Riverbank planning commission forwards 2025 housing element and zoning changes to council, citing HCD compliance

On March 31, 2026, the Riverbank Planning Commission voted 5–0 to recommend the City Council receive and accept the 2025 general plan and housing-element annual progress report and to forward zoning and ordinance amendments implementing the sixth-cycle housing element to the council and to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

The commission approved Resolution 2026-001 to submit the annual progress report and later approved the package associated with item 8.1 (resolutions 2026-002 and 2026-003 and the draft city ordinance with technical edits) by unanimous roll call. Teresa McDonald, senior planner, told the commission that in 2025 the building division issued 88 building permits, 58 certificates of occupancy and 58 planning entitlements as part of ongoing housing activity.

Consultant David Niskanen of JB Anderson Land Use Planning said the sixth-cycle housing element has been through more than a year of review with HCD and that the city received a letter saying the draft meets statutory requirements provided the implementing programs are carried out. "We received a letter from HCD last week stating that the housing element meets all statutory requirements," Niskanen said during the presentation.

Associate planner Jayla Smith summarized the implementing actions included in the staff packet: new general plan language to establish maximum residential densities for higher-density and mixed-use land-use designations; zoning-ordinance amendments to add a RHNA overlay and to create a limited by-right approval pathway for certain sites (including some vacant sites and sites required to be rezoned); and changes to the CX-1 mixed-use zone to allow up to 100% residential uses while requiring residential to constitute at least 50% of a mixed-use project. Smith noted the by-right pathway would apply only to specific sites listed in the housing element and to projects that dedicate at least 20% of units to lower-income households.

Staff emphasized that the housing element and implementing programs are required by state law and that certification by HCD is important to qualify the city for certain grants and to avoid enforcement risks. The commission’s recommendation will go to the City Council for final action; staff noted the council hearing is scheduled for April 28, 2026.

The commission’s action on 8.1 does not by itself compel immediate physical development: staff said rezoning and plan amendments are legislative steps that enable future projects but do not force property owners to sell or develop. The staff report, presentation slides and technical attachments were included in the meeting packet for council review.