PC 091113 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Posson inquired if they have a sense of a kind of general philosophy as to how they approach energy efficiency. Mr. Ebrahimi replied that as a rule for when it comes to the Build it Green requirements, they try to far exceed the requirements of the jurisdiction they are in. He noted that they are typically over 100 points and that a lot of jurisdictions they have worked in are about 50 to 75 points, with the highest being at 80 points. He indicated that they have gone over the maximum required in almost all the communities they have done, and the individual aspects of it really depend on the design of the project that they wind up with. He added that based on that, they look to see which features they can incorporate into the community. He indicated that they are really excited to look at that and will bring that before the Commission at their next hearing. THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED. Chair Pearce reminded the public that this is a Work Session and that no decision would be made. She then advised that the Commission would now go through the Work Session Discussion Points. Commissioner O'Connor stated that he had a question of staff before the Commission starts the Discussion Points. He noted that there were a lot of comments tonight about this affordability that nobody wants in their backyard. He indicated that Mr. Paxson started to explain it, and he thinks it would be helpful if staff could either re- explain or he could walk through his understanding and staff could correct him. He stated that with the lawsuit and asked what it meant, what the City had to rezone, and what that means. He asked what affordability means if the City has to build affordable, and if it will actually be low -cost housing. Chair Pearce added that she would like staff to also address why there is a mix of apartments and why they cannot all be one - bedroom apartments. Mr. Dolan stated that the City did get in trouble with the State for not providing the City's fair share of the regional need for affordable housing, in general. He explained that for cities the size of Pleasanton, the city gets this assignment every eight years or so, and the city will have to provide the zoning for it, although the State does not necessarily dictate exactly what the rents will be but it does say that it will assume the city is meeting its obligations if it provides zoning at 30 units per acre for the two categories of very-low income and low- income. He continued that the city's obligation is to zone for that, and two years ago, Pleasanton went through the two -year process of the Housing Element Update, and after many, many meetings and lots of discussions, the City selected the sites, and this site happened to be one of them. With respect to how that affects this particular project, Mr. Dolan stated that the zoning is set at 30 units per acre, and the develop has an obligation to the City or the City will be talking to them about providing some affordable units, based on Pleasanton's own, self- created, Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance (IZO). He added that the City collectively PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 11, 2013 Page 18 of 27