CCMIN010615 - Laserfiche WebLink

David Nagler and Gina Piper; Youth Commission — Kate Inman; Tri Valley Conservancy— David Doyle; and the Deputy City Clerk administered the Oath of Office. 6. Public Comment- None PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OTHER MATTERS 7. Public Hearing: P14-0440 and 114-1309 - Consider a General Plan amendment to adopt the Housing Element with associated environmental documentation; and a zone change for 5758 and 5794 West Las Positas Blvd. (CM Capital 2 site) to change the density from a minimum of 30 residential units per acre to a maximum of 12.5 units per acre Director of Community Development Dolan presented the staff report. He reviewed the evolution of the draft Housing Element, noting that during its last review the Council identified several issues to be addressed prior to submitting the draft document to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review and comment. One was a program related to the city working with both for and not-for-profit developers to secure land for non-profit affordable housing in East Pleasanton. The Council requested that the effort be expanded to the entire city rather than concentrated in East Pleasanton. The Council had also supported the inclusion of a program recommended by the Economic Vitality Committee. At that same meeting, the Council considered amending the site inventory to include rezoning of the CM Capital 2 site from a minimum of 30 units per acre down to something on the order of 12.5 units per acre. Based on Council direction, the site was removed from the site inventory prior to submitting the draft Housing Element to HCD. While not directly related to the Housing Element Update, on September 16, 2014 the Council also considered accepting payment of Affordable Housing In Lieu Fees in exchange for 52 previously approved rent restricted units on the Auf Der Mauer site. The Council's acceptance did serve to reduce the inventory surplus by 52 affordable housing units. Staff submitted the Draft Housing Element to HCD on September 23, 2014. Over the next two months, staff and HCD maintained an ongoing dialogue and on November 20th HCD issued a commitment to certify the Housing Element pending some relatively minor changes. HCD's first request was a written response within the document in response to two letters submitted to HCD by Citizens for a Caring Community and the individual, Christine Steiner. Staff prepared a response to the letters, which did share some common themes that included questions regarding the viability of some of the sites on the inventory, the adequacy of the city's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (IZO) in light of the Palmer case and the level of incentives provided to non-profit developers. Staff acknowledged the quality of these points, noting that they have been considered by the Council throughout the process, and added text to the draft document explaining the city's position. The most substantive issue raised by HCD related to the document's program regarding growth management, which is very general and simply states that the city would revisit its Growth Management ordinance to ensure that it does not prevent the development of affordable housing in the community. While HCD agreed with the concept it did request more specific direction regarding the topics that would come before the community and Council for discussion. In response, staff added text to the program describing several examples of the scope of things that would be explored including establishing an exemption for all lower income housing, incorporation of specific income level requirements into the Growth Management allocation, and mandating the ability to borrow from future years to accommodate affordable units if it were to become necessary. HCD's primary concern is that Growth Management not be used to deny a project that would provide affordable housing. City Council Minutes Page 2 of 6 January 6, 2015