HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2A73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 100, Palm Desert, CA 92260 | lifttorise.org
RE: CITY OF PALM SPRINGS FOR A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT TO ADOPT ITS SIXTH
CYCLE HOUSING ELEMENT AND APPROVE THE ASSOCIATED EIR ADDENDUM.
Dear Mayor Garner, Mayor Pro Tem Bernstein, and distinguished council members,
Lift to Rise would like to express our strong support for the adoption of the City of Palm Springs’s
Housing Element Update, and we strongly urge the city to intensify its support for the
development of housing affordable to residents earning at or below 80% of Area Median
Income.
According to the draft Housing Element, the city has the potential for expanded residential
opportunities upon its adoption. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers for this
6th cycle are set at a total of 2,557 units, at all income levels; 953 of which are allocated for
extremely low – low income. Currently slated are 192 affordable units under development to
address the RHNA for low-income households. Additionally, the Housing Element identifies
various sites capable of accommodating an additional 662 affordable units; 100 of which are
awaiting rezoning approval. Given this information, an updated 6th Cycle Housing Element
update will firmly advance plans for more affordable housing production within the city.
While the city is actively working to boost the production of affordable housing, many of the city’s
projects that are planned, approved, entitled, or under construction are designated above
moderate-income households. Notably, there are 2,429 planned or approved units allocated for
above moderate-income levels, anticipated to be included in the count towards meeting the 6th
cycle RHNA numbers. With a total Palm Springs RHNA of 2,557, these units more than satisfy the
requirement for above moderate units but create a deficit for lower income affordable housing.
Given the direction from HCD to make revisions in the Housing Element that promote new
housing choices and affordability in areas with higher opportunity, we strongly urge the city to
intensify its support for the development of extremely low income to low-income housing. This
approach aligns with the fact that many residents who meet the requirements for extremely low
to low-income housing are often the workers who drive the local economy. In addition to the
encouraging implementation actions in the Housing Element including objective design
standards, inclusionary zoning ordinances, focus on ADUs, streamlining efforts, digitizing permit
processes, and more, Palm Springs has a duty to affirmatively further fair housing by increasing
those opportunities.
We applaud the City of Palm Springs that, even without a compliant Housing Element, has
consistently prioritized affordable housing through many proposals for prohousing policies and
initiatives. We also urge the City of Palm Springs to follow this effort with an application to the
California Department of Housing and Community Development’s Prohousing Designation
program, which will help the city unlock more resources for and accelerate the production of
affordable units.
Moreover, as the city realizes its goals outlined in the housing plan, we encourage Palm Springs
to continue to lean on the support of Lift to Rise in these efforts. This next step in the approval
process will help accelerate the production of necessary affordable housing in the city. We
recognize the city’s efforts to meet the states’ requirements and prioritize the needs of its
09/26/2023
Public Comment
Item 2A
73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 100, Palm Desert, CA 92260 | lifttorise.org
residents by bringing the Housing Element into compliance and offer our continued support
throughout the process.
Lift to Rise was formed to transform the systems that generate the supply of affordable housing,
recognizing that the combination of low wages and high housing costs are the root causes of
financial precarity among Coachella Valley residents.
That is why Lift to Rise and over 60 cross-sector partners, including the City of Palm Springs,
have coordinated around a shared goal of reducing the regional housing cost burden at a
population level through the production of 10,000 units of affordable ho using in the Coachella
Valley by 2028.
Together, we are operating off a shared Action Plan which spans 5 key strategy areas:
1. Aggregating a pipeline of community-prioritized projects across the valley,
2. Growing a regional Housing Catalyst fund to spur production,
3. Advocating at the local, state, and federal level for policies and regulatory changes that
Support housing production in our region,
4. Engaging and mobilizing residents and elected officials in support of affordable housing,
and
5. Keeping residents housed through a coordinated eviction prevention strategy.
We stand ready as a collaborative to support the city to increase affordability. We thank the City
of Palm Springs for joining us in this work thus far and urge the city council to continue to
prioritize the production of affordable housing to ensure that all residents are healthy, stable, and
thriving and urge you again prioritize affordability with this recommendation.
Thank you for your time.
Lift to Rise
09/26/2023
Public Comment
Item 2A