|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
After several recent delays, the Pleasanton City Council is expected to vote on a final site inventory list for the city’s Housing Element update during its regular meeting on Tuesday, starting at 7 p.m.
More than a year after the city started identifying suitable sites for future rezoning and housing development to meet the state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 5,965 new units, the list has been narrowed to 28 sites for inclusion in the environmental analysis.
The list of potential housing sites was curated by city staff using site selection criteria, and analyzing and assigning a rank and score for each site. After being approved by the housing and planning commissions, as well as community members, the housing inventory list was recommended for council approval.
Because a “progressive narrowing or refinement of the inventory list” is part of the site selection process, staff said in a report that “at this relatively early stage, it is recommended that a broader inventory of sites be identified, with a total capacity beyond the shortfall estimate.”
“Providing a broader range of sites will provide the city with flexibility to adjust the list as the project moves through various stages of review,” staff said.
Several prominent sites on the inventory are marked for high-density development, including the Stoneridge Shopping Center, Stanford Health Care-ValleyCare, Hacienda Terrace, Metro 580 and SteelWave sites. Sites that are designated low to medium density on the list include a property owned by the Pleasanton Unified School District in southeastern Pleasanton on Vineyard Avenue, as well as the Lester site. Both Valley and Mission plazas are also listed on the site inventory.
Not all of the sites suggested by individual property owners are suitable for high-density housing, but having low- and medium-density sites “broadens the options available to the City Council in identifying an inventory to meet not only the shortfall of sites to accommodate its lower-income RHNA, but also the remaining moderate or above moderate income housing needs, in a more even geographic distribution throughout Pleasanton,” staff said.
Prior to adoption of the final Housing Element next year, staff said the council “has the ability and discretion to decide the final list of sites to include in the inventory” and “could include more sites than strictly necessary to meet the RHNA.”
According to staff, “many cities are opting to include this type of ‘buffer’ of additional sites capacity, particularly in light of the more stringent ino net loss’ provisions of state law’.”
“Pleasanton could choose to either include a built-in ‘buffer’ of extra residential zoning capacity among the sites identified and adopted as part of the Housing Element; or to create a list of potential additional sites that are not included in the Housing Element at the time of adoption, but eligible to be considered at a future date for rezoning if needed,” staff said.
By including those sites in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis, and vetting them as “conceptually suitable for housing,” staff said “this back up list will simplify the process of selecting future sites in the event that additional rezonings are needed to address not net loss.”
Prior to the vote scheduled on Tuesday, city officials received guidance from the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) on whether councilmembers Julie Testa and Jack Balch may vote on items that concern the housing sites inventory due to the location of their respective residences.
In their response to the city’s inquiry, FPPC officials said both council members have “a potentially disqualifying financial interest in governmental decisions related to the Housing Sites Inventory.” Testa and Balch both live within 500 feet of sites that are proposed for inclusion on the inventory.
“However, the public generally exception applies to the decision to approve the list as a whole and general policy discussions and decisions applicable to all properties on the list,” FPPC officials said.
Testa and Balch “may take part in these decisions”, according to officials, but “should seek further advice before taking part” in matters that specifically affect or concern the sites near their residences, and that do not apply as a whole to the final inventory list.
Balch, who lives 45 feet from the St. Augustine Catholic Church site, told the Weekly that he is prohibited from participating in RHNA and Housing Element decisions about the site “only if it becomes its own separate matter.”
“I’m otherwise free to discuss in context of all the sites and all the housing in the community,” Balch said.
Testa said the FPPC was “clear on the citywide process” and called it “a reasonable opinion,” but said “it is still a bit unclear on how to proceed with the site that is less than 500 feet” from her residence.
In other business
* The City Council will consider creating a grant program on Tuesday to support restaurants that want to permanently expand their outdoor dining in downtown Pleasanton.
Businesses that are eligible under the “Downtown Parklet Grant Program” would be reimbursed for expenses incurred related to the design, construction and operation of a parklet. Grant amounts would cover up to 50% of the total cost, not to exceed $10,000.
The city began developing a more formal parklet program for permanent installations last summer. Parklet placement and measurements are specified in the program, along with what types of materials may be used for creating an individualized pop-up that still fits a unified design scheme.
When the council approved the parklet program in December, they also asked staff to prepare a grant program to help businesses with the cost of building a permanent parklet that meets the new program guidelines.
To qualify for the grant program, businesses must be an eating or drinking establishment — such as a restaurant, bakery, brewery or cafe — that is physically located in the central commercial district. Businesses must also be in good standing with the city, have an active business license, and have an approved parklet by the city.
Retail businesses that sell goods or merchandise will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Corporately owned chain or franchise establishments and home-based businesses or hotels are not eligible for the grant program.
Once a business receives formal approval to install a parklet by the city, they can apply for the grant program through the Economic Development Department. Eligible expenses include umbrellas and other furniture as well as lights, heaters, and architectural and design services.
Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis starting on March 1. Businesses already approved for the Downtown Parklet Program may apply through March 1. The city said the date “was selected to align with the city’s interest in supporting the development of parklets to offset impacts from COVID.”
The total funds allocated for the Downtown Parklet Grant Program are not to exceed $250,000, an amount that staff said “is based on the number of downtown businesses that operated a temporary pop-up and is anticipated to be sufficient for the number of anticipated applications.”
Staff said additional program funding will be requested if the number of applicants is greater than expected.
Funding for the grant program comes from the Business Assistance Program, a $3 million special fund that the council approved for providing zero-interest, unsecured, short-term loans to eligible businesses affected by the pandemic. Approximately $1.6 million still remains in the Business Assistance Program, including the $250,000 that staff has recommended allocating for the grant program.
The temporary popups that lined Main Street for almost two years were taken down several weeks ago so city workers can do street cleaning and tree pruning around the area, but permanent parklets should start to return in about a month once they are approved
