20 - Laserfiche WebLink

As described, at least two additional rounds of review and selection will be conducted to determine the ultimate list of sites for inclusion in the Housing Element. Specifically, once all potential sites have been evaluated and scored using the initial criteria, the City Council, with input from the Planning Commission and Housing Commission, will have the opportunity in late 2021 to look at the ranked sites collectively and weigh their merits individually and on aggregate, considering aspects such as geographic location/distribution; any special considerations or concerns (e.g., site-specific constraints, impacts or community concerns; potential yield of units from each site, etc.). This list will be carried forward for technical evaluation through the CEQA review and be subject to preliminary review by HCD. Following this step, in mid- to late- 2022, the City Council will further refine and finalize the list prior to adoption of the Housing Element. Opportunities for public input and engagement will be provided at each of these steps. With respect to the next step for initial sites analysis and selection in late 2021, staff recommends 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 the ultimate Housing Element sites inventory 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 6t" Cycle Housing Element update within seven topic areas, and highlights key changes to the criteria when compared to scoresheet from the 4t" Cycle update: Page 5 of 12