Commission recommends adoption of Alpine’s Moderate Income Housing element to city council

The Alpine City Planning Commission on Tuesday, February 18 voted unanimously to recommend that the city council adopt the city’s Moderate Income Housing element of the general plan as presented by planning staff.

The item is part of a state reporting requirement for municipalities; staff said the state requires cities to document implementation steps from a menu of options updated in 2022. Ryan (city planner) told the commission the city must submit an annual report to the state by August 1 showing which policy options the city selected and what steps have been taken; failure to comply can trigger administrative follow-up, and staff said the state provides a period to cure any deficiency.

Ryan summarized the three menu measures Alpine selected: (1) create or allow internal accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in residential zones and consider detached ADUs if state law requires; (2) provide or preserve moderate-income housing using a landlord-incentive program, deed restrictions or a housing-loss mitigation fund; and (3) reduce or…