Calimesa council conducts first reading of zoning changes to implement certified housing element

Calimesa City Council on Feb. 2 conducted the first reading by title only of Ordinance No. 419, a zone text amendment intended to implement the city’s certified housing element and update the municipal code to conform with state housing law.

Senior Planner Celine told the council that Calimesa’s housing element received certification from the California Department of Housing and Community Development in October 2025, but that a number of programs and code updates must be implemented. “It’s essentially a large zone text amendment,” Celine said, and staff recommended adoption of Ordinance No. 419 as amended.

Brian Del Torre, the city’s housing element consultant with Kimley Horn, described the package of implementing actions. He said the amendments update Chapters 17 and 18 to add or clarify reasonable accommodations procedures to comply with the Fair Housing Act; align local rules with recent Assembly bills addressing emergency, transitional and supportive housing; define and zone low‑barrier navigation centers consistent with emergency shelter allowances; update ADU provisions to reflect recent state law; and add zoning allowances or standards for farmworker housing, small‑lot development and residential care facilities.

Del Torre said the amendments also include administrative forms staff will use at the public counter — a checklist for SB 35 applications and a replacement‑housing form — to help staff and applicants confirm statutory compliance during counter review.

Councilmembers asked clarifying questions about ADU height rules. Del Torre and Celine responded that Government Code provisions set a typical 18‑foot height standard for ADUs and that certain configurations (for example, an ADU above a garage) may have different limits but cannot exceed the existing primary structure, reiterating that state law controls on preempted items.

Staff noted a public comment letter submitted at the Jan. 12 Planning Commission hearing from the California Housing Defense Fund; staff and the state attorney’s office reviewed the letter and made targeted revisions that appear in the staff report. No in‑person speakers addressed the public hearing at the council meeting; an email from Bill Thomas was entered into the record.

Mayor Pro Tem Manley moved that the council conduct the first reading by title only of Ordinance No. 419 (Zone Text Amendment CCA 20‑5‑01), and find the project categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Guidelines §15061(b)(3) and §15282(h). The motion was seconded and passed on a 5‑0 vote.

The ordinance will return to the council for subsequent readings and final action at a later meeting. Staff materials filed with the agenda list the specific code sections amended and include the Planning Commission record and attachments that document the revisions and the comment letters that were considered.