HUNTINGTON BEACH : Council Approves Housing Program
New housing programs should encourage the development of child-care facilities and homeless shelters and financial aid to low-income, first-time home buyers, according to a newly revised list of city policies.
More than a year after they were due, revisions to Huntington Beach’s document outlining housing goals were approved by the City Council this week.
The 130-page document, called a housing element, sets guidelines and goals for the city governing availability and diversity of housing. The state requires it be revised every five years.
The primary goal is to provide affordable housing for all the city’s residents, city planning officials said. The plan suggests using zone changes, new ordinances, changes in development standards and incentives to developers to help preserve old housing sites and to create new ones.
The city’s out-of-date plan was cited in a recent Orange County Superior Court lawsuit that challenges the legality of a proposed Huntington Harbour development. The suit, which has not yet come to trial, asserts that the city could not legally act on the condominium project because the housing element is not current.
Having the document completed “reduces our exposure to legal challenge,” senior planner Scott Hess said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
