Agenda Item Wording:
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Housing Element Annual Progress Report for Calendar Year 2024 - Adoption of a resolution accepting the Housing Element Annual Progress Report for Calendar Year 2025 and finding that it satisfies the city’s reporting requirements to the state.
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Deadline for Action: 3/17/2025
Submitting Department: Community Development
Contact Name and Phone Number:
Brandon Smith, Principal Planner, (559) 713-4636 brandon.smith@visalia.city;
Paul Bernal, Planning and Community Preservation Director, (559) 713-4025 paul.bernal@visalia.city
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR), adopt a resolution accepting the APR for Calander Year 2024 and finding that it satisfies the city’s reporting requirements to the state, and authorize staff to forward the report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
Background Discussion:
Pursuant to State Housing Law (Government Code Section §65400(a)(2)), cities and counties are required to report their progress on implementing their current Housing Elements. The report includes a summary of the jurisdiction’s housing activity, progress in reaching their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) by income level, and progress in implementing the City’s Housing Element’s goals and programs.
The report is a useful tool for City officials, staff, citizens, and stakeholder groups interested in the City’s housing trends, particularly as they relate to affordable housing. The report must be reviewed by the City Council, submitted to HCD by April 1st, and accepted by HCD. The failure to prepare and deliver the report on a timely basis incurs the risk of the City losing future housing grant funding opportunities.
The report demonstrates that the City follows all applicable State laws and policies pertaining to housing, and that the City is implementing its housing policies and programs as articulated in its 6th Cycle Housing Element adopted in December 2023, for the reporting period from December 31, 2023, through December 31, 2031.
The 2024 APR forms and tables are unchanged from the previous year’s format. The APR continues to require listing and affordability determination of all “considered” housing projects (i.e., potential projects submitted to the Site Plan Review Committee), completed entitlements, and individual building permits for every individual housing unit. Jurisdictions report these units to gain credit against their RHNA housing unit requirements. The expanded reporting is in accordance with the State’s enhanced focus on the housing development process.
All residential building permits must be tracked through to their final grant of occupancy. Only units that receive issuance of a building permit during the reporting period are counted toward the jurisdiction’s RHNA allocation. Notwithstanding the interest in the jurisdiction’s performance on providing affordable housing to lower income households, the APR requires detailed permit information on all residential units.
The contents of the APR are described below along with their applicability to the City.
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Table Name |
Description |
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Table A |
Housing development applications submitted |
Lists all applications deemed complete in 2024. Examples: Subdivision Maps, Conditional Use Permits, Site Plan Review applications receiving a “Revise & Proceed” and needing no further entitlements. |
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Table A2 |
Annual building activity report summary |
Lists all housing units that have received an entitlement, issued and/or finaled building permit in 2024. Examples: building permits for single-family, multi-family, and accessory dwelling units, applications listed in Table A. |
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Table B |
Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Progress |
Summary of permits issued by income level in each year of RHNA allocation. |
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Table C |
Sites identified / rezoned to accommodate shortfall housing need |
Lists all sites identified in the City’s re-zone program (i.e. certain sites identified in prior cycles and annexation sites) adopted through ZTA 2024-05 on 12/16/2024. |
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Table D |
Housing Element Program implementation status |
Reports on all 6th Cycle Housing Element programs. |
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Table E |
Commercial development bonuses approved |
N/A for Visalia. No such applications received in the reporting period. |
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Table F |
Units rehabilitated, preserved and acquired for alternative adequate sites |
N/A for Visalia. Optional table. |
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Table F2 |
Above moderate income units converted to moderate income units |
N/A for Visalia. Optional table. |
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Table G |
Locally owned lands included in Housing Element sites inventory that have been sold, leased, or disposed |
N/A for Visalia. No locally owned inventory land has been sold. |
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Table H |
Locally Owned or Controlled Lands Declared Surplus |
Lists sites designated as surplus. Currently none of these sites contain housing. |
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Table J |
Student housing development with a density bonus approved |
N/A for Visalia. No student housing applied for. |
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Table K |
Tenant Preference Policy |
N/A for Visalia. No tenant preference policy adopted by City. |
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Summary |
Summary of data from preceding tables |
Summary of data from preceding tables |
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LEAP Reporting |
Status of proposed uses listed in LEAP application and the corresponding impact on housing |
Reports on the City’s progress towards its LEAP grant, which was approved in 2021. |
Report Highlights:
Table A: Application Submittal Summary
- Entitlement Applications. Entitlement applications reflecting a total of 926 units were submitted and deemed complete in 2024, down from 1,878 units in 2023. This includes:
• six subdivisions totaling 517 single-family residential units, including two that were deemed complete in 2024 and scheduled for Planning Commission public hearings in 2025 (see Table A),
• one conditional use permit (CUP) application for 276 market-rate apartment dwelling units as part of a mixed use development associated with the Packwood Creek commercial development, north of the Costco Warehouse on Cameron Avenue,
• one application yielding two duplexes on two R-1-5 zone properties, upon approval of a lot line adjustment, allowed through Senate Bill 9 legislation, and
• four parcel maps yielding 9 dwelling units.
- Site Plan Review by-right uses. Units tallied through Site Plan Review applications for by right uses receiving a “Revise & Proceed” are approximately 120 units over eight projects. This includes:
• Rancho Colegio, an 80-unit deed-restricted Very Low Income development (Dinuba & Glendale, Self-Help Enterprises). Building permits were also issued in 2024.
• A 6-unit deed-restricted Very Low Income Development (Santa Fe & Tulare, Habitat For Humanity). This was previously submitted to Site Plan Review in 2022.
Table A2: Building Activity
Comparative data sets between 2024 and the previous four years’ APR submittals are shown in the tables below. As shown in the table below, this represents a 71% increase in the total number of building permits issued in calendar year 2023. The increase in building permit activity is largely attributed to two multi-family residential projects. ADU activity has also seen significant increase for the 4th straight year.
- Multi-Family Residential. The 327 multi-family units that were issued permits are all classified as affordable to the Very Low or Low Income categories based on the density of the units’ underlying zone district. The largest contributing projects are:
• Demaree & Houston Apartments (222 units),
• Rancho Colegio (Court & Glendale, 80 units),
• Santa Fe Duplexes (1400 block S. Santa Fe Street, 12 units),
- Deed Restricted Affordability. Permits issued for 302 multi-family units will be deed restricted, affordable to Very Low and Low Income households. These are affiliated with the Demaree & Houston Apartments, and Rancho Colegio to be managed by Self-Help Enterprises.
- Single-Family Residential - Very Low Income Affordability. A total of nine accessory dwelling units (ADUs) were issued permits classified as affordable to the Very Low Income category based on total valuation of the permit and number of bedrooms.
- Single-Family Residential - Low Income Affordability. A total of 17 ADUs were issued permits classified as affordable to the Low Income category based on total valuation of the permit and number of bedrooms. No market-rate single-family residences qualified for low-income affordability.
- Single-Family Residential - Moderate & Above Moderate Affordability. A total of 7 ADUs and 54 single-family residences are classified as affordable to the Moderate Income category, and 184 single-family residences are classified as affordable to the Above Moderate Income category, based on total valuation of the permit and number of bedrooms.
- Affordability Determination. Like in previous reporting years, affordability in the 2024 reporting year was determined based on an affordability calculator made available by State HCD through their website.
Table B: Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Compliance:
The table reports the first full year (2024) of progress toward the City of Visalia’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation.
Table C: Sites Identified or Rezoned to Accommodate Shortfall Housing Need:
Under the City’s obligation in conformance with state law, the Planning Division in 2024 identified certain sites that are inventoried to meet lower income capacity assumptions that were pending annexation. These sites were added to the sites inventory and were subject to by-right approval without discretionary action. The City Council adopted Zone Text Amendment No. 2024-05 in December 2024 to create a corresponding Overlay District for these sites.
There were no discretionary actions that reduced the City’s RHNA obligations requiring the City to identify or rezone additional sites, in conformance with the No Net-Loss Law.
Table D: Housing Element Implementation:
One program accomplishment involved changes to the City’s Zoning Ordinance to address Implementation Programs 1.1 and 1.7 (briefly mentioned above), 5.8 to clarify that ADUs are allowed by right in all zones allowing residential uses, and 5.11 to adopt a policy ensuring compliance with the Permit Streamlining Act and timing requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
There were several additional outreach and financial accomplishments that took place in 2024.
The City held 4 public hearings and 6 community meetings (both an increase from 2023) covering CDBG, HOME, and NSP funded programs, which included affordable housing programs (Program 1.4 - Housing Education; Program 3.7 - Inform Public).
Maps illustrating the City’s infill site inventory were updated in January 2024 (Program 2.1 - Infill Site Inventory).
The City approved the sale of City-owned land at low-cost to Habitat for Humanity for the development of six homes to be sold to first-time homebuyer veterans (Program 3.13 - Non-Profit Housing Development Corporations).
The City provided $118,000 in PLHA funds for a Seasonal Emergency Low-Barrier Shelter (Warming Center), and $125,000 in CDBG funds for a transitional bridge housing project called Eden House for people experiencing homelessness. The City also provided an additional $1,950,182 in PLHA funds, $200,000 in Successor Housing funds, and $3,628,371 in ERF funds for the development of a 100-bed Low-Barrier Navigation Center (Program 5.2 - Homeless Shelter Program).
Fiscal Impact:
None. However, failure to submit the report in a timely manner exposes the City to risk of being ineligible for future State housing grant opportunities.
Prior Council Action: The 6th Cycle Housing Element Update (from which the Implementation Programs in Table D of the APR are reviewed) was approved by the City Council on December 18, 2023.
Alternatives: None.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
I move to adopt a resolution and direct staff to forward the Annual Progress Report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
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Environmental Assessment Status & CEQA Review: Exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15306 (Information Collection).
Attachments: Resolution No. 2025-13; 2024 Annual Progress Report