REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Study Session on the Draft Revisions to the El Camino Real Specific Plan
Report
BACKGROUND
Staff is working with a consultant, Raimi & Associates, to complete preparation of a revised draft of the El Camino Real Specific Plan, per prior City Council direction. Initial preparation of the Specific Plan took place between 2017 and 2021, including multiple City Council check-ins. The first completed draft Specific Plan was presented to the City Council in June of 2021. The subsequent City Council actions are summarized below.
2021 City Council Action Summary
At the June 15, 2021 City Council meeting, the Council reviewed the draft El Camino Real Specific Plan and directed staff to significantly modify the three proposed Specific Plan General Plan Land Use Designations so that the maximum heights for the three designations would be two, three, and four stories, respectively, and to modify the allowed densities to correspond to these heights. At that time, there was concern from community members and some Council members that the proposed height and density would impact the surrounding single-family neighborhoods on the north side of El Camino.
On July 6, 2021, staff returned to the City Council to provide direction on the next steps for the El Camino Real Specific Plan. Staff explained that the revised height limits would likely correspond to significant reductions in land density from what had been previously studied in the project Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and require additional funding for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis. Based on this, the City Council voted to direct staff to move forward with the significant modification consistent with the reduced densities and height as directed by the Council at the June 15, 2021 hearing, including revision to and recirculation of the project EIR.
On September 28, 2021, staff provided the City Council with more specific information on the process and costs...
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