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San Rafael reports surge in entitlements but few building permits; council accepts 2025 housing progress report
Summary
City staff told the council that 576 housing units were entitled in 2025 — a recent spike driven by downtown and Northgate activity — but only 33 building permits were issued and 179 units began construction; the council voted to accept the annual General Plan and Housing Element progress report and direct staff to file it with state housing authorities.
Greg Miner, deputy director of the Community Economic Development Department, told the City Council on Monday that the city saw a large increase in entitlement activity in 2025 but not a commensurate increase in units started or completed.
"576 units were entitled," Miner said, noting that most of the entitlement activity reflects multiunit downtown projects tied to the Downtown Precise Plan and other recently approved developments. He added that only "33 housing units were issued building permits" in 2025, of which 28 were accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
The nut of the presentation was this: the pipeline of approved projects has grown sharply but the pipeline has not yet translated into construction. Miner told the council that while entitlement…
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