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County housing plan team proposes mixed‑use infill combining district to encourage walkable development
Summary
PlaceWorks consultant Nicole West briefed the General Plan Advisory Committee on the Housing Action and Implementation Plan, highlighting community support for infill, rehabilitation, zoning flexibility and an idea to use a mixed‑use infill combining district to steer housing into serviceable, lower‑risk locations.
Nicole West, a consultant with PlaceWorks, told the General Plan Advisory Committee on Feb. 13 that the county’s Housing Action and Implementation Plan (HAPE) aims to provide a “comprehensive manual to address housing demands throughout the county.”
The presentation summarized findings from a year of analysis and outreach and said the HAPE will inform the county’s upcoming housing element. West said the plan identified broad public support for more varied housing types, regulatory flexibility and speeding residential construction. “There’s a need for a variety of different housing types and also need for housing that’s affordable to people at all different income levels,” West said.
Why it matters: County staff and the GPAC said the HAPE will guide the housing element and later zoning code changes that must align with state RHNA targets once the state releases them. The plan’s recommendations and an upcoming interactive map of sites could affect where the county focuses growth and where it seeks to incentivize affordable development.
Key idea presented: West described an early concept — a mixed‑use infill combining district — intended to encourage housing within existing population centers, preserve rural character and discourage development in agricultural, open‑space or wildfire‑prone lands. She said the combining district would be applied only where local area plans and community input supported it, and that specific language and criteria would be developed during a later zoning code update.
The HAPE team also reported support for rehabilitating existing housing and reusing existing buildings, and for directing infill toward areas with existing infrastructure and access to amenities. West said some candidate properties that currently do not allow housing have been identified as potentially competitive for tax‑credit funding if their land‑use rules change; she said communities will be involved before any site designations are finalized.
Questions and next steps: GPAC members asked about the county’s RHNA allocation, which West said the state had not yet released. Maria (county staff) said the HAPE has completed administrative review and the team was preparing a draft for public release. West encouraged further LAPAC and GPAC engagement before any combining district locations are finalized.
Public comment during the presentation urged flexibility for housing that serves people with disabilities and conversion of vacant commercial properties to housing, and raised design/market concerns about attracting compatible commercial uses in rural areas.
Looking ahead: The HAPE will inform the housing element work scheduled to begin later; staff said the plan’s draft would be released to the public and the interactive site map shared for community review.
