Riverbank staff and consultant outline housing element update, say city must plan for 3,591 units

David Niskinen of JB Anderson Land Use Planning told the Riverbank City Council and Local Redevelopment Authority on March 12 that the city's sixth-cycle housing element must plan for 3,591 units for the 2023'031 period and meet new state requirements including affirmatively furthering fair housing.

Niskinen, the consultant the city contracted in September 2023, said the housing element is the only general-plan element the state requires be updated on a regular cycle and that it includes a site inventory, household and employment characteristics, housing stock analysis and a new fair-housing analysis. "The housing element assesses constraints and opportunities and identifies programs the city needs to complete over the next eight years," he said.

He described the site-inventory methodology the city will use: screening sites for suitability, access to utilities, ownership patterns and realistic feasibility within an eight-year horizon. The consultant said typical assignment assumptions are single-family subdivisions for above-moderate need, duplexes and four-plexes for moderate need, and multifamily and accessory dwelling units for lower-income categories.

Niskinen identified several state laws that affect the update, including AB 1397 (site inventory/adequate sites), the "no-net-loss" protections from the previous cycle, AB 879 (additional posting and reporting requirements) and enhanced density-bonus/streamlining provisions. He warned that the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) enforces content and certification of housing elements and that noncompliant elements risk loss of access to certain state grants.

On numbers, the consultant gave the RHNA allocation for the sixth cycle as 3,591 units and explained that the document assigns those units across income bands based on state guidance and a four-person household median-income assumption. Niskinen said the city has begun technical updates, has an April target to complete the site inventory, plans a May workshop focused on the inventory, aims for a draft in June, and will post the draft for 30 days before submitting it to the state for a 90-day review.

Council members pressed on outreach and enforcement. The council asked whether the outreach would be bilingual; Niskinen confirmed outreach materials and engagement would be in English and Spanish. Council members also asked about the city's current progress relative to RHNA; Niskinen said the annual progress report that will be presented to planning commission and council next month will contain the specific production numbers.

The council and staff said they will continue stakeholder interviews with local and affordable-housing developers, prepare an online public survey, and host public hearings after the draft is posted. The consultant said fair-housing analysis will examine historical development patterns in Riverbank's East and West sides and that the analysis will inform any targeted programs needed to meet housing goals.

The council did not take action on the housing element during the meeting; the item was presented as an informational workshop and staff said formal hearings and adoption steps will follow the draft and state review.