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Pleasanton city staff on Tuesday is set to discuss with the City Council a revised schedule and work plan to adopt the new Housing Element update by Jan. 31 instead of the spring.
The original plan was to adopt the Housing Element in April or May of next year so that staff, among other things, had enough time to develop a framework for the Stoneridge Shopping Center redevelopment. The city included the mall in its Housing Element site list to serve as a location to develop 900 to 1,400 high-density housing units.
But according to the staff report, if the city delays adoption until April it could face consequences such as losing local zoning control.
“In October 2022, staff became aware of the experience of a Southern California city whose housing element had not been adopted within the requisite timeframe, and who had seen submittal of numerous project applications that proposed to make use of the so-called ‘builder’s remedy’ — a longstanding but seldom used provision of the Housing Accountability Act which had been interpreted to remove most local zoning controls when a jurisdiction has a non-compliant housing element,” according to the staff report.
The city’s Housing Element, which is revised every eight years under state law, requires the council to identify adequate sites through the General Plan and zoning process for future residential development.
For over a year, the city has been identifying sites to meet its state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 5,965 new units — the number of sites was narrowed down to 25.
By statute, city’s must adopt its HousingEelement by Jan. 31 but because state law allows for a 120-day grace period, the city planned to follow suit and wait just like other Bay Area cities, according to the staff report.
City staff were working under that grace period with the intent on having a framework for the Stoneridge mall redevelopment done around the same time as adoption in April. The framework was meant to gather community input, outline allowed land-uses and provide initial policy guidance and conceptual planning for the mall property.
According to the staff report, since the council approved the framework in August, the city’s Planning Commission held a joint meeting with the community on Sept. 26 and has also been working with a professional services team to develop conceptual alternatives to the redevelopment design.
But now that process is going to have to go a lot quicker than originally planned if the city plans to adopt its Housing Element in two months, rather than eight.
“Adoption within the grace period would avoid certain negative consequences including the need to complete necessary rezonings of housing sites within one year (versus three years),” according to the staff report.
Staff are now looking to adopt the Housing Element at the Jan. 26 special council meeting along with the Stoneridge framework and any objective design standards that would apply to housing developments, the city will have to start making some key decisions regarding the framework.
“Because of the accelerated timeline and need to reach decision points in an expedient manner, staff has developed a slightly modified schedule and work plan to develop the framework’s key concepts to be articulated as a conceptual land use and circulation plan (including locations for proposed housing), development standards and other relevant policy guidance,” according to the staff report.
That schedule includes a community meeting and a separate joint City Council and Planning Commission work session to review conceptual alternatives and provide direction on concepts to incorporate into the Housing Element.
According to the staff report, they are certain that they can carry out the now expedited schedule in order to avoid losing any local control, but it will take significant dedication from the entire municipality.
The state Department of Housing and Community Development has already discussed its preliminary comments with city staff in two separate meetings and will have provided its formal comments to the city on Monday, according to the report.
Once the city adopts the Housing Element in January, it will submit it to the HCD with the intent of receiving preliminary certification, which is allowed by state law.
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 15). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business
* The council will be voting on approving the West Las Positas Boulevard Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Improvement Plan, which includes a quick build project on the road between Hopyard Road and Hacienda Drive.
In 2018, the city adopted an update to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan along with provisions to make the city more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. The plan was to promote pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure that can be used by the entire population.
The master plan specifically identified the West Las Positas Boulevard corridor between Foothill Road and Fairlands Drive as “the highest priority corridor for pedestrian and bicycle improvements.”
Then in 2019, the council identified the West Las Positas corridor improvements as a high priority project, which led to the development of the West Las Positas corridor improvement plan.
This plan is a six-phase approach that staff will be working to incorporate the design direction into the West Las Positas multimodal reconstruction project.
“The phasing plan was developed for the corridor improvements with the intent of allowing the city to implement improvements at a lower cost, or in stages,” according to the staff report. “As noted, the total project costs amount to an estimated $10 million, and a phased approach would allow more time to find funding sources for construction of the entire project, including permanent concrete separation islands and other features.”
The first phase, which the council will also be voting on Tuesday, will be a “quick build” version of the overall project between Hopyard Road and Hacienda Drive.
The scope of work includes using roadway paint and bollards — which are those short, vertical colored posts — to create the protected bike lanes and protected intersections.
According to the report, the first phase will allow for faster implementation of improvements and will demonstrate the effectiveness of the design before permanent construction changes are made to the roadway.
“The proposed Phase 1 improvements, and implementation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Corridor Plan as a whole, is an opportunity to provide much-needed complete, high-quality pedestrian and bicycle facilities along a key arterial street,” according to the report.
Some reasons for these improvements that are listed in the report include high collision numbers, better connection to the east and west sides of the city and a high number of pedestrians and bicyclists.
“West Las Positas Boulevard had the highest number of bicycle and pedestrian related collisions; 14 collisions occurred between 2015 and 2017, outranking higher vehicular volume corridors like Santa Rita Road and Stoneridge Drive,” according to the report.
During the school peak hours of 8 a.m. and at 3 p.m. the staff report shows as much as 270 pedestrians passing by where West Las Positas and Santa Rita intersect.
* In order to better prioritize current and future city projects, the City Council will be voting on developing a citywide strategic plan, which will replace the city’s current 17-year-old priorities-setting process, according to city staff.
In addition to the day-to-day operations, city staff are responsible for the consideration of different ideas, projects and services that are brought up by residents.
Instead of approving these initiatives and activities throughout the year, the City Council uses a priority-setting process to leverage city resources to meet those needs.
“Through this biennial process, the approved council priorities were presented as a work plan that guided staff and financial resource allocation decisions,” according to the staff report.
But because the city’s current two-year priority setting process has been in place for more than 17 years, city staff are asking for an update that will allow for a more streamlined five-year version of the process.
“A comprehensive citywide strategic plan would provide the council, community and city staff an opportunity to holistically engage in creating a five-year strategic planning framework,” according to the staff report. “The result would be a focused list of key priorities, that would be addressed by a more targeted list of policy, program, or project work that could realistically be accomplished during the life of the strategic plan.”
According to the report, the problem with the old way of prioritizing projects was that it created a dynamic in which the public believed that if their item was selected as a council priority, it would be completed within the two-year timeframe of the work plan.
“Historically, if projects were not completed in the two-year time frame, they were carried over to the following two-year work plan,” the staff report states. “At each two-year interval, and sometimes in between, new projects were added in response to community and staff input. The list has been created with little consideration of available staff time or financial analysis at the time the work plan is approved.”
The new plan, if approved, will focus on multi-year goals, strategies to achieve the goals and an implementation action plan.
“Undertaking a citywide strategic plan would update the current council priority-setting process and ensure the strategic themes and goals that guide the process represent the community’s interests today and into the future,” according to the report.
If approved, the next steps for staff will be seeking approval of a professional services agreement with a firm who will assist in developing the plan — the estimated cost of that agreement is between $85,000 to $100,000.
Staff will then continue to carry out any current projects until 2024, which is when there will be more discussion on any future projects and any items that still need to be completed.
* The City Council will also be voting, as part of the consent calendar, to adopt a resolution reauthorizing their eligibility for certain health and welfare benefits. They will also be voting on a resolution establishing a travel reimbursement policy for elected and appointed officials.
Items listed on the consent calendar are routine by nature and are typically voted on without discussion.
On July 19, the council had updated its City Council “meeting rules of procedure” and because of that, these provisions on benefits and travel reimbursement had to be updated as well.
If adopted, council members could elect to receive the same health and welfare benefits as management and confidential employees and travel reimbursement would apply to the city’s boards, task forces, commissions and committees.
The proposed travel policy establishes qualifying travel and other expenses, lodging cost limits and per diem meal rates, and reimbursement procedures.
