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Housing Constraints City of Pleasanton | C-11 in and near downtown. Several developments have taken advantage of these reduced development standards in recent years, such as small infill projects located at 4727 Harrison Street and 4745 Augustine Street to construct two and three new apartments behind existing single-family homes. The City also provides flexibility from conventional development standards through the PUD process, which is used extensively in Pleasanton. The Zoning Ordinance does not specify any development standards for PUDs, and instead indicates that standards be created on a case-by-case basis based on General Plan density, proposed housing type, City and developer objectives, opportunities to increase density and affordability, neighborhood issues, and environmental constraints. The City has been able to approve developments with higher overall densities, exceptions to certain development standards, and include a greater number of affordable housing units through the PUD process than it would have been possible with conventional zoning. For example, certain properties deemed suitable for higher density housing during the 5th Cycle Housing Element have been zoned as Planned Unit Development - Mixed Use (PUD-MU) with densities up to a maximum of 30 to 40 units per acre, minimum densities of 20 to 40 units per acre, maximum heights of 65 feet or five stories, and reduced parking requirements. All high-density housing sites developed during the 5th Housing Element Cycle were built at the maximum density allowed, except for one project (see Appendix B (Sites Inventory and Methodology), Table B-5). The project proposed at a lower density was approved, based in part on the surplus of above-moderate income housing production at that time. An analysis of the PUD process is included in Section C.2.4 (Permits and Procedures). While the PUD process allows flexibility based on sites specific opportunities and constraints and has successfully resulted in higher density housing development, it requires discretionary review. Therefore, the City will develop a process that serves strictly as a conformance review. This conformance review will evaluate projects proposed on housing sites against objective standards and will not require City Council approval (see Program 4.8). Design Standards and Guidelines Design standards and guidelines are evaluated as they have the potential to increase development costs and extend the permitting process if they are unclear or subjective. The City has design guidelines applicable to multi-family development on higher density housing sites and in downtown. The Housing Site Development Standards and Design Guidelines, adopted in 2012, apply to higher density housing sites identified through the 5th Cycle Housing Element. The higher density housing sites are zoned PUD-HDR or PUD-MU; therefore, the Housing Site Development Standards and Design Guidelines provide direction to developers and property owners on key components of use, density, building mass and height, setbacks, architectural features, parking, access, and street character. These standards and guidelines help to ensure that the flexibility of the PUD process does not create uncertainty for potential developers. However, some of the design guidelines are not mandatory or are subjective (e.g., large open spaces should be the