A new ordinance in Montclair brings the city into compliance with state housing law, following a warning from the governor and state officials to move forward with affordable housing requirements.
A March 24 letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development informed Montclair and 14 other cities they were not in compliance with state law governing local housing policies for failing to produce a “sixth cycle” housing element that was due on Oct. 15, 2021.
“Although the city provided several draft ordinances and timelines to achieve compliance, the city’s proposed date of June 15, 2026, for adoption of its rezone ordinance is unsatisfactory,” state officials wrote. “This timeline would delay HCD’s determination of whether the city achieves substantial compliance until the third quarter of 2026. … Therefore, the city is in violation of Housing Element Law.”
Montclair City Manager Edward Starr and Economic Development Agency Director Mikey Fuentes said the ordinance that the City Council approved April 20 complies with state requirements.
“It is clear that Montclair has made major strides in addressing the development of housing in our region,” Starr said in an email to HeySoCal.com. “We understand that HDC is not necessarily cognizant of the above efforts, and looks narrowly at qualifying submitted housing elements.”
Starr said Montclair officials “made repeated housing element submissions to achieve compliance, with HCD requiring new changes at each step. When those steps required compliance with rezone provisions associated with the Regional Housing Needs Assessment and the city’s designated Housing Opportunity Zones, Montclair remained in the process of a twenty-year update to our General Plan, which complicated our ability to respond until the General Plan was completed.”
A housing element refers to state law requirements for city’s to include in the housing policy sections of their long-term general plans, sometimes in 20-year time spans.
Further delaying Montclair’s housing policy updates was an October court ruling involving the city of Redondo Beach that Starr said required the addition of new mandates into the city’s housing element.
“HCD rejected the city’s timeline to complete that process and issued the Notice of Violation” that gave the city an April 23 deadline to achieve compliance, Starr said.
According to Fuentes, the ordinance addressed all concerns raised in the letter from Gov. Gavin Newsom regarding the city’s 6th Cycle Housing Element and its associated rezone obligations under the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, or RHNA.
“The adoption of an urgency ordinance — which took effect immediately upon passage — reflects the city’s commitment to resolving outstanding housing element requirements without delay and demonstrating in the clearest possible terms that Montclair is an active, good-faith partner in the state’s effort to address the regional housing crisis,” Fuentes said.
In March 2025, state housing officials determined that while Montclair’s housing element was legally compliant, several of the planning actions required revision, including the following to help the city meet it RHNA obligations:
- permit multifamily residential use by-right for developments in which at least 20% of the units are affordable for lower-income households;
- require a minimum density of 20 units per acre in certain land use designations;
- require residential units to occupy 50% of the total floor area of mixed-use projects; and
- do an analysis to determine whether allowable height limits impede housing development.
“In order to implement the required Planning Actions, the city conducted an analysis of each of the comments provided by HCD in its March 20, 2025 review letter and prepared an ordinance to further facilitate the development of housing, especially low and moderate income housing in the City of Montclair to assist the city in meeting its RHNA obligations,” Fuentes wrote in an April 22 letter to state housing officials. “The planning actions were contained in a single, draft ordinance referred to as the ‘Housing Facilitation Ordinance.’ The analysis and draft Housing Facilitation Ordinance was completed in the fall of 2025 and the city was prepared to adopt it according to the hearing schedule provided to HCD in correspondence dated September 25, 2025.
“Unfortunately, in late October, the city learned of a recent court of appeal decision holding that a ‘residential overlay’ zone could not be used to satisfy the city of Redondo Beach’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation obligations where the underlying zoning permitted development with no housing.
“This, despite the fact that the city of Redondo Beach maintained a housing element that was certified by HCD,” Fuentes wrote. “Subsequently, the city of Montclair conducted its own analysis of the zoning provisions for the Housing Opportunity Sites identified in the Adopted Housing Element. Our analysis revealed that several of the underlying zoning designations for the Housing Opportunity Sites allowed properties to be developed with either stand-alone commercial uses or residential/mixed uses. The city decided to be proactive and revise the Housing Facilitation to require all sites in its Housing Opportunity areas to be developed with housing, eliminating the option of stand-alone commercial development.
“These actions are what caused the delays in the city’s adoption of the Housing Facilitation Ordinance,” according to Fuentes.
The city sent its revised Housing Facilitation Ordinance to HCD for review on Feb. 25, and city staff members met via Zoom with HCD officials to further discuss the revised ordinance on April 8. HCD official Paul McDougal reviewed the city’s housing ordinance and “reaffirmed on April 10 … that the ordinance met all of HCD’s requirements for approval,” Fuentes wrote.
Starr said the notion that Montclair is lagging in affordable housing efforts is incorrect.
“Regrettably, HCD has created the perception that Montclair is in violation of its RHNA numbers and state efforts to build housing, including affordable housing. … This perception is incorrect,” he said.
Starr provided examples of steps taken in Montclair to increase affordable housing.
He said the city “leads the Inland Empire in transit-oriented housing development, planning over 11,900 new units. … This effort includes a focus on developing transit-adjacent affordable housing.”
The city has repeatedly sought to buy Caltrans-owned property at the Montclair Transportation Center for development of both market-rate and affordable housing units, Starr said. The city also has made a significant investment in transit-related development, an estimated $100 million, and has been proactive in enhancing its transit infrastructure, including pursuit of the Metro Gold Line light rail and the promotion of high-density and mixed-use housing development.
“These efforts promote a transit village concept and strategic approach to enhance the local economy and provide improved access to jobs and places of health, education, entertainment and culture,” Starr said.
He pointed to the Southern California News Group report that since 2020, the Montclair has emerged as one of the Inland Empire’s most aggressive adopters of transit-oriented, high-density housing, approving and constructing hundreds of new residential units while laying the policy groundwork for thousands more.
“Through a series of strategic planning actions and active public-private development partnerships, Montclair has positioned itself at the forefront of housing production in San Bernardino County,” Starr said. “Since 2013, more than 1,200 apartments and condominiums have gone up within half a mile of the City of Montclair Transportation Center, with another 300 units currently under construction. In total, through its various planning efforts, the city of Montclair has planned for a minimum of 11,900 housing units in North Montclair alone.”
Planning started 20 years ago for how best to benefit from the proposed extension of the Gold Line, now called the A Line, from Pasadena to Montclair, Starr observed.
Despite the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s defunding of the Gold Line extension to Montclair in September, Starr said the focus remains on bringing the light rail to the city.
Montclair issued to SBCTA a “Demand to Cure” for alleged violation of Measure I, adopted by voters in 2004 and lists the Gold Line extension to Montclair as one of three transit projects in the county’s West Valley area that voters approved, the city manager said. The city then filed two claims against SBCTA for alleged discrimination, violations of law and retaliation and is preparing for litigation.
“Extension of the Gold Line to Montclair is vital to the city’s ongoing and planned development of housing, infrastructure, jobs and commercial properties in North Montclair,” according to Starr. “To date, the city estimates that North Montclair has realized more than $1.5 billion in economic development in North Montclair, and further economic development based on the promise of light rail could be as high as $5 billion. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority projects that light rail ridership out of the Montclair Transportation Center could exceed 6,200 daily riders, contributing greatly to reductions in both roadway congestion and greenhouse gas pollutants. Montclair anticipates that this ridership base would also result in a demand for housing, thereby accelerating our efforts to build transit-adjacent market-rate and affordable housing.”
In his email, Starr also noted highlights of efforts for more affordable housing:
- “A layered planning framework built for growth — Montclair’s housing production is the result of decades of deliberate planning, anchored by the North Montclair Downtown Specific Plan and expanded through successive amendments and new frameworks:
- “North Montclair Downtown Specific Plan — The original NMDSP, adopted in 2006, established the vision for redeveloping North Montclair as a transit-oriented, mixed-use district. The plan set objectives to provide between 2,800 and 3,200 dwelling units and approximately 700,000 square feet of commercial space, with an emphasis on pedestrian activity, housing variety, and connectivity to the regional transit network.
- “North Montclair Downtown Specific Plan — Second Amendment (2017). The Second Amendment significantly expanded both the geographic scope and residential capacity of the NMDSP. The amendment increased the maximum number of allowable dwelling units to 5,888 — an increase of 2,688 units over the prior plan — and expanded total allowable non-residential space to 1,681,285 square feet. The plan boundary was extended to incorporate approximately 10 acres at the southwest corner of Arrow Highway and Monte Vista Avenue, and approximately 22 acres on the west side of Central Avenue at Richton Street. These changes were designed to support transit-oriented projects tied to the Montclair Transportation Center and the anticipated Gold Line light rail terminus, laying the foundation for the wave of development that has followed.
- “Montclair Place District Specific Plan (2020). Adopted unanimously by the City Council on Sept. 21, 2020, the Montclair Place District Specific Plan charts a 20-year vision for the redevelopment of the Montclair Place Mall site and surrounding properties. The plan envisions up to 5,900 housing units — including apartments, for-sale homes, and high-rise condominiums — along with 512,000 square feet of commercial space and a 100- to 200-room hotel. Residential buildings ranging from five to 20 stories are planned across the 104-acre plan area.
- “Arrow Highway Mixed-Use District Specific Plan (2024). Adopted on Dec. 16, 2024, the Arrow Highway Mixed-Use District Specific Plan repealed the North Montclair Specific Plan and established a new regulatory framework covering approximately 165 acres along Arrow Highway’s northeast and northwest corridors, accommodating an additional 500 housing units. Adopted alongside the Montclair Corridors Code, the AHMUD Specific Plan sets new zoning and development standards for the next generation of mixed-use residential projects along the corridor.”
Starr also listed projects currently in development or open since 2020:
- “The Village at Montclair — 350 Units. Developed by Village Partners and approved by the City Council in December 2020, The Village at Montclair is a … mixed-use apartment community located at 5050 Arrow Highway. Rising four stories along Arrow Highway on a six-acre site, the project achieves a density of 55 units per acre — the highest in the city to date. The development features a town square, ground-floor retail, a pedestrian tunnel providing direct access to the Montclair Transportation Center, a dedicated parking structure, pool and co-working suites. The project is now open and leasing.
- “Alexan Kendry — 348 Units. Developed by Trammell Crow Residential, the Alexan Kendry is an apartment community located at the southwest corner of Arrow Highway and Monte Vista Avenue. The project consists of three- and four-story apartment buildings as well as a mix of two-story townhomes, and includes a small park, underground parking, pool, and community clubhouse. Phase 1, comprising 211 units, was completed in 2020 and received the 2021 Golden Nugget Multifamily Community of the Year award. Phase 2, delivering the remaining 137 units, opened in fall 2025.
- “The Clara — 302 Units. Trammell Crow Residential recently commenced construction on its third Montclair development — The Clara, also known as the Alexan Marlowe — a residential community located at 4700 and 4697 Huntington Drive within the North Montclair Downtown Specific Plan area. The project features a pool, community building, and a dog park adjacent to existing walking trails and the planned San Antonio Creek multi-use trail. Construction began in July 2024, with partial leasing anticipated to begin in Q2 2026 and full project completion expected in Q1 2027. …
- “The city of Montclair has a well-established record of planning for and delivering affordable housing,” according to Starr. “The Montclair Housing Corporation owns and operates 112 housing units reserved for very low- to moderate-income residents. In cooperation with the city, Augusta Homes maintains 30-year low-income covenant restrictions on approximately 400 mobile home park units. Through its longstanding partnership with National CORE, the city has developed more than 300 affordable housing units in the San Antonio Gateway area along Mission Boulevard and Mills Avenue. The city is currently in the process of updating its inclusionary housing ordinance to require that all new development projects include affordable housing units as part of those projects, further strengthening Montclair’s commitment to housing equity across all income levels. The city has also acquired land in and around the Montclair Transportation Center for future development of affordable housing.”