If El Dorado Hills becomes a city, what happens to its affordable housing obligations?

As El Dorado Hills considers becoming a city, affordable housing has emerged as part of the debate.

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But cityhood would not automatically bring new affordable housing. It would make a new city, rather than the county, responsible for meeting El Dorado Hills’ housing needs, including housing for lower-income residents.

Here’s what that means.

How does the housing requirement work now?

For the current 2021-29 planning cycle, unincorporated El Dorado County, including the West Slope and Tahoe Basin, was allocated 2,309 very-low- and low-income homes. Through December 2025, toward those two categories, leaving 1,978 remaining in the allocation, according to the county’s most recent general plan review.

Those housing goals are determined through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process, a state-mandated planning process.

First, the state determines how much housing a region needs to accommodate its population, including low-income households. Regional councils of governments then divide that need among cities and counties. In the capital region, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments handles that allocation.

Cities and counties are required to show that their plans and zoning provide enough capacity to accommodate the amount of housing allocated to them, across multiple income levels.

It is a planning requirement, not a mandate to build every home in the allocation.

That means cities and counties must identify, through their housing elements, land where housing could realistically be built. They must also adopt zoning and development standards and programs that allow enough homes, including housing for lower-income households, to be built.

For example, zoning parcels to allow higher-density housing can make some projects more financially feasible by spreading the cost of land across more homes.

The county says it has sufficient land inventory overall to meet its housing allocation, but its latest general plan review also found that land available for multifamily housing remains limited. County staff recommended continued efforts to facilitate affordable housing development.

That challenge is particularly visible in El Dorado Hills, where housing costs are high. Zillow put the typical home value at $905,566 as of Aug. 31, while the median sale price was $894,667 in July.

The county’s own 2025 housing analysis illustrates the affordability gap. It estimated that a four-person very-low-income household could afford a home costing about $267,700, while a low-income household could afford one costing about $428,400.

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What would change if El Dorado Hills became a city?

The biggest change would be which government is responsible for planning for affordable housing.

Today, El Dorado Hills is part of the county’s unincorporated area, so it is included in the broader area covered by El Dorado County’s housing element and housing allocation, said Karen Garner, director of planning and building for El Dorado County.

If El Dorado Hills incorporates, it would become its own jurisdiction with its own housing element and its own share of the county’s housing allocation, Garner said.

That would mean the new city, rather than the county, would have to identify where its share of the housing could be accommodated and establish the zoning and policies needed to allow it.

The exact number of lower-income homes El Dorado Hills would have to plan for is not known. that the community could receive about 1,760 low- and very-low-income homes if it incorporated, based on information available at the time.

The next housing cycle, covering 2029 to 2037, will establish new allocations based on updated population, household and housing data.

When would residents actually see new housing?

Not right away.

El Dorado Hills General Manager Stephanie McGann Jantzen estimated that cityhood would go to the ballot in 2028.

If voters approve incorporation, a new city would need to establish its planning framework and develop a housing element, a process that can take years, Garner said. El Dorado County is currently working on its next housing element update, which is due in 2029.

And even an approved housing element does not mean new housing would be built.

A developer would still have to propose a project, secure financing, obtain the necessary approvals and build the homes.

Cityhood would change who is responsible for planning for the housing — but it would not guarantee that the housing gets built. Whether more affordable housing ultimately results would depend on what the city allows and requires, whether developers pursue projects and whether those projects are financially feasible.

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