Welcome to the City of Anaheim’s Housing Element Update Page. The City of Anaheim is in process of updating its Housing Element. The Housing Element Update covers an eight-year planning period, which spans from 2021 to 2029. The Housing Element Update will build upon the goals, policies and programs of the existing Housing Element to ensure that the housing needs of all Anaheim residents can be met.
What is the Housing Element?
The Housing Element is one of seven state-mandated elements of the City’s General Plan. The Housing Element is a policy document that plans for current and future housing needs within the City, and identifies strategies for expanding housing opportunities and services for all household types and income groups, along with a Housing Opportunity Sites list.
The City’s current Housing Element covers a period between 2014 and 2021, also known as the fifth cycle. The current Housing Element for 2014-2021 can be found here.
Why is the Housing Element Update Needed?
State law requires the Housing Element to be updated every eight years in order to remain relevant and reflective of the community’s changing housing needs. California is now entering its sixth cycle, covering a period between 2021 and 2029, and the State law requires that the City update and adopt their 2021-2029 Housing Element by October 2021.
What is Regional Housing Needs Assessment, or RHNA?
RHNA is a State mandated process that identifies housing needs for all income levels within each local jurisdiction during specified planning period. The State Department of Housing and Community Development identifies a statewide projected housing need and provides such need to each metropolitan area in the State. The Southern California Association of Governments is the Metropolitan Planning Organization that allocates the projected housing need for local jurisdictions located within Southern California region, including Anaheim. Essentially, a RHNA allocation is a total number of housing units a city must plan to accommodate over the next eight years. The Housing Element is required to identify potential sites and provide policies and programs that will accommodate the City’s RHNA allocation. Additional information about the RHNA can be found here and here.
For the 2021-2029, City of Anaheim's RHNA allocation is 17,453 housing units, with the following income breakdown:
Income Category (AMI = Area median Income*)
Number of Units
Percent of Total
Very Low (<50% of AMI)
3,767
21.6%
Low (50% to 80% of AMI)
2,397
13.7%
Moderate (80% to 120% of AMI)
2,945
16.9%
Above Moderate (>120% of AMI)
8,344
47.8%
TOTAL
17,453
100%
*Orange County's current AMI for a family of four is $103,000
The City's 2021-2029 RHNA allocation of 17,453 units is significantly larger than the 2014-2021 RHNA allocation (more than 300 percent increase), which is 5,702 units.
Why does California have a RHNA process?
Public Participation: We want your input!
The Housing Element is for all sectors of the Anaheim community. Population and housing characteristics are reviewed in the process to create equitable housing goals and policies. Additionally, the Anaheim community plays a vital role in the update process through thoughtful dialogue and participation. The City will provide multiple opportunities for you to bring insight, recommendations, questions and feedback throughout the update process.
An estimated timeline of the Housing Element Update process and community participation opportunities is provided below:
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Additional Resources
For more information or additional Housing Resources, please use the links below: