Housing

Housing Element Update

The City of Mission Viejo General Plan Housing Element is a mandatory General Plan element that identifies housing policies and programs aimed at meeting the identified housing needs of the City's current and anticipated future population, with an emphasis on affordable and special needs housing, removal of governmental constraints to housing development, and equal access to housing. The General Plan Housing Element is required by state law to be updated every 8 years. The current Housing Element update will address the 6th regional housing cycle, covering the years 2021 through 2029. For more information please contact the City of Mission Viejo Community Development Department at (949) 470-3053 or cd@cityofmissionviejo.org.

Project Schedule and Meetings

Winter - Prepare Draft Housing Element RHNA adoption by SCAG (March)
Spring - Public review of Draft Housing Element Public workshop HCD review & consultation
Summer - Prepare revised Draft Housing Element public review
Summer/Fall - Planning Commission hearing & recommendation City Council hearing & adoption. Submit adopted Housing Element to HCD for certification

Public Workshop March 31, 2021: Meeting details included in Public Notice 3-31-21.

Housing Element Workshop: March 31, 2021 Agenda, Staff Report, and Presentation

Housing Element Update FAQs

Please see the Mission Viejo 6th Housing Element 2021 FAQs for more information.

What is a Housing Element?

State law¹ requires each city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term General Plan for its physical development. Mission Viejo’s General Plan² is divided into the following eight “elements” or chapters that contain goals, policies and programs which are intended to guide land use and development decisions:

Land Use
Housing
Circulation
Conservation/Open Space
Public Safety
Noise
Economic Development
Growth Management

The purpose of the Housing Element is to evaluate the housing needs of Mission Viejo’s current and future residents and set forth policies and programs to address those needs.

While most portions of General Plans typically have a time horizon of 20-25 years, State law requires that the Housing Element be updated in 8-year “cycles.” The City is currently preparing a Housing Element update for the 2021 to 2029 planning period, which is referred to as the “6th Housing Element cycle” in reference to the six required updates that have occurred since the comprehensive revision to State Housing Element law in 1980.

State law³ establishes detailed requirements for Housing Elements, which are summarized in California Government Code Section 65583:

The housing element shall consist of an identification and analysis of existing and projected housing needs and a statement of goals, policies, quantified objectives, financial resources, and scheduled programs for the preservation, improvement, and development of housing. The housing element shall identify adequate sites for housing, including rental housing, factory-built housing, mobile homes, and emergency shelters, and shall make adequate provision for the existing and projected needs of all economic segments of the community.

What are the most important issues that must be addressed in the Housing Element update?

The major issues that must be addressed in the Housing Element update are: 1) how City policies, plans and regulations help to meet the region’s housing needs for persons and families of all income levels; and 2) how City land use regulations accommodate the special housing needs of those with disabilities or other difficulties.

Accommodating Regional Housing Needs. Under State law⁴ all cities are required to plan for additional housing to accommodate population growth and address existing housing problems such as overcrowding and high housing cost. State law recognizes that cities generally do not build housing, since that is typically the role of private and non-profit developers and builders. However, cities are required to adopt policies, development regulations and standards to encourage a variety of housing types that are affordable for persons of all income levels. The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) is the method by which each jurisdiction’s share of new housing needs is determined (see #3 below).
Housing for Persons with Special Needs. Under State law⁵ cities must also ensure that their plans and regulations encourage the provision of housing for persons with special needs including:

Reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities
Transitional housing
Supportive housing
Emergency shelters and other facilities serving the homeless
Accessory dwelling units (“ADUs”)

What is the “RHNA” why is it important?

Each California city is required to plan for new housing to accommodate a share of regional needs. The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) is the process established in State law⁶ by which housing needs are determined.

Prior to each planning cycle the total new housing need for each region of California is determined by HCD based upon economic and demographic trends, existing housing problems such as overcrowding and overpayment, and additional housing needed to ensure reasonable vacancy rates and replace units lost due to demolition or natural disasters.

Mission Viejo is located within the Southern California Association of Governments (“SCAG”) region, which includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial and Ventura counties. The total housing need for the SCAG region is distributed to cities and counties by SCAG based upon objectives and criteria established in State law.⁷

In 2019 HCD determined that the total new housing need for the entire SCAG region in the 6th Housing Element cycle is 1,341,827 units. Subsequently SCAG prepared a methodology for distributing the RHNA allocation to jurisdictions within the region and in March 2021 SCAG adopted the final RHNA Plan for the 6th cycle.⁸Table 3 shows the RHNA allocations for Mission Viejo, Orange County, and the entire SCAG region.

Table 3. 6th Cycle RHNA – Mission Viejo, Orange County and SCAG Region

	Mission Viejo	Orange County	SCAG
Housing need allocation 2021-2029	2,217	183,861	1,341,827
_{Source: SCAG, 3/4/2021}

The RHNA also allocates each jurisdiction’s total housing need into four income categories (the extremely-low and very-low categories are combined for RHNA purposes). Mission Viejo’s 6th cycle RHNA allocation by income category is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. 6th RHNA by Income Category – Mission Viejo

Extremely Low + Very Low	Low	Moderate	Above Moderate	Total
674	401	397	745	2,217
_{Source: SCAG, 3/4/2021}

1. California Government Code Sec. 65300 et seq. / 2. https://cityofmissionviejo.org/departments/community-development/planning/general-plan. / 3. California Government Code Sec. 65580 et seq. / 4. California Government Code Sec. 65583. / 5. California Government Code Sec. 65583(a)(5). / 6. California Government Code Sec. 65584 et seq. / 7. California Government Code Sec. 65584(d). / 8. https://scag.ca.gov/housing.

Housing Element:

Housing Rehabilitation:

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