RESOLUTION NO. -2026
RESOLUTION OF THE FORT BRAGG CITY COUNCIL AMENDING THE FORT BRAGG INLAND GENERAL PLAN BY ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE 2019 HOUSING ELEMENT (GPA 1-26) WHEREAS, the City of Fort Bragg (“City”) adopted its first General Plan in 1971, and the General Plan was subsequently updated in 1980 and 2002 and 2004; and updated Housing Elements were adopted in 2009, 2014 and 2019; and WHEREAS, in 2026, the City Council and Planning Commission conducted duly noticed hearing, during which the public was invited to comment on the proposed Housing Element amendments to the Inland and Coastal General Plans, and during which the City Council and the Planning Commission provided further direction to City staff; and WHEREAS, the Housing Element was amended to update its status with regard to achieving Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirements and to modify Program H-2.5.8 to delete some of the listed parcels slated to be rezoned so that Multifamily Housing projects that provide 20% of units at rents affordable to very low income households can process by right without a Use Permit; and WHEREAS, the California Department of Housing & Community Development (“HCD”) has agreed that this approach is appropriate because the City has approved sufficient multifamily project permits to meet most of its RHNA; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission considered a staff report dated February 25, 2026 regarding the proposed 2019 Housing Element Amendment. The staff report is incorporated herein by reference and available for review at City Hall during normal business hours; and WHEREAS, the City Council considered a staff report April 13, 2026, regarding the proposed 2019 Housing Element Amendment; and WHEREAS, the 2019 Housing Element Amendment is incorporated herein by reference, and is available for review at City Hall during normal business hours; and WHEREAS, The proposed zoning amendments are Statutorily Exempt from CEQA per Government Section 15061.b.3, and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on May 14, 2025, to consider the zoning amendments, accept public testimony; and adopted a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the mandatory zoning amendments to implement programs of the City’s Housing Element.
WHEREAS, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing on June 9, 2025, to consider the Zoning Amendment, accept public testimony; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Fort Bragg City Council, based on the entirety of the record before it, which includes without limitation, CEQA, Public Resources Code §21000, et seq. and the CEQA Guidelines, 14 California Code of Regulations §15000, et seq.; the Inland General Plan; the Inland Land Use and Development Code; the Project application; all reports and public testimony submitted as part of the City Council meeting of June 9, 2025 and City Council deliberations; and any other evidence (within the meaning of Public Resources Code §21080(e) and §21082.2), the Fort Bragg City Council does hereby make the following findings and determinations:
SECTION 1: LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS
The foregoing recitals are true and correct and made a part of this Ordinance.
On February 25, 2026, the Planning Commission held a properly noticed public hearing and adopted a resolution in support of the City Council’s adoption of the proposed amendments to the Inland Land Use and Development Code.
On April 13, 2026 the City Council held a properly noticed public hearing to consider adoption of the amendments to the Inland Land Use and Development Code.
The proposed General Plan amendment would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare of the City as the amendments will make the zoning code consistent with adopted State laws; and The proposed amendment is consistent with the General Plan and any applicable specific plan.
The proposed amendment would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or welfare of the City.
The proposed amendment is mandated by State Law as such it is in the public interest and will provide for better convenience and welfare for the residents of the City of Fort Bragg. The proposed amendment requires conformance with all applicable building codes which will ensure healthy and safe housing.
The proposed amendment is internally consistent with other applicable provisions of this Development Code.
SECTION 2.
Based on the foregoing, the City Council does hereby Amend Program H-2.5.8 of the 2019 Housing Element as follows:
Program H-2.5.8. Maximize Housing Density by Right for projects with 20%+ Affordable Units. Revise the Land Use and Development Code to allow the maximum density permissible within a zoning district by right (no Use Permit) for all residential projects that include at least 20% of units deed restricted at rents affordable to low income households and that have been listed in the last two Housing Elements as an eligible site in the Vacant Parcel Inventory for the RHNA, these parcels are listed on the Vacant Parcel Inventory and include: 008 172-09, 251 So Franklin St; 018-440-58, 1151 So Main St; 018-150-61, 1190 So Main St; 018-090-02, 700 River Dr.; 018-090-16, 700 River Dr.; 008-010-31, 1020 Glass Beach Dr.; 018-113-03, 970 Chestnut St; 008-010-33, 1080 Glass Beach Dr.; 008-290-73, 1329Cedar St; 008-302-28,1328 Cedar St; 008-290-34, 1325 Cedar St; 018 100-42, 485 So Lincoln St; 018-210-29, 860 Hazelwood St; 020-520-22, 1600 Oak St; 018-440-50, 200 We Ocean View Dr.; 018-113-01, 552 S Lincoln St; 018-440-38, 350 Ocean View Dr.; 018-440- 9, 250 We Ocean View Dr.; 018-340-04, 441South St; 018-340-03, 601 Cypress St; 008-350-60, 920 Stewart St; 018-150-58, 180 Boatyard Dr.; 018-150-56, No Street Address; 018-150-55, 100 East Ocean View Dr.
Responsibility: Community Development Department Financing: General Plan Maintenance Fee Fund Scheduling: 2020-2021 Quantification: 20 units
SECTION 3.
Based on the foregoing, the City Council does hereby Amend Section 5 of the Housing Element as follows:
SECTION 5: SITE INVENTORY ANALYSIS & ZONING
Section 5 and 6 analyze the land, financing and regulatory constraints to the successful production of housing. They inform the City’s housing goals, policies and programs. Specifically, the information presented in these sections includes the following:
Inventory of land suitable for housing development and how it satisfies the ability to comply with the Regional Housing Needs Assessment Environmental constraints to development of vacant land Zoning for a variety of housing types, including emergency shelters Analysis of potential and actual government constraints on maintenance improvement and development of affordable housing, including annexation standards, land use controls, infrastructure, development fees, building codes processing time, and community sentiment Analysis of potential and actual nongovernmental constraints, including financing, land prices, cost of construction.
RESIDENTIAL LAND INVENTORY
This residential site inventory identifies parcels potentially suitable for residential use, especially multiple-family units. Staff utilized a recent aerial photo, the parcel inventory from the 2008 Housing Element, and staff knowledge to create an updated map and table with up- to-date vacant land which can accommodate residential development. All parcels are located in developed areas within the City with water and sewer service.
Regional Housing Needs Assessment
As shown in Table 5.1, the City’s share of the regional housing need is 137 units. The City is responsible for identifying the land that is both suitable for and can accommodate this level of residential development. The City is not responsible for the actual construction of the units.
Table 5.1 - Fort Bragg Regional Housing Needs Assessment Allocation by Income Group Income
Extremely Low
Very Low
Low
Moderate
Above Moderate
Total
Housing Units
30 30
31 23
23 137
Source: MCOG, Mendocino County Regional Housing Needs Assessment Plan, 2018
SUITABILITY AND AVAILABILITY OF AVAILABLE LAND
As of January 2026, the City has approved sufficient multifamily housing projects to satisfy most of the City’s 2019 Housing Element Cycle RHNA housing requirements as illustrated in Table 5.2 below. There is only one deficit remaining, namely a 25-unit deficit in the very low-income unit allocation.
Table 5.2: RHNA Achievement, City of Fort Bragg 2019-2025 Most recently, in 2025, the City permitted these specific multifamily housing projects:
Parcel Number 018-440- 58, 1151 S Main Street, an 80-unit multifamily project with 8 units deed restricted to very low-income households and the remainder 72 multifamily units for moderate income households.
Parcel number 018-210-29, 860 Hazelwood St, a 49-unit low-income affordable deed restricted senior project.
A market rate 4-unit apartment building on South Franklin street.
The City undertook a comprehensive GIS-based analysis to identify the size and number of vacant parcels in each zoning district. Overall, there are identified approximately 94 5.2 acres of vacant and underutilized residential and mixed-use parcels which are between 0.5 and 10 acres in size and available for development to meet the remaining RHNA requirements, as shown in Table 5.3. The residential development potential for each parcel noted in Table 5.3 was calculated in two ways:
Allowable Units - the number of units that are developable on the site given the site size and units/acre allowed. under zoning. This calculation identifies a theoretical maximum if all land use and infrastructure constraints were removed and the property built out to its fullest extent.
Maximum Units - Includes the density bonus and ADUs which would be permissible if 20% of units were affordable to low-income households, as would be required if the properties are rezoned per Housing Element Program H-2.5.8.
Likely Units Given Development Constraints estimates total likely potential unit build-out given all known site constraints (slope, soils condition, botanical resources, access issues, etc.). The Likely potential units were calculated by taking the estimated area available for residential use and multiplying it by 80% of the maximum density possible for residential zoning district and by 50% of the maximum density for commercial zoning districts which allow residential development. The analysis of constraints is necessarily a best estimate given staff’s current knowledge of potential geotechnical, botanical, archaeological and other constraints. More (or less) development may be feasible than is estimated in the table. However the actual amount of feasible development can only be determined through the completion of all relevant studies for each parcel.
All sites in the analysis are currently served by City water and sewer services. Some of the parcels are sufficiently large that they will require the development of internal circulation (streets) which is a significant expense to development and may reduce overall feasibility of some of the sites.
Table 5.2: Vacant Land Analysis for Residential Development Potential, Fort Bragg, 2019 General Plan Designation
Maximum Units Per Acre
Acres of Vacant Land
Maximum Units
Likely Units Given Development Constraints
Low Density Residential (RL)
6 23.3
280
189
Medium Density Residential (RM)
12 5.9
81 55
High Density Residential (RH)
15 5.0
75 35
Very-High Density Residential (RVH)
24 14.7
354
112
Highway Visitor Commercial (CH)
24 2.8
47 34
General Commercial (CG)
24 1.1
25 13
Office Commercial (CO)
24 6.1
147
40 Central Business District (CBD)
40 -
Total
58.9 1,019
478
Source: Community Development Department, City of Fort Bragg, 2019 Table 5.2 and the Vacant Parcel Inventory (appendix B) does not include the following three projects which the City is fairly confident will be constructed and help to achieve new low income housing development for the 2019 Housing Element cycle, namely: the Danco Project at 441 South Street, the Parents & Friend’s project at 350 Cypress Street and the Habitat for Humanity project at 630 Debois Ave. The 7.9 acre 441 South Street parcel has permitting for a 69 project (68 affordable and one manager’s unit), furthermore about three acres of the site could be developed with an additional 57 units of housing (80% of 24 units/acre on 3 acres). The City has secured a $3 million CDBG grant to construct three 4-bedroom units at 350 Cypress Street for developmentally disadvantaged people. Finally the 630 Dubois property, owned by Habitat for Humanity, has a Coastal Development Permit for the construction of two moderate units. For more details about these projects please see page 10-63.
Several In conclusions can be drawn from Table 5.3. First, the City has sufficient vacant and underdeveloped land to meet its remaining regional housing allocation of 137 25 units, since a maximum of 154 ,019 units could be built within City limits on land identified in the Vacant Land Inventory given current zoning. Additionally, a it is likely that 478 units could be built on vacant and underutilized parcels given known and likely environmental constraints. The majority of these units could be higher-density multi-family units in very high density and mixed use zoning districts.
For complete details on all vacant properties including: parcel number, address, zoning, parcel size, max and min housing density requirements, likely CEQA analysis, site constraints, and maximum and minimum number of units, and minimum units given parcel constraints, on a per parcel basis please see Appendix B. The total acreage of available multi-family land and the total number of units has declined from the 2014 housing element, because the regulations for which constitutes an eligible vacant site have narrowed such that sites less than 0.5 acres and more than 10 acres can no longer be counted as available sites. Additionally, some parcels have been developed for housing and new environmental constraints have been discovered on some parcels. However, despite sufficient vacant and underdeveloped land, our remote location contributes to a relatively high cost of construction which when combined with relatively low wages actually limits the number of units built each year.
Typical mitigation measures to address site constraints include the following generic measures:
Exclude development within known ESHAs (Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area) which include: botanical, riparian, and special status animal habitat.
Require a 50- to 100 foot buffer area free of development surrounding the known ESHA per the requirements of Fish and Wildlife.
Exclude development from areas with known cultural resource areas and implement various mitigations such as Native American Monitoring during construction per CEQA document and consultation with the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo.
Street and transportation improvements such as: sidewalk installation, stop sign installation, turn pocket installation, etc. where required by a CEQA document.
As shown in Table 5.4, the City has an adequate array of sites which have the appropriate densities and are unencumbered by development constraints to meet the current remaining Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirements as of 2025. In total the City has sufficient vacant property that once developed would result in at least 233 106 low income units. The City’s remaining RHNA low income unit allocation is 91 25 units.
Table 5.4 Summary of Vacant Sites By Income Category In Comparison to the RHNA (2025) General Plan Designation
Likely Income Category
Likely Units, Given Density Requirements and
Development Constraints
RHNA
Require- ments
Low Density Residential (RL)
Above Moderate Income
189
23 Central Business District (CBD)
Moderate Income
0 23
Medium Density Residential (RM)
Moderate Income
55 Subtotal Moderate & Above
245
46 High Density Residential (RH)
Low and Very Low Income
32 91
25 Very-High Density Residential (RVH)
Low and Very Low Income
112 48
Highway Visitor Commercial (CH)
Low and Very Low Income
34 Office Commercial (CO)
Low and Very Low Income
40 General Commercial (CG)
Low and Very Low Income
13 25
Total Low and Very Low
233 106
91 25
Total
478
137
Source: Community Development Department, City of Fort Bragg 2025 State legislation (SB 1019) requires the City to zone an adequate number of sites that permit multi-family residential uses without a conditional use permit to allow the City to meet its housing need for very-low and low income households. The RVH zoning district permits multi- family housing without a conditional use permit, and these vacant sites would accommodate a minimum of 112 48 units. Additionally, the likely number of multi-family units to be built with a conditional use permit include: 32 5 units in the RH (high density) district, and 55 units in the RM (medium density) District. A Use Permit is a relatively easy permit to obtain from the City of Fort Bragg; no specific studies are required to obtain a Use Permit. In the past 12 years, all multi-family projects which have applied for a Use Permit have received Use Permit approval from the Planning Commission within three months from the time of complete application. Even those projects proposed within the Coastal Zone (which require a Coastal Development Permit) received approval within three months of submittal of the complete application. All multi-family development of three or more units also require ministerial Design Review, and all projects which have applied for approval within the past 12 years have also received Design Review approval within three months of submittal of all applications.
State law requires the City to have sufficient vacant land with zoning to accommodate housing for lower-income households (GC Section 65583.2 (c) (3)). State law allows the City to meet this requirement by zoning sufficient vacant land with default densities of 15 units per acre to encourage the development of housing for lower-income households. As shown in Table 5.3 above, there are currently 35.6 5.2 acres of vacant land within City limits zoned for 15 units per acre that are eligible to be applied to the RHNA. These properties can accommodate 288 likely 106 units, which is adequate to accommodate the needed 91 25 units of extremely low, very low and low income affordable housing mandated by our 2019 RHNA housing allocation.
Significant progress has been made toward alleviating the shortage of affordable housing through the collaborative efforts of the City and nonprofit housing organizations. Nonetheless, there continues to be a large unmet need for affordable housing in the community. The City is currently working with three housing developers to develop additional affordable housing in Fort Bragg to meet the 2019 RHNA.
Table 5.4 -Pending Affordable Housing Projects for RHNA 2019 RHNA
Number
Danco
Habitat for Humanity
Parents & Friends
2nd Units
Projects Approved as of July 2019
Remaining RHNA
Extremely Low (below 30% of area median-income)
30 68
68 -38
Very low (31-50% of area of median-income)
30 3
3 27
Low income (51-80% of area median income)
31 0
31 Moderate-income (81-120% area median income)
23 2
2 21
Above-moderate (over 120% area median income)
23 1
2 3
20 Total
137
69 2
3 2
76 99
Specifically, the City of Fort Bragg is working with the Danco Communities, which is an affordable housing development company. Danco Communities specializes in the use of tax credits, HOME funds, CDBG, and Redevelopment funds in order to offer rents that, combined with tenants’ utilities, do not exceed one third of their monthly income. These projects can help cities and counties meet their state mandated housing element and contribute to a healthier local economy. Danco Communities’ affiliates maintain ownership of these developments for a minimum of 55 years, ensuring that they are well-managed and well-maintained. Danco completed a 25 unit 100% affordable senior housing project in 2014 and is now seeking Tax Credit Financing to construct a 68-unit affordable housing project on South Street that would include 20 units of Permanently Supportive Housing (affordable to extremely low income households), 23 units of affordable family housing (affordable to extremely low income households) and 25 units of affordable senior housing (affordable to extremely low income households) and one manager’s unit. The City has approved all permits for the project and secured $3,250,000 in support of the project.
Habitat for Humanity. The City continues to work with Habitat for Humanity and has changed the zoning code to provide one planning incentive for sweat-equity affordable housing, such as that developed by Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity recently completed an eight-unit, in-fill, self-help affordable housing development in Fort Bragg and will soon construct an additional two units of in-fill self-help affordable housing.
Parents & Friends. The Parents & Friends project is entirely funded through City CDBG funds and would result in 3 units to serve 12 people with development disabilities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Fort Bragg, does hereby adopt the 2019 Housing Element Amendment to the Fort Bragg General Plan (GPA 1-26).
The above and foregoing Resolution was introduced by Councilmember seconded by Councilmember , and passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Fort Bragg held on April 13, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
RECUSE:
_______________________________
JASON GODEKE
MAYOR
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Diana Paoli
City Clerk
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