The Kingsburg City Council voted to appropriate up to $45,000 to complete additional technical analysis required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for the city’s sixth‑cycle housing element amendment.

City Manager Alex Henderson told council that following the council’s earlier direction to pursue option 3 (reexamine the sites inventory and add newly annexed territory), the city submitted a revised package to HCD on Jan. 29, 2025. HCD responded on March 5, indicating the agency requires more analysis to demonstrate the adequacy of newly‑proposed sites. Staff recommended engaging the consultant Provost & Pritchard to perform the analysis for an estimated cost of $45,000.

Henderson noted the city’s original contribution to the multi‑jurisdictional housing element effort was roughly $69,000; those funds were fully reimbursed to the city on Feb. 3, 2025 after Fresno COG secured a LEAP grant. Council majority said using the reimbursed funds to pay for the additional analysis made financial sense; a motion to proceed with option 1 (fund the analysis) and appropriate up to $45,000 passed unanimously.

Councilmembers discussed prior options and the timing; several members said option 3 had been considered earlier and that pursuing the consultant work now was the pragmatic path to resolving HCD’s comment. Mayor and council directed staff to proceed with contracting Provost & Pritchard to perform the required analysis.

Action taken: council authorized appropriation of up to $45,000 and directed staff to proceed with the work to address HCD’s request.