Plan to House Our Rialto: 2021-2029 Housing Element Update

The Public Review Draft Plan was available for public comment from August 20 to September 22, 2021.  The draft plan was submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review, which was completed on December 13, 2021. The City prepared revisions based on HCD's comments. On February 9, 2022, the Planning Commission considered the revised draft, conducted a public hearing, and adopted a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt a mitigated negative declaration for and approve the City of Rialto 2021-2029 (Sixth Cycle) General Plan Housing Element Update.  On March 8, 2022, the City Council considered the revised draft, conducted a Public Hearing, adopted a Mitigated Negative Declaration and approved the City of Rialto 2021-2029 (Sixth Cycle) General Plan Housing Element Update. The revised draft was submitted to HCD for a second review, which was completed on June 3, 2022. HCD's review found that additional revisions were necessary to comply with State Housing Element Law. The City completed a third draft of the Housing Element Update, which is now available for public review. 

The revised draft Plan to House Our Rialto: 2021-2029 Housing Element Update is available for review by following this link.

The Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration, the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration, and associated Appendix A - Candidate Housing Sites were available for review and comment from January 7, 2022 through February 7, 2022.

What is the "Plan to House Our Rialto"?

The "Plan to House Our Rialto" is a part of the City's General Plan. It describes housing needs, identifies opportunities, and establishes policies, goals and objectives to address existing and future housing needs, including the preservation of our community character while creating opportunities to construct new housing. While the City does not construct housing, the "Plan to House Our Rialto" provides opportunities for for-profit and not-for-profit residential developers.

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Why do we plan for housing?

The City plans for housing for two primary reasons: 

  • First, housing is a basic human need for health and wellbeing. We are currently short on housing units and, as the population grows, we have increasing demands for more and more diverse types of dwelling units.
  • Second, state law requires cities and counties to regularly update the Housing Element of their General Plan and the “Plan to House Our Rialto” fulfills that requirement. In the plan, the City will demonstrate sufficient land zoned for housing to accommodate 8,272 dwelling units, which is the number of units allocated to the City as part of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). For more information about Housing Elements and the RHNA process, visit the California Department of Housing and Community Development website.
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Who do we plan housing for?

In planning for housing, the City considers the needs of all and establishes policies to create housing opportunities for all races, ethnicities, abilities, ages, and income ranges. Sections of the Housing Element focus on populations with special needs, including large families, female-headed households, people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities, seniors, and farmworkers.

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What is the schedule?

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What kind of input is needed?

The plan will identify where new dwelling units are possible to meet the City’s RHNA allocation and will establish goals, policies, and actions to meet housing needs, including new housing choices, affordability, strategies for preservation, revitalization, displacement protection and more. Therefore, the City seeks input about:

  • the need for different types of housing, 
  • the needs of those who are disabled, seniors, and other special groups, 
  • potential ways to address those needs,
  • opportunity areas and priorities for development, 
  • different types of density, and
  • proposed policies.

What income ranges are included?

RHNA allocations fall into four different income categories defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Each category is a percent of Area Median Income (AMI). For Rialto, AMI is $77,500 for a family of four. Each income category is listed below:

  • Very-Low Income is up to 50% of AMI
  • Low-income is 50-80% of AMI
  • Moderate income is 80-120% of AMI
  • Above-moderate income is greater than 120% of AMI

The number of dwelling units allocated to Rialto in each income range are reflected in the table below.

City of Rialto 2021-2029 RHNA Allocation of Dwelling Units

Very-Low Low Moderate Above-Moderate TOTAL
2,218 1,206 1,371 3,477 8,272

For More Information: 

Contact Project Manager Siri Champion:

909-421-8072 or schampion@rialtoca.gov