Cloverdale planning commission recommends council accept 2024 general plan and housing annual reports, flags water resilience

The Cloverdale Planning Commission on March 4 voted to recommend that the Cloverdale City Council accept two staff reports: the 2024 General Plan Annual Report and the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report. Both recommendations passed by voice vote during the meeting, which the commission livestreamed.

The recommendations matter because they are the commission's formal step in sending annual implementation updates to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), and because the housing report measures progress against the city's Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).

Staff presentation and RHNA progress Raquel, a city planning staff member who presented the reports, told commissioners that the housing element is part of the general plan and that she prepared the two reports to "flow as one" as they are related. The housing report uses building-permit activity to track RHNA progress; staff reported that Cloverdale has had 229 housing units with permits issued toward the 335-unit RHNA target for the current cycle, leaving roughly 163 units remaining in the moderate and above-moderate categories based on the permit counts reported for 2023'24.

Staff also said that the city has satisfied its very-low and low-income RHNA allocations. The report displays an "extremely low" category of 43 units, which staff explained is presented as roughly half of the very-low category rather than an additional count.

Project updates and developer delays Commissioners and staff discussed several active projects cited in the reports. Staff noted that building permits were issued last year for the Taylor Lynn Phase 2 project (22 units at 669 South Dakota Boulevard) and for units at the Alexander Valley site. Staff reported an application has been submitted for a project called Citrus Creek, an approximately 80-unit proposal described as about 64 market-rate units plus a smaller number of affordable units; that project will come before the commission in the coming months.

On the Baumgartner (also referenced as Bumgarner/Baumgartner Ranch in materials) site, staff said the developer informed them the project is financed but crews paused work after the utility company told the developer it could not provide electrical hookups until October; staff said the developer expects to resume work in April. Staff emphasized the delay is tied to PG&E service timing rather than local approvals.

How ADUs and issued permits are counted Commissioners asked whether accessory dwelling units (ADUs) count toward RHNA; staff confirmed ADUs are counted when they are finaled (certificate of occupancy) and that the city attempts to include ADUs in the moderate-income tally if rent data indicate that category. Staff noted that the RHNA tracking database records building-permit issuance and that occupancy rents sometimes differ from permit-time estimates, which can change final category tallies after the fact.

Water-resilience and other concerns Several commissioners pressed for stronger water-resilience planning tied to anticipated growth, annexation of hillside areas, and potential regional changes such as the Potter Valley/Scott(s) Valley dam discussions. One commissioner moved that the commission recommend the general plan APR be transmitted to council with a note to annotate water resource and resilience as an area of concern; that motion was seconded and carried with the other general-plan motion.

Staff and commissioners discussed existing and potential approaches: reviewing the county's housing-element maps to track which peripheral sites the county is crediting, pursuing a hillside ordinance when annexations are sought, investigating deeper wells or on-site storage tanks as part of future developments, and coordinating with Sonoma Water and county mitigation planning. Staff said an urban water plan and public-works projects are underway separately and that some well upgrades are being reconsidered to increase drought resilience.

Votes and procedure The commission conducted both recommendations by voice vote under its livestreaming procedure; staff explained members could respond "ayes" and "nays" without a roll call. Both motions passed.

Ending and next steps Staff told the commission the circulation element (transportation chapter) is expected on the agenda for April 1. Staff also summarized other potential upcoming items, including the Citrus Creek application, amendment work on the Esmeralda development agreement, continued review of the 101 North project (rebranded as "the Hub"), and informal inquiry about a property behind Second Street Park. The recommendations now go to the Cloverdale City Council for final acceptance and submittal to HCD and OPR.