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The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed amendments to the PMC and discussed several key elements of the proposed changes at its June 24, 2020 and July 8, 2020 meetings. As a result of detailed public comments submitted just before the July 8, 2020 meeting, the Planning Commission continued the ordinance to a future meeting to allow staff to address those comments. Enclosed as Exhibit A to this report is the revised version of the draft ordinance amending the PMC, reflective of the Planning Commission's discussion and response to both public comment and guidance recently issued by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). These amendments to the PMC are being provided to the Commission for its consideration and recommendation to City Council. BACKGROUND At its June 24 and July 8, meetings, the Planning Commission reviewed draft amendments to the PMC intended to implement state law that took effect January 2020 (please refer to the agenda reports and meeting minutes for these meetings, enclosed as Exhibit C and Exhibit D to this report). The Planning Commission's principal comments and direction to staff from its July 8 meeting are summarized as follows: • Add a definition for window opacity as it relates to privacy impacts resulting from new windows in ADUs • Remove the requirement to offset new ADU windows, intended to mitigate privacy impacts • Modify the owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs in the PMC, such that owner- occupancy would not be required for any ADU (not just those approved between January 2020 and 2025). Shortly before the July 8 meeting, the Planning Commission received public comments from an attorney representing a non-profit housing advocacy group, Californians for Homeownership (CFH), challenging some of staff's interpretations of the state law as they related to the proposed PMC amendments. As requested in the CFH letter, its correspondence is included as an exhibit to this report (Exhibit E). Since the comments were received very shortly before the meeting, the Planning Commission continued the item to allow staff to review the comments in greater detail and determine if additional modifications to the municipal code amendments were needed. The Discussion section of this report itemizes the changes made to the ordinance since the Planning Commission's review on July 8. DISCUSSION After the July 8 meeting, staff revised the ordinance to address comments from the Planning Commission and from the public. Due to the complex nature of the state law and in response to some of the public comments, staff also provided the draft ordinance to the City's outside legal counsel that specializes in state law related to housing (including accessory dwelling units). Further, staff solicited feedback from HCD on the draft ordinance; and, separately, in late September, HCD released an "ADU Handbook" intended to provide guidance on interpretation and application of the new state laws. Feedback from these various sources is reflected in the version of the ordinance before the Planning Commission. A summary of the changes made to the ordinance is provided below. P20-0412. Accessory Dwelling Units Planning Commission 2of7