Atwater City says housing element close to compliance; staff to post draft for short public comment

Johnny, the community development speaker introduced during the workshop (speaker S3), said Atwater's housing element is close to meeting state expectations and outlined the near-term steps: staff will review the draft, send it to the consultant, open a seven-day public-comment window and respond to comments before submitting to the state for review.

"We could actually, adopt a housing element the same time Resed does this summer," Johnny said, describing the city's near-term timeline. Johnny noted Atwater's housing-element review is likely to be another round with the state but that staff are hopeful after prior revisions in similar jurisdictions.

Johnny also tied the housing-element work to infrastructure efforts that are intended to make development more feasible: staff are seeking grant funding to widen Green Sands, add active-transportation facilities and improve sewer and water connections to support potential development at Briar Ranch. He said those infrastructure investments, along with regional improvements, should make development proposals more financially feasible.

Staff said the draft will be posted for a seven-day public-comment period (staff expect to do that promptly after internal review) and that the consultant will then help package responses to state comments. Johnny cited Merced's multi-round experience with the state as context for the process and encouraged continued community input.

What happens next: staff will finalize the draft, post it for seven days of public comment, address comments with the consultant, and then submit the housing element to the state for review.