Since we currently have a housing surplus according to State mandates, can we just stop growing?

The Question: I’ve heard we have 510 more units than the State requires right now. Doesn’t that mean we can stop new development?

The Context: While it’s true that Dixon is meeting its current 8-year state mandate for housing (RHNA), planning for a city doesn’t happen in 8-year chunks — it happens in 20-year visions through our General Plan. The State updates housing requirements every eight-year housing cycle. The current cycle is for 2023-2031. If we stop planning now, we risk falling behind in the next cycle. When a city fails to plan or demonstrate it can meet its share of new housing, the State can trigger the “Builder’s Remedy,” a law that strips the City of its power to deny high-density projects, effectively handing our local control over to Sacramento.

In addition, new housing is also a means to increase Dixon’s population and attract more commercial, retail and industrial uses. Most commercial entities use housing and census data to evaluate if areas meet their property metrics for a new commercial use. Many of the types of commercial uses that residents desire in Dixon are not currently feasible and do not meet the commercial/retail company economic, population or census threshold to pursue a new location in Dixon.