Housing Element

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In compliance with state housing law, the Town of Danville adopted its 2023-2031 Housing Element, which has been submitted to the State of California for review and certification. State law mandates communities throughout California--including Danville--to accommodate a greater number of higher density multi-family housing units, including sites that were previously designated for other types of uses in the Danville 2030 General Plan. The Town's role is not to construct housing but to identify where and how Danville will accommodate the state-assigned units for people of all income groups. For the upcoming 2023-2031 planning period, the Town is expected to accommodate a minimum of 2,241 new homes.

The Housing Element update has been developed following a lengthy public process including inviting the community to identify suggested housing sites, evaluate housing plan simulations, and presentation of the proposed Housing Element update at Planning Commission and Town Council public hearings.

Many recent changes to State law have significantly eroded local control over housing development and increased the severity of penalties for non-compliance. Securing the State's certification of the Housing Element ensures that Danville remains eligible for state funding and avoid fines of up to $600,000 per month. Most importantly, a compliant Housing Element avoids potential lawsuits, with consequences that include court mandated compliance, court suspension of local control over building permits, and court approval of housing development on the Town's half.

Concerns about the impacts of state legislation are most effectively expressed directly to our State legislators, who are: Senate Steve Glazer and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan.

Subscribe to this page to stay informed about upcoming meetings and information. Learn more from the Housing Element Fact Sheet and Housing Element FAQs.


In compliance with state housing law, the Town of Danville adopted its 2023-2031 Housing Element, which has been submitted to the State of California for review and certification. State law mandates communities throughout California--including Danville--to accommodate a greater number of higher density multi-family housing units, including sites that were previously designated for other types of uses in the Danville 2030 General Plan. The Town's role is not to construct housing but to identify where and how Danville will accommodate the state-assigned units for people of all income groups. For the upcoming 2023-2031 planning period, the Town is expected to accommodate a minimum of 2,241 new homes.

The Housing Element update has been developed following a lengthy public process including inviting the community to identify suggested housing sites, evaluate housing plan simulations, and presentation of the proposed Housing Element update at Planning Commission and Town Council public hearings.

Many recent changes to State law have significantly eroded local control over housing development and increased the severity of penalties for non-compliance. Securing the State's certification of the Housing Element ensures that Danville remains eligible for state funding and avoid fines of up to $600,000 per month. Most importantly, a compliant Housing Element avoids potential lawsuits, with consequences that include court mandated compliance, court suspension of local control over building permits, and court approval of housing development on the Town's half.

Concerns about the impacts of state legislation are most effectively expressed directly to our State legislators, who are: Senate Steve Glazer and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan.

Subscribe to this page to stay informed about upcoming meetings and information. Learn more from the Housing Element Fact Sheet and Housing Element FAQs.

Housing Element Q&A

Please ask us any questions you have about the Housing Element update, the requirements, the process, or anything else here.

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    Since Danville's Housing Element got incinerated by HCD, how do I submit a builder's remedy project?

    YIMBYMarcell asked 12 months ago

    Hi @YimbyMarcell,

    Thank you for your question. The Town has no regulation related to submission of a builder's remedy application. We encourage you to refer to the applicable state laws to submit a project. 

    Thank you,

    Town Staff

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    when will your next meeting be?

    kari asked over 1 year ago

    Hi Kari,

    Thanks for checking in. The first Planning Commission hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13. You can view public meeting details on the Town's main website at the following link Meetings, Agendas & Minutes | Danville, CA .

    Thanks,

    Town Staff

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    Your plan simulator is broken. It tops out at 45 units per acre but this seems much smaller than should be possible. When will you fix this?

    Nathaniel Lee-Luders asked over 1 year ago

    Hi Nathaniel,

    Thank you for your question. The Housing Plan Simulation Tool’s maximum density allocation is specifically set to 45 dwelling units per acre. This was done so to provide the opportunity for community members to create their own housing plan, while staying within a parameter that would be feasible for the Town to implement. Per the Town’s current Land Use Designation, the maximum allowable density is 30 dwelling units per acre, not withstanding a development invoking State Density Bonus Law.

    Thank you,

    Town Staff

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    If we are adding more housing in a condensed manner, such as apartments, we need to make sure a pocket park a companies that building. Are we including this in the new housing plan?

    Parks for families in apartments asked almost 2 years ago

    This is an excellent observation and is consistent with direction provided by the Town’s General Plan (Public Facilities, Chapter 5). The opportunity to do so arises to incorporate these amenities when a developer submits a housing development proposal for consideration.

    Thanks,

    Town Staff   

    Additional information added 07/20/22

    The Housing Element is just one of seven mandated elements within the Town's General Plan. The Housing Element responds to the need for and constraints related to the provision of housing. Another equally important element of the General Plan – Public Facilities - addresses the issue of providing parks and recreational facilities. As required by law, all elements of the General Plan must be ‘horizontally consistent’ which means that the policies of one element is applicable to others. This means that the provision of parks and recreational facilities applies to housing development. New residential projects are required to dedicate land and/or pay fees in lieu of dedicating land. This is the approach and mechanism that the Town has used since incorporation in 1982 to develop the parks, community centers, trails and other amenities as the Town matured for the past 40 years. The complete General Plan can be viewed on the Town website at https://www.danville.ca.gov/546/General-Plan.

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    In an answer to a previous question from Amber, you said that SB 9 "essentially allows 8 units to be built on a single lot." Can you describe how a homeowner would use SB 9 to build 8 units on a single family lot? The most I can get is four - if a homeowner does a lot split, and then built a duplex on each new lot. The law forbids further lot splits and also forbids building ADU's in addition to the duplexes on lots split using SB 9. I would hate for Danville residents to get the wrong idea from Danville town staff about state laws.

    peggymays asked almost 2 years ago

    Thank you for raising this question to clarify what SB 9 permits. I believe you are referring to a question/answer submitted about a year ago. At that time, there was a lot of confusion on what the bill language called for. Since then, amendments were made to clarify that no more than four units on what is currently a single-family parcel could be constructed under the bill. On December 21, 2021, Town Council adopted Resolution No. 85-2021, identifying objective standards for the implementation of the state mandates of SB 9. SB 9 creates a streamlined process for homeowners to create a duplex or subdivide an existing lot. Without a lot split, a homeowner would be able to add an additional 2 units for a max total of 3 units/lot. Homeowners using SB 9 with a lot split would be able to build any combination of units, not to exceed 2 units/lot and max of 4 units total.

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    The jurisdictions in Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) had a Housing Element deadline that was a few months ago. About 180 of them (Redondo Beach, Beverly Hills, others) do not currently have a compliant Housing Element, as well as some other cities in California with earlier deadlines, including Davis. Some of them, such as South Pasadena, are being sued and asked to give up their ability to grant permits. Why has HCD failed to certify the Housing Element for so many cities in Southern California? What is Danville doing differently than those cities so that HCD will certify Danville's Housing Element and avoid the consequent penalties?

    peggymays asked almost 2 years ago

    Thank you for your question! HCD has deemed a number of Housing Elements non-compliant due to the failure of jurisdictions to sufficiently address the statuary requirements of State Housing Element Law. While it is alarming the number of jurisdictions that are currently out of compliance, this does present the opportunity to learn what HCD is looking for, and ensuring Danville adequately addresses the requirements within the Town’s Housing Element. 

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    25 dwellings per acre sounds like apartments, am I correct? Is this number a suggestion? How would traffic and schools, police, fire, and other city services be impacted? Not well I would imagine. Having worked in two different major cities with mixed zoning and a renting community versus one of ownership, its a recipe for disaster. My understanding was that any high density type of housing would be kept to freeway corridors, not mixed in with single family residence communities.

    Nik J asked almost 2 years ago

    Great question Nik! Apartments, condos and townhomes would all be examples of a development with a density of 25 dwelling units per acre. The 25 units an acre was used as a starting point for all housing sites on the Housing Plan Simulation Tool, however that is not necessarily a recommendation. The Town has identified a number of sites to be considered. Depending on the selected density, units can be spread across multiple sites, or be concentrated to a smaller number of sites. Not all sites may be preferred when completing the exercise, and for sites that are not already zones for housing, the density can be decreased to zero. 

    The goal of the simulation tool is to get feedback from the community on the housing sites while they are still under review. The feedback gathered from the tool will help inform the Planning Commission and Town Council on what sites to move forward with. Traffic impacts of all the sites are evaluated in the Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, which will be released in September.

    Thanks,

    Town Staff

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    Are you saying that the open space currently owned by our HOA could be built on? Will the city tear down more of our beautiful hills to add more people or will the city work within the existing topography?

    DanvilleNative asked almost 2 years ago

    Great questions! 

    While the Housing Site Suggestion Map allowed for community members to drop pins on any parcel within the Town boundaries, only sites that meet the State's established criteria could be considered a potential Housing Element site. One of the criteria is development viability, such as (but not limited to) the willingness of the property owner to potentially develop future housing on it. For example, a suggestion to develop HOA-owned open space may not be viable if the HOA does not support it. 

    The Town’s General Plan policies guide housing development onto the flattest and least environmentally sensitive areas of each private development site. Cumulatively over many years, this has resulted in the creation of public open space and protected ridgelines that were formerly private ranch lands. The State’s requirement to plan for a minimum of 2,241 units does not dictate how Danville accommodates growth. Therefore, we foresee that the Town will be able to continue to carry forward its policy of carefully weaving new development into the fabric of the existing community.

    Thank you,

    Town Staff

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    How do you register review map & drop a pin. I was unable to find the link.

    Terin asked about 2 years ago

    Hi Terin,

    The Housing Site Suggestion Map will be available starting March 7 and can be found here on the Housing Element project page. Residents are also invited to participate in any of the following four workshops to learn more about the tool and housing opportunity sites:

    • Wednesday, March 9 @ 6:00 PM (Zoom) 
    • Thursday, March 17 @ 6:00 PM (Zoom)   
    • Saturday, March 26, 10:00 AM – 12:00 noon (in-person, Veterans Memorial Building) 
    • Monday, March 28 @ 12:00 noon (Zoom), co-hosted with the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce  


    To register for the Zoom workshops click here.

    Thank you,

    Town Staff

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    With the upcoming development of the property, how much say does the Town of Danville have in the new development. Will this property fall under the Housing Element requirements? The homes that back up to this property on Dubost Court are single story homes. Are there any guidelines that take neighboring zoning into account?

    Brody72 asked about 2 years ago

    This is a great question. The Town does not have much discretion in reviewing this application as it falls under the State legal requirements of SB 330, which prohibits denial of a housing development except under very limited circumstances.

    This property (seven acres of the 17-acre Borel property) was changed from a commercial land use designation to a multiple family land use designation as part of the last Housing Element cycle (2014-2022). Since it hasn’t been developed and won't be occupied prior to June 2022, it can be re-used as housing units that can count toward our current housing assignment for the 2023-2031 Housing Element.

     A number of development standards were adopted for the development as part of the re-zoning of the property in 2013. Some are intended to provide a buffer and transition from the single-family homes to the north.

    Please feel free to reach out to us directly at talkhousing@danville.ca.gov with any additional questions or if you would like a copy of the resolution approving the preliminary development plan. 

    Thank you!

    Town Staff

Page last updated: 10 Apr 2024, 04:46 PM