Council receives housing‑element progress report; city permitted 89 units in 2024 toward RHNA allocation

The Gardena City Council reviewed and approved the city’s annual progress report on housing and the general plan, including the state-required housing element update. Planning staff reported the city permitted 89 new housing units in calendar year 2024; those permits are the metric the State of California uses to track compliance with a city's RHNA allocation.

Staff explained the city’s RHNA allocation for the current sixth cycle (2021–2029) totals 5,735 units, and the city has permitted 966 units so far in that eight‑year planning period. The council discussed what the numbers mean in practice: staff reiterated that the city’s legal obligation is to plan for and zone to accommodate the RHNA total, not to build each unit directly. If a developer submits a project that meets the city’s objective standards in the adopted housing element and associated implementing zoning, staff generally must process that by‑right; projects requiring plan or zoning changes remain discretionary and subject to council review.

Council members pressed for clarity on by‑right approvals versus discretionary approvals and asked how the state counts units toward RHNA. Planning staff explained the state counts permitted units in the calendar year of issuance toward the city’s RHNA targets. Council member Francis moved to approve the annual progress report; Council member Love seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

The report will be filed with the city clerk and used in annual state reporting required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.