Welcome!

This is the community portal for the City of Brea 2021-2029 Housing Element Update. In order to address a number of State regulations, the City went through a process to update the General Plan Housing Element, required every 8 years. Here you will find an overview of the project, FAQs, project updates, information on upcoming workshops, and related resources and documents.

UPDATE 9/8/2022

The Brea City Council originally adopted 2021-2029 Housing Element in September 2021, and the adopted Housing Element was reviewed by the California State Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). Per HCD's findings, the City's adopted Housing Element was revised and released for public review on July 28, 2022. On August 9, 2022, HCD issued a preliminary findings letter, finding the City's revised Housing Element in compliance with the State law requirements. As such, on August 16, 2022, the Brea City Council reviewed the revised Housing Element re-adopted the City's 2021-2029 Housing Element, and the re-adopted Housing Element was sent to HCD for its final review and certification on August 17, 2022. On September 8, 2022, HCD certified the City's Housing Element.

The final certified Housing Element and the HCD's certification letter can be found by accessing the "HCD Certified Housing Element (Re-Adopted 8/16/22)" section under the menu bar on the right of this website.

Housing Element 101

The General Plan Housing Element is a State-mandated policy document that identifies Brea’s existing and future housing needs and establishes clear goals to inform future housing decisions. It is drafted in accordance with the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), which quantifies the existing and projected need for housing by income categories for each local jurisdiction during specified planning periods. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) determined each city’s housing growth need projections for the 6th cycle RHNA allocation plan which will cover the planning period of October 2021 through October 2029.

The City’s Housing Element provides goals, policies and programs that address:

• Maintaining existing housing quality and affordability
• Assisting in the provision of new affordable housing
• Providing adequate housing sites to address Brea's regional housing needs (RHNA)
• Identifying and removing governmental constraints to housing development
• Promoting equal housing opportunities
• Promoting sustainability, energy efficiency and healthy community

Unlike other elements of the General Plan, State law requires the Housing Element to be updated every eight years. The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is tasked with reviewing Housing Elements for compliance with State housing laws. The City adopted the 2021-2029 Housing Element on September 21, 2021.

Check out the FACT SHEET to learn more.

Housing in Brea Today

Stone Valley Townhomes

Bonterra Apartments

South Brea Lofts

Brea has an active history of supporting affordable housing in its community, highlighted below:

• The City and its former Redevelopment Agency have facilitated the development and acquisition/rehabilitation of sixteen affordable and mixed income rental projects, providing 587 rent-restricted units for very low, low and moderate-income households.
• Brea’s Affordable Housing Ordinance, which requires projects with 20 or more units to set-aside 10% as affordable to moderate income households, has resulted in 115 affordable homeownership units integrated within market rate developments in Brea.
• The City provides rehabilitation assistance to lower income homeowners to make needed repairs.
• The City has adopted regulations to encourage the provision of accessory dwelling units (aka “granny flats”) which provide lower cost housing options for individuals and small households.

Click here to learn more about Housing Programs in Brea.

Your Participation Matters

Thank you to everyone who provided input.