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C-10 | City of Pleasanton Housing Constraints The City also requires a transit benefit to be provided to residents of new projects that are located within one-half mile of a BART station and contain 20 or more multi-family dwelling units. At minimum, the transit benefit would be one pass or tickets for local bus transit service for unlimited local travel for one person in each unit for a period of six months (Zoning Ordinance 17.26.020). Although the City allows for parking reductions in certain circumstances, the amount of parking spaces required could limit the total number of units built and discourage smaller units, as the same parking rate applies for all units of two-bedrooms or fewer except for studios in the Core Area Overlay. No covered parking is required in the Core Area Overlay, and while one covered parking space is required per unit outside of the Core Area Overlay, garages or underground parking is not required. Under Program 4.6, the City will evaluate and amend citywide multi-family parking rates to apply based on unit size (studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, etc.) and reduce the requirement for one covered parking space per unit (i.e., not require covered parking for studio and one-bedroom units). Development Standards Analysis The basic development standards allow a moderate amount of density and intensity for residential development. The large-lot, single-family residential zoning districts (R-1-20,000 and R-1-40,000) are typically found in hillside areas where steep slopes and other environmental constraints dictate larger lots, greater setbacks, and increased open space. The multi-family residential zones (RM zones) allow densities ranging from approximately 10 to 29 units per acre. RM zone development standards include floor area ratio (FAR) limits of 0.40 to 0.50 and maximum height of 30 feet. With the RM zone standards, in addition to parking requirements, it is difficult for multi-family projects to achieve the maximum allowed density. Since 2015, three projects in the RM-1,500 Zoning District have achieved FARs of 0.30, 0.46, and 0.50. Although one project achieved maximum FAR (0.50), densities have typically been below the maximum allowed (outside of the high-density Planned Unit Development (PUD) sites from the 5th Cycle Housing Element, discussed below). In the RM-1,500 Zoning District, a project at 4722 Harrison Street achieved 59 percent of maximum density (17 units per acre), and another project at 4745 Augustine Street achieved 79 percent of maximum density (23 units per acre). As described under Parking Requirements, the City will implement a program to reduce required parking for multi-family, which will be in addition to recent legislation eliminating parking requirements for projects within one-half mile of transit (AB 2097). Furthermore, the City will conduct additional testing of standards (e.g., setbacks and height) in the RM zones and modify standards in the Zoning Ordinance to ensure maximum density can be achieved without exception (e.g., PUD) (Program 4.7). The Core Area Overlay District provides flexibility from conventional development standards to facilitate housing in the downtown area. This Overlay District provides for reductions in setback, open space, and parking standards for multi-family and mixed-use developments of 10 or fewer units in the RM and C-C zoning districts. This allows more land to be used for housing in and near downtown and is reflective of the allowed density and historic single-family residential structures