City reports 2,387 housing units built in 2024; council presses for tools, funding and regional cooperation

City planning staff presented the Sacramento 2024 Housing Element annual progress report, saying the city produced 2,387 housing units in 2024 and that production remains below the 2021-29 Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) target.

"In 2024, we produced a total of 2,387 housing units," Greta Seuss, senior planner, told council. Seuss said the city's 2021'29 RHNA target is 45,500 units (about 5,700 units per year averaged over the period) and noted the city produced roughly 42% of the annualized production target for 2024. She also described deed-restricted affordable projects completed or in production and noted the city cannot meet lower-income RHNA targets without substantial additional subsidy; staff estimated roughly $7.5 billion would be needed to meet lower-income needs entirely through regulated affordable housing.

Seuss highlighted several accomplishments including elimination of minimum parking requirements in the general plan (and the ordinance change adopted earlier in the meeting to update the zoning code), updated permitting rules for special-needs housing, an affordable-housing education campaign that held eight citywide workshops, and a small-developer incubator pilot program. She also reported ADU permit numbers are up and that staff have launched permit-ready ADU plans and a housing-development toolkit map to help project siting.

Council reaction and policy discussion

Council members praised the staff for permitting and production gains but emphasized supply-side obstacles outside city control such as interest rates, construction costs, tariffs and labor shortages. Councilmember Dickinson and others urged the council to tell the regional and state delegations that many of the barriers are not local.

Councilmembers and public speakers urged continued emphasis on extremely low-income, very low-income and supportive housing. Jonathan Cook of the Sacramento Housing Alliance told council that deed-restricted affordable housing remains critical and that such projects typically require multiple funding sources and last several decades as affordable housing.

Several council members and the mayor mentioned potential next steps to accelerate housing: - Explore local finance tools: Councilmembers discussed a possible local housing financing measure (bond or ongoing revenue stream) and asked staff to prepare a menu of options and models used elsewhere. - Mixed-income and inclusionary approaches: Councilmembers asked staff to return with analysis and options on inclusionary zoning and mixed-income ordinances. - Use of public land and transit sites: Councilmembers urged exploring joint development on transit parking lots and city-owned surplus land to lower development costs.

Outcome and next steps

The report was presented for information and council provided direction. Staff said they will continue implementing the housing element programs and will return with additional proposals and analyses, including the Streamline Sacramento follow-up and requested materials on funding options.

Ending

Council members framed the report as both a record of accomplishments and a call to action: the city has advanced many process reforms and pilot programs, but additional financing, regional cooperation and continued streamlining will be required to approach the RHNA target.