Council introduces village‑center retail preservation ordinance after heated public comments over Fair Oaks Plaza plans

The City Council introduced an ordinance and adopted a companion resolution on March 18 that creates a retail‑preservation incentive program for select village‑center sites, a measure meant to encourage developers to include or preserve neighborhood retail when they redevelop shopping centers.

The ordinance (file 25‑0397) and resolution would let a qualifying developer reduce the city’s below‑market‑rate (BMR) housing requirement if the project: is at least 6 acres, is north of El Camino Real, and provides a minimum floor‑area ratio (FAR) of retail on site (staff modeled stepped incentives; a 10% FAR would waive the BMR requirement; smaller thresholds yield proportionally reduced BMR obligations). The measure is voluntary and applies only at specified village centers meeting the eligibility tests staff pulled from the Land Use and Transportation Element and site maps; staff identified Village Center 5…