DATE: March 24, 2026
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Development Services
SUBJECT: General Plan Annual Progress Report: Accept the Hayward 2040 General Plan Annual Progress Report for Calendar Year 2025
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council accepts the City of Hayward 2040 General Plan Progress Report and the Annual Progress Report for the 2025 Calendar Year.
SUMMARY
In 2014, the Council adopted the Hayward 2040 General Plan (General Plan). The General Plan is a long-range comprehensive planning document that regulates land use and activities in the City through 2040. The individual elements of the General Plan (Land Use, Mobility, Economic Development, Community Safety, Natural Resources, Hazards, Education and Lifelong Learning, Community Health, Public Facilities & Services, Environmental Justice and Housing) contain goals, policies, programs and actions that guide f uture development, actions and investments in the City based on the community-led vision developed during the General Plan process.
California Government Code Section 65400 requires that local jurisdictions annually review the General Plan and housing related approvals and permits at a public meeting and provide a progress report to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI).
This annual report was prepared for review and acceptance by the City Council and will be forwarded to LCI and the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to ensure compliance with State reporting requirements.
This General Plan Annual Progress Report was prepared by the Planning Division with input from all Divisions within Development Services, Public Works – Engineering, Transportation, Utilities & Airport, Fire, Police, Library Services, Maintenance Services, Community Services, and the City Manager’s Office.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this report.
BACKGROUND
On July 1, 2014, following a 22-month community planning process, the City Council adopted the Hayward 2040 General Plan 1. Part 4 of the General Plan contained an Implementation Plan2 with a series of Programs designed to achieve goals and policies set forth in the document. Each Program contains a timeframe, lead and supporting Department/Division to carry out the Program. Some programs have specified timeframes, while others are ongoing or annual meaning that monitoring and reporting will occur throughout the General Plan implementation timeframe.
On February 7, 2023 3, the City adopted Resolution 23 -033 adopting the 6 th Cycle Housing Element, and a new Housing Plan comprised of Goals, Policies and Actions intended to implement the City’s Housing Goals through the next eight-year cycle (from 2023-2031). On July 27, 2023, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified the City’s Housing Element as being in compliance with State Law. The updated Housing Element contains 120 new programs (Actions) that will be implemented between 2023 and 2031.
On January 30, 2024 4, the City Council adopted Resolution 24 -023 updating the Climate Action Plan (CAP), amending the General Plan Hazards Element, adopting a new Environmental Justice Element and amending the General Plan Implementation Plan to include new and updated Programs related to the Climate Action Plan. A total of 247 new or updated Programs related to CAP implementation were included within the Natural Resources, Mobility, Public Facilities and Services and the new Environmental Justice Elements.
On March 12 , 202 6, this report was provided to the Planning Commission . One public speaker emphasized the need to implement bicycle and pedestrian safety related programs as an investment in public infrastructure rather than seeing the improvements as recreational. The Commissioners asked general questions about program status definitions; about the process is to amend the General Plan to remove or consolidate outdated programs that may never be completed; clarification about evacuation planning in the even t of an emergency; encouraged collaboration with outside agencies to accomplish program goals; encouraged enforcement particularly around parking and traffic control; and, expressed support for various Mobility programs to support bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
DISCUSSION
To date , the City has started and made progress on 7 8% of the General Plan’s 43 2 Implementation Programs in that they are Complete (11%), Partially Complete meaning that
they have been started in some form (16%) and will either be completed or shift into ongoing status; or are Ongoing, which involves monitoring, reporting, collaboration , workshops, outreach or other activity that will occur annually or on other timeframes throughout the life of the General Plan (5 1%). A total of 22% of Programs have Not S tarted for various reasons, including more recent adoption, funding availability, limited resources and staffing, and/or shifting priorities, which are aligned to match the City’s other guiding policy initiatives such as the Let’s House Hayward! Strategic Plan (2021)1 and the Hayward Strategic Roadmap (2024)2.
It is important to note that the timeframes associated with the General Plan Elements adopted in 2014 do not align with the timeframes included for the Programs included in the more recently updated Elements (Housing, Hazards, Mobility, Natural Resources, Public Facilities and Services and Environmental Justice), which were adopted in 2023 and 2024 as detailed in the Background section above.
Attachment II contains Summary Tables for each Element, and Attachments III through XIV provide detailed status updates for each Program with reference to the specific Strategic Roadmap projects with which the Program is aligned. Table 1 below shows the Program Status for 2025 with reference to status in 2024 for comparison.
Table 1 – General Plan Program Status by Element (2025)
General Plan Element
Total
Programs
Complete
Partially
Complete
Ongoing
Not Started
Strategic
Roadmap
Alignment
Administrative
Implementation
3 0
0 3
0 2
Land Use & Community
Character
18 5
5 1
7 5
Mobility 72 2 16 36 18 27
Economic Development 15 1 0 13 1 6
Community Safety 14 1 1 11 1 4
Education & Lifelong
Learning
8 1
0 5
2 4
Hazards 14 2 1 7 4 2
Natural Resources 82 2 25 21 34 31
Community Health &
Quality of Life
8 2
0 3
3 0
Environmental Justice 30 2 2 11 15 15
Public Facilities &
Services
48 3
6 29
10 30
Housing 120 26 12 80 2 25
Total (2025) 432 47 68 220 97 151
Total % (2025)* 432 11% 16% 51% 22% 35%
Total % (2024) 432 10% 16% 50% 24% 35%
*May not sum to 100% due to rounding.
1 Let’s House Hayward! Strategic Plan. https://www.hayward-ca.gov/your-government/departments/city-managers-office/projects/lets- house-hayward-strategic-plan-reduce-homelessness
2 Hayward Strategic Roadmap. https://www.hayward-ca.gov/your-government/documents/hayward-strategic-roadmap
Regional Housing Needs Allocation
Attachment XV contains a Summary of the Annual Progress Report (APR) that is provided to HCD on April 1 of every calendar year . Table 2 below shows the City’s progress towards achieving the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) as measured in building permits issued since the adoption of the Housing Element in 2023 and the remaining RHNA through 2031.
In 2025 the City issued 75 building permits for housing units (17 Very Low-Income Units, 17 Low Income Units, 17 Moderate Income Units and 24 Above Moderate-Income Units), which is a significant decline compared to 2023 and 2024, likely due to the larger economic downturn which has slowed development activity in general. It is notable that of the building permits applied for in 2024, approximately 34% have a status of Fees Due/Fees Paid meaning that the application is awaiting next steps by the applicant/developer.
Table 2 – RHNA Status & Building Permits Issued 2023-2025 RHNA
Allocation
2023-2031
2023 2024 2025 Remaining
2026-2031
Remaining
2026-2031
(%)
Very Low
(Extremely Low)
1,075
(537)
58 (44)
81 (29)
17 (0)
919 85%
Low 617 147 11 17 442 71%
Moderate 817 108 56 17 636 78%
Above Moderate 2,115 141 125 24 1,825 86%
Total Number 4,624 454 273 75 3,822 82%
In 2025, the City received entitlement applications for 308 units which is a significant increase from 2024 when the City received 185 entitlements applications. Further, as of the date of this staff report, the City entitled 144 new residential units which is a significant increase over the 13 units entitled in 2024, signaling an uptick in anticipated housing development in the next couple of years. It is also important to note that there are over 1,850 approved/entitled units in the City’s development pipeline, and an additional 553 units that are currently under review.
All of these units will count towards the City’s RHNA when developers pull building permits for the approved units.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item is a routine operational item and does not specifically relate to any of the six priorities outlined in the Council’s Strategic Roadmap. However, about 35% of the individual General Plan Programs described in Attachments II through XIV fall under a Strategic Roadmap Initiative or project in the areas of Confront Climate Change, Invest in Infrastructure, Preserve, Produce and Protect Housing, Grow the Economy, Enhance Community Safety and Cultivate Vibrant Neighborhoods.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
There are no direct sustainability features associated with this report. Sustainability features will be more directly identified with specific implementation programs as they are carried out.
PUBLIC CONTACT
The development of the Hayward 2040 General Plan, including the various implementation programs, contained a significant amount of community outreach component. The Hayward 2404 General Plan is included on the City’s website and periodically updated to include implementation program status. In addition, many of the individual implementation programs require community outreach and engagement prior to completion.
NEXT STEPS
Following City Council review of this report, staff will submit the report to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the State Department of Housing and Community Development by April 1 pursuant to State Law. Development Services staff will continue to provide annual updates to the Planning Commission and City Council on General Plan implementation progress; and, staff from various departments will continue to take the lead on the various programs, helping to implement the General Plan’s goals and policies.
Prepared by: Leigha Schmidt, AICP, Principal Planner
Recommended by: Sara Buizer, AICP, Development Services Director
Approved by:
____________________________________
Jennifer Ott, City Manager