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The City's current PUD process, as defined in the PMC, is discretionary (i.e., the City has significant latitude to approve or deny projects and to set site-specific development standards, development densities, etc.). The process requires both Planning Commission review and City Council approval. Through the PUD process, subject sites modify their respective zoning to a special PUD zone that allows for greater flexibility of standards tailored to the site's specific constraints and opportunities. Developers frequently opt to use the PUD process in conjunction with applications involving rezoning of a site, and/or to accommodate larger scale projects that need flexibility from the City's typical zoning standards. In turn, the City negotiates certain project amenities and typically the resulting projects include a high-quality design, are compatible within their context, and achieve the developer's goals. Although the PUD process is beneficial in allowing developers flexibility, particularly for larger -scale developments, and has allowed the City to negotiate a wide range of community benefits in projects, the process has sometimes been criticized as lacking clarity, introducing uncertainty in the entitlement process, and adding processing time and costs to project approvals. PUDs on average are approved three to four months after the project is deemed complete, though the entire process through completeness may take closer to a year or longer for complex projects to complete. The Housing Accountability Act (HAA) requires the City to facilitate housing development through a streamlined process that provides certainty in outcomes. Pursuant to the HAA, local jurisdictions may only rely on objective standards when making a determination to approve, deny or modify a project's density below the maximum allowed by the General Plan or zoning. Given HCD's concerns surrounding the PUD process and based on experience with similar comments in other jurisdictions, to satisfy HCD's concern and achieve a certified Housing Element, the City's professional services team (Lisa Wise Consulting) recommends including a program to modify the PUD process for the rezoned housing sites, as outlined below. First, consistent with the Housing Accountability Act, the City is developing a comprehensive set of Objective Design Standards for residential and mixed-use developments, including both the existing and new Housing Element sites, as well as residential and mixed-use zones, that allow multi -family development. These standards will help streamline development approvals, provide clear, consistent, and objective guidance to applicants, and ensure quality and consistency throughout residential projects, including infill projects within and adjacent to existing residential neighborhoods. This is outlined in Program 6.1. Second, staff recommends adjusting the PUD process to create two paths. One path would be as it exists today, and would be applicable to projects seeking rezoning, and/or wishing (or needing to) deviate from established objective design standards. Another path — PUD conformance review — would be established for rezoned sites identified for housing in the 6th Cycle Housing Element. Staff suggests the PUD process Page 4 of 21