...Title
General Plan Four-Year Review Policy Framework.
...Recommendations
Direct staff to prepare General Plan amendments and ordinances that implement the following recommendations from the General Plan Four-Year Review Task Force process:
(a) Residential Capacity:
(1) Increase residential capacity in the Envision San José 2040 General Plan through the following actions:
(i) Modify the density range of the Mixed Use Neighborhood (MUN) land use designation from up to 30 DU/AC (dwelling units per acre) to 20-50 DU/AC and increase the height to 4 to 5 stories;
(ii) Modify the density range of the Urban Residential (UR) land use designation from 30-95 DU/AC to 50- 95 DU/AC;
(iii) Modify the General Plan land use designation and zoning of certain parcels in the Winchester Boulevard Corridor as shown in Exhibit A in the staff memorandum;
(iv) Modify the General Plan land use designation and zoning of certain parcels in The Alameda Corridor as shown in Exhibit B in the staff memorandum;
(v) Modify the General Plan land use designation and zoning of Mixed Use Commercial (MUC) designated parcels using the criteria shown in Exhibit C in the staff memorandum; and
(vi) Evaluate and modify the General Plan land use designation and zoning of “SB 1333” parcels;
(2) Public/Quasi-Public (PQP) Lands: Develop a framework in which the City could consider certain land use changes on PQP sites while maintaining consistency with General Plan Policy LU-1.9 and the PQP framework approach would define and consider the following:
(i) Develop criteria for determining the appropriate amount and distribution of PQP land and/or sites throughout the city based on demographic, economic, and other data; and
(ii) Evaluate requests and changes in land use based on the framework criteria to unlock housing potential on certain sites while ensuring that adequate community space exists throughout the city.
(b) Small Multifamily/Missing Middle Housing:
(1) Develop a small multifamily housing program that includes necessary modifications to the City’s General Plan and Zoning Ordinance with the following parameters:
(i) Increase the density in the Residential Neighborhood land use designation from 8 DU/AC to 32 DU/AC;
(ii) Allow a maximum building height of 35 feet and 3 stories in Residential Neighborhood;
(iii) Consider other development standards that may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(a) Maximum floor area ratio (FAR);
(b) Appropriate setbacks;
(c) Maximum lot coverage;
(d) Maximum lot size; and
(e) Evaluate and implement additional development and design standards specifically for historic properties;
(2) Prohibit small multifamily projects for the following types of sites:
(i) Very High and High Fire Severity Zones;
(ii) Airport Safety Zones;
(iii) Environmentally sensitive areas such as wetlands, conservation areas, or habitat areas; and
(iv) Sites with rent-stabilized or rent-regulated units or sites subject to the City’s Ellis Act Ordinance;
(3) Develop a ministerial approval process for small multifamily development in the Residential Neighborhood land use designation and projects on historic sites of “lesser significance” (Structures of Merit, Identified Structures, and Contributing Structures to Conservation Areas) would be eligible for ministerial permitting but subject to a set of objective development and design standards for historic properties;
(4) Require discretionary approval for small multifamily housing that meets any of the following site parameters:
(i) Within certain flood zones;
(ii) In riparian corridors;
(iii) Designated City Landmarks;
(iv) Candidate City Landmarks; and
(v) City Landmark district properties.
(c) Urban Village Strategy:
(1) Regional Transit Urban Villages: Remove the Blossom Hill Road/Hitachi Urban Village from the list of unplanned Urban Villages;
(2) Local Transit Urban Villages:
(i) Consolidate the unplanned Local Transit Urban Villages into four Urban Village plans, so that each plan encompasses multiple Urban Villages along a single transit corridor;
(ii) Defer planning of the Local Transit Urban Villages that are within SB 79 buffer zones;
(iii) Apply an overlay to the unplanned Local Transit Urban Villages within the SB 79 buffer zones to incentivize commercial development;
(iv) Move the Oakridge Mall (Cambrian/Pioneer) and Oakridge Mall (Edenvale) Urban Villages to the Commercial Corridor and Center Urban Villages category;
(v) Move the East Capitol Expressway/Silver Creek Road and The Alameda (West) Urban Villages to the Neighborhood Urban Villages category; and
(vi) Remove the Arcadia/Eastridge Urban Village area from the list of unplanned Urban Villages;
(3) Commercial Corridor and Center Urban Villages:
(i) Prioritize the development of comprehensive plans of the unplanned Commercial Corridor and Center Urban Villages;
(ii) Move the Santa Teresa Boulevard/Bernal Road Urban Village area to the Neighborhood Urban Village category;
(4) Neighborhood Urban Villages:
(i) Change the land use designations and zoning districts of properties within the unplanned Neighborhood Urban Villages as part of a single planning effort, rather than developing individual plans for each;
(ii) Move the Hamilton Avenue/Meridian Avenue and Kooser Road/Meridian Avenue Urban Village areas to the Commercial Corridor and Center Urban Villages category;
(5) Urban Village Plan Outreach Strategy: Define a standard outreach strategy for urban village planning that consists of a limited number of public workshops, online resources, and additional outreach to community groups, elected officials, and others as needed;
(6) Urban Village Plan Documents: Simplify Urban Village plan documents by minimizing the inclusion of unique development and design standards that are not already in the Zoning Code and/or the Citywide Design Standards and Guidelines;
(7) Mobilehome Parks: Remove three mobile home parks from unplanned Urban Village area boundaries.
(d) Jobs-to-Employed Residents (J/ER) Ratio:
(1) Maintain the current target J/ER ratio of 1.1.
CEQA: Not a Project, File No. PP17-007, Preliminary direction to staff and eventual action requires approval from decision-making body. (Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement)