Fresno council adopts updated housing element after years of state review and public debate

The Fresno City Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a revised housing element intended to bring the city back into compliance with state law and to show the city has sufficient land and programs to meet its regional housing need allocation.

Chelsea Payne, director of urban planning at Ascent, told the council the update shows the city has capacity to plan for roughly 36,866 housing units assigned to Fresno through the regional housing needs assessment (RHNA). Payne said the element includes an inventory of sites, a housing action plan with 50 policies and 37 implementation programs, and measures to affirmatively further fair housing as required by state law.

The adoption matters because California requires every city and county to adopt a housing element and have it certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Jennifer Clark, the city's planning director, told the council the city had been out of compliance since the Dec. 31, 2023 adoption deadline and that the package adopted on Thursday responds to HCD comments submitted during months of revisions and outreach.

City and consultant presentations stressed two central points: the RHNA process assigned the region about 58,000 units and the city's allocation is about 63 percent of that regional target, and the housing element links new programs to state requirements for 'affirmatively furthering fair housing' (AFFH). Payne said AFFH work includes creating more opportunities for affordable…