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The city of Livermore issued residential building permits for hundreds of units during 2025 as the jurisdiction aims to meet a state-mandated obligation to make way for thousands of new homes by 2031, according to an annual progress report.
As required by the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process, Livermore must plan for 4,570 housing units during the 2023-31 planning period. The goal consists of a range of income categories: 1,317 very low, 758 low, 696 moderate and 1,799 above-moderate units.
Income categories are based on the area median income. A four-person household with AMI in 2025 earns $159,800 annually. For that family, low income is $125,050 (80% AMI), lower income is $95,880 (60% AMI), very low income is $79,990 (50% AMI), extremely low income is $47,950 (30% AMI) and moderate income is $191,750 (120% AMI).
The city is not responsible for constructing obligated units, according to a staff report prepared by Livermore senior planner Shannon Pagan. Rather, it must show “sufficient land and zoning capacity”, the report states.
Last year, the city issued building permits for 422 new units with a three-year running total of approximately 20% of the overall target, according to the report. The gains during 2025 signaled an upward trend over the total permitted units in 2024 (364) and 2023 (67).
The data on permitting was presented to the Livermore City Council on March 23 as part of the 2025 Housing Element annual progress report, which also included information on housing production, entitlements, site capacity and implementation of Housing Element programs.
The report was accepted by the council, with individual responses varying from optimism to worry.
“We’re not builders and so we can only make the conditions possible, but it stresses me out thinking about it — We’re marching to 2031,” Vice Mayor Kristie Wang said. “Are we going to get enough of these projects permitted? It’s so largely out of our hands.”
“We’re actually doing quite well, relative to most of the cities that I’ve seen,” Councilmember Evan Branning said at the meeting. “I would love to see more. I would love to see us getting to our RHNA numbers.”
In Livermore, the greatest need for housing exists in the very low income (29%) and above-moderate income (39%) categories, the staff report states. Additional obligations include low income (17%) and moderate income (15%). Livermore’s RHNA requirements are consistent with trends in the Bay Area.
Of the units permitted during 2025, approximately 34% (144 units) were in the extremely low, very low and low income categories, according to the staff report. Most are deed-restricted, “ensuring long-term affordability”, the report states. There were 28% in moderate and 37% in above moderate categories.
The upward trend of building permits issued last year reflects improving market conditions and the city’s support via streamlined permitting, updated zoning and specific plan implementation, the staff report states.
Despite the progress last year, the number of units produced in lower income categories falls “far short” of the need, consistent with statewide trends, according to the staff report.
Financial and market barriers are largely to blame for difficulties in producing units in the lower income categories, the staff report states.
As a result of the financial challenges surrounding “deeply” affordable units, most of the city’s overall progress toward its RHNA obligations has been in permitting above moderate (467 units) and moderate-income categories (235 units).
While the state recognizes extremely low-income households and acutely low-income households, the city is not required to plan for units in either category during this housing element cycle.
“We are not carpenters,” Councilmember Ben Barrientos said at the meeting.“We present possibilities and then we hope developers will come in and build houses at the cost we want.”
To ensure that deed-restricted affordable rate units are produced, Livermore’s inclusionary housing ordinance requires that a certain percent of new developments are priced for lower income households.
The city can also accept in-lieu fees from a developer or land dedication, which the city uses to help finance affordable housing developments such as Vineyard 2.0, Avance and Pacific Avenue Senior Apartments.
Despite in-lieus and land dedication, many low and very-low income units need “significant subsidy,” especially in projects that feature 100% affordable units, the report states. Driving the need for subsidies are the high cost of land, construction and financing.
The city does not have enough affordable housing funds to subsidize all of the lower income units obligated in RHNA, the staff report states.
“Inclusionary requirements in market rate developments are essential in helping to meeting Livermore’s affordable housing targets,” the report states.
During public comment, one of the three speakers proposed that building more housing in general will solve the affordability crisis.
Branning later disagreed with the suggestion. Building at the required rate would be costly in terms of labor and supplies, leading to an increase in housing prices, he said.
In addition to approving building permits, the city has also implemented Housing Element programs such as accessory dwelling unit financial support, homebuyer down payment assistance as well as the Housing and Human Services Grant Program, the report states.
During the next several years, city staff expect that issuance of residential building permits will “continue at similar levels,” in part because of the number of entitled projects.
The newly entitled developments include Cornerstone (253 for-sale and rental units, including 114 affordable), Abboud Townhomes (13 rental units, including one affordable) and the Pacific and Livermore Avenue Townhomes Project (115 for-sale units, including 17 affordable).
“These approved entitlements strengthen the housing pipeline and will support continued progress towards lower-income RHNA targets once building permits are issued for those projects,” Pagan said during the meeting.
Following the hearing, the annual progress report is set for filing with the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
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