Novato adopts revised housing plan after state feedback

The changes include additions to housing programs; deeper analysis of fair and special housing needs; and details on potential projects.

Novato is nearly across the finish line to earn state approval of its housing element.

After years of working on the planning document, the city received a letter of substantial compliance from the State Department of Housing and Community Development on April 2. The compliance was based on the condition that the revised housing element be officially adopted.

The City Council unanimously approved the revision on May 7, with Councilmember Rachel Farac absent.

Revisions include additions to the housing programs, deeper analysis of fair and special housing needs, and details on potential projects. The revised and adopted housing element will be sent back to the state for final approval.

The City Council adopted its updated element in January 2023, but it continued to work with the state housing department to get state certification — making a number of revisions in the process. In April 2023, city staff received a 10-page letter from the state with needed edits, and a second letter was received in December.

The city had to plan for 2,090 new residences in the eight-year planning cycle to meet its quota. That includes 570 for very-low-income households, 328 for low-income households, 332 for moderate-income households and 860 for above-moderate-income households.

The housing element aims to use accessory dwelling units to meet the mandate and the city plans facilitate the construction of about 15 a year. The city also hopes to use vacant lots and buildings and has already rezoned areas to allow for more development.

One key change to the housing element since its adoption in 2023 was program updates. Feedback from the state resulted in five new programs in the housing plan. The program edits include more specific and quantifiable objectives, exact timelines and geographic targeting for more fair housing.

“It’s really been about clarifying the focus and intensifying commitments to things that were already included in the housing element,” said David Bergman, a consultant for the city.

Bergman said many of the programs in the housing element are continued or adapted from the previous housing plan. There are about 20 new programs relating to topics including housing shortfalls, landslide and hillside protection regulations and preserving dwellings at risk of being converted to market-rate homes.

“The new programs mostly reflect three areas of change,” Bergman said. “Change in response to change in the state law, change in response to community input, and change in response to council and planning commission input.”

For the city’s projects pipeline, which includes about 15 projects in various steps of the process, staff was asked to add details and clarify how Novato will meet its housing quota. This included narratives for each project and explaining the feasibility.

“It’s just a huge lift and I think the pipeline projects are very realistic projects, and I think I’m feeling very optimistic though interest rates and all these things that are up above our control are going to also dictate who is going to pull the trigger and build,” Councilmember Susan Wernick said.

Bergman said Novato “suffered guilt by association” from the state by being in Marin County, despite having a good track record of allowing new housing.

“We had to provide significant detail and double promise and triple-promise that the projects that are in the pipeline are actual projects and the community is committed to seeing those units produced,” Bergman said.

The city was also asked to look at Novato’s fair housing indicators — income, housing costs and other burdens — and compare them with Marin County and the North Bay. A deeper analysis on special housing for people with disabilities, senior citizens and homeless people was also added, and more analysis was added on governmental constraints, like permitting and development standards, and how they could affect a project’s feasibility or density.

“It’s so refreshing to feel that we’ve achieved what we’ve achieved under a short time,” Mayor Mark Milberg said. “I’m really pleased.”