At a joint Windsor Town Council and Planning Commission on Nov. 9, Town of Windsor officials will receive information on the ongoing update of the town’s housing element, an aspect of the general plan the State of California requires cities to update every eight years, as well as the safety element.
Information on how to attend, as well as the meeting agenda, can be found here.
The meeting will also serve as an opportunity to receive public comment and for council members and commissioners to direct staff in the development of the general plan element updates.
The 2023-2031 Housing Element must be updated per state law by Jan. 31, 2023. Jurisdictions which fail to submit updates by the deadline will be required to submit updates every four years, rather than eight, for two cycles.
Housing elements help cities plan for the provision of housing, and are closely related to the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) numbers — or a number of units cities must plan for, allotted in the same eight-year cycles or else lose local control through a state-mandated ministerial development process. They include housing objectives, demographic and housing needs information and inventories of potential housing development sites. The Town of Windsor’s 2015-2022 Housing Element can be viewed here for reference.
The Public Health and Safety Element of the general plan is also required to be updated. According to the staff report, the safety element “is designed to reduce short-term and long-term potential threats to the community health and safety, (and) helps foster a resilient local economy and natural ecosystem.” Safety element updates must be prepared alongside housing element updates.
More information on theupdates can be found on the town’s housing element webpage.
