Newport Beach to take another look at the housing element update

Newport Beach city officials will be taking another look at the general plan housing element update during a study session this Tuesday.

The housing element update is a comprehensive document that details housing plans and policies in the general plan.

Local jurisdictions are required to update their housing element every five years to eight years by the state and the update is supposed to be adopted by mid-October. The state does, however, provide a 120-day grace period, meaning that the city technically has until Feb. 22 of next year to complete the process without facing penalties.

Initial drafts were presented in April and city staff returned twice in June for study sessions that provided updated scenarios that could account for the required growth of 4,845 housing units.

The city of Newport Beach is not responsible for the construction of those homes, but must at least zone for them on paper, per the Southern California Assn. of Governments, which assigns the Regional Housing Needs Assessment numbers for Orange, Los Angeles and four other Southern California counties.

Following Tuesday’s study session, according to city staff, requested final edits will be added to the draft before it will be submitted to the state department of housing and community development for a 60-day mandatory review period with the council’s approval.

The process to update the general plan began in 2019.

City Council is also expected to take action on a set of resolutions that will continue to allow business owners in the Balboa Village area to dispose of commercial solid waste at Washington Street and Easy Bay Avenue.

The updated resolution will identify specific business addresses eligible to use the bin and establishing a fee to be paid by the property owner to do so as opposed to listing businesses by name, according to a staff report.

The council will also be considering a second substantial amendment to its 2020-21 annual action plan for the Federal Community Development Block Grant Program to fund activities and projects that prevent, prepare for or respond to COVID-19.

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