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Albany council hears public testimony on broad development-code amendments tied to housing plan; ordinance motion introduced
Summary
City staff presented a package of code and plan amendments intended to implement the Housing Implementation Plan. Residents, neighborhood groups and developers testified at a legislative public hearing. Councilors took initial procedural action on an ordinance but indicated the package will return for final action.
City staff presented a package of amendments to the Albany Development Code and limited changes to the Albany Comprehensive Plan at a legislative public hearing Monday aimed at implementing strategies in the city's Housing Implementation Plan.
The staff presentation described proposals to expand housing types and flexibility, including scaling lot sizes to house size, loosening accessory dwelling unit size limits for smaller primary homes, easing standards for cottage-cluster developments, removing a density cap in medium- and higher-density zones, and requiring modest open space for subdivisions of 20 or more lots (50 square feet per lot).
The changes would also encourage alley- or rear-loaded development, adjust setbacks for smaller homes and townhouses, and alter some development standards to try to spur small single-level homes, accessory dwelling units, middle housing and accessible and affordable housing, staff said.
The legislative public hearing drew multiple speakers. Robert Hanifer, a resident, urged that any city investment in development be conditioned so resale be limited to current Albany residents. Audrey Eldridge, speaking for the North Albany Neighborhood Association, urged delay or special treatment for North Albany because of concerns about traffic, public safety and neighborhood impacts. Natalie Janney of Multitech Engineering said a required pocket-park open-space standard for land divisions could add roughly $2,000 per lot in development cost and raised maintenance and homeowners-association concerns. Other speakers sought preservation of neighborhood character, protections for small existing homes, and clearer infill compatibility standards.
Councilors pressed staff on several technical points. Councilors asked whether a sentence that would have limited conversion of single-dwelling structures to nonresidential uses should remain in purpose statements for the Hackleman-Monteith zoning district and whether removing it would change the underlying review standards. Staff and the community development director said uses remain governed by the permitted-uses schedule and conditional-use process and recommended any change to that policy be handled in a separate, broader public process.
Staff also described outreach done for the amendments, including seven focus groups, a community survey, an interested-party email list and Measure 56 mailings to property owners identified as potentially affected. Staff said the package responds to statewide law changes and a 2020 housing needs analysis adopted by the city.
A councilor moved a procedural motion "to adopt the ordinance with the correction to Exhibit A, page 3-24, to amend the Albany Development Code as detailed in ordinance Exhibit A and amend Albany Comprehensive Plan as described in ordinance Exhibit B and further described in the staff report findings and conclusions included as ordinance Exhibit C for planning files DC-4-24 and CP-2-24." The motion was seconded and the ordinance title was read twice in title only. Council indicated the ordinance package will be brought back to a future meeting for further action.
No final adoption vote on the ordinance package was recorded on Monday; councilors directed further follow-up and noted that some components (such as potential conversion-of-use restrictions in historic areas) would require a separate public process if the council wished to pursue them.
What happens next: staff said they will incorporate corrections to Exhibit A, keep working with the public on outstanding concerns (for example, North Albany traffic modeling and distribution of middle-housing types), and return the matter to council for additional deliberations and final action.
Why it matters: The package changes multiple development standards citywide and is intended to increase the range of housing types available in Albany. Residents and builders told council the same changes could help some households while raising concerns about traffic, neighborhood character and the cost of required on-site open space or infrastructure.
