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City hires PlaceWorks to pursue no‑net‑loss housing amendment; council discusses retail preservation
Summary
Certino approved a contract with PlaceWorks to prepare a housing element amendment addressing state no‑net‑loss requirements. Councilors and residents debated whether the contract should explicitly include retail‑preservation rezoning and noted the state’s 180‑day timelines are hard to meet.
The Certino City Council authorized a consultant agreement with PlaceWorks to prepare a housing element amendment and associated environmental review to comply with state no‑net‑loss requirements, with an estimated scope cost discussed in the meeting.
City staff said the PlaceWorks scope will address site inventory, rezoning analysis and environmental review options (an addendum or a standalone EIR) to avoid losing housing site capacity under state rules. City staff told the council the standalone EIR option in the contract is the costlier path but likely to be more useful for future project tiering.
Council members and public commenters pressed staff on whether the contract should include analysis and possible rezoning tools to preserve retail frontage on the city’s major corridors. Staff said preservation typically requires removing residential permission from key frontage parcels or upzoning elsewhere to meet no‑net‑loss obligations; such rezoning is feasible but would be part of the PlaceWorks scope if the council requests it.
Public commenters warned that state streamlining tools (SB 330, AB 130 and other laws) had already encouraged the conversion of mixed‑use frontage to residential in the heart of the city and urged the council to pursue targeted rezoning to keep community businesses. Jennifer Griffin called the no‑net‑loss mandate “totally bogus” and urged local pushback; other residents asked for more prescriptive direction on targeted sites.
Council authorized the consultant contract; staff said that meeting the state’s 180‑day expectation is unlikely but that the city’s timely engagement with PlaceWorks will demonstrate proactive compliance. Council asked staff to include retail‑preservation options and to return with specific recommendations and cost estimates for any additional scope.
