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Richmond planning staff reports ADU approvals, Hilltop specific‑plan kickoff and delayed hearings
Summary
The city planning manager told the RNCC the department is handling 138 active applications, has approved its first preapproved ADU plan, and will begin the Hilltop specific‑plan environmental and engagement work after council direction; the planning commission has had quorum problems that delayed hearings.
Avery Stark, planning manager for the City of Richmond, briefed the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council on Oct. 27 about recent permitting activity, preapproved accessory dwelling unit (ADU) plan use and next steps on longer-range planning projects.
Stark said planning currently has about 138 applications under review across industrial, commercial and residential categories and that staff returned this month from the state planning conference where new legislation affecting local planning was signed.
Preapproved ADU plans and rapid review
Stark told the RNCC the department’s preapproved ADU plans are now in use: the planning team received its first application using the preapproved designs and completed the planning review “in a matter of minutes,” and the applicant has moved to building‑department permitting. The preapproved plans are intended to speed construction of ADUs.
Hilltop specific plan and state law changes
Stark said the Hilltop specific plan received direction from city council and will now proceed to technical studies, an environmental document and a reassembled technical advisory committee with community engagement scheduled to begin next year. She added that recent state bills have changed some local review processes so certain projects that previously required planning‑commission hearings may now proceed ministerially under state law.
Quorum and scheduling delays
Stark said the planning commission currently has two vacancies and has struggled to achieve quorum, which delayed a scheduled Nov. meeting and moved the Chevron‑related item to the Nov. 20 calendar. She said staff is recruiting new commissioners and will republish agendas as items are rescheduled.
Terminal 3, Prologis and waterfront properties
Stark said the large Terminal 3/Ford Building project has no tenant assigned yet and staff will conduct a tentative certificate‑of‑occupancy inspection; a lease assignment for a nursing‑education program was the most recent entitlement moving toward building permits. On waterfront properties including Winehaven/Point Molate, Stark said the East Bay Regional Park District recently completed a land transfer for roughly 81 acres and will host community outreach next spring; the city retains ownership of the coastline and will coordinate maintenance and environmental remediation efforts.
Procedures and transparency
Stark said staff will update the planning‑division monthly report to include addresses for projects after users noted omissions in the current printout, and asked residents to contact planning staff for project contacts when projects affect their neighborhoods.
Ending
Stark offered to return with further project updates and said several major items will return to public hearings in the coming months. No formal RNCC action was taken; the presentation was for information and community input.
