Blue Lake planner says housing element is statutorily compliant; staff proposes multifamily combining zone for one site

City planner Gary Reese told the council Wednesday that the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has found Blue Lake’s adopted housing element “statutorily compliant with housing element laws,” a milestone staff said clears the way for the rezoning the element requires.

Reese said staff will recommend creating a new multifamily-combining zone and applying it to a 1.4‑acre city-owned parcel in the Powers Creek District, likely limited to a 1.0‑acre portion of that site. He said HCD reviewed draft language, advised on a viable site and confirmed a CEQA exemption that may apply when jurisdictions rezone to implement a housing element. “The adopted housing element is statutorily compliant with housing element laws,” Reese said.

Council members and residents pressed staff on why that particular site was recommended. Reese said other parcels — including a Danko site, Calgon Carbon land and one on South Railroad — were reviewed but either already targeted for low‑income units, absent from the site inventory or constrained by utilities and access. He told the council the new combining zone specifies a minimum density of 16 units per acre (up to 20) and allows mixed use with at least 50% residential square footage in a mixed‑use building.

Several residents urged the council to prioritize affordable housing and to design projects that preserve the city’s rural character. Reese said engineering and foundation solutions exist for sites with historic log‑pond fill but that such approaches raise development costs. He added staff expects to take the rezoning to the planning commission in mid‑September for recommendation, then return to council for ordinance adoption.

Next steps: staff will finalize the electronic site inventory comments with HCD, refine the combining‑zone draft that shows the proposed map and development standards, and prepare planning‑commission and council hearings on the rezoning. If the planning commission cannot form a quorum, Reese said staff will consult the city attorney about alternative procedural paths.