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Council adopts annual plan/progress report; staff outlines RHNA numbers, permitting timelines and street projects
Summary
The council unanimously adopted the 2024–25 annual plan/progress report (item 8E). Staff cited a RHNA allocation of 4,189 units after an 89‑acre annexation (adding about 750 units to the allocation), reviewed permitting timelines and pavement projects, and clarified Flock ALPR camera retention is 30 days.
The Whittier City Council unanimously adopted the city’s annual plan/progress report (item 8E) on March 24, receiving staff briefings on housing obligations, permitting performance, street projects and public‑safety tools.
On RHNA, staff said the city’s obligation increased to 4,189 units following an 89‑acre annexation that added an estimated 750 units to the allocation. Planning staff noted the city’s housing element (adopted 2021) includes zoning capacity for up to 5,365 units, which exceeds the current RHNA allocation.
Councilmember Pacheco pressed staff on how RHNA affects actual construction versus zoning capacity and asked whether the lists in the report represented priorities; planning staff (Ben) said the list is not prioritized but identifies sites and zoning capacity, and that the RHNA numbers indicate zoning capacity rather than guaranteed construction. Ben said the RHNA figures come from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) via the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
On permitting, staff described a transaction‑tracking system (Exela) that logs submittal and review steps. For relatively small residential projects (room additions, kitchen remodels), staff said an initial review can often be completed within about a week if the plan set is complete; larger multi‑unit projects require iterative reviews and can take about a year to clear the entitlement and permit process depending on complexity.
Public Works Director Kyle Kaysen updated the council on pavement work, explaining that slurry seal treats asphalt streets and is intended to preserve pavement, while grind‑and‑overlay (two inches removed and replaced) is used where greater repair is needed; the Painter and vicinity project will use grind‑and‑overlay and is due to go to bid this summer. Kaysen said the pavement‑management program scores all streets and prioritizes projects based on condition and available funding.
During public‑safety discussion, the police chief described the Flock ALPR (automated license‑plate reader) system: it captures images of vehicles and license plates (not faces), checks plates against databases for stolen or wanted vehicles, alerts dispatch, and retains vendor‑hosted data for 30 days before deletion.
Council directed staff to return with more detailed permitting turnaround metrics and agreed to adopt the report.
