OCEANSIDE — The city is ahead of schedule in meeting its housing goals for moderate- and above-moderate-income units but continues to lag behind in building homes for low- and very low-income households, according to an annual housing progress report presented March 25.
The report, presented by city staff, tracks Oceanside’s progress in meeting its Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA, as part of its 6th Cycle Housing Element.
Since 1969, the state has required cities and counties to plan for future housing needs. The state assigns housing targets at varying affordability levels to regions, which in turn allocate those numbers to local jurisdictions. Cities must then show how they plan to meet the goals through a housing element, a key part of their general plan.
Oceanside is in the sixth housing cycle, which runs from 2021 to 2029. During that time, the city is required to plan for 5,443 new units, including 1,268 very low-income, 718 low-income, 883 moderate-income, and 2,574 above moderate-income units.
At the halfway point of the cycle, Oceanside still needs 3,117 additional homes to meet its total RHNA goal.
The city has issued permits for 1,619 above-moderate-income units, surpassing the halfway mark for that category and leaving 955 to go. It has also made strong progress on moderate-income housing, issuing permits for 485 units, with 398 remaining.
However, the city has only issued 88 permits for low-income housing, or about 12% of the required number. For very low-income units, just 134 permits have been issued, roughly 10% of the goal.
“I hope that we can figure out a way to make progress in those two areas as a council,” said Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce.
Councilmember Peter Weiss pointed out that several affordable housing projects have been entitled or are in the pipeline but have not yet received building permits.
Cities only receive RHNA credit once building permits are issued, meaning entitled projects do not count until they break ground.
City Planner Sergio Madera said one project is currently in grading and is expected to receive building permits later this year. This project could add 300 low-income and 30 very low-income units to the city’s total.
“We’re making progress, but it’s incremental in nature,” Madera said.
City staff also reported substantial progress on accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, aided by a streamlined review process. The city had initially set a goal to permit an average of 32 ADUs per year, or 256 total.
From 2021 to 2024, the city received more than 527 ADU permit applications, issued 480 permits and finalized 363 units. Last year alone, 109 ADUs were permitted.
ADUs have contributed mainly to the city’s moderate-income housing stock, while junior ADUs — typically under 400 square feet — are counted toward the low-income category.
