CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING AGENDA PACKET

Page 2 of 6 partially in the radius (e.g., once a half-mile radius around the major transit stop is drawn, how to treat a parcel that may be only partially located in the radius). BOARD/COMMITTEE/COMMISSION ACTION At its September 11, 2024, meeting, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend PMC amendments related to the density bonus and major transit stop, modified as follows: incorporating the revised language provided by staff in a supplemental memo, and including the existing language related to conflict of interest in the density bonus ordinance in the revised ordinance. At the September 11 meeting, the Planning Commission meeting discussed an additional item related to the separate conveyance of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Pursuant to Assembly Bill 1033, the City has the option to adopt an ordinance allowing separate conveyance of ADUs, and a Planning Commissioner had requested staff agendize a discussion of adopting such a provision. While not included in the City Council's requested actions as part of this agenda report, the Planning Commission recommended the City Council consider directing staff to draft an ordinance regarding separate conveyance of ADUs. Staff will present this matter to the City Council at a future date. See Attachment 3 for excerpted minutes of the Planning Commission meeting. More immediately, staff is advancing the municipal code amendments regarding density bonus and major transit stop to the City Council for action at this meeting. DISCUSSION The proposed text amendments attached to this report are to update the City’s density bonus ordinance and to establish parameters for measurement from a transit stop. State Density Bonus Law State density bonus law (SBDL) is intended to incentivize the production of dwelling units that are affordable to moderate- and lower-income households, seniors, students, foster youth, formerly homeless persons, or disabled veterans within new housing developments of at least five units, including mixed-use developments, new subdivisions, or common interest developments. The SDBL is a tool for developers to obtain greater density for projects that provide affordable dwelling units and is intended to reduce project costs and financing sources using economies of scale (i.e., a greater number of units on a parcel reduces the cost to develop each unit, creating greater feasibility to provide affordable units). Incentives and waivers are used to accommodate modifications to a local jurisdiction’s development requirements as a means of reducing costs and to physically accommodate a residential project to improve its feasibility. Developers have the option to invoke or request use of the SDBL. A project that qualifies for a density bonus may receive the following: • Density Bonus: An increase above the maximum allowed density permitted in the General Plan Land Use Element. The amount of the bonus is set on a sliding scale based on the percentage of affordable units at each income level • Incentives/Concessions: Modifications to regulatory or development standards that result in “actual and identifiable” cost reductions to provide for affordable housing costs or rents • Waivers: Modifications to development standards that would physically prevent the Page 63 of 218