Item No. 9
STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 23, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dr. Sean M. Moore, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Fermin Preciado, Director of Development Services Benjamin J. Matlock, Deputy Director of Community Development SUBJECT: 2025 General Plan and Housing Element Progress Report RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council:
1. Receive and file the 2025 General Plan and Housing Element Progress Reports for the implementation of the City's General Plan; or
2. Provide further direction to staff.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Government Code § 65400 mandates that cities submit an Annual Progress Report (APR) on the status of the implementation of their General Plan and the Housing Element to their legislative bodies, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), and the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), respectively. The APR provides OPR the opportunity to identify statewide trends in land use decisions and determine how local planning and development activities relate to statewide planning goals and policies. Providing the APR fulfills the City's statutory requirements to report certain housing information, including the local agency's progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs. Most importantly, the APR provides cities with information regarding the progress and implementation of the General Plan to help inform the community of key projects completed over the course of the year.
One of the key elements of the Housing Element's progress report is to document the progress made during the current Housing Element Cycle. The City Council adopted the 61' Cycle Housing Element on September 12, 2022, for the 2021-2029 planning period, which was then certified by the state on October 21, 2022. This update was designed to build off the 2016 General Plan Update that was adopted by City Council on April 11, 2016. The APR provides an annual snapshot of the City's progress in the implementation of its General Plan, including activities made towards the 2016 General Plan and its 6t' Cycle Housing Element implementation.
The Housing Element APR also includes elements from new legislation that have resulted in more expansive annual reporting requirements. This includes documentation of the number of entitlements submitted, the number of units approved and disapproved within those entitlements, as well as denoting which projects were submitted under streamlining provisions from recent state laws. The annual report also includes the required Housing Element Implementation table (APR Table D), which describes the status of the Housing Element Implementation Program.
Based on the current Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) plan for the 6"' Housing Cycle (2021-2029), the City was obligated to "provide" 2,866 dwelling units over the 8-year projection period, which equates to approximately 358 housing units per year. These units are also to be split between different income levels to provide housing for all Yucaipians. Table B of the APR identifies the RHNA allocation and the total number of units that have been permitted within the current planning period.
Pursuant to state law, falling short of this minimum annual housing production for affordable and non -affordable housing allows certain multifamily housing projects to be approved as a ministerial action (no Planning Commission or City Council discretionary approval required) under Senate Bill 35, provided the projects are consistent with the provisions of state law and the General Plan. There are several conditions that must be met for a multifamily project to be eligible for the streamlined by - right permit process, including provisions that the projects are constructed utilizing current prevailing wage and associated contracting/labor regulations.
Another consideration from the APR is that, if the Housing Element fails to be implemented, the state may decertify the Housing Element. In addition to potential penalties and fines, developers would be allowed to submit projects under the Builder's Remedy that does not require projects to be consistent with the General Plan. Communities that have been subject to this process have found that it is a lose - lose proposition, resulting in greater strain between the community, decision makers, and developers as the decision -making authority and local control is removed. This process results in high -density housing (up to 30 du/ac) that could be proposed and forcibly approved in many areas of the City that were not originally intended. Because of the high level of risk, it is critical to adhere to the policies of the Housing Element.
The attached APR includes all the housing data that is required by current statutes, and includes additional information not required by statute but helps to meet the OPR guidelines and provide information to the public. A total of 3,161 units were entitled' for all projects, including those that had been submitted in prior years (Table A2). It should be noted that this includes the Freeway Corridor Specific Plan Update, which had modified the prior plan's development standards and densities, but did not create new and unplanned units. For the 2025 Calendar year, building permits for a total of 110 dwelling units, which includes 39 Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), have been issued. The progress on ADUs is noteworthy, as Strategy 2 and Program 9 of the Housing Element assumes the development of at least 25 ADUs per year — if the City were to fall short, we would be subject to a midcycle review and may have to rezone housing sites to make up for the shortfall.
Finally, 79 units were completed and received certificates of occupancy through the building and safety permitting process.
The APR covers only the actions from the 2025 calendar year. Changes that occur in 2026 are not reflected in the calculations.
For the 2025 calendar year, 145 different housing proposals have been submitted for review (which includes both permits and residential entitlement projects), encompassing 805 total dwelling units. Of the projects that were ultimately processed by the City, a total of 489 units have been approved for development as part of completed housing applications projects submitted in the 2025 calendar year (Table A, Summary). The remaining units are associated with incomplete applications or applications that were not yet completed in 2025, and therefore were not approved within the reporting year. This also includes projects that are subject to other statutory periods, including the California Environmental Quality Act process, which results in lengthier timelines for project approval, as well as projects that have not yet been deemed complete.
It should be noted that the information highlighted above for Table A provides information that is difficult to understand as it covers any application for housing, including building permits. This means previously entitled projects are then double counted when building permits are submitted, which gives the impression that housing activity is higher than what it really is. In addition, Table A2 includes all completed projects, but may also double count units where previously approved plans are modified.
For example, the Freeway Corridor Specific Plan Update accounts for 2,472 units that were entitled for 2025, even though the change between the planned unit count from the prior plan is only 25 units.
As the state's reporting requirements have become more stringent and cumbersome, filtering through the data becomes paramount. Table B provides the greatest snapshot of the City's progress specifically towards the RHNA, with 859 units constructed out of 2,866, and Table D showing the progress towards the Housing Element policies.
As indicated by the projects that have been submitted and approved, the City has worked to facilitate opportunities for new housing to be constructed. As expected (for the City and likely most other jurisdictions), due to the outstanding amount of building permits that would need to be issued to meet the City's RHNA requirement, certain multiple -family projects can still qualify for a streamlined by - right permit process pursuant to S1335, although no requests were received during 2025. However, with the approval of a few "rezone" project applications, the City has created a greater buffer from the "No -Net -Loss" provisions of state law that requires cities to maintain housing sites that meet the different RHNA income categories. While state law provides more incentives for affordable housing development, housing for all income categories is still required.
The City has been proactively working to support the delivery of these various residential entitlements that have been approved, and has implemented the additional strategies that were listed as part of the current Housing Element. This includes new ordinances and code modifications that will make the process more streamlined and consistent, which can reduce impediments towards housing development. A key program that has begun is the comprehensive update to the City's outdated Development Code. This will result in greater certainty for the City, residents, and developers on housing projects, as well as greater clarity on code provisions. The Planning Division is also managing a variety of other key advanced planning initiatives, many of which are important to the development and delivery of new housing and/or economic development growth. These initiatives will help towards the RHNA requirements for the 6ffi Housing Cycle, in addition to making the process easier and more transparent on the City's expectations as a benefit for residents, developers, and other interested parties.
The City has also continued to strive to implement the 2016 General Plan. A key goal that has become a greater priority and will be an ongoing focus relates to economic development to encourage more fiscally sustainable development to help further address the structural budget deficit. Policies that relate to tourism, sales tax, other areas of revenue, and encouraging development that results in greater economic output per acre will become a greater focus to help maintain expected City services to the community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The recommendations do not result in a fiscal impact.
Attachments:
1. 2025 Annual General Plan Progress Report
2. Appendix A - 2025 Annual Housing Element Progress Report Forms - Click here
ATTACHMENT 1
City of Yucaipa
Annual Housing Element
And General Plan
Progress Report
01/01/25 to 12/31/25
Prepared by:
City of Yucaipa
Development Services Department
34272 Yucaipa Boulevard
Yucaipa, CA 92339
909.797.2489 Ext. 224
Contact: Benjamin J. Matlock
Deputy Director of Community Development/City Planner
Phone: 909.797.2489 Ext. 261
[email protected]
Table of Contents
Purpose of the Annual Report-------------------------------------------------------- Background on the Existing City of Yucaipa General Plan --------- Date of Presentation/Acceptance by the Local Legislative Body Measures Associated With Implementation of the General Plan Major Advanced Planning Activities----------------------- Planning/Community Development Program(s):----
Notable Development(s) Completed; .......................
Appendix
Housing Element Annual Progress Report Tables
2 Purpose of the Annual Report
Government Code Section 65400 mandates that certain cities and all 58 counties submit an Annual Progress Report (APR) on the status of the Housing Element and progress in its implementation to their legislative bodies, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by April 1" of each year. The APR provides local legislative bodies with information regarding the implementation of the General Plan for their city or county. APRs must be presented to the local legislative body for its review and acceptance, usually as a 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, typically the previous calendar year.
More specifically, APRs explain how land use decisions relate to adopted goals, policies, and implementation measures of the General Plan. The APR should provide enough information to identify necessary "course adjustments" or modifications to the General Plan, and means to improve local implementation. The State uses the APR to identify statewide trends in land use decision making and determine how local planning and development activities relate to statewide planning goals and policies. APRs may identify the modifications and improvements needed to OPR's General Plan Guidelines. In addition, OPR can track progress on a local jurisdiction's comprehensive General Plan update using information provided in the APR.' Background on the Existing City of Yucaipa General Plan In 1980, the County Development Code revised the County's previous zoning ordinance and created the Community Plan System of land use districts (zoning). County -wide, fifteen community or specific plans were adopted through 1988, including the Yucaipa Community Plan of 1980.
As new State General Plan requirements were added, some San Bernardino County elements were significantly amended, including the Housing Element in 1981 and 1986. The land uses were also amended as new development proposals were considered, including many in Yucaipa.
In 1989, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors adopted the Consolidated General Plan and Implementation System, replacing the 1966 County General Plan, approximately 40 separate "Community General Plans" and several individual plan elements were prepared through the years.
At that time, Yucaipa was unincorporated and subject to the County General Plan in all its aspects.
In November of that year, the City became an incorporated community. ' Governor's Office of Planning and Research. State of California: 2007 General Plan Annual Progress Report Guidance. Office of Planning and Research: Sacramento, 2007. 3 The P':an arv5 i-r pr Q-1a xr..v,.r_ upon a sertes of —x p:i—, pr:rwry vi.j�:tives, :ryrle:nenc:.�, pclicias anal ccr _ aa:c to --d tend u. o plw: s�s�. Them arr static in -- _A-w_:.,: r .. .�- — . ,-rar: & th. plan
ASSUMPTIONS
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Excerpt of the 1966 County General Plan, Valley Region (which includes Yucaipa) The new systems incorporated into the County's 1989 General Plan were included as part of an Interim General Plan to help standardize and simplify the provisions from the community plan and overlays. The planning review system was also coordinated to complete the revisions to the Development Code that were needed for adoption by the City.
In order to address the City's needs with specificity during the first years of cityhood, the City Council ordered the preparation of a General Plan. This plan represented all that City officials and the public agreed constituted the direction Yucaipa should move in as it grows into the nineties and its first full decade, and had included a variety of elements from the Interim General Plan.
In 2003, a comprehensive review of each General Plan element was conducted by the City Council to incorporate current data wherever appropriate, and to implement policy refinements to facilitate the continued implementation of the adopted goals, policies and action items. However, changes to existing policies and standards were kept to a minimum. The updated General Plan and Official Land Use Plan for the City of Yucaipa were formally approved on September 13, 2004 and September 27, 2004, respectively. The 41h cycle update of the Housing Element was adopted on February 23, 2009, for the 2008-2014 planning period and the City Council adopted the 51h Cycle Housing Element on April 22, 2013 (Resolution No. 2013-16), covering the 2014-2021 planning period.
4 With the City's General Plan at the end of its expected twenty-year planning horizon, City Council initiated the process of an update of the General Plan in 2012. The City completed the comprehensive 20-year General Plan update, which was adopted by City Council by Resolution on April 11, 2016. As part of this process, the previously adopted 5th Cycle Housing Element was incorporated into the General Plan update.
General Plan vision
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of life. Yucaipa offers an
. 3ii—cna to r. - :;5idenL.inf rnvironmenL
and the b� _ .-_s communit';. Quality pub -;e'li ties, schools. community . _ ..:. s , rase ..;,a visi[ars of all aces to live,
Community Corrwstor»s
• Small-town rural character with strong neighborhood identities • Scenic vistas. wild lands, ravines. and hillsides
• Quality businesses that offer quality jobs and retail opportunities • lducaticnal opportunities that prepare the community for thefuture • F:eaith, safety. and yell -being of our residents
• txcellent infrastructure, community services, and public facilities • Vibrant historic district and unique local artistic and cultural events • Parks, trails, open space, and recrewicnal oprt pounities tot all ages • Spirit of community service. pride, and mutual respect • Fiscoly responsible and re sponsive governance
Download the Yucaipa General Plan O
The General Plan is accessible at httys://yucaipa.gov/yucaipa- eg neral-plan/ The City initiated the update to the Housing Element in 2020, which would address the Oh Cycle covering the period from 2021-2029. Through a rigorous outreach process, the City developed a comprehensive approach towards meeting the requirements of the state, and adopted its Housing Element on September 12, 2022. The California Department of Housing and Community Development officially certified the 6 h Cycle Housing Element on October 21, 2022.
The Yucaipa General Plan is the result of an extensive planning process involving the City, residents, community groups and surrounding communities. This process has provided a forum for resolving local conflicts among competing interests and began with the identification of goals, policies and actions that were the basis of the land use plan for Yucaipa. Due to a developing structural deficit from increasing public safety and capital improvement project costs, the past several years have placed a greater priority on the economic development -related goals and polices of the General Plan to help address the needed revenue to fund community -prioritized initiatives.
This includes public safety funding measures as part of the safety element update, and Measure �4S 1,
Date of Presentation/Acceptance by the Local Legislative Body The 2025 Housing Element and General Plan Annual Progress Reports were presented to the City Council at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting on March 23, 2026. The APR was received and filed by the City Council at this meeting.
Measures Associated With Implementation of the General Plan Major Advanced Planning Activities:
Housing Element Update: The California Department of Housing and Community Development certified the City's 6"' Cycle Housing Element on October 21, 2022. The City has continued its efforts on implementing the related housing programs, which are identified in the Housing Progress Report (Table D). Notable programs include the adoption of the Freeway Corridor Specific Plan update, as well as a variety of housing -related ordinance modifications as part of Ordinance No. 465.
0 A highlight of key Housing Element programs and additional information is provided at ligps://yucaipa. o�v/yucaipa-housing-elenier? Freeway Corridor Specific Plan Update: The Freeway Corridor Specific Plan (FCSP) area includes the largest undeveloped area in Yucaipa, comprised of 1,242 acres of land, and is poised to capture a portion of the regional demand for commercial and residential uses. Its original intent was to provide job growth opportunities for the community and was one of the key strategies for providing housing opportunities that could meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) during prior housing cycles. The existing FCSP was originally developed in 2007/8, right before the economic recession that resulted in dramatic changes to the retail and commercial industry. Since the adoption of the FCSP, the City has also completed a comprehensive General Plan update, which was adopted in 2016. To help address the development potential and viability of the FCSP area, the City applied for and was awarded several grants from Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) that have been combined together with other funding sources to complete an update to the plan. Several study sessions and stakeholder meetings have been conducted to gather feedback on proposed changes to this plan. The update to the FCSP was adopted on 0 September 22, 2025. However, a challenge has been filed on the updated plan, and its outcome remains uncertain.
Safety Element Update: The City completed a minor update to the City's Safety Element to address the new California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map for Local Responsibility Areas, which was released after the City's prior update on July 22, 2024.
This update, along with Ordinance No. 459 that also updates relevant Building Code Standards, was adopted at the regular meeting of July 28, 2025. The Board of Forestry approved the element update on September 23, 2025.
Building_ Code Update: The 2025 California Building Code was updated, and the City's local amendments were adopted by ordinance with its second reading on September 22, 2025. Notable changes include the implementation of the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code and additional enhancements to ensure the safety of the community with new development. Key provisions from Ordinance No. 459 (Safety Element Update) were also incorporated.
Development Code Update: The City of Yucaipa formally adopted its Development Code following incorporation in 1989, using a format and general framework that was a carryover from the County of San Bernardino. Throughout the years, updates have been made to address community concerns and state laws, but a comprehensive evaluation and modernization of the code has not been completed. During the City of Yucaipa's Comprehensive General Plan Update adopted in 2016, the City recognized that a more thorough update to the City's Development Code would be needed to modernize the code framework, address updated trends that have occurred over the prior 27 years, and ensure that the code is able to successfully implement the City's General Plan. In addition, the City's 2021-2029 Housing Element update provided an emphasis that updates to the code should: 1) ensure objective standards are provided that can protect the City's interests during new development review; 2) streamline processes to remove steps that add time, cost and uncertainty to the development review process; and 3) support and address new trends in land development.
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CODE UPDATE
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The City has created a website and survey for the Development Code Update On December 11, 2023, the City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with RRM Design Group for a Comprehensive Development Code Update. In addition to the City's funding, the Project was to be supported by Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 Grant funds. This
funding component has been delayed due to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) disbursement of grant funds to local agencies, but staff has continued their outreach in the meantime, as well as identified key elements of the code that would need to be updated. At the end of 2025, the necessary disbursement agreement between the San Bernardino County Transit Authority and SCAG was completed and the Project is now able to move forward.
Separately, a variety of Ordinances were developed to create short-term resolutions to the Development Code. The updated code sections fall under one of the following topics:
• Updates to ensure compliance with state law
• Implementing Housing Element programs
• Implementing economic development and fiscal sustainability goals • Enhancing public safety elements
• Reflecting longstanding internal procedures and processes • General cleanup
PlanninIZ/Community Development Program(s):
Residential Fagade Improvement Program: On January 27, 2020, the City Council approved an expansion to the City's fagade improvement program to include residential facade improvements focuses on four disadvantaged areas within the City, specifically in the Dunlap and Greater Uptown neighborhoods, which generally consists of the neighborhoods west of Oak Glen Road and South of Yucaipa Boulevard, and between 5th Street and Bryant Street, south of Date Avenue and certain areas north of Wildwood Canyon Road, and would ultimately support the rehabilitation of residential units needing repair. The program was updated following comments received from those that were interested in participating.
Local Enforcement Agency: The City serves as the Local Enforcement Agency to administer Title 25 provisions for the City's 42 existing mobile home parks. In addition to permitting, rent control, and code enforcement responses to complaints, the City also completed Comprehensive Inspections for 2 mobile home parks.
Notable Development Proiect(s) Completed:
Trader Joes: The Trader Joe's Building was constructed. As identified last year, the plan check process for the building, including the City review, with corrections, were completed in less than 5 days total. This demonstration of the newly implemented Yucaipa Permit Exchange program and process allowed the structure to be constructed and occupied by mid-2025, exceeding the goals of the developer and the business.
SG Opal Development (Phase 1): The first phase of a unified commercial center along Oak Glen Road was completed. This phase includes a fuel station with a 9,000 square foot building that includes a convenience store, quick service restaurant, and office space, fuel canopy with 16 fuel dispensers and an express carwash. The second phase, which consists of a hotel featuring a rooftop bar and restaurant, is currently being designed.
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10 ATTACHMENT 2
Due to its size, Attachment 2
is provided via hyperlink here:
Appendix A - 2025 Annual
Housing Element Progress
Report Forms