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Los Banos adopts 2024202032 housing element, establishes RHNA overlay for by-right housing approvals

City Council of Los Banos ยท November 6, 2025

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Summary

The Los Banos City Council adopted the 2024202032 housing element carried in a countywide, multijurisdictional plan and introduced an ordinance creating a regional-housing-needs-assessment (RHNA) overlay district. The element assigns the city a RHNA allocation of 3,132 units and identifies sufficient sites and program measures to meet state law.

The Los Banos City Council on Nov. 5 approved the city27s 2024202032 housing element as part of a multi-jurisdictional update for Merced County and introduced a zoning code amendment to implement a RHNA overlay district designed to streamline housing approvals on qualifying sites.

Community & Economic Development Director Susan Helms told the council the city27s RHNA allocation is 3,132 units for the planning cycle. Helms explained the element includes credit for roughly 400 already-approved units and plans conservatively for about 40 accessory dwelling units, producing a site inventory capacity of approximately 2,434 units and a surplus buffer of about 371 units. The housing element and its local appendix document the city27s program commitments, site inventory, constraints analysis and an affirmatively furthering fair housing assessment as required by state law.

Helms said the council must adopt the housing element to remain eligible for certain state funds and to stay compliant with California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) rules: "The city is required to have a compliant housing element, and then it has to be certified by HCD," she told the council.

The council also introduced ordinance 12-13 to add a RHNA overlay district to the zoning code. The overlay creates a by-right pathway for qualifying housing projects on specified site categories that meet state eligibility criteria (including a 20% lower-income set-aside and objective design standards). By-right (ministerial) approval removes discretionary reviews and CEQA hurdles for eligible projects that meet the overlay criteria and objective design standards.

The council approved the housing element resolution and introduced the implementing ordinance on first reading. City staff said the action completes a major compliance step for the community and will allow the city to pursue related state funding programs and proceed with implementation activities that encourage housing production.