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a relatively small proportion of the housing market, result in an inadequate number of such units for the need. As such, local government has an obligation to assist in meeting this need, working with non-profit agencies and housing developers to provide accessible housing. The City of Pleasanton has addressed the need for housing for persons with disabilities in several past projects. For example, the City used federal HOME funds to construct four apartments within the Promenade project (a tax credit family apartment project)with all of the amenities needed for households with a person with physical disabilities. An additional four units in the complex were reserved for persons with developmental disabilities. The City has also used HOME funds to assist the acquisition of residential properties by Tri-Valley REACH (formerly HOUSE, Inc.)to provide housing for adults with developmental disabilities who can live independently with supportive services. In 2006, the City Council adopted Senior Housing Guidelines to provide a framework to help guide the planning, design, and review of new senior housing developments in Pleasanton. The guidelines incorporate many of the standards of Universal Design to promote the creation of new housing where residents will be able to age in place. Among the City's housing goals is the provision of specially-designed housing for persons with disabilities in appropriate locations. A number of Housing Element programs specifically address ways for this goal to be accomplished. These include requiring as many units as is feasible to be accessible and adaptable to persons with disabilities within large rental projects, using a portion of the City's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for developers of special needs housing and service providers, setting aside a portion of the City's Lower-Income Housing Fund for housing which accommodates persons with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities, encouraging the production of housing for persons with disabilities in in-fill locations where services are available, and encouraging group homes/community care facilities for six persons or less throughout the City. These programs result in the use of City resources to help fund modifications to make units adaptable and accessible to persons with disabilities and to help fund the development of new accessible units. Through its design review and plan-check procedures, the City ensures that the legally-required number of parking spaces for persons with disabilities is provided for all developments. Under its PUD process, the City has reduced the number of parking spaces for assisted-living and other special-needs housing projects where it is shown that the demand for the Code-required parking does not exist. The City's review process is not considered to be a constraint to the development of housing for individuals with disabilities since there are no special requirements or procedures for such housing. The City complies with State law regarding allowing group homes with six or fewer individuals by right with no review. Group homes with seven or more occupants require conditional use permits by the Planning Commission at a public hearing where surrounding neighbors receive notification. There are no spacing requirements or other standards or pre-conditions to limit their establishment. The City long ago re-defined "family"to include unrelated individuals living as a housekeeping unit, removing that impediment to fair housing. City of Pleasanton Housing Element BACKGROUND—February 2012 95