The City of South Gate has updated the Housing Element for the years 2021 to 2029. The Housing Element is a state-required policy document that plans for current and future housing needs within South Gate. It identifies strategies for expanding housing opportunities and services for all household types and income groups and provides policy guidance for local decision-making related to housing.
On February 28, 2024, the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development determined that the City of South Gates' adopted Housing Element was in substantial compliance with State Housing Element Law following the City’s completion of required rezones as part of the Housing Element’s implementation actions. The certified Housing Element, Technical Background Report, and Implementation Plan may be reviewed below.
What is the Housing Element?
The Housing Element is one of the 8 required Elements of the City’s General Plan. The General Plan establishes long-range planning and policy in the City for land use and community design, economic development, circulation and infrastructure, resource sustainability, parks, recreation, and community resources, safety, noise, and housing. While the General Plan is a 25 year Plan, State law requires the Housing Element to be updated every eight years. The City is currently updating its Housing Element for the 2021-2029 period. A major component of this update is the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment ("RHNA"), in which the State estimates each region's housing needs for all income groups.
What is RHNA?
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment ("RHNA") is a part of the State's housing element law that determines the projected and existing housing needs for each jurisdiction in the State. In its Housing Element, the City must demonstrate to the State that there are no unnecessary barriers to the housing approval process in order to meet the RHNA allocation for the City.
On March 4, 2021, the Southern California Association of Governments ("SCAG") released its final draft allocation of housing units for each jurisdiction in its region, which can be found here. The City has received a final draft allocation of 8,282 new units for this upcoming planning period. Additional information on RHNA can be found at SCAG and at California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).