It is recommended that the City Council receive and file this staff report. 

A General Plan is each local government’s blueprint for meeting the community’s long-term vision for the future. Pursuant to state law, each California city is required to have an adopted General Plan comprised of seven required elements. The required elements are: Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise, and Safety. On December 20, 2016, the City Council adopted an updated General Plan and certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Included with its adoption was an implementation program (policies and actions) to guide future decision-making on development, resource management, public safety, public services, and general community well-being.

Per California Government Code section 65400, all municipalities are required to provide the Governor's Office of Planning & Research (OPR) and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) with separate General Plan and Housing Element annual progress reports every April. HCD provided an extension through May 15, 2025 for submission of the 2024 Housing Element annual progress report for impacted local governments within the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region covering Los Angeles, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Ventura Counties due to the fires that occurred earlier this year. 

The General Plan annual progress report submitted to OPR outlines the status of the City's General Plan and progress in its implementation over the previous year’s 12-month reporting period. The Housing Element is the only element that has a statutory requirement to be updated periodically. While the General Plan Update is typically managed by the Planning Division, the required elements also include policies for other Divisions/Departments, including Engineering (Circulation), Community Services (Open Space), Community and Economic Development (Housing), Fire, Police and Public Services (Safety). California Government Code section 65400 also requires an annual report be given to the legislative body regarding the status of implementing the goals of the General Plan. This report also covers the efforts made during the last year in implementing the programs of the Housing Element as well as actual building permit activity. The last Annual Report was reviewed by the City Council on April 2, 2024, reviewing the policies and actions taken in 2023. The current Annual Report provides information on policies and actions for 2024. This report will allow the City Council and community to evaluate General Plan policies and actions, as well as provide information on the Housing Element during the 2021-2029 period (6th cycle). The City is currently working with HCD to obtain certification of the Housing Element. The City's Housing Element certification is pending the adoption of Ordinance No. 2525, which was adopted by the City Council on March 18, 2025. The adopted Ordinance was sent to HCD for confirmation. 

In the "Our Well Planned Community" chapter of the West Covina General Plan, estimates are provided for the amount of development in the City over the 20-year horizon of the General Plan. Projected growth is divided geographically, with the majority being in the Downtown district. In addition to the Downtown, the General Plan also identifies other areas in the City where growth can be accommodated. These areas are divided into three categories; districts, corridors, and neighborhood centers. Downtown is included in the Districts category. The Development Chart is included as Attachment No. 1. The chart also includes the forecasted development identified in the General Plan and the cumulative number of units and/or square footage constructed in 2024. Units and square footage constructed are reported based on the issuance of building permits, rather than certificates of occupancy to be consistent with the Housing Element reporting. This allows staff to reliably and regularly track actual development against the amount of development that was studied in the Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and in the General Plan. During 2024, no building permits were "finaled" for new commercial buildings in the specified areas (several permits were issued and "finaled" throughout the year for tenant improvements and minor additions, but none were for new construction). 

However, the City has issued building permits for the following major project:

• Toyota Dealership at 204 N. Citrus Avenue (13,130-square-foot expansion and associated tenant improvements - permits were issued and "finaled" in 2024).

GENERAL PLAN POLICIES AND STATUS
Through this reporting process, the Planning Division provides annual updates on the progress of the City in meeting the goals, policies, and actions identified in the General Plan (including the Housing Element). Staff updated the chart (Attachment No. 2) listing the goals, policies, and actions of the General Plan, as well as their current status. Below is the index for the items:

• Ongoing - actions with no definitive end date
• In Progress - have been initiated but not yet completed
• Completed - have been implemented
• Not Initiated - have not been started

The General Plan and Housing Element include a menu of goals and objectives allowing the City to evaluate and select actions to focus on in the near future. To allow the General Plan to stay a valuable tool for staff and the community, goals and objectives should be modified from time to time so that the menu continues to be relevant.

HOUSING ELEMENT
The Housing Element is one of the seven (7) required elements of a General Plan. It is unique in that it is the only element that is required to be updated at regular intervals and is required to be certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The Housing Element was adopted by the City Council in 2022. As outlined above, the City is currently working with HCD to obtain certification of the 6th Cycle Housing Element.

One of the most important aspects of the Housing Element is the requirement to plan for growth for the number and type of housing units required by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). The State determines the number of housing units needed in the State, then divides that total number up among regions. The Southern California region is addressed through the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). The number of units assigned to West Covina for the 6th Cycle was 5,346 housing units across all income categories (very low income = 1,653, low income = 850, moderate income = 865 and above moderate income = 1,978). The requirement of the City is to provide information that the zoning in the City allows for at least that many housing units to be constructed. This information is provided in the adopted Housing Element and is part of HCD's evaluation prior to certifying a Housing Element.

Staff has completed the required HCD forms to report on the new housing construction activity and the progress on the programs included in the Housing Element. This Housing Element term is from 2021 to 2029. This information is provided in Attachment No. 3. In 2024, building permits were issued for 95 new housing units (all accessory dwelling units). This increases the number of units issued permits this term to 581 units. Staff is counting approximately 60% of accessory dwelling units towards the very low, low, and moderate income categories as allowed by the SCAG Regional Accessory Dwelling Unit Affordability Analysis.

The City Attorney's Office has reviewed this report.