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Waterford council adopts sixth‑cycle housing element, OKs general‑plan and zoning amendments
Summary
The council unanimously adopted the city's sixth‑cycle housing element (covering 2023–2031) and approved related general‑plan and zoning amendments, authorizing staff to submit the document to the California Department of Housing and Community Development; staff said the city was allocated 557 units and described programs including by‑right approvals for certain sites.
The Waterford City Council voted unanimously to adopt the city's sixth‑cycle housing element and to approve a set of related general‑plan amendments and municipal code changes needed to submit the plan for state certification.
David Niskanen, the city's contract planner, introduced the item and said the housing element is required for state certification and access to certain state funding. Associate planner Jayla Smith told the council the Regional Housing Needs Allocation assigned to Waterford for the 2023–2031 cycle is 557 units and showed how staff accounted for those units in the sites inventory (pending and approved projects, accessory dwelling units and the Lake Pointe master development area).
Smith described numerous programs in the housing element action plan, including Program 1.4 (a by‑right approval program for eligible sites identified in prior cycles), Program 1.5 (a general plan amendment for a Lake Pointe site), Program 5.2 (farmworker housing), Program 6.15 (objective design standards to streamline housing), and several programs to monitor pending projects and infrastructure needs. Staff said the housing‑element update is eligible for a CEQA "common‑sense" exemption because it does not itself authorize development.
Several residents again raised language‑access concerns and urged translated documents and live interpretation for hearings and workshops. Jayla Smith and David Niskanen replied to technical questions about the sites inventory and clarified that some properties classified as "underutilized" indicate potential additional units on privately owned land and not city‑initiated redevelopment.
Councilor motioned to adopt Planning Commission recommendations and to: (1) adopt the housing element and authorize staff to submit it to HCD (Resolution 2026‑08); (2) approve three general‑plan amendments for identified parcels (Resolution 2026‑09); and (3) introduce Ordinance 2026‑01 to add a RHNA overlay and by‑right approval code provisions. Each motion was seconded and passed 5–0.
What happens next: Staff will submit the adopted housing element and required documents to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for certification and will track any HCD comments or required revisions.
