REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Rezoning of 17 sites along El Camino Real totaling 27.7 acres to MU-RC Mixed Use Regional Commercial, consistent with the City’s General Plan Land Use Diagram, for the purpose of adding additional sites to the City’s Housing Element (CEQA: Use of a previously adopted addendum to the General Plan 2010-2035 EIR for the Zoning Code Update)
Report
BACKGROUND
The City Council adopted the Zoning Code Update on January 9, 2024 and an implementation step is the adoption of the City’s Zoning Map, which will apply the new Zoning Districts as well as rezone properties across the City to Zoning Districts that will be consistent with their General Plan designations. Having consistent zoning and General Plan designations on all properties is a requirement of State law. The Zoning Map adoption will be brought forward for Planning Commission and City Council consideration in the May through June 2024 timeframe. Rezoning 17 sites on El Camino Real in advance of the Zoning Map adoption process is proposed to enable these sites to qualify for inclusion in the Sites Inventory as part of the City’s Housing Element. For a site to qualify for inclusion in the City’s Housing Element, it must have consistent General Plan and Zoning that would enable housing redevelopment on that site.
As a part of the Housing Element certification process by the State, the City has been in discussions with the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) reviewing the City’s adopted Housing Element. To provide a Sites Inventory that demonstrates adequate capacity both to meet the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 11,632 units and to also accommodate the development of HCD’s recommended minimum 15-percent buffer of additional units over the course of the next eight years, the City’s Housing Element includes a program to rezone the identified El Camino Real sites. HCD has indicated that rezoning these sites is a necessary step to obtain HCD’s formal certification of the City’s Housing Element.
DISCUSSION
As a part of the Housing Element Update, the City is required to provide a Sites Inventory, which lists the parcels that the City evaluated and has determined will be available for development in the eight-year time frame of the Housing Element (2023-2031). Because the City is built out, the City’s Housing Element is reliant on the redevelopment of existing sites, as opposed to greenfield development. The Housing Element certification process includes public noticing and the opportunity for public review and comment on the adequacy of the Sites Inventory. As a part of the public review process and in coordination with HCD, the City revised the Sites Inventory and removed a number of parcels from the Sites Inventory list that are less likely to redevelop in the next eight years.
Several sites along the El Camino Real corridor that have mixed-use General Plan designations and that meet the minimum State-required density of 30 dwelling units/acre (DU/AC) were added to the draft Housing Element prior to the Housing Element re-adoption by the City Council on June 27, 2023. This was done to ensure that sufficient capacity exists in the Housing Element to accommodate the City’s RHNA throughout the planning period including HCD’s recommended minimum buffer of 15 percent more capacity than required for lower-income, moderate-income, and above moderate-income RHNA units.
The proposed rezoning of all 17 sites is consistent with the General Plan Land Use Diagram on each site and does not require General Plan Amendments or additional environmental review prior to being adopted. The list of sites proposed for rezoning along with a location map is included as Attachment 1. All of the subject sites, totaling 27.7 acres, have a General Plan land use designation of Regional Mixed Use and are proposed to be rezoned to Mixed Use - Regional Commercial (MU-RC), consistent with the General Plan. Allowed Housing densities in the MU-RC Zoning District are from 37-50 DU/AC, and the district also allows a variety of commercial uses, consistent with the Regional Mixed-Use General Plan Land Use designation. The sites have been described and analyzed for their redevelopment potential in the latest draft of the Housing Element Update. That analysis is provided in Attachment 2.
Note the El Camino Real Specific Plan revision process is underway. Based on the draft Land Use Plan for the draft El Camino Real Specific Plan, which the City Council confirmed on August 29, 2023, all the sites currently proposed for rezoning are identified to either retain or increase residential density more than the current General Plan designation on the sites, as part of the Specific Plan process. This provides assurance the inclusion of these sites in the Sites Inventory for the Housing Element is appropriate.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Given that the Zoning Code Update is an implementation action of the 2010 General Plan Update, the City prepared an Addendum to the 2010-2035 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to cover the adoption of the Zoning Code, Zoning Map, and related General Plan Amendments. The Addendum indicates that the adoption of the Zoning Code Update and application of the zoning designations to the Zoning Map will not result in environmental impacts beyond those described in the General Plan Update EIR. The Addendum was adopted by the City Council for the Zoning Code Update at their December 19, 2023 meeting.
FISCAL IMPACT
Rezoning of the seventeen El Camino sites is consistent with the City’s General Plan Land Use Diagram and the proposed Housing Element Update, which is also a part of the General Plan. No additional resources are required beyond those indicated at the time of the rezoning of the subject sites.
COORDINATION
This item was coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
A newspaper notice was published in the March 27, 2024 issue of the Santa Clara Weekly describing the rezonings and the locations of the subject sites. On April 4, 2024, notice was also mailed to all 17 sites proposed for rezoning, and all properties located within 300 feet of those 17 sites.
Public contact was also made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Provide an alternate recommendation to the City Council than adopting the proposed El Camino rezonings consistent with the City’s General Plan land use diagram, for the purpose of adding 17 additional sites to the City’s Housing Element sites inventory.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council approve the proposed El Camino rezonings consistent with the City’s General Plan land use diagram, for the purpose of adding 17 additional sites to the City’s Housing Element sites inventory.
Staff
Prepared by: John Davidson Principal Planner, Community Development
Reviewed by: Alexander Abbe, Assistant City Attorney
Approved by: Reena Brilliot, Acting Director of Community Development
ATTACHMENTS
1. List of Parcels to be Rezoned
2. Supplemental Sites Inventory Analysis
3. Resolution Recommending Rezoning of the Proposed El Camino Sites
4. Addendum to the General Plan EIR for the Zoning Code Update