GPAC Recommends Housing Plan to Planning Commission
Every eight years, the City is required by State law to update its citywide housing plan, called the Housing Element. The Housing Element update began in December 2020 and is being led by a citizen advisory committee called the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC). The GPAC has been engaging with the public to understand community priorities to draft a Housing Element that reflects those priorities.
The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) is a process required under Housing Element Law to determine the number new dwelling units, and the affordability of those units, each local government must plan for in its Housing Element. The RHNA process is a requirement for all jurisdictions to plan for future housing needs, ensuring development can occur, should an owner or developer wish to. However, it is not a mandate for jurisdictions to actually build the units and the choice to develop or not develop is always the property owners choice. This process is repeated every eight years, known as a “cycle”; the next cycle (the 6th Cycle) spans 2023 to 2031. The City must have a completed document approved by the State by January 31, 2023 or else it will face legal implications and additional loss of local control.
The City received an allocation of 2,114 housing units and State law requires that the Housing Element contain a site-by-site inventory of land that can accommodate this allocation. Identification of these sites is a planning effort and does not necessarily mean all of these units will get built. While the Planning Commission and City Council will also review this inventory, the proposal ultimately needs to be approved by the State based on their Criteria. Click here for the full 44-page criteria document or for the 11-page summary prepared by the City’s housing consultant, Diana Elrod.
As part of this planning, the GPAC has looked at the City’s current rules for new development and what changes are needed to plan for these new units. One of the key rules involved in this equation is called density, which is the number of dwelling units per acre that can be built on a property. Another important factor is the “density yield”. The City must demonstrate to the state how much of that allowed density it can expect to be used based on previous projects, but it cannot use state density bonus projects as the entire basis for that justification.
Community members nominated nearly 200 sites for consideration and after fourteen hours of deliberations during weekly evening meetings in February and March, the GPAC narrowed down a list of sites it recommends be prioritized for new housing.
GPAC’s Recommended Opportunity Site Inventory
Summary of the GPAC’s Recommendation
1. Include the BART Parking Lots at the AB 2923-mandated 75 du/acre (Planning Area 7)
2. Include 11 acres of the DeSilva South site at 30 du/acre (Planning Area 9)
3. Include 2 acres of the DeSilva North site at 35 du/acre (Planning Area 9)
4. Exclude the Deer Hill Corridor – retain existing zoning and density (Planning Area 8)
5. Include opportunity sites in the Downtown, but no change in density (Planning Areas 1-6)
6. Include opportunity sites in the Brookdale area, but no change in density (Planning Area 13)
7. Provide for a 15-30% combined buffer for low and very low income
8. Utilize a 95% density yield overall, except 90% in along Mt. Diablo Blvd.
The Planning Commission first discussed the proposal on March 21st and will continue its discussion of the matter on April 4th. Use the following links to learn more about the proposal and the City’s planning efforts: