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Escondido planners report progress on 9,607‑unit RHNA target; staff to file 2024 APR with state
Summary
City planning staff presented the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report, detailing site inventory, priority programs, and construction‑permit milestones toward the Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 9,607 units; no council action was required.
City planning staff briefed the Escondido City Council on the 2024 Annual Progress Report for the city's Housing Element, explaining the state requirements, the city's site inventory and its progress toward a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 9,607 units for the 2021–2029 planning cycle.
Veronica Moronis, city planner, said the Housing Element is a required component of the general plan and must identify sites, constraints and a program of measurable actions to facilitate new housing. "A housing element is an actual text document. It's a component of our general plan," Moronis said, adding that the sixth RHNA cycle runs through 2029 and that the city must maintain adequate sites to avoid "no net loss" of capacity.
Associate Planner Priscilla Roldan summarized building‑permit milestones and 2024 activity. Staff reported construction permits issued by year as follows: 2021 — 249 units; 2022 — 231 units; 2023 — 608 units (an above‑average year driven in part by the Palomar Heights project); and 2024 — 408 units. The cumulative total from those years is 1,496 construction permits issued, which staff said represents roughly 15 percent of Escondido's RHNA allocation of 9,607 units.
Roldan highlighted recent developments and permit milestones: conversions of office and hotel buildings to residential, a senior development on Quince, a mixed‑use project at South Quince and West Grama Avenue, and projects that reached final building inspection such as Palomar Heights and other developments that staff listed in the presentation. The city also completed a pre‑approved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plan set and posted four downloadable plans on its website to speed ADU construction.
Staff noted that the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) now has an enforcement arm and that HCD identified a set of "priority programs" during the city's certification process; staff said they are continuing to implement those programs and will submit the APR to HCD, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research and SANDAG.
Council members asked about barriers to development. Planning staff said internal capacity (staffing) and availability of financing for multifamily rental projects are recurring constraints. Staff also reported anecdotal increases in for‑sale town home submittals but said they would provide more detailed numbers on ownership versus rental trends if the council wanted a follow‑up.
The presentation was informational; the item required no council action. Staff said annual reporting will continue and that they will return with future updates as part of regular reporting obligations to state agencies.
