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Greenfield accepts housing‑element progress report; staff warns moratorium is chilling above‑moderate development
Summary
Council received the city’s general plan implementation and Housing Element annual progress reports (submitted March 27). Staff said the city has 193 of 730 RHNA‑cycle units credited, has met very-low and low-income targets, but is behind on above‑moderate units, and that the building moratorium and construction costs are slowing development.
The City Council on April 14 received and accepted the General Plan implementation report and the state‑mandated Housing Element annual progress report for calendar year 2025, staff said.
City staff told the council the reports were submitted to the state on March 27 and highlighted the city’s standing against its RHNA allocation: 193 units have been credited toward the city’s requirement of 730 units for the current cycle. Staff said the city has met its very‑low and low‑income targets, and that moderate‑income needs are being addressed in part by ADUs, but above‑moderate units lag well behind — 13 of 379 required above‑moderate units were completed, staff reported.
“We stand at 193 units total of 730 required for us in the sixth cycle,” the staff member said during the presentation, summarizing the crediting approach for building permits and completed units.
Staff and council discussed causes for the shortfall in above‑moderate units, identifying the city’s building moratorium and broader construction‑cost and financing pressures as major factors discouraging larger developments. The staff member noted that building permits — the date permits are issued — are the milestone used for state credit toward housing targets and that moratorium uncertainty has had a chilling effect on applications.
The report includes 93 programs in the Housing Element and provides status updates for each, staff said. Council members asked for clarification about income bands and rents; staff described approximate income and rent ranges used for reporting (for example, moderate income roughly equates to about $120,000 household income and rents around $2,400 and under for a typical moderate unit, as explained during Q&A).
City attorney and staff briefings during the meeting also noted that the state’s Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) has tentatively approved the city’s building moratorium and is expected to provide more detailed direction and required housing‑element amendments in the coming weeks.
Council took no additional formal action beyond receiving and accepting the reports; staff said the next steps are to track the 93 program items, pursue developer partnerships for identified sites, and monitor HCD guidance related to the moratorium.
