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Planning Commission recommends Council approve Housing Element Program LL to ease duplex and triplex conversions
Summary
The commission voted to recommend City Council adopt general plan and zoning table edits under Program LL that remove a lower 'base' FAR/density in eastern neighborhoods and set a single maximum (1.0 FAR; 35 units/acre) to facilitate conversions to two‑ to four‑unit residential buildings; City Council hearings are planned for May and June.
The Emeryville Planning Commission on April 23 recommended that the City Council approve proposed general plan and regulatory changes under Housing Element Program LL intended to make conversions to duplexes and triplexes easier on the eastern side of the city. The recommendation passed on a roll-call vote with six ayes, one absence and no recusals.
Staff said Program LL modifies map tables and density/FAR language so that certain neighborhoods would no longer have a lower 'base' FAR; instead, the applicable maximum (1.0 FAR and up to 35 dwelling units per acre) would apply without a separate lower base. Staff explained the change is intended to allow three‑ and four‑unit configurations on many typical parcels without discretionary review, consistent with commitments in the adopted housing element and related environmental review. Tribal notification for the required general plan amendment was completed; the 90‑day window closed April 15.
“This is not subject to CEQA; it is already analyzed under the housing element and general plan,” staff said while outlining the schedule to take the recommendation to City Council in May and June, with an expected effective date in July if council adopts the amendments.
Commissioners asked technical questions about form‑based zoning, the use of FAR in Emeryville’s existing general plan, and whether staff had analyzed typical parcel sizes in the two neighborhoods affected. Staff said they reviewed parcel sizes in the targeted neighborhoods and concluded the proposed change will achieve the intended increase in permitted unit counts for the majority of parcels while acknowledging outliers that would still be constrained by lot size.
One commissioner urged faster action on missing‑middle strategies and compared measures in neighboring Berkeley; others said the proposal is a step in the right direction and noted the changes can be combined with state density bonus laws. The commission voted to recommend approval to City Council; staff indicated the council hearings are expected in May and June.
Motion and roll-call: Commissioner Chafe moved to recommend approval; Commissioner Gould seconded. The roll call vote was recorded as Ayes from Commissioners Chafe, Gould, Rivera, Small, Vice Chair Haney and Chair Wax; Commissioner Martinez absent. The commission returned the item to staff for transmittal to City Council.
