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In fact, they were able to take out the 23 units per acre portion of that property and just leave the 7 <br /> acres at 30 units per acre, resulting in a reduction in the total units per acre. He said the Nearon site (9) <br /> was designated at 23 units per acre and because they need more acreage in the 30 units per acre, this <br /> site was increased to 30 units per acre. The only other changes made were the two Sunol Boulevard <br /> sites (19 and 20) which had both been included at the 23 units per acre density. These were no longer <br /> necessary and removed. When totaling all sites, they are just 3 acres over what is needed. Staff <br /> believes this list meets the criteria outlined earlier and is a good list to move forward. He asked for <br /> feedback in order to fine-tune it as necessary and prepare all documents. <br /> Mr. Dolan noted that correspondence was received; the Citizens for a Caring Community letter included <br /> a comment that the City may count only 130 very low income units on the 3 Hacienda sites. Staff has <br /> left open the possibility on the Roche site that all units could be affordable just like any of these sites. <br /> The City does not know who the developer is and it could very well be someone who wants to do a <br /> greater percentage of what is included in the settlement agreement. They cannot go below 15% in the <br /> agreement, but it could go higher than this. He said the implication for Citizens for a Caring Community <br /> (CCC) is that the City is carrying too much at low income, and staff respectfully disagrees with this <br /> comment. A related issue is that guidelines restrict affordability to 130 units, and staff believes it can go <br /> higher depending on what is brought forward on Roche. <br /> Mr. Dolan said the staff report focuses discussion on the sites. There are many things that were <br /> included in the HCD letter that requires additional analysis and details. Staff may have misled the <br /> reader of that report to think that staff did not think those things were important; however, staff is <br /> working on those and they will be brought forward in the two public hearings. Staff is not omitting or <br /> dismissing anything as unimportant, but simply wanted to focus tonight on the sites. In some cases, <br /> staff is still frantically working to address them, given the deadline. He said the next issue has already <br /> been explained; not needing the 23 units per acre and this is something staff supports. CCC restated <br /> the issue that all of HCD's comments should be considered and responded to, and staff agrees with <br /> this. <br /> The next letter is from the East Bay Housing organization. Some comments had some overlap with the <br /> CCC letter. They made the point that staff should be considering more heavily the tax credit allocation <br /> committee criteria which was a set of criteria staff was required to evaluate its list of sites against. It <br /> was asked for in the settlement agreement and the City agreed to it. In fact, he said criteria used at the <br /> task force level had a lot of overlap with this particular criteria and staff does not believe it has done <br /> anything in the selection of sites to jeopardize people's tax credit applications. In fact, a high <br /> percentage of sites on the final list are the highest ranking, and staff believes this has been <br /> incorporated into the decision-making process. CCC also suggested that other communities have used <br /> an Overlay Zoning District tool. In response, the draft Housing Element will include a program that <br /> recommends the City adopt development standards and design guidelines for multi-family housing <br /> within six months of the Housing Element's adoption. Staff has not held public dialogue about what <br /> those will be and six months is needed. The starting point is similar to what was done for the Hacienda <br /> process and he does not believe they would be all that different than what occurs in an overlay. They <br /> may possibly become an overlay district after discussion, but he felt it premature to say it will at this <br /> time. <br /> In terms of next steps, the Planning Commission's consideration of the final EIR, Draft Housing <br /> Element and sites will be next week, on December 14, 2011. This will be brought back to the Council <br /> for certification of the EIR, introduction of the ordinance to rezone sites and on a few, a General Plan <br /> Amendment. On January 10, 2012, staff would hope to hold the second reading for the ordinance for <br /> rezonings and final adoption of the Housing Element. If kept to that schedule, they will meet their <br /> deadline. <br /> Commissioner Olson said once they meet the mid-February deadline, it goes to the State and an <br /> unknown right now is whether the State will approve everything on the list. Mr. Dolan said this is true; <br /> City Council Minutes Page 5 of 18 December 6, 2011 <br />