Executive Summary:
In accordance with Government Code Section 65400, all jurisdictions are required to provide an annual report to the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on the status of the General Plan and progress implementing the Housing Element. These are commonly referred to as Annual Progress Reports (APRs). Staff prepared the 2024 annual reports, which reflect the City’s progress in implementing the goals and policies of the General Plan and Housing Element during the 2024 calendar year.
All jurisdictions must provide the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) with an annual report on the implementation of the General Plan, as well as a separate report on the implementation of the Housing Element, as required by Government Code Section 65400. Both reports are due to OPR and HCD by April 1st.
City staff has submitted annual progress reports to HCD on the Housing Element since 2018. The calendar year 2022 was the first annual report submitted to OPR on the General Plan. The 2024 reports are scheduled to be submitted to the State on March 31, 2025, to meet the statutory deadline of April 1st. Should the City Council request any changes at the April 1st City Council meeting, staff will update and resubmit them.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
General Plan Annual Progress Report
State law requires each city and county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the community. The law further requires each plan to include a land use element, circulation element, housing element, conservation element, open space element, noise element, and safety element. Additional elements can be included at the city or county’s discretion. In addition to the seven required elements, the Carmel General Plan includes community character, coastal access and recreation, coastal resource management, and public facilities and services.
The General Plan Annual Progress Report provides an opportunity to highlight how land-use decisions align with the General Plan's adopted goals, policies, and implementation measures. There is no standardized format for preparing the annual report. Each jurisdiction is allowed to determine what locally relevant issues are important to include in the annual report.
In the 2024 General Plan Annual Progress Report (Attachment 2), staff identified various projects and accomplishments related to specific goals, policies, and objectives from each general plan element.
Housing Element Annual Progress Report
Since 1969, California has required all local governments, including cities and counties, to adequately plan for meeting the housing needs of their communities. California’s local governments meet this requirement by adopting housing plans, also known as housing elements, as part of their “general plan,” which is also required by the state. General plans serve as the local government’s "blueprint" for how the city and/or county will grow and develop and include seven mandatory elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, and housing.
Each jurisdiction must prepare an annual progress report (APR) on its status and progress in implementing its housing element using forms and definitions adopted by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), per Government Code Section 65400. Each jurisdiction’s APR must be submitted to HCD and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) by April 1 of each year, covering the previous calendar year (CY).
The Housing Element Annual Progress Report (Attachment 3) includes tables for jurisdictions to report permit activity during the prior calendar year.
Table A: Housing Development Applications Submitted. Table A lists all housing development applications submitted for new residential units. In 2024, twenty (20) applications were received; all were for accessory dwelling units.
Table A2: Annual Building Activity Report Summary. Table A2 lists all building activity in the 2024 calendar year, including permit application approval (24), building permit issuance (22), and certificates of occupancy (9). It is not uncommon for a permit application to be approved and issued in the same calendar year and for a certificate of occupancy to be granted in a subsequent year. In 2024, three (3) permit applications were issued and granted occupancy in the same year.
In summary, 20 applications for new housing units were received, 22 building permits for new housing units were issued, and nine new housing units were granted occupancy.
Table B: Regional Housing Needs Allocation Progress. Table B reports on the city’s progress in constructing the regional housing needs allocation (RHNA). The city’s RHNA is 349 units, of which 231 must be affordable to very low, low, and moderate-income households, with the remaining 118 being above moderate or market-rate housing. In 2024, the Community Planning & Building Department issued 22 building permits for above-moderate-income households. The remaining above moderate RHNA obligation is 96 units.
Table C: Sites Identified or Rezoned to Accommodate Shortfall Housing Need and No Net-Loss Law. Not applicable.
Table D: Program Implementation Status. Table D includes all 6th-cycle housing element programs and the city’s progress in achieving each program objective during the 2024 calendar year. Staff notes that the housing element was adopted on April 8, 2024, and the program implementation commenced following adoption. There are 49 programs, implementing 14 policies, furthering five goals.
Additional reporting not applicable to Carmel includes,
- Table E: Commercial Development Bonuses Approved Pursuant to Government Code section 65915.7.
- Table F: Units Rehabilitated, Preserved, and Acquired for Alternative Adequate Sites Pursuant to Government Code section 65583.1(c).
- Table F2: Above-Moderate Income Units Converted to Moderate Income Pursuant to Government Code Section 65400.2.
- Table G: Locally Owned Lands Included in the Housing Element Sites Inventory that have been sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of.
- Table H: Locally Owned Surplus Sites.
- Table I: Deleted
- Table J: Student housing development for lower-income students for which was granted a density bonus pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of section 65915.
- Table K: Tenant Preference Policy.