pages: CityCouncil/2012-07-17.pdf, 4
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CityCouncil | 2012-07-17 | 4 | During Mr. Garfinkle's comments, Councilmember Tam left the dais at 8:18 p.m. and returned at 8:20 p.m. Mayor Gilmore outlined the process followed to develop housing; stated the City is simply identifying sites where housing could be built, the City is not responsible for actually building housing; a developer or some other entity would pick a site and build housing on the site; projects still have to go through the entire planning process, which includes noticed hearings in front of the Planning Board; a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) document might be required to address traffic mitigations, building height limits, and other things; the Housing Element simply identifies sites where housing can be built. The Planning Services Manager stated Alameda Point was not included because staff was nervous the land would not be available during the planning period; "available" means a site has to be zoned for residential use and available to the market; Alameda Point is still under Navy ownership and is not available; last time, the City had a carryover of 345 units because Alameda Point was promised to be available by 2006 and is still not available; the next round will be much easier when Alameda Point is available; staff did not want to make any promises that cannot be kept because when promises are not kept cities are penalized under State law. Following Ms. Rasmusson's comments, the Planning Services Manager responded multifamily housing could be built anywhere if the courts throw out Measure A; the Charter would only allow multifamily housing on sites identified to meet the State obligation if Measure A is preserved for the rest of the City; multifamily zoning would be prohibited by the Charter after the State obligation is met. The City Manager stated Alameda Point is not a panacea because the agreement with the Navy limits the City to 1,425 housing units at Alameda Point; putting 4,000 units at Alameda Point does not pencil out; every project has to go through the CEQA process, the Planning Board process, and deal with traffic mitigations and all other density issues. Mayor Gilmore stated the City is identifying sites for 2,400 units; 1,700 units will be required in the next round if the Housing Element is passed. Councilmember deHaan requested staff to explain where the initial numbers come from. The City Manager responded the number is a State generated number. Councilmember deHaan inquired whether the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) sets the number. The Planning Services Manager responded the State of California identifies how much housing the entire State needs; stated then, the State gives each region a portion, Regular Meeting Alameda City Council 4 July 17, 2012 | CityCouncil/2012-07-17.pdf |