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Appendix A, Page A -6: The appendix references Program 3.6 and the housing cap. The program is within the Energy Element of the General Plan and is intended to encourage low- energy homes through the City's Growth Management Program. Thus, the program has been modified to reference the Growth Management Program instead of the housing cap. DISCUSSION The changes proposed in Attachment 1 would eliminate all references to the 29,000 unit residential cap. In practical terms, these amendments will not change the anticipated number of residential units at buildout, the mix of residential units (single family or multifamily), or the expected rate of population growth. These proposed amendments do not impact specific sites by changing any residential land use designations. All growth management measures, including the Growth Management Ordinance, the urban growth boundary, and portions of Measures PP and QQ related to hillside development all remain in place. In the future, the Housing Element update must consider the land use changes needed to accommodate Pleasanton's share of the regional housing need and is likely to recommend land use designation changes to accommodate rezoning for additional residential development. At that time, the City Council will have the opportunity to hear from the public and thoroughly evaluate and consider those changes. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW A Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the 2005 -2025 General Plan was reviewed and certified by the City Council on July 21, 2009. This EIR analyzed the impacts at buildout of development authorized by the General Plan. The action now proposed -- to remove references to the 29,000 unit residential cap -- would not necessarily increase the development potential under the General Plan since no land use designations will be changed by the proposed General Plan Amendment. In the near future, the City anticipates considering land use changes from commercial or other designations to Residential High Density or Mixed Use land use designations as part of the Housing Element update and in order to accommodate the City's share of the regional housing need. At that time, additional environmental review will be undertaken. PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of this update to the General Plan was published in a local newspaper, The Valley Times. In accordance with Government Code Section 65352, a copy of the proposed amendments was also forwarded to adjacent jurisdictions, the California State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), California Native American Tribes that are on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission, the Local Agency Formation Commission, Pleasanton Unified School District, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. The City received a response from HCD (Attachment 3) acknowledging the proposed amendments but noting that the City cannot be found to be incompliance with the requirements of State housing element law since a formal draft updated Housing Element has not yet been submitted for HCD's review. Page 4 of 5