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Planning commission forwards 2024 general plan annual report to City Council, flags low multifamily entitlements
Summary
Staff reported continued progress on the city's general plan implementation and housing activity in 2024; commissioners unanimously recommended sending the annual report to City Council and discussed a shortfall of multifamily entitlements in the pipeline.
The El Paso de Robles City Planning Commission on April 22 voted 7-0 to recommend that City Council accept the 2024 annual report on implementation of the city's general plan and authorize staff to send the report to state agencies.
Associate Planner Darcy Delgado told the commission the annual report is a state-required status update that catalogs work across the plan’s elements and tracks housing permits and entitlements. “This is a state requirement. It's a document that sets our land use policies, and it's really just a blueprint for our city's future,” Delgado said.
Delgado highlighted housing activity for the reporting year: 310 housing units were under construction in 2024 (a 35% increase from the prior year), about 525 units were in plan check, and the city reports roughly 4,372 potential units across adopted specific plans. Staff told commissioners the city has completed about 46% of its RHNA cycle to date and that 784 more units remain to reach the RHNA target. Delgado also noted an early concern: “we only have 28 multifamily units in the pipeline,” she said, a figure staff identified as low relative to the city's desired multifamily pipeline.
Commissioners discussed the imbalance between single-family and multifamily activity and whether the city should pursue steps to accelerate entitlements for multifamily projects. Commissioner John Connolly asked how the city increases entitlements; staff replied that many projects depend on private developers initiating applications, though staff can help by outreach and coordination with property owners and economic development staff. Commissioners suggested council or staff-level actions to encourage more multifamily pipeline activity.
The commission’s vote was a recommendation to council rather than a final legislative adoption. Commissioner Neil moved to forward the annual report to council; Commissioner Kogler seconded. Roll call: unanimous approval 7-0.
Next steps: staff will transmit the annual report to the City Council and then onward to the state agencies referenced in the report (the Governor's Office of Planning and Research and the Department of Housing and Community Development). Commissioners asked staff to continue tracking multifamily entitlements and to return with potential strategies if the pipeline does not strengthen.
