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Planning Commission recommends housing ordinance package to council and discusses MTC TOC policy
Summary
The commission recommended that the City Council consider amendments to the inclusionary housing ordinance, overlay districts and density-bonus rules (PLN2025-135) to help stalled affordable and higher-density projects; staff also led a separate study session on regional Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) policy and recommended several targeted technical steps while deferring larger policy shifts until state/regional scoring stabilizes.
The Campbell Planning Commission voted to forward a package of housing ordinance changes to the City Council and spent an extended study-session reviewing the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) policy.
Staff described four primary changes in the packet: extending entitlement timeframes for certain affordable projects from three to five years; exempting ground-floor commercial requirements for affordable projects outside downtown; allowing 5–9 unit projects to pay an in-lieu fee instead of constructing an on-site inclusionary unit; and a new local density-bonus incentive that awards bonus units when developers build smaller, "affordable-by-design" units (defined by staff as under approximately 625 square feet), generally on a 1:1 bonus ratio.
Robbie Steward and senior planners said the changes were intended to help projects that are currently struggling to secure financing. "We just wanted to give them more time," staff said about extending entitlements, and they noted developers told staff the in-lieu fee option could make small missing-middle projects feasible.
Developers and representatives spoke in support: John Pringle (owner/developer representative) said the density-bonus option materially improves feasibility for a Creekside-area proposal, calling the package "a significant step in the right direction." Jeremy Louie of Nestle Homes also supported the local density bonus for smaller units, saying it helps fill a gap in the housing spectrum.
Staff also presented a multi-hour study session on MTC's TOC policy, which sets regional scoring across 11 policy areas (density, FAR, parking standards, bike parking, preservation policies, mobility hubs and others). Senior planner Stephen Rose said staff recommends targeted, technical actions (secure bike parking, a small‑business advocate, active-transportation commitments) while deferring major code changes such as placing parking maximums or ambitious FAR/minimum density increases until after state law (SB79, AB2097, AB130, etc.) and the TOC scoring framework are finalized. Speakers and multiple commissioners urged caution about any policy that could inadvertently reduce housing production or impose untested obligations on small property owners.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend the housing ordinance package (PLN2025-135) to the City Council and asked staff to return with more detail on certain fiscal and implementation issues (park-fee impacts, the timing of fee collection and possible credits), and to continue TOC follow-up work tied to the Hamilton Avenue plan and an anticipated SB79 implementation process.
