title
INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION ON THE 2025 GENERAL PLAN AND HOUSING ELEMENT ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City of Stockton Planning Commission receive an informational presentation from City staff on the 2025 Annual Progress Reports (APRs) for the Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan and the 2023-2031 Housing Element.
body
Summary
California State law (Government Code Sections 65400 and 65700) requires cities to provide an Annual Progress Report (APR) that provides progress updates on implementing the General Plan and Housing Element for the prior calendar year. The APR must be presented to the Stockton City Council before submission to the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) by April 1st of each calendar year.
This report is an informational item only, and no action is requested from the Planning Commission. The report will then be presented to the City Council for adoption, prior to being submitted to HCD and OPR, in compliance with State law.
Background
On December 4, 2018, the City Council adopted the Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan (hereafter "General Plan") via Resolution 2018-12-04-1503-02. The General Plan is the official long-range policy document for the City of Stockton and is the basis for local government decision-making to achieve the community's overall vision. The General Plan contains elements that address land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space/parks and recreation, safety, noise, and environmental justice. Various City departments are responsible for adhering to the policies and implementing specified actions throughout the 20-year timeframe established by the General Plan.
On July 9, 2024, the City Council adopted the sixth cycle City of Stockton 2023-2031 Housing Element update (hereafter "Housing Element”) via Resolution 2024-07-09-1601, which contains policies and programs that enable the City to anticipate and plan for the housing needs of all socioeconomic segments of the community. Although the Housing Element is considered an element of the General Plan, it is the only element that is reviewed and approved by HCD and OPR on an eight-year cycle basis. A primary component of the Housing Element’s update process is to address the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (“RHNA”). The RHNA is mandated by State housing law and quantifies the need for housing within the City during the specified planning cycle.
HCD provided a RHNA of 52,719 units that must be planned for San Joaquin County. The San Joaquin Council of Governments allocated the distribution of housing needs among the unincorporated San Joaquin County and city jurisdictions. The City of Stockton’s RHNA share is 12,673 units (1,232 extremely low, 1,233 very low, 1,548 low, 2,572 moderate, and 6,088 above moderate income levels). In the Stockton Housing Element, the City included an approach to meet the RHNA dwelling unit allocation. The City does not have any obligation to construct housing units but must maintain the housing opportunity capacity outlined by the RHNA allocation and ensure governmental constraints are minimized to the extent possible. The private housing market dictates the construction and provision of housing.
With seven years remaining in the current housing cycle, an average of 1,653 new units per year would need to be constructed by the housing industry to meet the State’s anticipated population growth and housing needs. The City issued building permits for 716 new housing units in 2025 and 837 in 2024. Although current residential development is not on pace to meet State goals, ongoing development activity continues to exceed the average achieved during the previous (fifth) cycle.
In the previous fifth cycle (2015 to 2023), Stockton averaged approximately 545 new housing units per year. There was a total of 4,358 units during the eight-year timeframe. Based on this, the City did not achieve the prescribed 11,824 mixed-income RHNA allocation by about 7,466 housing units. During this period, the City made efforts to encourage housing production and streamline permitting processes.
Prior to 2018, Stockton was exempted from submitting annual progress reports to the State because it is a charter city. State law now obligates charter cities to also report annually to be eligible for participation in housing funding programs.
Current Situation
The 2025 annual progress reports highlight the status of ongoing and future policy implementation efforts for the General Plan and Housing Element.
• Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan: The following is a brief overview of the annual progress report for the General Plan. These efforts are further detailed in Attachment A:
o Prepared and submitted closeout reports for the $2 million received and utilized in grant funding from SB2, LEAP, and REAP.
o Completed a comprehensive update of the Development Code to streamline the review process for housing development and comply with State regulations in consultation with the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
o Completed the 2024 annual development agreement (DA) review to assess the status of agreements for 10 major development projects in the City.
o Continued the City’s pre-approved Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) program of no cost ADU plans for public use.
o Approved construction plans for affordable housing projects, La Passeggiata (94 units) and Housing Authority Satellite Apartments (54 units).
o Participate in the San Joaquin Public Agency Consortium Government Contracting & Business Resource Event providing education to businesses on contracting with the City.
o Successfully brought Parks Master Plan through final approval by the City Council. Completed draft Transportation Master Plan and draft Nexus Study documents.
o Completed a commercial development project annexation approval by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) expanding the City Limit boundary by 7 acres.
o City staff held multiple workshops for the comprehensive update of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) to continue to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data across the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) including Stockton, other cities and unincorporated areas of San Joaquin County.
o City staff participated in San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) regional planning programs, including the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy process.
• 2023-2031 Housing Element: The 2025 APR is the second annual progress report for the sixth cycle Housing Element that will be carried out over the next eight-year review period. Below summarizes major actions in 2025 related to new housing production or the implementation of housing policy through action. These efforts are further detailed in Attachment B. This report is in the State-mandated format and cannot be modified.
o New housing and affordable housing - The City issued building permits for 716 new housing units, including 27 extremely low income and 66 very low-income units. Of the permits issued, 62 were ADUs.
o Completed a comprehensive update of the Development Code to streamline the review process for housing development and comply with State regulations in consultation with the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
o Approved construction plans for affordable housing projects, La Passeggiata (94 units) and Housing Authority Satellite Apartments (54 units).
o Initiated the preparation of an additional Development Code update for ADUs to ensure consistency with the most current 2025 state regulations.
o On April 29, 2025, the Stockton City Council adopted a new Consolidated Plan (Resolution 2025-04-29-1602) outlining the use of funding from the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), which will seek to provide lower-income neighborhoods with access to well-maintained public facilities and utilities.
o Implemented Housing Element Program 3 (Sites Included in Previous Housing Elements) with City Council adoption of Ordinance Amendment 2025-11-04-1502.
o Initiated implementation of Housing Element Programs (6, 10, 16, 20, 29).
o The City is in the process of developing a Downtown Master Plan and Visioning document to accelerate infill housing production the in downtown.
o City staff have begun implementing the Housing Action Plan by actively striving to:
§ maintain the State Prohousing Designation,
§ investigating best practices to provide landlord education and methods to incentivize participation in the Housing Choice Voucher program, within in the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) area, and
§ working on creating a local down payment assistance program.
o City staff conducted outreach activities to share the Homeowner Rehabilitation Program, including two events at the Oak Park Senior Center, where seniors were informed about the program and the opportunity to address deferred maintenance and weatherization of homes.
o Within the Transformative Climate Community (TCC) area, [5 square mile area, largely in downtown/south Stockton] between November 2024-November 2025, 292 homes received Green House call services and retrofits. There were also 59 single family solar installations and 35 cool roof replacements.
The City continues to build upon the policies and actions established by the 2040 General Plan and 2023-2031 Housing Element to encourage increased housing production.
Environmental Analysis
This annual report informational presentation on the General Plan and Housing Element will not result in action by the Planning Commission or require analysis. The 2040 General Plan and 2023-2031 Housing Element annual reports are not considered discretionary “projects” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and are therefore exempt under Section 15061(b)(3) (“Common Sense Exemption”).
Public Comment
As of February 18, 2026, staff have not received public comments on this item. Any input received at this informational presentation will be used by staff to perform further analysis and to develop recommendations for pending City housing efforts.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - 2025 General Plan Annual Progress Report (APR)
Attachment B - 2025 Stockton Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR)
This report was prepared by Anson Lihosit, Senior Planner; (209) 937-8316, anson.lihosit@stocktonca.gov.