Riverside has outlined new timelines for overdue housing commitments after state regulators questioned its progress, with several policies originally due in 2023 now scheduled for consideration in 2027.
In an Oct. 15 letter responding to a Sept. 17 inquiry from the California Department of Housing and Community Development, the city outlined plans to finish policies and zoning changes addressing housing access, group homes and fair housing.
The city also pointed to affordable housing developments, rental assistance and homelessness services as evidence of progress.
“As a general response, the City takes its commitments to ending cycles of homelessness, providing supportive services to those who need them, and fighting to ensure that every Riversider who needs assistance on the path back to housing stability has resources with the utmost seriousness,” Miranda Evans, director of the Community & Economic Development Department, wrote in the letter. “Beyond the commitments outlined in the 6th Cycle [Housing Element Update], the City is active across many fronts with a focus on improving housing availability and affordability, ending cycles of homelessness, and maximizing its use of available resources to improve housing outcomes for all Riversiders.”
Riverside’s housing element requires the city to plan for 18,458 new homes between 2021 and 2029. A March report showed it had issued permits for 19.6% of that allocation, mostly for above-moderate-income housing. HCD previously told the Gazette that maintaining the city’s prohousing designation, which provides priority access to certain state funding, requires compliance with state housing laws and implementation of housing element programs, among other requirements.
The scrutiny also follows the council’s January rejection of $20.1 million in state funding for a permanent supportive housing project. HCD raised concerns about that decision in February.
Among the commitments addressed in the September inquiry were zoning changes to remove barriers to group homes with more than six occupants, which were due Sept. 26, 2023. The city said the remaining barriers under that action are in two residential zones controlled by Proposition R and Measure C — voter-approved measures that restrict changes to those zones without another public vote. The general plan update, expected to be adopted in winter 2027-28, will evaluate steps toward a ballot measure. The letter does not set a date for such a vote.
A separate change would ease permit rules for group homes with seven or more residents in single-family zones, the last unfinished piece of another commitment due in 2023 to remove potentially discriminatory zoning rules. That proposal will be included in a zoning code update delayed from fall 2026 to the first quarter of 2027. HCD’s inquiry said staff had cited staffing limits on a broader review for potentially discriminatory zoning effects.
The state also asked about a policy encouraging homes accessible to people with physical and sensory disabilities, which was due Sept. 26, 2023. Based on meetings with city staff, HCD said no progress had been made. The city responded with a tentative schedule that would bring a final policy to the council in fall 2027.
The early 2027 zoning code update will also address another commitment due in 2023: clarifying the availability of streamlined approval under Senate Bill 35 for qualifying housing projects. The city noted it has not received an SB 35 application.
A midcycle review of whether the city’s fair housing programs are working was also due in 2023. HCD said city staff had reported no status on the review. The city now plans to hire a consultant in early 2027 and complete the assessment by July 1, 2027.
Design standards for neighborhoods that mix housing, shops, services and transit, which were due in September 2025, are being built into the general plan update, the city said.
Responding to HCD’s questions about its ongoing commitments to Housing First, permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing, the city pointed to The Place at Hulen, a 31-bed transitional housing site expected to open by the end of 2026, and discussions about a 22-unit shared housing program with 10 Acre Ranch anticipated by the second quarter of 2027.
“The Place will function as a first landing place for individuals exiting homelessness and will offer treatment and supportive services necessary to get back onto the path to stable long-term housing,” the letter said.
An HCD spokesperson told the Gazette that HCD has reviewed the city’s response and "is closely monitoring Riverside’s implementation of its housing element programs, and will evaluate next steps accordingly," but said it cannot comment on the specifics of an open matter.
The spokesperson also said that Riverside's prohousing designation will expire at the end of this year, and that the city will need to meet current criteria — including compliance with the housing element and all applicable state laws — to maintain its designation.
To maintain the prohousing designation, pursuant to Section 6607 of the California Code of Regulations, a city must "enact and implement proposed policies; facilitate the planning, approval, or construction of a variety of housing types; implement integrated planning and development consistent with state planning priorities; meet obligations to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing; comply with state housing laws; and implement housing element programs," according to the HCD letter.
