SACRAMENTO — As California moves into the next housing planning period – the 6th Cycle – five more cities have earned state approval of their housing plans, known as housing elements, bringing the state’s housing plan compliance rate to the highest level in history, with only 14 of 539 jurisdictions from the 5th Cycle housing planning period still needing state approval of their plans – down from 47 in February of 2019. Cities’ housing plans are critical to setting the stage to allow new housing production across the state.

Desert Hot Springs, Westlake Village, Compton, Rialto, and Bell are the five latest cities to finally gain state approval of their housing elements and comply with California housing law. Each city took swift steps to use resources made available by Governor Newsom and adopt their state-compliant housing elements, allowing them to remain eligible for a combined $1.1 million dollars in planning grants from the $123 million made available statewide by the Building Homes and Jobs Act (SB 2) of 2017.

“These are hard times for all of us, learning how to do this important housing work in new ways,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez, “but these jurisdictions showed us they could step up and help make housing a reality when Californians need it most. HCD is here and ready to help any and all jurisdictions that want to join them in meeting the moment.”

Most prominently, Desert Hot Springs updated the city’s entire general plan, creating new residential and mixed-use zones that increased the number of homes that can be built per acre, allowing development of affordable, multifamily housing. The result will be new opportunities to accommodate more than 4,000 apartments for families priced out of market-rate housing.

Westlake Village, Rialto, and Bell took on similar actions. Westlake Village adopted the North Business Park Specific Plan after many hours of hard work and planning. Rialto set the stage to address a variety of housing choices to promote affordability and housing for people with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness.

HCD will continue pushing toward its goal of 100 percent compliance to ensure that local, regional, and state governments are adequately planning to meet the housing needs of all Californians.