REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Authorization of Application and Receipt of Grant Funds for the SB2 Planning Grants Program Year 1 Issued by the California Department of Housing and Community Development
Report
BACKGROUND
The Community Development Department is eligible to apply to the State of California Housing and Community Development Department for a grant under the Planning Grants Program provisions of SB 2 (Chapter 364, Statutes of 2017). The Planning Grants Program is intended for the preparation, adoption, and implementation of plans that streamline housing approval and accelerate housing production. The amount of funding available to a jurisdiction depends upon its population. The City of Santa Clara is eligible to receive up to $310,000. Eligible activities may include: updates to general plans, specific plans, or local planning related to implementation of sustainable communities' strategies; updates to zoning ordinances; and environmental analyses that eliminate the need for project-specific review.
DISCUSSION
Staff is proposing to apply for an SB2 Planning Grant to facilitate an update to the Tasman East Specific Plan, which was adopted by the City Council on November 13, 2018. The Tasman East Specific Plan provides a framework for the redevelopment of a 46-acre industrial area into a new mixed-use, high-density residential neighborhood. The adopted Specific Plan and associated Environmental Impact Report provided capacity for up to 4,500 high density transit-oriented residential units, 106,000 square feet of supportive commercial services, and 10 acres of dispersed parks, urban open spaces, and paseos.
Since the Specific Plan's adoption, the City has received 10 planning applications for a total of 3,949 units over 28 acres of the Specific Plan area. Two of the applications have been approved and eight are pending. The Specific Plan area contains an additional 13 properties totaling 12 acres in area. The average yield from the initial 10 ap...
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