Resource Library

Looking for resources to learn more about Housing Elements, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, city data, maps, or the California Department of Housing & Community Development? Here is a catch-all area for your questions!

Education Resources

Interested in Housing Elements and keeping local jurisdictions accountable? Check out our list of educational materials to get started!

• Housing Elements Investigators 101
  A webinar intro to being a Housing Elements Watchdog by YIMBY Action

• Housing Element Kickoff Webinar

  A webinar on Housing Elements that covers redlining, AFFH, and compliance with state law

• Accurate Counting in the Latest RHNA

  A report by YIMBY Law in rebuttal to claims by the Embarcadero Institute that the state is planning for too many homes.

  • “Accurate Counting in the Latest RHNA” White Paper

• Housing Element Law
  A short slide deck from Melinda Coy from HCD summarizing what Housing Elements are, the overall RHNA process, and various government bodies’ role in the update process.

• UCLA Lewis Center - Housing Element Publications

• ”Builder’s Remedy” Primer

  Brief on the so-called “Builder’s Remedy” for Housing Element noncompliance, prepared by Christopher S. Elmendorf, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law.

Resources from the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD)

The following resources can help you navigate the different tools provided by HCD for the Housing Element process.

• Housing Element Implementation and APR Dashboard

• AFFH Guidance and AFFH Mapping Tool

• Site Inventory Guidebook

• How to analyze Sites and Zoning

• Housing Element Review Checklist

• SB 9 Fact Sheet

• HCD & OPR Site Check Map

• HCD 5th Cycle Status Map (SB 35)

• HCD Webinars

  • Part I: Introduction – The Update Process and Streamline Review

  • Part II: Basic Requirements – Public Participation, Review of Past Programs, Housing Needs and Constraints

  • Part III: Sites Inventory and Analysis

  • Part IV: Programs – Implementation Plan Requirements

  • Part V: Other Requirements

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Resources

The following resources can help you navigate the AFFH Guidelines provided by HCD for the Housing Element process.

• AFFH Guidance

• AFFH Mapping Tool

• Site Inventory Guidebook

Likelihood of Development Resources

The following resources can help you better understand Likelihood of Development in Housing Element site analysis. Likelihood of development is loosely defined as the probability of the actual development of a proposed site based on the rate of development of sites proposed during the previous Housing Element cycle. This is not to be confused with ‘likelihood of discontinuation,’ a higher percentage chance relating to non-vacant sites which might be proposed by jurisdictions. The current use for the proposed site must be shown to have a realistic enough possibility to be discontinued if it is to be included.

• UCLA Lewis Center paper, ‘What Gets Built on Sites That Cities "Make Available" for Housing?’

• Terner Center, ‘Creating a Stronger Housing Element: The Example of Los Angeles'

• Building Blocks: Analysis of Sites & Zoning

• Site Inventory Guidebook

  • Realistic Capacity: “The capacity calculation must be adjusted to reflect the realistic potential for residential development capacity on the sites in the inventory. Specifically, when the site has the potential to be developed with nonresidential uses, requires redevelopment, or has an overlay zone allowing the underlying zoning to be utilized for residential units, these capacity limits must be reflected in the housing element.” (page 20 of the Site Inventory Guidebook)

• HEAT Sheet

• Abundant Housing LA, “An Under-the-Radar Win for Housing in California”

Likelihood of Development is an important part of the Housing Element process since jurisdictions must make a full-fledged effort to find and propose sites that have a real chance of being developed based on previous years. By determining unit numbers by their chance of actually arising, hopefully cities will build and entitle beyond just their set target instead of doing the bare minimum. This is another tool in keeping cities accountable.

Maps!

Are you a visual learner? Here’s a list of maps to get a better sense of the far-reaching nature of the Housing Element process:

• AFFH Map Builder (HUD)

• Opportunity Atlas Map

• Mapping Opportunity

• Racial Dot Map (Cooper Center)

• Redlining Maps from the HOLC

• HELPR Land Use Map (SCAG Region)

• HCD 5th Cycle SB 35 Status Map

• 5th Cycle Housing Element Sites (MTC; ABAG Region)

• AdvanceOC Equity Map & Social Progress Index (Orange County)

Laws & Rulings Reference

A quick legal reference pertaining to Housing Elements and their evolving nature:

Key legislation

• SB 166: HCD No Net Loss Law Explanatory Memo

• AB 686: Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Two Page Explainer

• SB 35: Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process

• SB 9: HCD Fact Sheet

Court rulings

• Clovis CA – Invalidating the affordable housing overlay zone (writ)