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 housing in high-resource areas and prioritizing investments in lower-resource neighborhoods and areas of concentrated poverty.

The housing action plan contains programs to accelerate housing production, facilitate affordable housing (including a local housing trust fund, land bank and community land trust), preserve existing housing, support special-needs housing (seniors, farmworkers, people with disabilities), and prevent displacement. Payne highlighted Program 2, which the consultants said commits the city to capacity for roughly 25,100 multifamily units in high-resource census tracts, and Program 27, which coordinates the housing element with an environmental justice element now underway.

Council members pressed staff on costs and implementation. Assistant Director Phil Skye said the city and related entities invested more than $365 million from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2024, on housing and homelessness from all sources, and that the city anticipates roughly $9 million a year in predictable housing funding going forward (including HUD allocations, the Permanent Local Housing Allocation and an expected $1.5 million local housing trust fund contribution). Skye said unallocated local funds were limited: roughly $1.1 million available in single-family PLHA set-asides and $114,000 in the low-income housing trust for the current year, while the city expects other state allocations next year.

Several council members and public commenters urged additional or stronger programs. Council member Arias emphasized that the city has been out of compliance with state law since the end of 2023 and pressed staff on the RHNA numbers, the city's share of regional growth and the need for state and regional funding to match the higher urban density expected of Fresno. Council member Bridalfield and others said adopting the element is only the beginning and pointed to the time it takes to build affordable units: 'building affordable housing is a five-year process' from funding to occupancy.

Community groups and advocates urged stronger tenant protections and additional programs before adoption. Sylvia Palomares of Fresno Building Healthy Communities asked the council to codify the eviction protection program into the municipal code, commit to ongoing funding, study inclusionary zoning, establish permanent emergency rental assistance and include community seats on ad hoc planning committees. Brandy N. and organizers from Power California and other advocacy groups echoed calls to center people with lived experience and to expand eviction protections and affordable-housing commitments.

Supporters of adoption argued the draft element is the pathway to unlock state funds and to move into implementation. Greg Terzakos of the California Apartment Association told the council the element represents the necessary next step to obtain state funding and begin building the housing the region needs. Payne and Clark said the document before the council had been revised in response to HCD and once adopted would be submitted to HCD for formal certification; the state has up to 60 days to issue a certification letter.

The council voted without objection to adopt the housing element as presented. With adoption, staff said the city will submit the plan to HCD and proceed with required follow-up work, including the environmental justice and safety elements and an annual progress report that documents the city's implementation of the housing programs.

Implementation and next steps include presenting an annual progress report to HCD, continued community outreach, zoning code amendments to streamline approval for certain housing types and ministerial review in targeted areas, and follow-up actions tied to the AFFH commitments.

While the adopted element includes numerous new tools and programs—land bank, community land trust, edits to development code for shelters and special-needs housing, and preservation measures—advocates and some council members said additional policy choices (including possible rent protections or inclusionary zoning feasibility studies) will remain the subject of future council debates.

The council adopted the housing element unanimously (7-0) on Dec. 12, 2024.

Ending note: With the element adopted, the city moves from plan completion to implementation and reporting. Staff told the council they would return with zoning text amendments, outreach plans, and annual progress reporting to track program delivery and respond to HCD follow-up.