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amendments to the professional services agreements for both the Housing Element Update and the EIR, in part (but not entirely) related to the schedule update. No changes are proposed to the Professional Services contracts for the Stoneridge Mall Framework and Objective Design Standards at this time. BACKGROUND Housing Element Update: Periodic update of the General Plan Housing Element is required by State law. Accordingly, the City has been working to prepare its 6th Cycle Housing Element update since early 2021. Following an extensive series of public meetings, hearings, analysis, and Commission and City Council hearings, a Draft Housing Element was submitted to HCD on August 14, 2022. HCD has discussed its preliminary comments with City staff in two separate meetings and will provide its formal comments to the City by November 14, 2022. Along with all other Bay Area jurisdictions, the deadline for adoption of Pleasanton's 6th Cycle Housing Element is January 31, 2023. Pursuant to State law, the Housing Element must be found to be compliant with various statutory requirements, including: required analyses; identification of sites adequate to accommodate the City's "fair share" of the Regional Housing Need Allocation, or RHNA'; evaluation of fair housing issues and identification of strategies to affirmatively address those issues; and policies, programs and actions to preserve existing housing, promote new housing, and address the key housing needs of the community. While the City has the ability, with adoption of the Housing Element to independently make all of the requisite findings of compliance, HCD is also responsible for review of the City's Housing Element and issuing a determination of compliance with State law. Due to recently adopted State law that modified the timelines for HCD's review of the Draft Housing Element, which includes a 90-day and then a 60-day review period, staff had proposed adopting the Housing Element in late April 2023, to allow for HCD's preliminary certification to be issued ahead of the City's action to adopt. The April 2023 adoption date would be beyond the official deadline of January 31, but would be within a 120-day grace period allowed by State law. Adoption within the grace period would avoid certain negative consequences including the need to complete necessary re- zonings of housing sites within one year (versus three years). Given the revised HCD review timelines, many Bay Area cities were planning to take the same approach as Pleasanton and adopt their housing elements during the grace period. However, this approach is now proposed to be modified, as discussed in this agenda report. Stoneridge Mall Framework Among the 25 sites under consideration for designation and potential re-zoning to accommodate the RHNA, is the 75-acre Stoneridge mall property. On August 24, 2022, the City Council authorized staff to proceed with work to develop a Framework for Stoneridge mall. A key intent of the Framework is to help guide the location and configuration of future housing at the mall — and with it help to create a consensus The City of Pleasanton's 6`'Cycle RHNA is 5,965 units. Page 2 of 5