Memorandum
Date: January 28, 2021
To: The Honorable Planning Commission
From: Scott De Leon, Community Development Director
Toccarra Nicole Thomas, Community Development Deputy Director
Subject: General Plan Conformity Report for Land Exchange Between the County of Lake and the State of California for the purposes of affordable housing development; Lakeport Armory Land Swap General Plan Conformity 21-01 (GPC 21-01) and Categorical Exemption 21-05 (CE 21-05) 1431 Hoyt Avenue, Lakeport CA further described as APN 003-046-75
ATTACHMENTS:
1. BOS Memorandum Lakeport Armory/Clearlake Property Land Swap Proposal Update and direction to staff
I. SUMMARY:
The Board of Supervisors has directed staff to take the necessary actions to facilitate a property swap of county owned vacant and undeveloped property to the State of California for State owned property for the development of affordable housing. The State owned property located at 1431 Hoyt Avenue, Lakeport CA further described as APN 003-046-75 further described as the Lakeport Armory will be exchanged for County owned, vacant, and undeveloped land located at 15387 18th Ave, Clearlake CA APN 010-043-01 for the purposes of developing affordable housing within the County. Since the Lakeport Armory is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the County of Lake, a general plan of conformity report for the exchange of property was completed to ensure consistency with the General Plan. As part of the necessary steps to complete the land swap, the City of Lakeport will complete a GPC for the County owned property simultaneously before the project can move to the next phases.
As the development of affordable housing in the County of Lake is a high priority of the State of California, and the County of Lake, as outlined in the Housing Element of the Lake County General Plan, staff recommends that the Planning Commission report that the property swap for the purposes of developing affordable housing is in conformance with the Lake County General Plan.
II. Project Background
This project began in January 15, 2019, when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-06-19 directing several departments to identify and prioritize excess State-owned property for sustainable, innovative and cost-effective housing developments to address California’s shortage of affordable housing. As part of this initiative the State initially identified the Lakeport Armory, a state owned property as an eligible site. The State working with the County of Lake, determined that swapping the State owned Lakeport Armory for the County owned vacant and undeveloped property would directly facilitate the development of affordable housing in the County of Lake.
Per Government Code 64502 (a) if property is to be disposed of, it should be determined that the Planning Commission shall render a report as to the conformity with the adopted General Plan. And as the Lakeport Armory lies within the jurisdictional boundaries of the County, a General Plan of Conformity has been completed to ensure that the project is consistent with the Lake County General Plan. In concert with this action, the City of Lakeport will review the disposition of the County Owned property for consistency with the City of Lakeport General Plan.
Staff has determined that the development of Lakeport Armory with the intention of a property swap to create affordable housing in the County of Lake is consistent with the goals of the Housing Element of the General Plan.
III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Applicant: County of Lake County Administrative Office
Owner: State of California
Properties APN 003-046-75 1431 Hoyt Avenue, Lakeport CA
Existing Zoning: “O-SC”-Open Space District-Scenic Combing
General Plan Designation: PF-Public Facilities
Existing Development: Vacant/Undevelopable
IV. Vicinity Map
Figure 1 County Owned Surplus Property to be Exchanged with State Owned Property
Figure 2 State Owned Surplus Property to Be Exchanged with County Owned Property and subject of this General Plan of Conformity Report
V. GENERAL PLAN CONFORMITY ANALYSIS:
Chapter 4 Housing Element of the Lake County General Plan specifically identifies adherence to the State Housing Goals as a top priority, and continues on to outline Local Housing Goals under 1.0 Housing Goals and Policies of the Housing Element. This proposed property swap is for the express purpose to facilitate affordable housing and is consistent with the Countywide as well as State Housing Goals as outlined in the General Plan.
1.0 State Housing Goals
According to the California Statewide Housing Plan Update, it is the goal of the State to “ensure to all Californians the opportunity to obtain safe, adequate housing in a suitable living environment.” Additionally, the State Department of Housing and Community Development has established the following four primary goals:
• Provision of new housing;
• Preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods;
• Reduction of housing costs; and,
• Improvement of housing conditions for special needs groups
The property swap directly facilitates the provision of new housing stock within the County of Lake as the County owned land conveyed to the State will be used for affordable housing. On July 20, 2020, the State of California DGS issued a Request for Qualification (RFQ) to create an affordable housing development on the County’s undeveloped property located at 15837 18th Avenue, Clearlake, CA. As the State via a Request for Proposals for Developers identifies that that a minimum of 50% of the developed units must be deed restricted affordable units, this project is consistent with the General Plan which adopted the statewide housing goals.
2.0 Local Housing Goals
In addition to adhering to State housing goals the County further recognizes specialized needs of the local housing environment. The County of Lake furthers the following goals aimed at addressing the local needs.
• Establish better private-public partnerships (specifically with non-profit organizations dedicated to providing affordable housing; and
• Establish procedures to make County surplus & tax-default properties better available for the provision of affordable housing.
Goal HE-1 NEW CONSTRUCTION To encourage new residential development in suitable locations that meet the projected need of all economic segments of the community
Policy HE-1.3 Support for Affordable Housing
The County shall encourage and support affordable housing for all economic segments within all communities
Policy HE-1.5 Attraction of Affordable Housing Developers
The County shall seek to attract affordable housing developers to Lake County from throughout Northern California.
Exchanging the Lakeport Armory with County owned vacant land is directly consistent with the Housing Element of the General Plan as the land exchanged to the State will be developed as affordable housing with a minimum of 50% of the units designated as affordable housing. This initiative will create additional housing units in the County, which as a direct function of Supply and Demand will decrease housing prices throughout the County, directly supporting the aforementioned goals and policies. This project will also encourage new construction as well as directly increase the number of affordable units in the County (Goal HE-1, Policy HE 1-3, and Policy HE 1.5). Additionally, designating the Lakeport Armory for a land exchange with the State to develop affordable housing directly creates better partnerships with public and private partners including but not limited to: the State, the City of Lakeport, public entities via the RFP process all to provide affordable housing located within the County of Lake. Finally, although this is not the purview of this GPC, the development of new construction affordable units will create jobs within the community which will directly improve the economy of the County.
V. Environmental Review
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires agencies to evaluate the environmental implications of their actions. Categorical Exemption (15183) Projects Consistent with General Plan, allows for a streamlined environmental review process for projects that are consistent with the General Plan. This review of the property swap for consistency with the General Plan is categorically exempt because there are no project specific effects which are peculiar to this project as this GPC is a review of the property swap and this review is not the actual property swap.
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission report that the exchange of County Owned property located at 15837 18th Avenue, Clearlake, CA., APN 010-043-01 for the State owned Lakeport Armory 1431 Hoyt Avenue, Lakeport CA, for the purposes of creating affordable housing, is in conformity with the Lake County General Plan based on the following findings:
1. The State of California has proposed to exchange the Lakeport Armory for vacant, undeveloped, and unused County Owned land for the purposes of affordable housing development.
2. Staff has reviewed the property exchange for consistency with the General Plan, and finds that the property exchange for the purposes of affordable housing is consistent with the General Plan.
3. The property swap has been reviewed and is consistent with the objectives, goals, and policies of the Housing Element of the Lake County General Plan; specifically the Statewide and Local Goals for the development of affordable housing within the County of Lake, Goal HE 1, Policy HE-1.3 and Policy HE-1.5
4. The review of the property swap is Categorically Exempt via 15183 as this GPC is a review of the property swap. The property swap has been found to be consistent with the general plan as it is for the express purpose to create affordable housing in the County of Lake.
VII. SAMPLE MOTIONS
Categorical Exemption
I move that the Planning Commission find that the Categorical Exemption (CE 21-05) for property exchange with the State of California, property located 1431 Hoyt Avenue, Lakeport CA and further described as APN 003-046-75 for the purposes of the development of affordable housing will not have a significant effect on the environment and therefore a Categorical Exemption shall be approved with the findings listed in the staff report dated January 28, 2021.
General Plan of Conformity
I move that the Planning Commission report that the review of the property exchange between the State of California and the County of Lake for property located at 1431 Hoyt Avenue, Lakeport CA further described as APN 003-046-75 and further described as the Lakeport Armory as proposed by the County of Lake County Administrative Office and the State of California for the purposes of developing affordable housing is in conformity with the Lake County General Plan with the findings listed in the Staff Report dated January 28, 2021.
Reviewed by: _____