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Council hears workshop on zoning text amendment to speed infill housing approvals
Summary
Planning staff presented a workshop on a text amendment that would add residential uses in office zones and permit ministerial (streamlined) approvals in certain areas; council members debated safeguards, buffers around schools, notice to council offices and the risk to the city’s pro‑housing designation and grant eligibility.
Planning staff gave a workshop on May 15 on proposed text amendment 2400794, which would restore two residential options to the office zone — conversions of office buildings to dwellings and new multi‑unit housing on vacant or underutilized office parcels — and would also allow a ministerial (objective, streamlined) approval pathway for housing in three categories: office zones, multifamily zones within a half‑mile of a bus stop, and mixed‑use zones in the city’s infill priority area.
“We bring you a workshop on text amendment 24 0 0 7 9 4 regarding streamlining housing opportunities,” Planning Manager Sofia Pagalades told the council when she opened the presentation.
Why it matters: the amendment responds to state housing planning requirements and the city’s “pro‑housing” designation; staff said the proposal adds capacity analyzed in a mitigated negative declaration and could affect the city’s ability to compete for state housing funds if the capacity or the pro‑housing commitments are not met.
What staff proposed
Staff said the text change has two independent components:…
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