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Taft staff sends housing element draft to state, proposes twice‑yearly public forums
Summary
City planning staff told the Planning Commission that a second draft of Taft’s housing element has been submitted to the state Housing and Community Development department and that staff proposes biannual public forums to increase outreach and stakeholder input.
City of Taft planning staff told the Planning Commission on March 19 that the city has submitted a second draft of its housing element to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and is proposing more frequent public outreach to improve stakeholder engagement.
Planning staff said the second draft was transmitted to the state for review and that staff expects either few comments or an iterative back‑and‑forth with HCD before a compliance determination. The staff presentation said the draft added roughly three more programs focused on outreach and that the principal new program under consideration is a twice‑yearly public forum to provide interim updates on housing work, collect community input and invite stakeholders such as home builders, the housing authority, Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) and Habitat for Humanity when relevant.
Staff described the intent as making housing updates more accessible and interactive than the standard committee process, suggesting meetings at alternate locations such as the transit center to increase attendance. The Commissioner comments during the discussion supported broader outreach, noting that housing reports can otherwise remain on a shelf and that broader forums could bring more voices into the process.
In administrative housekeeping the planning director reminded commissioners there will be no regular Planning Commission meeting on April 2 and that a special meeting is scheduled for April 16 to consider a project that will be noticed separately. Staff said the twice‑yearly forum is being proposed "until it picks up," indicating the frequency could be adjusted based on future activity.
No formal action or vote on the housing element or the outreach program was recorded at the March 19 meeting; staff indicated further steps will follow as needed based on state review and internal planning timelines.
