Planning Commission recommends rezones and certifies final EIR to implement Tracy's housing element

The City of Tracy Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended that City Council certify a final environmental impact report and introduce rezonings and general-plan amendments to implement the city's housing element.

Project planner Kenny Lippage told commissioners the package includes rezoning roughly 188 parcels to high-density residential and mixed-use, amendments to multiple specific plans and updates to the land-use, safety, circulation and a newly required environmental justice element. "These actions are necessary to maintain housing element compliance and ensure the city has sufficient residential capacity to meet its regional housing needs allocation, also known as RHNA," Lippage said.

Why it matters: The city adopted its housing element on July 1, 2025, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development issued a tentative compliance letter; completing the rezone program is a required step for HCD to find the housing element in substantial compliance. The final EIR follows an environmental review that began with a Notice of Preparation in June 2024, a draft EIR released in January 2026, a public comment period extended through March 2026 and a final EIR prepared in May 2026.

The EIR and findings: Staff and the project consultant said the document is a program-level EIR and that, under current CEQA practice, Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is the metric used to assess transportation impacts. The EIR identifies transportation-related impacts as the project's only significant and unavoidable effect even after feasible mitigation, requiring findings of fact and a statement of overriding considerations if the commission and later the council approve the project.

Public concerns and staff response: Three members of the public spoke during the hearing. Fred Miller, a commercial broker, asked for confirmation that a recently purchased grocery-site on McArthur was not included in the rezone inventory; staff and the chair agreed to take Miller's APN numbers and follow up after the meeting. Greg Pernick, who said his auto records facility has operated on its site for decades, asked whether existing businesses would be forced to convert; staff replied that existing uses are not required to change but future tenant applications will be reviewed under the new zoning standards. John Gallagher, a property owner in the Berg Byron area, asked whether high-density zoning would force single-family owners to build to a minimum density (he cited a figure of about 20 units per acre) and said he worried about effects on property values and taxes.

How to get answers: Lippage said project staff will respond to inquiries by email or at City Hall and that the project planner's team generally tries to acknowledge inquiries within 24 hours. "Our accountability is we try to get back to everyone within 24 hours," he said.

Vote and next steps: Commissioner Chavez moved that the Planning Commission recommend City Council certify the EIR, adopt the mitigation monitoring and reporting program (MMRP), findings of fact and a statement of overriding considerations, approve the related general plan amendments and introduce the rezoning ordinance (applications GPA24-002, R24-003; SPA26-0003). The motion was seconded and passed by roll call: Atwal: yes; Penning: yes; Shrout: yes; Chavez: yes (Vice Chair Boateng absent). The commission's recommendation sends the EIR, the proposed plan amendments and the rezoning ordinance to City Council for final action.

What it does not do: The commission and staff emphasized that the rezones do not approve any specific housing projects; the changes establish zoning that would allow future residential development consistent with the housing element assumptions.