Housing Element

What is a Housing Element?

The Housing Element is a part of the City’s General Plan, which sets forth guiding policies for future development, and is required by the State to be updated every eight years. The updated plan will cover 2021-2029. The purpose of the Housing Element is to evaluate the housing needs of Aliso Viejo’s current and future residents and set forth policies and programs to address those needs. 

Who decides how much housing is needed and what kind?

California’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determines the number of housing units needed to accommodate the Southern California region. The Southern California Regional Association of Governments (SCAG) takes that number to develop a methodology to allocate units to each city and county. The allocation is referred to as Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). Table 1 shows the final RHNA allocations for Aliso Viejo, Orange County, and the entire SCAG region.  

Table 1. 6th Cycle Final RHNA – Aliso Viejo, Orange County and SCAG Region

Source: SCAG, 3/4/2021

The RHNA also distributes each jurisdiction’s total housing need into four income categories (the extremely-low and very-low categories are combined for RHNA purposes). Aliso Viejo’s 6th cycle final RHNA allocation by income category is shown in Table 2.

 Table 2. 6th Cycle Final RHNA by Income Category – Aliso Viejo

Source: SCAG, 3/4/2021

What is the process to update the Housing Element?

The process to update the Housing Element includes housing surveys, virtual community workshops, the review of demographic and existing conditions, potential site review, and public hearings. Below is a schedule of the process:

How do I get involved?

Please check this webpage often for opportunities to provide the City with input on the Housing Element.  If you have questions or comments or would like to be added to the interest list, please contact Rose Rivera, Senior Planner, at rrivera@avcity.org or call 949-425-2528.

Additional Resources:

2021-2029 Housing Element Update - Housing Plan Revised Draft (with redlines) (PDF)

2021-2029 Housing Element Update - Community Profile Revised Draft (PDF)

Housing Element Update Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

City of Aliso Viejo Local Housing Data (PDF)

2013-2021 Housing Element Part 1 - Housing Plan (PDF)

2013-2021 Housing Element Part 2 - Community Profile (PDF)

2021-2029 Draft Housing Element (PDF)

Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing for Orange County (PDF)

HCD Letter dated 4/1/2022 (PDF)

Video Resources

The following videos were produced by the Orange County Council of Governments and the Association of Cities - Orange County to explain the RHNA and the Housing Element process.