The new lessons and survey follow a federal investigation into Redlands Unified’s handling of sexual misconduct — and come amid nationwide cuts to civil rights enforcement.
Redlands builds for high and low incomes — but leaves out the middle class
City has made progress on housing goals since 2021, but Moderate-income units remain far behind as 'missing middle' households struggle to find options.
REDLANDS, Calif. – The city of Redlands has issued building permits for 1,046 new housing units since 2021, meeting approximately one third of its state-mandated housing goal, according to the 2024 Annual Progress Reports presented to the City Council.
Why it matters: The reports, which track implementation of both the General Plan and the 2021-2029 Housing Element, reveal significant progress in some housing categories while highlighting challenges in others.
Details: The reports were received and filed by the Redlands City Council during their March 18 meeting and must be submitted to the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) and the Governor's Office of Land Use & Climate Innovation by April 1.
The city's housing goals are based on the state mandated Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RNHA), which sets the need for housing within each jurisdiction.
"The Southern California Association of Governments allocated a total of 3,516 new housing units to the city of Redlands as its fair share of the total number of units needed to meet the forecasted population growth in the Southern California region," the report states.
The city's progress varies significantly across different income categories. For Above Moderate-income housing (market-rate units), Redlands has issued 632 permits, representing about half of its requirement in that category.
For Very Low-income and Low-income housing, however, the city has issued permits for only 24% and 27% of required units, respectively.
The least progress has been made in the Moderate-income category, where only 19 permits have been issued, representing just 3% of the requirement.
In San Bernardino County, Moderate-income for a family of four is between $78,000 - $117,000 (Or 80% to 120% of the median income of the area $97,500).
Uptick with affordable housing
In 2022, we reported that housing was not being built in Redlands, especially affordable housing. This is no longer the case. The city has made a targeted effort to build new housing developments, with multiple projects currently in the works. (To learn more about residential developments in progress, read our article about what’s coming to Redlands here.)
During the 2024 calendar year alone, the city issued building permits for 194 new housing units. Of these, 122 units are intended for Very Low-income households, including Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and Junior ADUs, while 72 are Above Moderate or market-rate units. This compares to the last housing cycle (2013-2020) when only 19 affordable units were built.
The city has also made substantial progress on implementing various Housing Element programs. Completed initiatives include the adoption of the Transit Villages Specific Plan, creation of an Inclusionary Housing Program and the opening of the Home Key housing center. The city has also enhanced online resources for potential housing development projects and for building Accessory Dwelling Units.
The housing plan aligns with the city's priorities to maintain and improve quality of life for residents and promote economic vitality. These goals, which the city aims to achieve by the 2029 target, include the implementation of policies and programs to expand affordable housing opportunities and encourage redevelopment efforts in the transit corridor.
Middle income housing remains stagnant
Where the city is falling short now is the “missing middle,” the Moderate-income housing. This population faces the in-between issue of not being able to afford the market-rate housing the city has built, while also not qualifying for Low-income housing.
Robert "Bobby" Garrity, who leads Redlands YIMBY, credits the state's bonus density law with the uptick in low and very-low income housing. The law incentives developers to set aside income-restricted affordable units by overriding local density limits and parking requirements. However, Garrity said the density bonus for low and very-low income housing works out to be a better deal for developers compared to moderate income housing.
"With the moderate income level you get a moderate density bonus and so even though theoretically you don't have as much lost revenue when you rent those out, when you also take into account things like income verification and all the work needed to manage that program, it makes it less advantageous overall to build moderate-income housing," Garrity said.
With only 3% of the requirement for this category fulfilled, there is much work to be done ahead of the 2029 goal deadline.
In a supply contained environment, Garrity acknowledged that while it's up to developers to build the houses the city can certainly encourage an increase in supply which would also help those middle income buyers.
"The best thing the city can do is just let them build, because there's plenty of land and developers are certainly capable of building up to that demand. But it's the fact that our zoning code and the land use policies limit them from actually meeting that demand with supply," he said.
Garrity said he's hoping new housing laws - similar to the bonus density law – will continue to make it easier for developers to build market rate units and in turn create more opportunity for moderate income households.
The General Plan and the 2021-2029 Housing Element reports are available here.
