Latest News

On August 25, 2025, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”) found the City’s 2023-2031 Housing Element in substantial compliance with State Housing Element Law, thereby adopting the City's Housing Element.

Background

Under State law, every city and county in California is required to update its Housing Element to address specific requirements and submit the element to the HCD for certification.

The Housing Element serves as Martinez’s blueprint for meeting the housing needs of our residents, at all economic levels and addressing segments of the population with special housing needs. The Housing Element includes:

• Assessment of the unique characteristics of Martinez’s population and households
• Inventory of sites suitable for residential development
• Assessment of financial and programmatic resources
• Analysis of constraints to housing production
• Affirmatively furthering fair housing analysis
• Comprehensive set of goals, policies, and programs to address current and projected housing needs

Regional Housing Needs Allocation

HCD determines the Regional Housing Needs Determination ("RHND") for the nine-county Bay Area. The Association of Bay Area Governments ("ABAG") is tasked with creating a methodology for distributing the RHND across Bay Area jurisdictions. The RHND for the Bay Area is 441,176 units.

Distribution of the RHND results in each jurisdiction’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (also referred to as "RHNA"), which is the total number of housing units by income category (i.e., very low-, low-, moderate-, and above moderate-income), that the jurisdiction must plan for in the new Housing Element.

On December 16, 2021, the ABAG Executive Board allocated 1,345 units of housing to the City of Martinez. The table below shows the final distribution of housing units to Martinez by income category:

FINAL RHNA
Very Low Income	Low Income	Moderate Income	Above Moderate Income	Total Units
350	201	221	573	1,345

Each local government in the Bay Area, including the City of Martinez, must update the Housing Element of its General Plan to demonstrate how it can accommodate its RHNA.

---

Documents

Adopted 2023 - 2031 Housing Element (LINK)

HCD Letter, dated August 25, 2025 (LINK)

Contact

Michael P. Cass, Assistant Community & Economic Development Director
Email Us
925-372-3515