Riverbank planning commission recommends council accept 2024 housing element progress report; commissioners note shortfall in very low‑income units

The Riverbank Planning Commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to recommend that the City Council receive the citys 2024 General Plan annual progress report and authorize staff to transmit the report to state agencies, while commissioners and public speakers pressed staff on the lack of progress for very low‑ and low‑income housing.

Michael Arroyo, contract planner for the City of Riverbank, told the commission the report compiles the citys housing activity for calendar year 2024 and must be sent to the Governors Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly the Office of Planning and Research) and the California Department of Housing and Community Development. "The state still requires the progress that's made to be reported," Arroyo said during his presentation.

The report shows the city issued 79 building permits for new dwellings in 2024; staff said 8 permits were for accessory dwelling units and the remainder were primarily single‑family units. Arroyo said two development applications, Heritage 2 and Countryside 3, account for 47 and 22 units, respectively, that are recorded in the report. The city reported a regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) of 3,591 units for the current cycle.

Arroyo told commissioners there was "no progress" reported for very low and low income categories in 2024 and said the forms provided by HCD account for units by income category; staff corrected an earlier accounting error in the staff report before finalizing the numbers in the packet. He said the city has submitted a draft housing element for the sixth cycle to HCD and is responding to the agencys comment letter; revisions will be posted on the city's website for public review and then resubmitted to HCD for further review and certification.

Public commenters raised separate but related concerns during the meeting. Milt Treeweiler, a Riverbank resident, urged commissioners to preserve farmland and opposed large new housing projects such as the Riverwalk proposal, saying, "This farmland in the MID and TID irrigation districts of Stanislaus County is the best farmland in the world" and warning that once farmland is developed it cannot be replaced. Treeweiler also raised concerns about floodplain impacts in the Riverwalk area.

Mary Chris Peraza, speaking on behalf of homeowners in Crossroads West, urged the commission to reconsider a proposed low‑income housing project at Morrill Road in Oakdale and suggested redirecting $1,000,000 in funding to local programs such as Sierra House. "We respectfully oppose the proposed low income housing at the intersection of Morrill Road in Oakdale," Peraza said, citing concerns about neighborhood stability, traffic and strain on schools and services.

Commissioners asked staff clarifying questions about the availability of sites to meet RHNA requirements. Arroyo said the city has identified vacant and underutilized sites and sites proposed for rezoning that staff believes provide the capacity to meet the sixth‑cycle targets within city limits and that the Riverwalk specific plan and other annexation areas are not being relied upon for the very low, very low and low income categories.

On a procedural basis, Arroyo told the commission the progress report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act and does not require CEQA review. After brief commissioner discussion the commission adopted Resolution No. 2025‑002 recommending the City Council receive the report and authorize staff to transmit it to the state agencies; the motion passed 5‑0.

In department updates following the vote, planning staff reported several new and active applications: a 31‑lot Meadowview subdivision at Snyder/Verne, a conditional use permit request for an ABC license for Riverbank Food Centers on Third Street, and a pending downtown conversion of a house to office use that will require planning commission review. Staff said Chase Bank had opened in Crossroads West, Wendy's was finalizing items for opening, a medical tenant had been approved for Pad 11 of the Crossroads West shopping center, and improvement plans and building permits for a Tractor Supply and a 16,000‑square‑foot retail building on Patterson Road were under review. Staff also noted Sullivan School District notified the city it had purchased a school site in Crossroads West.

The Planning Commission meeting concluded with a brief recognition of outgoing Commissioner Steven Leek and an announcement that Armando Rodriguez Jr. will serve as an alternate beginning in April. The commission adjourned to its next regular meeting on April 15 at 6 p.m.