Agenda Item Wording:
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Housing Element annual progress report for calendar year 2025 - 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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Agenda Date: 03/16/2026
Prepared by:
Brandon Smith, Principal Planner, (559) 713-4636, brandon.smith@visalia.gov;
Paul Bernal, Planning and Community Preservation Director, (559) 713-4025, paul.bernal@visalia.gov
Department Recommendation:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the 2025 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR), adopt a resolution accepting the APR for Calander Year 2025 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 (HCD).
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.
Structure of the 2025 APR Form
The 2025 APR forms and tables are generally carried over from the previous year’s format, but with a few new reporting requirements as follows.
• Table D, which reports implementation status of all the Housing Element Implementation Programs, has been significantly expanded to now include quantitative reporting requirements and supporting documentation towards the completion of each program. This is reflected in the Table’s additional columns.
• Table L requires the reporting of any new historic designations in Visalia that were added to a City, State, or Federal register and have been proposed for housing development projects. There were no such sites in 2025.
The APR continues to require listing and affordability determination of all “considered” housing projects (i.e., potential projects submitted to Site Plan Review), 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 building permits involving new dwelling units 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 for every new dwelling unit regardless of income.
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 2025. 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 dwelling units and developments that have received an entitlement, issued and/or finaled building permit in 2025. Examples: any building permits for new 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 a jurisdiction’s re-zone program. N/A for Visalia in 2025. A re-zone program was previously adopted through ZTA 2024-05 on 12/16/2024. |
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Table D |
Housing Element Program implementation status |
Reports on the status and quantifiable outcomes of all 6th Cycle Housing Element programs. |
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Table E |
Commercial development bonuses approved |
N/A for Visalia. No such applications were 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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Table L |
Historical Resources |
N/A for Visalia. There are no sites with historic designations that were added to the register and have been proposed for housing development projects. |
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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 552 units were submitted to the City and deemed complete in 2025, down from 926 units in 2024 and 1,878 units in 2023. This includes:
• Subdivision Maps. One subdivision (Pratt Family Ranch Tier 3; Mooney & Riverway; 293 units) was submitted and deemed complete and ultimately entitled in 2025. This subdivision is also reported in Table A2.
• Parcel Maps. Four parcel maps were submitted and deemed complete and ultimately entitled in 2025. These four maps yielded six additional lots.
• Conditional Use Permits & Variances. Two CUP and one Variance for multi-family residential units were submitted and deemed complete and ultimately entitled in 2025. (K & Santa Fe yielding 12 units; Shirk & Ferguson yielding 98 units, and 1826 S. Bridge St. yielding 8 units).
Site Plan Review “by-right” uses. Units tallied through Site Plan Review applications for “by-right” uses receiving a “revise & proceed” are approximately 134 units over eleven projects. This includes:
• Crescent Meadows, an 80-unit deed-restricted very low income development for senior citizens (Ferguson & Highland, Self-Help Enterprises). Building permits were also issued in 2025.
• A 22-unit deed-restricted very low income “Homekey” Development (627 S. Fulgham St., Housing Authority of Tulare County).
Table A2: Building Activity - Entitled, Issued, and Completed Units
Entitlement Applications. In addition to the applications listed under Table A, five additional applications reflecting a total of 593 units were approved by the Planning Commission in 2025. The applications are:
• Carleton Acres medium density subdivision (Shirk & Sedona; 50 units)
• Jennings Estates subdivision / parcel map (1716 N. Cain St.; 22 units)
• Blankenship subdivision (Santa Fe & Caldwell; 200 units)
• Ritchie Ranch subdivision (Demaree & Shannon Pkwy; 320 units)
• CUP for 405 N. West St. (yielding 1 additional unit)
Building Permit Activity. Comparative data sets between 2025 and the previous four years’ APR submittals are shown in the tables below. As shown in the table below, this represents a 17% increase in the total number of building permits issued between the calendar years 2024 and 2025. The increase in building permit activity is largely attributed to a rise in the number of single-family residential final maps recorded in 2025. ADU activity has also seen an increase for the 5th straight year.
The reduced number of permits issued for multi-family units in 2025 and the reduced number of units affordable to very low and low income categories is based on the issuance of permits for only one large-scale project in 2025 (Crescent Meadows, 80 units) rather than two large-scale projects in 2024 (Demaree-Houston, 222 units; Rancho Colegio, 80 units).
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Residential Permit Category |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
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Issued building permits: |
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ADUs |
5 |
16 |
22 |
37 |
40 |
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Single-Family Units |
632 |
540 |
317 |
236 |
518 |
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Multi-Family Units |
204 |
695 |
12 |
327 |
144 |
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Granted occupancy: |
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ADUs |
4 |
8 |
20 |
24 |
27 |
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Single-Family Units |
590 |
651 |
448 |
297 |
333 |
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Multi-Family Units |
2 |
43 |
296 |
170 |
245 |
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Affordability by Income (issued permits) |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
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Above Moderate |
76 |
124 |
165 |
184 |
523 |
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Moderate |
548 |
411 |
156 |
61 |
81 |
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Low |
170 |
657 |
16 |
197 |
66 |
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Very Low |
40 |
22 |
11 |
156 |
32 |
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Acutely & Extremely Low |
7 |
87 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
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TOTAL |
841 |
1301 |
351 |
600 |
702 |
Multi-Family Residential. The 144 multi-family units that were issued permits are all classified as affordable to the very low, low, or moderate income categories based on the density of the units underlying zone district, and based on estimated rent data from comparable units utilizing online data, as recommended by HCD. The largest contributing projects are:
• Crescent Meadows (Ferguson & Highland, 80 units),
• Lovers-Tulare Duplexes (NE corner Lovers Lane & Tulare Avenue, 25 units),
• 1818 E. Houston Avenue (10 units)
Deed restricted affordability. Permits issued for 79 multi-family units will be deed restricted, affordable to very low and low income households. These are affiliated with Crescent Meadows, to be managed by Self-Help Enterprises.
Accessory dwelling units. A total of 4 accessory dwelling units (ADUs) were issued permits classified as affordable to the low income category, 25 units affordable to the moderate income category, and 11 units affordable to the above moderate category. Income category determination is based on estimated rent data from comparable units (comparable being at the same relative location and the same number of bedrooms) utilizing online data, as recommended by HCD.
Single-family residential. A total of 6 market-rate single-family residences were issued permits classified as affordable to moderate income households, and 512 single-family residences affordable to the above moderate category. Income category determination is based on estimated sales data from comparable units (comparable being at the same relative location and the same number of bedrooms) utilizing online data, as recommended by HCD. For tract production homes, the income category determination is based on the actual sale price of the homes as reported or listed by the builder.
Affordability determination. Like in previous reporting years, affordability in the 2025 reporting year was determined based on an affordability calculator made available by State HCD through their website. The calculator assigns the following thresholds for income levels in Tulare County:
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HCD Housing Affordability Calculator (Tulare County, 2025) |
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Rental (monthly rent) |
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Affordability Level |
1-bedroom |
2-bedroom |
3-bedroom |
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Above Moderate |
$2,094 and above |
$2,375 and above |
$2,657 and above |
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Moderate |
$1,343 to $2,093 |
$1,529 to $2,374 |
$1,717 to $2,656 |
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Low |
$779 to $1,342 |
$896 to $1,529 |
$1,012 to $1,717 |
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Very Low |
Below $779 |
Below $896 |
Below $1,012 |
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Ownership (sales price) |
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Affordability Level |
3-bedroom |
4-bedroom |
5-bedroom |
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Above Moderate |
$311,600 and above |
$339,530 and above |
$367,460 and above |
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Moderate |
$152,900 to $311,600 |
$168,200 to $339,530 |
$183,400 to $367,460 |
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Low |
Below $152,900 |
Below $168,200 |
Below $183,400 |
Table B: Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) Compliance:
The table reports the second full year (2025) of progress in the 6th cycle toward the City of Visalia’s regional housing needs allocation.
Table D: Housing Element Implementation:
Four program accomplishments involved changes to the City’s Zoning Ordinance to address the following Implementation Programs:
• Program 2.7, Missing Middle, to amend development standards to promote and streamline missing middle-density housing types.
• Program 3.17, Planning for Large Sites, to create an overlay district wherein parcels would be exempted from a tentative parcel map entitlement if they were to subdivide into no more than four parcels and that all parcels were between 0.5 and 10 acres.
• Program 5.2, Emergency Shelters, resulting in the creation of an overlay district consisting generally of vacant parcels in the Commercial Mixed Use (CMU) zone where emergency shelters can locate as a by right use.
• Program 5.8, Municipal Code Update, to adopt the balance of municipal code updates intended to remove constraints toward a variety of housing types and comply with state law.
Also in 2025, City staff completed a transit needs study which identified actions towards connecting residents to job centers and other cities in the County. The study largely focused on the recent implementation of the Visalia Connect on-demand service and the forthcoming Reimagine Study as part of the Short Range Transit Plan update.
There were several additional outreach and financial accomplishments that took place in 2025.
• The City held 3 public hearings and 2 community meetings covering CDBG, HOME, and NSP funded programs, which included affordable housing programs (Program 1.4 - Housing Education; Program 3.7 - Inform Public).
• The City provided 47 emergency on-time rental assistance to low-income families to prevent homelessness. (Program 3.6 - Section 8 Housing Assistance Program)
• The city applied for four grants to support affordable housing. The city was awarded all four applications, including $11,970,000 in Homekey+ funds for the development of Crescent Meadows an 80-unit senior affordable housing complex. (Program 3.10 - Funding)
• The City provided $109K in PLHA funds for a Seasonal Emergency Low-Barrier Shelter (Warming Center), and $62,180K in PLHA funds for a transitional bridge housing project called Eden House for people experiencing homelessness. The City also provided $269,420 in PLHA funds, $250K in Successor Housing funds, and $1 million in ERF funds for the operation for the Visalia Navigation Center. (Program 5.2 - Homeless Shelter Program).
• The City provided $1.8 million in HOME-ARP and $1.5 million in Encampment Resolution Funds (ERF) for the development and operation of Majestic Gardens, a 42-unit permanent supportive housing project for households 30% AMI or lower. Five (5) units are also fully accessible for those with developmental disabilities. (Program 5.7 - Housing for Persons with Developmental Disabilities).
• The City partnered with CSET to provide fair housing education to ensure the City affirmatively furthers fair housing through lenders, landlords, realtors, and the community and handle fair housing complaints. (Program 7.1 - Fair Housing Enforcement and Outreach).
Fiscal Impact including annual maintenance and operating costs:
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 Resolution No. 2026-06 and direct staff to forward the Annual Progress Report to the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
Environmental Assessment Status: Exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15306 (Information Collection).
CEQA Review: Exempt pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15306 (Information Collection).
Deadline for Action: 03/16/2026
Attachments: Resolution 2026-06; 2025 Annual Progress Report
Strategic Goal: Indicates which City Strategic Goal(s) this item supports. Check all that apply.
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