Yucaipa council holds study session on freeway-corridor plan update, staff warns of housing and fiscal risks if referendum succeeds

Yucaipa — City planning and finance staff told the Yucaipa City Council on Sept. 22 that the recently adopted 2025 Freeway Corridor Specific Plan update was designed to make new housing and infrastructure development feasible and to protect the city from state penalties tied to housing planning.

At a study session prompted by public questions and a petition drive to put the plan update to a referendum, staff described the consequences they say would follow if voters repeal the update and the city reverted to the older 2008 plan. Planning staff said the older plan is unlikely to be considered a feasible housing strategy by the state and that would put Yucaipa at risk of decertification of its housing element and the so-called builder’s remedy, which can limit local control over project approvals.

The study session brought into focus three linked risks: meeting state housing requirements, repaying infrastructure loans made from the general fund to the city’s Development Impact Fee (DIF) program, and the need to relocate affordable housing capacity if the corridor cannot be counted.

Why it matters: Yucaipa’s updated plan was written to give the city sites that the State of California will treat as “feasible” for meeting the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). Planning staff said the update was intended to help the city meet a RHNA obligation discussed at the session as roughly 2,866 units for the cycle. Staff said about 500 of the most time-sensitive units are…