Housing and rental-safety push: Modesto aims to bring rental inspections in-house, add bridge housing units

Jessica Hill, director of Modesto's Community and Economic Development Department, presented the department's priorities and proposed Measure H adjustments to the Finance Committee on April 20, including a plan to bring the rental housing safety program in-house.

"We're looking to bring our rental housing safety program in-house," Hill said, proposing two building/inspection positions and an administrative analyst to support registration, inspections and compliance work. The department reported substantial activity under its rental housing safety program to date: roughly 2,500 units inspected, about 1,300 units brought into compliance and more than 19,000 total units registered.

Hill described housing work across several tracks: bridge housing site identification (staff said two additional sites have been identified that would add roughly 18 bridge-housing units), affordable housing approvals (86 units approved toward a 200-unit goal), and financing efforts that have resulted in about $33 million in grant applications to support projects.

Council members expressed interest in the development-fee structure and long-term funding of CED activities; Hill said some development services remain subsidized by the general fund to encourage development and that a comprehensive fees task force is planned for fall 2026 to examine fee policy and cost recovery.

Hill also said the department is continuing partnerships with community organizations (including STEP and the Stanislaus Community Foundation) to pursue attainable and workforce housing strategies and to pilot other approaches, such as manufactured or modular housing, to address the housing pipeline.

Staff will return with detailed cost estimates for the in-house inspection positions and updates on bridge-housing sites as the budget process proceeds.