Since 1980, the State of California has required each jurisdiction to plan for its share of the state’s housing need for people of all income levels. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is the process by which each community is assigned its share of the housing need for an eight‐year period. The RHNA identifies each jurisdiction’s responsibility for planning for housing and is divided into four income categories (very low, low, moderate and above moderate). This allocation process consists of three steps.
- Determination: The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) determines the total housing need for the region.
- Plan: The RHNA Plan establishes a distribution methodology. As the Council of Governments for the San Luis Obispo region, it is SLOCOG’s responsibility to create a plan in coordination with the local jurisdictions. The RHNA Determination is distributed to the local jurisdictions by the four income categories.
- Result: The eight local jurisdictions must update the Housing Element of their General Plans to show how it plans to meet the housing needs in its community. State law requires housing elements be completed 18 months after the adoption of SLOCOG’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
The San Luis Obispo region is currently in the 6th RHNA Housing Element Cycle. The 2019 RHNA was prepared in conjunction with 2019 RTP with input and recommendations from the 2019 RHNA Working Team, Technical Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC), Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC), SLOCOG Board of Directors, and the public.
Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Fact Sheet 10.10.25