Taft Council Approves Specific-Plan Amendment, Introduces Zoning Ordinance to Implement Housing Element

The Taft City Council on Dec. 16 approved a resolution to amend the Downtown Taft specific plan and introduced a zoning ordinance amendment intended to implement programs from the city's 6th-cycle housing element (2023'2031).

Jenna Chilangerian, a contract planner for the city, told the council the package before them would amend the zoning ordinance (2025-16) and Downtown Taft specific plan (2025-17) to implement 23 housing-element programs across three highlighted areas: removal of constraints, accessory dwelling units, and housing production streamlining and incentives. Chilangerian said the housing element had been adopted Aug. 19, 2025, and certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development on Aug. 22, 2025.

Chilangerian said the proposed amendments are programmatic policy updates and that any future development would remain subject to site-specific environmental review; staff recommended finding the action exempt under the CEQA guidelines cited in the staff report and setting the required public hearing for Jan. 20, 2026.

Councilmembers had no substantive questions after the presentation. The council then moved, seconded, and approved a resolution adopting Specific Plan Amendment 2025-17, found the project exempt from CEQA as described in staff materials, introduced Zoning Ordinance Amendment 2025-16 by title only, waived full reading, and set the public hearing for Jan. 20, 2026. The motion passed on a 3-0 roll call.

Why it matters: these amendments are the implementation step after the housing element was adopted and certified; they change local zoning and the downtown specific plan to remove regulatory constraints and promote tools such as accessory dwelling units and streamlining to encourage housing production.