TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: David Chantarangsu, AICP, Development Services Director
PREPARED BY: Carl Stiehl, City Planner
SUBJECT:
title
Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Reports for 2024
end
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Receive and accept any public testimony regarding the Murrieta Housing Element Annual Progress Report and General Plan Annual Progress Report for Calendar Year 2024 and allow the documents to be submitted to the State Department of Housing and Community Development and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
body
PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On July 7, 2020, the City Council adopted the Focused General Plan Update (Vote 5-0).
On June 2023, the City Council adopted the Housing Element Update (Vote 5-0), which was subsequently certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development on October 26, 2023.
On April 2, 2024, the City Council received and accepted the General Plan Annual Progress Report for 2023 and the Housing Element Annual Progress Report for 2023 and allowed the documents to be submitted to the State (Vote 5-0).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Maintain a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency.
BACKGROUND
Housing Element Annual Progress Report
In accordance with Government Code (GC) Section 65400, the City of Murrieta (City) is required by State law to prepare and submit an Annual Progress Report (APR) on the implementation of the Housing Element of the General Plan (Attachment No. 1). Under State law, the report must be “considered at an annual public meeting before the legislative body where members of the public shall be allowed to provide oral testimony and written comments,” and is then submitted to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LUCI) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by no later than April 1, 2025. This year, the APR due date was extended in early 2025 to May 15, 2025, by HCD for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region, which the City of Murrieta is a part of, considering the impact of the January 2025 wildfires on the region. Therefore, staff will submit the APR prior to the extended due date.
As mandated by the GC, the Housing Element portion of the APR demonstrates the City’s progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs and program goals as defined in the 2021-2029 Housing Element Update adopted by the City Council in 2023 and certified by HCD on October 26, 2023. In accordance with GC Section 65400(a)(2)(B), staff used the guidelines and forms provided by HCD to prepare the 2024 Report to demonstrate compliance with the Housing Element Update.
The key findings in the report include the following:
• In 2024, the City issued permits for 109 above-moderate (i.e., market-rate) units. The number of permits being issued for new units in 2024, is low compared to the previous two years, although many projects in the City remain under construction.
• As demonstrated in the table below, a total of 1,608 above-moderate units have been permitted between July 2021, and the end of 2024, which exceeds the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirement for that income category by more than half for the 2021-2029 housing cycle, which started July 1, 2021.
• Progress has been made in the Low category with both the Monamos Apartments and Oak View Ranch Apartments being permitted in 2023. Monamos is now complete, and Oak View Ranch Phase 1 is currently nearing completion.
|
Income Category |
AMI1 (%) |
AMI ($ max) 2 |
Units Required (2021-2029) |
Units Entitled as of end 2024 |
Units Permitted (2021-2029) |
Remaining RHNA |
|
Very Low |
<50 |
51,250 |
1,009 |
57 |
0 |
1,009 |
|
Low |
51-80 |
82,000 |
583 |
734 |
258 |
325 |
|
Moderate |
80-120 |
117,000 |
545 |
0 |
0 |
545 |
|
Above-Moderate |
>120 |
>117,000 |
906 |
5,904 |
1,608 |
0 |
|
Total |
|
|
3,043 |
6,695 |
1,866 |
1,879 |
1 Area Median Income, which is $97,500 for Riverside County for a 4-person household (2024).
2 Incomes shown are for a 4-person household (2024) and vary based on household size.
As of mid-2025, the City is halfway through the current housing cycle. The City has entitled a significant number of projects in the past few years. Analyzing the numbers above, about 26% of those projects have proceeded to permits and construction, while many projects remain entitled but have not yet pulled permits for construction. The general trend of those projects permitted in recent years is that a number of projects pulled permits in the years 2022 to 2023, and a number of those units have been completed and received occupancy in late 2024 and into early 2025. Another round of permitting is expected in 2025 as a few projects, such as the 899-unit Terraces Project that is grading as of early 2025, and a few other projects noted below, are securing funding to begin construction. An uptick in permitting (over 109 units) in 2025 is already occurring compared to the 2024 numbers due to these projects. In reviewing for-sale dwelling unit production versus rental dwelling unit production across all housing types, about 19% of all of the units built in the housing cycle so far have been for-sale units to new owners with most being single family residential, and about 81% of all of the units built are for rent with most being multi-family residential.
Affordable Housing Production Efforts
In addition to the City satisfying its market-rate housing production goals, as shown in the table above, the City is making progress in the development of affordable housing. The City has entitled a number of different Very-Low and Low-Income affordable housing projects that are in various stages of the entitlement process. Two projects, the Monamos Apartments and Oak View Ranch Apartments, received their financing and were permitted in 2023 and are now nearly complete with construction. Four other projects, the Viscar Terrace Apartments, the Kensington Apartments, the Sandstone Valley Apartments, and the Vista Heights Apartments, are now fully entitled and are working on securing funding and pre-development conditions in order to move to the building permit phase. Once permits are pulled for these projects, it is anticipated that the City will make additional progress on the Very-Low and Low-Income categories. The City has not yet made progress on the Moderate Income category, as there have been no projects in that category proposed in the City this housing cycle.
General Plan Annual Progress Report
In accordance with GC Section 65400 related to the Administration of General Plan, the City is required by State law to prepare and submit an APR on the status of the City’s General Plan and the progress in its implementation in the prior year. The overall General Plan portion of the APR is included in this separate report. Under State law, the report must be “considered at an annual public meeting before the legislative body where members of the public shall be allowed to provide oral testimony and written comments,” and then submitted to the LUCI.
The State has provided guidance on how to write the report in a document to all cities and counties, which allows cities to use a flexible format for the report. The guidance lists an outline of general contents and additional content that is recommended to be included for the types of information that should be included in the Report. The General Plan APR gives LUCI the opportunity to identify statewide trends in land use decision-making and how local planning and development activities relate to statewide planning goals and policies.
The attached General Plan APR (Attachment No. 2) has been prepared in accordance with the LUCI guidance and provides a road map of the various accomplishments of City divisions and departments in meeting the General Plan’s goals, policies, and programs in calendar year 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Housing Element Annual Progress Report for 2024
2. General Plan Annual Progress Report for 2024