Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The Housing Element is mandated by State law to be updated every eight years and certified by California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The 6^th Housing Element will shape and guide housing development from 2023 through 2031.

The Housing Element does not address land use, height, or density of development; implement specific controls for individual neighborhoods; or amend the Zoning Map or Planning Code.
Why update the Housing Element?

California State law requires cities to update their Housing Elements every 8 years. The current Milpitas Housing Element adopted for the 2015 through 2023 period can be found here.  As cities continue to experience growth in population and jobs, availability of adequate and quality housing becomes critical to sustain prosperous communities and economies. The 6^th Housing Element will shape and guide housing development from 2023 through 2031.

To learn more about the Housing Element, check out this video by HCD.

A typical Housing Element includes the following:

• Housing Needs Assessment reflective of the City’s demographic, economic, and housing characteristics.
• Constraints Analysis to remove barriers to the production and preservation of housing.
• Sites Inventory with a list of potential sites that could accommodate future housing to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).
• Goals and Policies to promote housing production and define its characteristics.
• Review of existing housing programs and their progress.
• Community Outreach and Engagement with a particular focus on key stakeholders and traditionally underrepresented groups.
• Fair Housing Assessment to ensure fair housing and opportunity for residents.

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, and national origin. Over time the law expanded its protections to include discrimination based on sex, disability, and familial status. Assembly Bill 686, passed in 2018 by the California State Legislature, expands the fair housing requirements and protections outlined in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). All Housing Elements are required to go beyond combating discrimination by affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH).

We encourage you to be a part of the Housing Element planning process. Participate in our events, sign up for our mailing list to get updates, and stay tuned for future meetings and workshops.

Every eight years, the State determines the housing needs for California and for each region in the state based on growth projections and the current housing deficit. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) distributes the Bay Area region’s housing need by number of units to each county and city. This is termed as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). Each city must then update the Housing Element of its general plan to show the locations where housing can be built and the policies and strategies necessary to meet the community’s housing needs.

The 6th cycle RHNA for Milpitas is 6,713 housing units with a delineation by income categories to ensure that housing is planned for households at all economic levels. The breakdown by income category is defined below:

• Very Low Income: 1,685
• Low Income: 970
• Moderate Income: 1,131
• Above Moderate Income: 2,927

As defined by recent Guidance from the state, sites selected towards meeting the RHNA targets must be available and suitable for residential development with appropriate zoning, development standards, and infrastructure capacity. These sites must demonstrate realistic redevelopment potential for the next eight years based on criteria established by the City after assessment of recent developer trends and interests. When considering sites to include in the site inventory of the housing element, the City will look at physical factors (size and shape of the parcel), existing use (vacant land or low density), environmental factors (safe from hazards like flood, fire or earthquake), social factors (preventing concentration or burdening of low income areas) and economic factors (areas with low opportunity, access to transit, schools, and parks) to name a few.

The Housing Element is adopted by the Milpitas City Council and provides guidance for formulating citywide housing programs and policies and for evaluating development proposals. It sets goals, objectives, and actions to be implemented during the next eight years (2023-2031). The city must provide annual reports to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on its progress in implementing the Housing Element and RHNA.

The Housing Element will align with the Milpitas General Plan 2040’s overall vision, goals and policies. While the General Plan envisions and plans for growth over the next 20 years, the Housing Element will plan for probable and implementable housing over an eight-year horizon.
As per the General Plan, almost all growth is planned in existing Residential areas and Mixed-use areas, with most of the growth planned in the following Specific Plan areas:

• Milpitas Midtown Specific Plan (Revision in process renaming this to “Main Street – Gateway Specific Plan”) 
• Draft Milpitas Metro Specific Plan (formerly Transit Area Specific Plan)

• Various State of California grants and funding programs for transportation, infrastructure, and housing are only available to cities which have HCD certified Housing Elements. An HCD certification establishes a “rebuttable presumption of validity” that the Housing Element complies with State law, which would support the City’s legal defense. A court may limit local land use decision-making authority until the City brings its Housing Element into compliance.
• If a jurisdiction fails to adopt a compliant Housing Element, it could face fines and lawsuits from the State.