Commission backs zoning changes to spur by‑right affordable housing on vacant sites

Senior planner David Schlegel (speaker 10) presented proposed amendments to create a housing-opportunity overlay and adjust density incentives to meet the city's housing-element commitments. Schlegel said the changes implement activity 2.5 of the housing element and allow certain vacant sites—many that have appeared on prior cycle site inventories—to be developed by right at increased densities if a project sets aside at least 20% of units affordable to lower-income households.

Schlegel explained the state's methodology for prescribing default densities and the rationale for offering incentives to make marginal projects feasible: "If you're building 20% of your project at affordable ability levels, you can build at the higher density, and you can just get permits," he said. Commissioners asked whether rezoning actions preserve capacity if parcels shift to commercial use, about infrastructure constraints such as required secondary access and floodplain/span costs on some sites, and whether the public would be notified for by-right projects. Staff said by-right housing on eligible overlay sites would not require the city's discretionary approvals and therefore typically would not include discretionary public noticing; the commission nevertheless voted to recommend adoption of the zoning text and map amendments and that the council find the action exempt under the specified statutory CEQA exemption for housing-element rezoning.