UKIAH, CA., 10/14/26 — Ukiah has eight years to make room for 1,500 new homes, and the city wants residents to help decide where they should go.
City planners will run a booth at PumpkinFest this weekend and hold a workshop Oct. 29 to gather ideas for the city’s next housing plan, called the housing element. Every California city has to write one, and the state has to approve it.
“The State is requiring the City of Ukiah plan for the construction of 1,500 new housing units in the next eight years,” Craig Schlatter, Ukiah’s community development director, said in a news release Tuesday. “We encourage the community to engage with us in determining how this can be accomplished, as well as sharing ideas and input about housing in Ukiah.”
That’s more than six times Ukiah’s target for the current eight-year cycle, 2019 to 2027, which was 239 homes. The city says it’s on track to meet and pass that one.
The state set a total of 6,456 homes for Mendocino County, and the Mendocino Council of Governments split that total among the county and its four cities. Ukiah appealed its share. The council of governments’ board turned the appeal down 4-2 on Aug. 24.
More than half of Ukiah’s 1,500 homes, 836, are meant for lower-income households. Another 145 are for moderate-income households and 519 are for households above that.
Fire maps changed recently. The council of governments’ final housing plan says 1,443 acres in Ukiah are now rated Very High fire hazard, a 272% increase. That puts nearly half the city in the zone. The plan says the area hit hardest “encompasses much of the remaining land within the city available for housing development.”
City staff are writing the plan themselves. A first draft is due Nov. 30, and the state must approve the final version by Aug. 15, 2027.
The PumpkinFest booth will be at Alex R. Thomas Plaza on Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The workshop is Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Chenin Blanc Room at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center, 200 S. School St. Spanish translation will be available.
Written comments can go to planningdivision@cityofukiah.com, or by mail to City of Ukiah Planning Division, Attn: Housing Element, 300 Seminary Ave., Ukiah, CA 95482.
The city’s housing element page asks: “Where should these units be constructed? Should zoning and/or density limitations be changed to facilitate construction?”
yea!
more low to no income appartments,
i mean “homes” in ukiah
thats exactly what ukiah needs
more low to no income people, getting govt money
to live in taxpayer funded homes, i mean appartments
no annexation = no sfr growth = more inpoverished people crammed into even smaller areas
at least theyll be able to stumble, oops i meant walk
to free crack pipes, i mena injection alternatives
and needles. those are just one time use meth and fetty needles
but dont worry, im sure they share anyway
sharing is caring, just ask donny boy
its almost as if being a total failure is like super cool
14,000 crack pipes, i mena injection alternatives handed out last year in pukiah about 100 returned
15,000 syringes given out last year
about half returned so thats good
one could even say its a syringe half full
dont worry, im sure the remaining ones were disposed of properly,
by that i mean in the creek or parking lot near you.
my dog stepped on one last year and stuck him in the paw,
dont dispair, we solved the problem. he wears botties now so all good
so much winning