Taft planning commission recommends city council adopt sixth-cycle housing element after public comments on homelessness

The City of Taft Planning Commission on Aug. 6, 2025, voted 4-0 to recommend that the City Council approve General Plan Amendment No. 2023-01, the sixth-cycle housing element (2023–2031), and find the update exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

The housing element update responds to a Regional Housing Needs Allocation that requires Taft to demonstrate capacity for 538 housing units during the eight-year planning period. Jenna Chilingarian, planner and project consultant with Precision Civil Engineering, told commissioners the city’s sites inventory shows capacity well above that requirement: roughly 336 lower‑income units, more than 1,000 moderate‑income units and more than 2,600 above‑moderate units. Chilingarian said the draft lists 52 implementation programs organized into 10 areas, including adequate sites, tenant protections, accessory dwelling units and fair‑housing measures.

The recommendation follows multiple rounds of outreach and state review. Chilingarian said drafts were submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development in September 2024, March 2025 and June 19, 2025, and that HCD issued a notice on June 27 stating the revised draft “meets the statutory requirements and will substantially comply with state housing element…