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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 25-000967 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
03/24/26 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
All
Districts |
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SUBMITTING Agency/Department: |
OC
Public Works (Approved) |
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Department contact person(s): |
Justin
Kirk (714) 667-1627 |
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Cindy
Salazar (714) 667-8870 |
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Subject: Approve County of Orange General
Plan Progress Report
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ceo CONCUR |
County Counsel Review |
Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
N/A |
Consent
Calendar |
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3
Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current Year
Cost: N/A |
Annual Cost: N/A |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions: |
Sole Source: N/A |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 3/25/2025 #4, 3/12/2024 #3, 3/28/2023
#25, 3/22/2022 #10 |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
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1. |
Receive and file
the 2025 County of Orange General Plan Progress Report and Housing Element
Implementation. |
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2. |
Authorize the
Director of OC Public Works or designee to submit the 2025 County of Orange
General Plan Progress Report and Housing Element Implementation to the
California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Governor's
Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. |
SUMMARY:
Submittal of the 2025 County of
Orange General Plan Progress Report and Housing Element Implementation to the
California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Governor's
Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation will ensure compliance with
Government Code Section 65400(a).
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
Government Code Section 65400(a)
requires that all cities and counties provide an annual General Plan (GP)
Progress Report and Housing Element (HE) Implementation (Report) to the
California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Governor’s
Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) regarding GP implementation and
progress toward meeting their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)
allocation. The four previous County of Orange (County) Reports were approved
by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on March 22, 2022; March 28, 2023; March
12, 2024; and March 25, 2025, and were subsequently filed with HCD and LCI.
GP Status and
Implementation
The Board adopted the Sixth Cycle
HE on February 11, 2025, and the County received a substantial compliance
letter on February 20, 2025, from HCD.
State law allows each jurisdiction
to amend the elements of its GP, as needed. The Board adopted three GP
Amendments (GPA) in 2025. On May 6, 2025, the Board adopted two amendments to
the Transportation Element (TGPA 24-02 and TGPA 24-03). TGPA 24-02 reclassified
roadway designations for portions of Santiago Canyon Road and El Toro Road and
deleted Black Star Canyon Road from the Circulation Plan map. TGPA 24-03
reclassified the roadway designation for a portion of Villa Park Road/Santiago
Canyon Road. TGPA 24-02 and TGPA 24-03 also added the definitions of a Divided
Collector and Asymmetric Lanes in the Transportation Element, respectively.
These changes were made to accurately reflect the changing development and
traffic patterns in the applicable areas. Additionally, on August 26, 2025, the
Board adopted an amendment to the Safety Element (S19-01). GPA S19-01 provided
updates to the element to comply with recent state mandates, which incorporates
requirements regarding the risk of fire in State and Local Responsibility Areas
and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. In addition, GPA S19-01 made
technical amendments to ensure consistency with the 6th Cycle HE update.
Implementation of Housing Action Plan
The County’s HE contains a Housing Action
Plan that describes the policies, programs and actions the County will undertake
to facilitate the construction of new housing units and preservation of
existing housing stock during the planning period. The Report (Attachment B)
contains information on the efforts made during the 2025 calendar year.
Progress Toward
Meeting RHNA Allocation
The Report includes annual updates on the
County's progress toward meeting its RHNA allocation for the current planning
period (Table 1). The County’s RHNA allocation for the Sixth Cycle Planning
Period (2021-2029) is 10,406 units and is divided among five targeted income
levels: Extremely Low (30 percent of Area Median Income [AMI]), Very-Low (50
percent of AMI), Low (80 percent of AMI), Moderate (100 percent of AMI) and
Above-Moderate (120 percent of AMI). The AMI for Orange County in 2025 was
$136,600, based on a four-person household.
Table
1. County Progress Toward Meeting Sixth Cycle RHNA Allocation 2021-2029
(October
16, 2021 - December 31, 2025)
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Income
Levels |
Extremely
Low/Very Low |
Low |
Moderate |
Above
Moderate |
Total |
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Total Units Needed 2021 - 2029 |
3,139 |
1,866 |
2,040 |
3,361 |
10,406 |
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Percent of Income Category Needed |
30.2% |
17.9% |
19.6% |
32.3% |
100% |
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Completed Units 10/16/2021 - 12/31/2021 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
26 |
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Completed Units 1/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 |
21 |
48 |
0 |
300 |
369 |
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Completed Units 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2023 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
533 |
533 |
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Completed Units 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
355 |
355 |
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Completed Units 1/1/2025 – 12/31/2025 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
262 |
262 |
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Remaining Units Needed 2021 - 2029 |
3,118 |
1,818 |
2,040 |
1,885 |
8,861 |
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Percent of Category Need Remaining |
99.33% |
97.4% |
100% |
56.1% |
85.2% |
Source: Southern California Association of
Governments and County 2025
The table below (Table 2) reflects the
number of new housing units issued in each supervisorial district during 2025.
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Table
2. Completed Units for New Housing Units by
Income Category and Supervisorial District in 2025* |
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Supervisorial
District |
Very
Low |
Low |
Moderate |
Above
Moderate |
Total |
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1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
23 |
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2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
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3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
91 |
91 |
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4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
21 |
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5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
119 |
119 |
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Total |
0 |
0 |
0 |
262 |
262 |
*County Supervisorial District Boundaries
2022-2032
The progress
toward meeting the County's Sixth Cycle Planning Period (2021-2029) RHNA
allocation will also be reported in subsequent annual Reports.
Accessory Dwelling
Units (ADUs)
Table 3 includes a
breakdown of the total number of ADUs applications submitted, issued and
finalized from October 2021 to December 2025. These ADUs are included in the
262 completed units count of the County’s Progress Toward Meeting the Sixth
Cycle RHNA Allocation (2021-2029).
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Table 3: County of Orange ADU/Junior ADU
Permit Summary 2021-2029 (October 16, 2021 – December
31, 2025) |
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2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
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Submitted Permits |
73 |
69 |
77 |
26 |
81 |
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Permits Issued |
57 |
60 |
73 |
48 |
101 |
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Finalized Units |
39 |
39 |
32 |
61 |
56 |
Source: County 2025
Affordable Housing
Project – Casa Colibri (formerly Jackson Street)
Casa Colibri
(PA23-0206) is a 65-unit affordable housing development located at 15081
Jackson Street in Midway City. Casa Colibri is in the Housing Opportunities
Overlay Zone and has a density of 87.25 dwelling units per acre. The
development qualified for the unlimited density bonus provision and use of
modified parking standards due to its proximity to a major transit stop. The
development is comprised of 63 units for very low-income and lower-income
households and two units designated for management. The applicant is in the
process of obtaining permits for the construction of the development. The
project is expected to obtain its Certificate of Occupancy by 2026.
The Ranch Plan
Planned Community
The Report contains information
regarding The Ranch Plan Planned Community, the largest planned community still
under development in the unincorporated area. The grand opening for Planning
Area (PA) 3.3 occurred in June 2025 for 175 market rate units that are
currently under construction, and the grand opening of PA 3.4 occurred in
January 2026 for 326 age qualified units that are currently under construction.
PA 3.5 is currently in grading and infrastructure work for the approved 307 age
qualified units and 232 market rate units. To date, 95 percent of the homes
(488 homes) in PA3.2b and 16 percent of the homes (28 homes) in PA 3.3 have
closed escrow.
Additionally, two new apartment
projects have been approved for PA 2.4 and PA 3.14. Site Development Permit
(SDP) PA24-0171 was approved on December 17, 2025, for an 18-unit apartment
complex in PA 2.4, and SDP PA24-0156 was approved on December 9, 2025, for a
217-unit apartment complex in PA 3.14.
Housing Funding
Strategy
In June 2018, the Board filed the
Housing Funding Strategy (2018 Strategy), which established a goal to develop
2,700 units of supportive housing throughout Orange County. Since the adoption
of the 2018 Strategy, a total of 2,115 affordable and supportive housing units
were completed/built, and 327 units are under construction or closing on their
construction loan.
On December 20, 2022, the Board
filed the 2022 Housing Funding Strategy Update (2022 Strategy), which
identifies an updated goal of producing 2,396 units of supportive housing by
2029 to meet the current needs based on the 2022 Point in Time Count. The 2022
Strategy also includes information regarding how these units are included as a
subset of the region's RHNA unit numbers that are being incorporated into
cities’ and the County’s HE. Since December 2022, and completion of the 2022
Strategy, a total of 738 additional affordable and supportive housing units are
in progress of funding and 117 units are under construction or closing on their
construction loan, for a total of 3,297 affordable and supportive housing units
in the current pipeline since 2018.
Since December 2019, the Board
authorized issuance of the 2020 Supportive Housing Notice of Funding
Availability (NOFA); subsequent amendments to the 2020 NOFA; the 2023 NOFA and
First Amendment; and the 2025 NOFA, making available capital funding and Project-Based
Vouchers (PBVs) to facilitate the development of supportive housing throughout
Orange County, including unincorporated areas. To date, the County has received
45 applications requesting 699 PBVs and approximately $79.5 million in combined
capital funding requests including seven withdrawn applications.
Supportive Housing
The County, with its co-applicants,
were awarded $33.62 million for three Homekey Round 2 applications. Two
projects consisted of the rehabilitation of motels to create 108 units of
affordable and permanent supportive housing (PSH). Aurora Vista (formerly
Riviera Motel) completed conversion of the 21 PSH units and Mesa Vista
(formerly Motel 6) completed conversion of 41 units in Phase I. The remaining
46 units of affordable housing in Phase II are currently underway. HB Oasis
began operation as an interim housing program in October 2022, providing 62
units of non-congregate shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness in
the Central Service Planning Area and completed the rehabilitation/capital
improvement process to transition to PSH in October 2025.
The County, in partnership with the cities
of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, submitted a joint Homekey Round 3 application
and were awarded up to $29 million in grant funds for the acquisition and
conversion of a 120-room motel into 78 units of housing including 76
Homekey-assisted PSH units. The project is estimated to be completed by Summer
2026.
Finally, during the 2025 calendar year,
the County’s Yale Navigation Center (425 beds) and Bridges at Kraemer Place
(200 beds) shelters served a total of 1,583 people experiencing homelessness
and assisted a total of 164 clients in securing temporary or permanent
housing.
Compliance
with CEQA: This
action is not a project within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 and
is therefore not subject to CEQA, since it does not have the potential for
resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a
reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The
approval of this agenda item does not commit the County to a definite course of
action in regard to a project since the action is a submittal of an annual
Report to ensure compliance with Government Code Section 65400(a). This
proposed activity is therefore not subject to CEQA. Any future action connected
to this approval that constitutes a project will be reviewed for compliance
with CEQA.
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
N/A
STAFFING
IMPACT:
N/A
REVIEWING
AGENCIES:
OC
Community Resources
Office of Care Coordination
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment
A - California Government Codes
Attachment B - County of Orange General Plan Progress Report and Housing
Element Implementation