Indio planning commission approves 2024 housing element progress report

The Indio City Planning Commission on March 12 voted to receive and forward the city’s 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report, which staff said shows 53 permitted housing units in 2024 and identifies gaps in lower-income housing production.

David Rosso, senior management analyst in Community Development, told commissioners the annual report is “a reflection of our current housing” and that it is a requirement from HCD. Rosso said the report records 53 permitted units for 2024, and he corrected an earlier tally in the draft that had shown 54.

The report breaks the 53 units into five categories used on the HCD forms: 34 single-family units, 14 accessory dwelling units/ junior ADUs, 3 mobile/manufactured homes and 2 projects in the 5-plus-unit category, Rosso said. He said some affordable projects that have recently been entitled or issued temporary certificates of occupancy (TCOs) are not yet reflected in the 2024 report and will appear in subsequent annual reporting.

Commissioner Ortiz asked for clarification on housing typologies and whether the city actively encourages use of density bonuses to secure affordability. Rosso said the city typically lets market applicants propose projects and that downtown is a focal area where higher density conversations are more likely to occur. Vice Chair Rodriguez Seja and staff said several affordable projects — including Avenue 44 and Arroyo Crossings — are in the pipeline and that recent TCOs for Arroyo Crossings will affect next year’s totals.

Commissioners discussed the usefulness of an audit or clearer pipeline tracking for housing to convey to the public and to City Council where the city is meeting and where it is falling short on very low-, low- and moderate-income goals. Staff pointed commissioners to the city’s existing interactive Development Dashboard and said staff could work with GIS to make housing-specific views easier to access.

Action: The commission voted to receive and forward the 2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report. Roll call votes recorded: Commissioner Santos — yes; Commissioner Ortiz — yes; Vice Chairperson Rodriguez Seja — yes. Commissioners Franz and Chair Delgado were absent. The motion carried.

Commission staff said the HCD-required forms constrain how units are categorized (five categories) and that annual counts will vary depending on when projects are completed and reported.

Looking ahead, staff and commissioners said they expect more substantial changes in next year’s report as recently entitled and completed affordable projects are added to the state reporting forms.