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Salinas committee recommends City Council approve 2025 Housing Element annual progress report
Summary
The Housing and Land Use Committee reviewed the city's 2025 Housing Element annual progress report, heard questions about maps, density bonuses and ADU counts, and voted to recommend City Council accept and submit the report to state agencies by the April 1 deadline.
The Housing and Land Use Committee on March 10 recommended that the City Council accept Salinas' 2025 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) and authorize staff to submit it to the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation as required by Government Code Section 65400.
Planning Manager Vincent Montgomery presented the APR, saying the report is due to the state on April 1 and summarizes the city's progress on housing production and program implementation. He told the committee the city has produced 443 housing units between 2023 and 2025 and that, against the 6,674-unit RHNA allocation for 2023'2031, about 6,231 units remain to be addressed. Montgomery also reported 221 building permits were issued in 2025, 196 certificates of occupancy were recorded and 146 permits were finalized.
Committee members focused questions on the APR tables, pipeline timing and program tools. Members asked staff to clarify an apparent discrepancy between slides and the attachments over whether density bonuses were applied, and whether the same 221 "above-moderate" units were being counted in two different rows. Montgomery said some of the attachment preparation was done by a colleague not present and that staff would follow up. Members also noted that ADU applications accounted for a large share of 2025 permit activity; Montgomery confirmed 207 of the 221 applications were ADUs.
Members requested additional, more granular materials before the council hearing, including status updates from developers on future-growth-area submissions and a heat map showing where code-enforcement and outreach efforts have been concentrated. Montgomery said staff will provide follow-ups and that the APR reflects cross-department collaboration across Housing, Permit Center, Engineering, Fire, Code Enforcement and the Salinas Outreach and Response (SOAR) team.
After questions and public comment, Council Member Sandoval moved to recommend the APR to City Council; Chair Barajas seconded, and the motion passed. The item is scheduled for City Council consideration on March 24, and staff will submit the APR to state agencies on or before April 1, 2026.
