Assesses the County’s progress in implementing the policies and programs set forth in the prior Housing Element
Sites Inventory and Analysis: Identifies sites available for housing development in order to accommodate the County’s RHNA
Housing Resources: Identifies financial and other resources available to support housing development, especially affordable housing
Goals, Policies and Programs: Establishes new policies and programs and amends existing policies and programs to address the housing needs
Public Participation: Summarizes the efforts to involve community members as part of the Housing Element update process as well as the feedback community members provided and how that has been addressed in the Housing Element