City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 20, 2022 FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CITY’S GENERAL PLAN 2025 IN CALENDAR YEAR 2021, PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65400 (A)(2) ISSUE:
Receive and file an Annual Progress Report on the status of the City’s General Plan 2025 and submit it to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65400 (a)(2).
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Receive and file the 2022 Annual Progress Report for the City of Riverside’s General Plan 2025; and Direct staff to submit the Annual Progress Report for the City of Riverside’s General Plan 2025 to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the California Department of Housing and Community Development, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65400 (a)(2).
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
In California, all jurisdictions must submit an Annual Progress Report (APR) on General Plan implementation, including project applications and approvals, processing times, and approval processes. Government Code Section 65400 requires the APR be presented to City Council and submitted to the Office of Planning and Research, and Department of Housing and Community Development and include the following:
The status of the General Plan and progress in its implementation.
The degree to which an approved General Plan complies with the State’s General Plan guidelines, and the date of the last revision to the General Plan.
The progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs assessment (RHNA), and local efforts to remove governmental constraints to the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing.
A list of sites rezoned to accommodate that portion of the City’s share of the RHNA.
The number of housing development applications received in the prior year.
The number of units included in all development applications in the prior year.
The number of units approved and disapproved in the prior year.
Within the Housing Element cycle, the number of net new units of housing, including rental and for-sale, issued a completed entitlement, building permit, or certificate of occupancy, and the income category, by area median income category, for each.
The number of affordable housing projects that requested processing under the State’s streamlining process (Government Code Section 65913.4(a)); and the number of units approved under the streamlining process, including those that conflicted with the State’s objective planning standards.
BACKGROUND:
The City’s General Plan 2025 was adopted in November of 2007 and includes the General Plan, Riverside Municipal Code (RMC) Title 19 - Zoning Code, RMC Title 18 – Subdivision Code, RMC Title 7 – Noise Control, and Citywide Design and Sign Guidelines. In October 2021 the Council adopted updates to the Housing and Public Safety Elements and Environmental Justice Policies were developed to meet the State’s 6th Cycle Housing Element requirements. The objectives and policies in the General Plan and subsequent updates provide the City’s vision for growth based on input from residents.
General Plan 2025 includes 12 elements, including the State-required elements (some of which have been combined) and optional elements including Arts and Culture, Education, Air Quality, Public Facilities and Infrastructure, Parks and Recreation, and Historic Preservation. General Plan 2025 includes an Implementation Plan, which contains Implementation Tools with specific actions, responsible entities, and timelines. The Implementation Tools show how the Objectives and Policies of the General Plan will be implemented. The Update includes policies and actions, including a detailed Action Plan, to help the City meet the Guiding Principles.
The Annual Progress Report (APR) (Attachment 1) reflects the City’s progress and fulfilling the General Plan 2025 objectives and policies and the Update policies and actions in the 2022 calendar year. State law requires the APR be presented to the City Council for review to ensure they are informed of the progress toward meeting mandated housing obligations. The APR also provides the public an opportunity to give oral testimony and written comment.
DISCUSSION:
The City’s APR for calendar year 2022 was coordinated with all City Departments to verify implementation progress for the General Plan, the recently updated Housing and Public Safety Elements and Environmental Justice Policies. The APR includes General Plan 2025 implementation, General Plan 2025 course adjustments to improve implementation, correlation of land use decisions with the General Plan 2025 and progress in meeting the City’s share of regional housing needs, based on the 6th Cycle Housing Element, and removing governmental constraints to the development of housing.
GENERAL PLAN PROGRESS
Highlights of progress made in implementing General Plan 2025 and the Update, as detailed in the APR, are summarized in the following table:
Table 1 – Implementation Summary
Department
Summary
Community & Economic Development
Processed 18 new Mills Act Contracts to provide incentives to preserve historic properties Completed Title 19 Amendments to implement provisions of SB 9, SB 290 and AB 2345 as part of the State’s effort to encourage housing production Sponsored funding of $148,969 to approximately 75+ organizations and provided Emerging Artists Grants of $500-$1,000 with a total budget of $10,000 Arts & Cultural Affairs Division granted out more than $280,000 to arts and cultural institutions for operational support Participated in the creation, funding, and completion of RISE! Mural highlighting and celebrating Black Lives.
Installed new mural at Mariposa Alley
Housing Authority
Continued to partner with affordable housing developers to facilitate the development of affordable housing and the acquisition and rehabilitation of substandard housing units Continued availability of more than 1,500 affordable rental units to low-income seniors, families and individuals Initiated an analysis of Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and conducted a series of virtual community workshops to provide information and education to public and decision makers Assisted 823 low-income households through rental and/or utility assistance through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program Homeless Solutions
Engaged 812 individuals experiencing homelessness, 29 of which received assistance through the Rapid Rehousing Program Public Safety including
Fire Department and Police Department
Implemented changes with the Santa Ana MS4 permit (Regional Water Board) Adopted 2023-2028 Fire Department Strategic Plan
Participated in the Incident Command System training provided by FEMA Riverside Public Utilities
Reported on GhG Emissions as required by State
Customer Engagement Team launched 4 new energy efficiency programs to encourage conservation in compliance with SB 1037 Increased participation in virtual community water conservation programs RPU Board and Council approval of the continuation of the Tree Power program into 2023 Public Works
Implemented an axle restriction prohibiting vehicles with 4 or more axles traveling along La Sierra Avenue Continued implementation of the Victoria Avenue Policy to protect the historic landscape Continued to implement the traffic light synchronization program to retime signals in the Central Business District (Fall 2022 anticipated completion) Prepared the Adams Street Interchange project environmental documents with anticipated completion in summer of 2024 Began preparation of plans, specifications and estimates for the Third Street Grade Separation project Constructed bicycle lane improvements along Indiana, Market, Alessandro and more Library
Engaged with the public on design concepts for the Eastside Library Museum
Harada House project awarded $7 million from the State of California to be used for rehabilitation The Cheech grand opening in 2022
Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Prepared a master plan for 8 park sites totaling 282 acres Innovation and Technology
Launched a new web-based Historic Property Viewer map application that allows visitors to view Historic Properties and data related to that property in Riverside. The City maintains an active program to designate historic resources. The Cultural Resources Ordinance (Title 20) recognizes four types of local designation – City Landmarks, Structure of Merit, Historic District, and Neighborhood Conservation Area (NCA) IT and Fire department launched the PulsePoint public safety mobile app. The lifesaving PulsePoint app notifies off-duty medical professionals and everyday community members trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of nearby cardiac arrest events – in hopes of facilitating immediate CPR during the crucial moments before emergency services arrive Launched the new Open Data GIS portal for exploring, visualizing, and downloading geospatial data that is publicly made available. The data includes City of Riverside General Plan, City Zoning, Capital Improvement Projects, and more than 400 published datasets for transportation, public safety, planimetric, hydrology, environment, infrastructure, demographics, park & recreation, etc.
HOUSING PERMITTED UNITS
In October 2021, the City adopted a comprehensive update of the General Plan Housing Element for the 6th RHNA Cycle. The City’s 6th Cycle RHNA allocation saw a significant increase over the prior cycle with a final allocation of 18,458 units. RHNA progress is tracked and monitored annually by collecting data on the number of permitted units during the reporting period. For the entire calendar year of 2022, building permits issued for residential projects totaled 585 dwelling units.
For calendar year 2022, the building permits issued include:
245 apartment units
148 single family residences
178 accessory dwelling units
226 of the permitted units are covenant restricted for low-income households. The remainder will serve moderate or above-moderate income households. In 2022 the City received applications for 148 low-income deed restricted units, and the projects are currently in process for entitlements. There are currently 65 low-income deed restricted units in the pipeline, having received their approved entitlements in March 2022. To date, the City has permitted 1,058 units during the 6th Cycle RHNA allocation. A detailed breakdown of RHNA progress is included in Appendix A of the report.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
The report out contained in the Annual Progress Report (APR) supports the Envision Riverside 2025 City of Riverside Strategic Priorities as follows:
Strategic Priority 1 – Arts, Culture and Recreation (All Goals) Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being (All Goals) Strategic Priority 3 – Economic Opportunity (Goal 3.3)
Strategic Priority 4 – Environmental Stewardship (Goals 4.2, and 4.3) Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government (Goals 5.2, 5.3, and 5.5) Strategic Priority 6 – Infrastructure, Mobility & Connectivity (Goal 6.1) This update aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The report out contained in the Annual Progress Report aligns with the Community Trust Cross-Cutting Thread as the APR summarizes the outcomes of the General Plan 2025 and Update that sought public input in their development and benefits all residents in the City.
Equity – The report out contained in the Annual Progress Report aligns with the Equity Cross-Cutting Thread in that it provides a summary of progress made on the General Plan 2025 and Update that takes an “all Department” approach in implementation that benefits all residents.
Fiscal Responsibility – The report out contained in the Annual Progress Report aligns with the Fiscal Responsibility Cross-Cutting Thread the General Plan 2025 and Update implementation provides for a planned and coordinated use of public funds.
Innovation - The report out contained in the Annual Progress Report aligns with the Innovation Cross-Cutting Thread as it reports out implementation of the General Plan 2025 and Update actions and summarizes innovative approaches to action implementation.
Sustainability and Resiliency – The report out contained in the Annual Progress Report aligns with the Sustainability and Resiliency Cross-Cutting Thread as it includes an update on actions completed in implementing General Plan 2025 and the Update and considers the needs of residents without compromising future generations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Prepared by: Jennifer Lilley, Community & Economic Development Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Annual General Plan Progress Report for Calendar Year 2021 Presentation
PSP20-0003, Annual General Plan Progress Report for Calendar Year 2020 ● Page 2