State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT MEMO – 2025 REPORTING YEAR
01/16/2026
To: All California Cities and Counties
From: Planning and Land Use Team, Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation RE: General Plan Annual Progress Report Guidance
The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) -- formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) -- has updated its Annual Progress Report (APR) guidance for reporting year 2025 to streamline the submission process and minimize resources spent by jurisdictions. Please review the updates to LCI’s guidance listed below.
Updates:
1) LCI will now only be collecting APR submissions via online form. Please submit via: our online form.
2) LCI strongly recommends planning agencies follow the format, guidance, and submission instructions as described in this document. In instances in which these instructions are not followed, LCI reserves the right to request a planning agency to resubmit an APR in the manner requested.
If you have any questions, please contact the Planning and Land Use team at [email protected].
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
BACKGROUND
ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS (APRs)
Government Code Section 65400 and 65700 mandates that all cities and counties submit an annual report on the status of the General Plan and progress in its implementation to their local legislative bodies, LCI, and the Housing and Community Development (HCD) by April 1 of each year. This guidance allows flexibility so jurisdictions can account for their local contexts, resources, and constraints.
Please note, jurisdictions are required to submit APRs to HCD to report on progress relevant to their Housing Element, and to LCI for progress related to their General Plan. This guidance only reflects requirements for LCI’s APR. Jurisdictions can find HCD guidance here.
PURPOSE OF THE APR
The APR provides local legislative bodies and the public with information regarding the implementation of the General Plan for their city or county. APRs also inform the public of the progress in meeting the community’s goals.
APRs must be presented to the local legislative body for its review and acceptance, usually as a consent or discussion item on a regular meeting agenda. Therefore, the APR should provide enough information for decision-makers to assess how the General Plan was implemented during the 12-month reporting period, either calendar year or fiscal year. More specifically, APRs should explain how land use decisions relate to adopted goals, policies, and implementation measures of the General Plan. The APRs should provide enough information to identify necessary "course adjustments" or modifications to the General Plan and means to improve local implementation.
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
HOUSING ELEMENT APR
State law requires that all General Plans include a Housing Element that provides a plan for accommodating future housing production needs. State law further requires that all cities and counties create an APR that describes that community’s progress toward implementing their Housing Element. The Housing Element APR must be delivered to LCI and HCD by April 1 of each year and must cover the previous calendar year1. Effective 2019, all jurisdictions, including charter cities, must submit a General Plan APR and Housing Element APR. Updated instructions and standardized forms for submitting the Housing Element APR can be found at the following HCD website: (https://www.hcd.ca.gov/annual-progress-reports).
The Housing Element APR fulfills statutory requirements to report certain housing information, including: the local agency's progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs (i.e., applications, entitlements, permits, and certificates of occupancy), certain rezoning activities, actions taken towards completion of housing element programs, and local efforts to remove governmental constraints to the development of housing (Government Codes Sections 65584.3(c) and 65584.5(b)(5)).
HOW THE STATE USES THE GENERAL PLAN APR and HOUSING ELEMENT APR The General Plan APR allows LCI to identify statewide trends in land use decision-making and how local planning and development activities relate to statewide planning goals and policies.
APRs may also inform future modifications to LCI’s General Plan Guidelines and other technical advisory documents. In addition, LCI can track progress on a local jurisdiction's comprehensive General Plan update using the information provided in the APR. Similarly, the Housing Element APR allows HCD to track the progress of the implementation of a jurisdiction’s Housing Element and requires its submission as a threshold requirement for several state housing funding programs.
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
FORMA T GUIDANCE
LCI strongly encourages following the recommendations described below. Reporting on planning activities related to the General Plan is required even when a city or county may be undertaking a General Plan comprehensive update. Therefore, the status of these activities should still be reported to local legislative bodies and to both LCI and HCD.
General Contents
Each jurisdiction should determine what locally relevant issues are important to include in the General Plan APR. The following are suggested contents for the report:
1. Introduction.
2. Table of Contents.
3. Date of presentation/acceptance by the local legislative body (agenda item or resolution).
4. The date of the last update to the General Plan2.
5. Measures associated with the implementation of the general plan with specific reference to an individual element.
6. Housing Element APR reporting requirements – Each jurisdiction is required to report certain housing information in accordance with state housing law (refer to Government Code Sections 65400, 65583, and 65584) and HCD's Housing Element guidelines (see https://www.hcd.ca.gov/community-development/annual-progress- reports.shtml or email [email protected] for more information).
7. The degree to which the General Plan complies with LCI’s General Plan Guidelines, including environmental justice considerations, collaborative planning with military lands and facilities, and consultation with tribal communities.
8. Priorities for land use decision-making that have been established by the local legislative body (e.g., the passage of moratoria or emergency ordinances).
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
9. Goals, policies, objectives, standards, or other plan proposals that need to be added or were deleted, amended or otherwise adjusted.
10. One or more lists of the following, including reference to the specific general plan element or policy, status (i.e., approved/denied, initiated/ongoing/completed, etc.), and a brief comment on how each advanced the implementation of the General Plan during the past year:
a. Planning activities initiated – These may include but are not limited to, master plans, specific plans, master environmental assessments, annexation studies, and other studies or plans.
b. General Plan amendments3 – These may include agency-driven as well as applicant-driven amendments.
c. Major development applications processed.
Additional Content
The following are additional suggestions to make the APR a more comprehensive tool for illustrating planning and development activities within the jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions may not have the resources to address them annually. However, they are mentioned here as examples of how some jurisdictions have effectively incorporated other types of information into their APRs. Cities and counties may incorporate this information into their APRs, where available and as deemed appropriate.
1. Review of:
a. Interagency or intergovernmental coordination efforts and identify areas for improvement. This may include participation in a regional blueprint or partnerships with state or federal programs.
b. The implementation of mitigation measures from the General Plan Final Environmental Impact Report or Negative Declaration.
c. Equity planning considerations of the General Plan, such as impacts on particular ethnic or socioeconomic population groups (i.e., environmental justice issues).
2. Summarize efforts to:
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
a. Promote infill development, reuse, and redevelopment particularly in underserved areas while preserving cultural and historic resources. b. Protect environmental and agricultural resources and other natural resources. c. Encourage efficient development patterns.
3. Describe the jurisdiction's strategy for:
a. Economic development – Depending on the needs of your jurisdiction, this analysis could include information on the ratio of jobs to dwelling units, tax revenues, demographics, census information, etc.
b. Monitoring long-term growth – For example: population growth, employment growth, land use development, and the provision of adequate supporting public services and infrastructure.
4. Other actions:
a. Outline department goals, objectives, activities, and responsibilities, as they relate to land use planning.
b. Perform a regional or sub-regional outlook of population growth, housing, job generation, and other socioeconomic trends.
c. Summarize the comments of other boards and commissions on the general plan implementation.
d. Identify and monitor customer service improvements and methods to encourage public involvement in planning activities.
e. Review and summarize grant administration for land use planning activities. f. Provide a technology review such as the implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or the establishment of websites.
Submission Instructions
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
Jurisdictions must submit a General Plan and Housing Element APR to both LCI and HCD by April 1. If an agency does not follow the instructions listed, LCI reserves the right to request a resubmittal of the APRs.
Submitting the General Plan APR
To LCI: LCI will only accept General Plan APRs via the General Plan Annual Progress Report (APR) Submission Form.Use this online form to submit the 2025 General Plan APRs.
The form asks the following questions:
1. Appropriate contact information (name, department, email, phone number)
2. Agency and jurisdiction information (agency name, website, name of planning director or equivalent, title of planning director or equivalent, email, phone, street address)
3. Jurisdiction type (city, county, city/county)
4. Name of jurisdiction (city name, county name)
5. Reporting period type of General Plan APR being submitted (fiscal or calendar)
6. Reporting period of General Plan APR being submitted
7. Date of presentation or acceptance of GP APR to local legislative body. Planned dates are acceptable as well.
8. Resubmittal (yes, no)
9. Reporting period of resubmittal
10. Required element update information (initial adoption year, adoption of most recent update, [optional] expected adoption year of update in progress, [optional] launch year of intended update)
11. General Plan APR Submission (as a file or as a hyperlink—NOT GOOGLE DOCS OR
DROPBOX)
12. Housing Element APR Submission (as a file or as a hyperlink—NOT GOOGLE DOCS
OR DROPBOX)
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
13. OPTIONAL Feedback questions to rate GP APR process effectiveness, provide written feedback, share about data gaps faced by the jurisdiction, provide links to jurisdictions’ land use maps, municipal code, and any additional planning mechanisms used to implement the General Plan
The General Plan APR should be in Microsoft Word (doc, docx) or PDF format, and submitted as one file. Please note, agencies should also be cognizant of the 16 MB file size limit.
If you are unable to upload the General Plan APR, LCI will accept hyperlinks to your website where the APR is posted. Please note, LCI is unable to accept Google Doc and Dropbox hyperlinks.
After completing the form, agency staff will see a confirmation message at the end. Please take a screenshot of this message for your own records.
To HCD: A copy of the General Plan APR should also be submitted through the HCD APR online portal. To access the online system, email [email protected] and request login information for your jurisdiction. An APR can also be emailed as an attachment in an MS Office application or PDF to [email protected].
Submitting the Housing Element APR
To HCD: HCD prefers the submittal of the Housing Element APR Excel workbook through its online portal system. Agencies can also submit the Housing Element APR via email to [email protected] with an attached Excel workbook. Do not send a scanned or PDF version of the form via the portal or email. For emailed Housing Element APRs, HCD will email a confirmation receipt within two weeks of submission.
State of California
Governor’s Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation
1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814
[email protected]| lci.ca.gov
Governor Gavin Newsom Director Sam Assefa
LCI - Public
To LCI: Agencies should submit the same Housing Element APR Excel workbook screenshot to LCI in the appropriate question window, via the same online form as the GP APR.
Please note, submitting the Housing Element APR to HCD will count as submission to both agencies. LCI does not certify the accuracy of the submission of the Housing Element APR to HCD or LCI.