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conducting focused community outreach, including at least one community workshop be held in October/November to solicit public input on potential sites and the sites analysis, in addition to the Commission and City Council meetings. The scoresheet for sites is organized into seven topical sections, discussed in more detail below. As noted, the proposed scoresheet includes the majority of the criteria from the prior Housing Element update, with revisions focused on improving clarity and objectivity of criteria, along with the limited addition of new criteria to reflect changes in state law or other regulatory programs (such as CEQA). Some selected criteria are proposed to be deleted based on review and recommendation from the consultant team; an explanation of such changes is also provided below. Staff notes that the ultimate sites inventory, as developed through the sites selection process, may include sites for both lower-income and market-rate housing. State law allows the City to count units on sites zoned for housing at more than 30 dwelling units per acre (DUA) as low- or very-low- income for the purposes of the Housing Element inventory. However, it does not preclude the City from assuming, in the inventory, that such sites will produce market-rate housing in addition to affordable units. A future policy discussion and decision will entail determining what affordability levels will be associated with all of the sites in the inventory, whether they are at a density of 30 DUA or a different density. Nonetheless, because HCD's review will scrutinize sites assumed to produce lower-income units more closely, and because higher density sites need to be carefully considered as to how they may integrate into existing neighborhoods, many of the criteria are focused on evaluating suitability for higher-density development. Draft Sites Selection Criteria The following outlines the draft criteria for the current 6th Cycle Housing Element update within seven topic areas and highlights key changes to the criteria when compared to scoresheet from the 4th Cycle update: Section 1: Site Size and Infill Criteria The criteria in this section have been updated to incorporate new parameters assigned in state law for the suitability of sites for higher-density housing (minimum of 0.5 acres and maximum of 10 acres); to provide a more precise definition of "infill" development that is in alignment with state law; and to reflect the availability of both wet infrastructure (water and sewer) as well as dry infrastructure (electricity, telecommunications), which is also a requirement of state law. Section 2: Proximity to Modes of Transportation The criteria carry forward parameters included in the prior Housing Element, including proximity to BART or transit stops with frequent headways; proximity to bicycle facilities, and convenient freeway access. Note that, at this early stage, it is not possible to assess intersection-specific traffic impacts from development of particular sites, but this will be evaluated in parallel with the CEQA review, as part of the consultant scope of work. Section 3: Proximity to Services and Amenities The majority of criteria in this section have been carried over from the prior Housing Element; they reflect both the general planning principle that residential uses should be convenient to schools, parks, and other amenities, and also respond to criteria in the TCAC program that Housing Element Update Planning Commission 5 of 8 discussion regarding massage businesses that arose during the Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) update, and concerns then about an overabundance of personal services. She Planning Commission Minutes Page 3 of 9 July 28, 2021