Loomis planning commission recommends Title 13 zoning changes to meet state housing rules

The Loomis Planning Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 24 to recommend that the Town Council adopt a package of Title 13 zoning ordinance amendments designed to implement the town's 2021 Housing Element and updates made to the General Plan in April 2024.

Christie, planning staff, told the commission the changes are needed "to maintain a housing element that the State Department of Housing and Community Development deems compliant" and that the town must implement the programs in a timely manner or risk enforcement. She told the commission that the package includes rezoning land to a high-density residential designation (RH20), raising the Central Commercial district's allowable density from 15 to 20 units per acre, and several text amendments to align local code with state and federal fair housing laws.

The amendments cover five housing element programs staff said require regulatory change: Program 2 (a comprehensive zoning review for fair housing compliance), Program 5 (removing barriers for special-needs housing such as employee farmworker housing, single-room occupancy units, residential care facilities and low-barrier navigation centers), Program 6 (ADU rules, RH zone heights, multifamily parking standards and density-bonus compliance), Program 11 (map changes including identification of at least 7 acres in the Hidden Grove/Heritage Park area and an additional 2.2 acres elsewhere as RH20), and Program 15 (state density bonus implementation permitting up to 20 units per acre for qualifying affordable projects).

Christie also described numerous technical edits: updates to allowed-use tables to add farmworker and supportive housing; replacement of "second units" and "carriage units" terminology with the state-standard accessory dwelling unit (ADU) definition; clarification of design review processes tied to SB 9 urban-lot split rules; and parking-code adjustments that add exceptions for qualified housing projects under state law. She noted one correction to the parking design table to reflect a standard 24-foot drive aisle.

On the question of enforcement, Christie said the town had received a letter from the state Department of Housing and Community Development asking for progress. "If we don't have this done," she said, "they have the opportunity to send this to the attorney general to, you know, litigate against the town for not being compliant." She told commissioners that noncompliance could lead to the housing element being found noncompliant, loss of state funding, fines, or the state assuming local planning duties.

Commissioners and members of the public pressed staff on whether pending or current applications would be affected; Christie said applications filed before adoption of these amendments would continue under existing zoning rules. Multiple commissioners noted the town had previously adopted the housing element and that the zoning changes are implementation of commitments already made in that document.

A motion (Resolution 24 04) to recommend that the Town Council adopt the Title 13 zoning ordinance amendments passed on a unanimous roll call; the commission record shows each commissioner voting "Aye." The item will now proceed to the Town Council for final action.

Staff also briefed the commission on related planning items including ongoing litigation and settlement discussions over the Hidden Grove application, upcoming CEQA work for several projects (Kwik Kwak Car Wash; Creekstone Senior Living; Del Mar Farms subdivision), and work on an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance fee schedule to be brought forward in coming months.

The commission closed the hearing and moved the amendment package to the council without modification.