Orinda staff outline rezonings to meet housing element; no action taken

ORINDA, Calif. — The Orinda Planning Commission on May 13 received a staff update on proposed rezonings intended to satisfy the city’s sixth-cycle housing element but took no action.

Associate Planner Darren said the presentation was informational only: “No action is going to be taken tonight.” The presentation summarized how staff proposes to rezone 26 sites in the downtown commercial and downtown office zones and parts of five “opportunity” sites so the city can demonstrate capacity to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).

The update matters because the RHNA requires jurisdictions to show they can reasonably accommodate assigned housing units. Staff said the Bay Area region assigned 1,359 units to Orinda for the 2023–2031 cycle and described how the city intends to meet that allocation through a mix of existing capacity, approved projects and targeted rezonings.

Staff listed the current inventory and planned changes: roughly 623 units estimated from vacant lots and single-family parcels; 90 units from approved projects (including Vista Verde senior housing and Wilder Country House memory care); about 421 units attributed to the downtown rezonings; and 286 units from portions of three church properties and Miramonte High School. Staff said a five-acre Caltrans gateway…