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Commissioner Blank inquired if those comments were considered regulatory. Ms. Stern replied that they are obligatory if the City wishes to get its Housing Element certified. Commissioner Blank stated that it was mentioned that the Draft would not necessarily come back to the Commission if the HCD comments were minor, but would if the changes were major. He inquired, assuming the Draft would come back to the Commission, what the scope would be so the Commission can determine what it should be thinking about, tonight as opposed to when it comes back, as it is not known if the Commission would be able to make changes then. Mr. Dolan stated that after the City receives the , the City will not have officially adopted the Housing Element as part of the General Plan. He explained that this would require a formal hearing process. He continued that in terms of characterizing whether comments were considered regulatory, there will inevitably be some discussion and negotiation if the City is not on the same page, and some judgment on the part of the City as to how much of this should the City incorporate if the City does not agree. He added that it is about whether or not the City feels it can get certified and whether or not getting certified is a great enough value to do some things that the HCD may suggest but that the City may not necessarily want to do. He noted that the City will be in a much better position if its Housing Element is certified, and that is goal; however, the City will still have a hearing process on a Draft that the City can continue to amend up to the point where there is an official public hearing, just like in any General Plan amendment. Commissioner Blank noted that assuming the Commission does not amend anything tonight, it cannot really make any changes when the Draft returns from the HCD because then the Housing Element might not be certified. He inquired if there is anything the Commission should look at, any suggestions of areas the Commission should make changes in tonight, or areas that are not very important because the HCD will final those anyway. Mr. Dolan stated that it is possible that the Commission may want to change something later on that it has not commented on tonight, but that could put the City in a bind. He noted that the HCD will focus in on a few areas and the City will have a big discussion about those areas. Commissioner Blank stated that he needed some clarification regarding what staff wanted the Commission to do with regard to Goal 5. He noted that staff had recommended that the Commission make some edits such as including special needs in the Goal, but staff also mentioned sending some of the suggestions to the Growth Management Subcommittee and returning the letter to staff for further review and action. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, June 22, 2011 Page 7 of 33