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Council approves zoning approach to meet housing‑element site inventory; asks staff to study small‑business protections
Summary
The City Council voted to direct staff to prepare zoning and General Plan amendments that bring the city’s zoning into consistency with the adopted housing‑element site inventory while retaining commercial allowances on existing commercial corridors.
The City Council voted Monday to direct staff to prepare zoning and General Plan amendments to implement Housing Element Program 1.1(g), aligning land‑use designations with the city’s site inventory for the current housing cycle.
Staff presented a parcel‑by‑parcel approach that keeps commercial uses allowed where they exist today and applies targeted residential densities to identified opportunity sites. Under staff recommendations: mixed‑use village or neighborhood mixed‑use designations would apply to existing commercial corridors (Evandale/Fairchild, Miramonte/Cuesta and Calderon areas) so new development could include ground‑floor commercial while meeting the housing‑element density targets; the Grant Road site would use the R‑3 multiple‑family zone (up to 35 units/acre); and the transit‑center area would remain a focused, phased joint‑development effort with Caltrain, with a precise‑plan approach allowing up to 75 units/acre if joint development proceeds.
Advanced Planning Manager Eric Anderson told the council the aim is to "ensure that target densities and commercial components are as identified in the housing element" and to avoid zoning changes that would render existing businesses nonconforming.
Councilmember Clark moved to approve the staff approach and Mayor Ellen Kamei seconded. Councilmembers Clark, Hicks, Ramirez, Vice Mayor Ramos and Mayor Kamei voted yes; Councilmember McAllister voted no; Councilmember Showalter was absent. The measure passed 5‑1 with one absence.
Council discussion emphasized the need to retain neighborhood commercial vitality during redevelopment. Members asked staff to study incentives and zoning provisions that could help small businesses remain — or return — on sites that are redeveloped, and to return with proposed code language and a corresponding environmental review. Staff said the next step is drafting text amendments, performing the required CEQA review, and returning to the Planning Commission and council later in 2025 ahead of the housing‑element deadline.
Why it matters: The action implements the city’s housing strategy by matching zoning to sites the city identified to satisfy required lower‑income RHNA capacity. By maintaining mixed‑use designations where commercial corridors exist, staff and council intend to preserve opportunities for neighborhood-serving businesses while unlocking housing capacity.
What's next: Staff will draft ordinance and General Plan amendments, perform SEQA/CEQA analysis, and return to the Planning Commission and City Council for formal adoption before the statutory housing‑element submittal deadline.
