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At its Feb. 19 meeting, the Atherton City Council took the next step toward resubmitting the town’s housing element to the state. The council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution approving changes to the housing element recommended by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The council also introduced an ordinance to make associated amendments to the town’s municipal code and zoning ordinances.
On Dec. 30, Atherton received a letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development stating that the town still has to make a couple tweaks to its most recent housing element plans that were adopted on Oct. 16, 2024.
The changes to the plan that were requested by HCD in December 2024 include additional analysis of the redevelopment potential for school sites in town, analysis of the adequacy of the town’s infrastructure and restructuring of certain tables and figures.
The state agency also asked the town to clarify that multifamily housing developments with certain levels of affordable housing do not require discretionary approval. In addition, state regulators want the town to revise its Senate Bill 9 lot split program to include analysis of development trends and to identify alternatives to meet the town’s housing goals if too few SB 9 projects have been built by the middle of the current housing element cycle, which ends in 2031.
Town Planner Brittany Bendix said that following the city council meeting, planning staff would immediately resubmit the amended plans to HCD for comments, so that if feedback is necessary, the town receives it as soon as possible.
The council will hold a second reading of the ordinance to amend the town’s municipal code at its next regular meeting on March 19. Once these changes are made, the town can then officially resubmit the housing element to HCD for certification.
Bendix told the council that based on her conversations with HCD, she is fairly confident that the town’s housing element will be certified by the state when it is resubmitted in March.
Previously, Atherton has had several housing plan drafts rejected by the state. The housing element update process has involved the City Council going back to the drawing board multiple times after facing pushback from residents on the locations chosen for multifamily housing.
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