City of Benicia Housing Element and Safety Element Updates

City of Benicia Housing Element and Safety Element Updates

The Housing Element is one of the required elements of the General Plan. As a policy document, the Housing Element does not normally result in physical changes to the environment but encourages the provision of affordable housing within the land use designations shown in the Land Use Element of the General Plan. The Housing Element identifies policy direction to meet the housing needs of the City by preserving existing homes and clarifying priorities for housing creation. The proposed Housing Element will include an overview of housing policies and programs and will identify locations that can accommodate future housing. One of the programs in the proposed Housing Element will require that the City redesignate and rezone parcels to meet the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and the City has identified 133 parcels on approximately 104 acres as opportunity sites. The rezoning effort will include establishment of a new overlay zone to accommodate a density of up to 30 dwelling units per acre at a height of up to 35 feet/3 stories, as well as minor amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to address pet-related land uses and podium parking in the Mixed Use-Infill District. The parcels that may be redesignated and rezoned to meet the RHNA are shown in the table below and on the attached April 2022 Draft Benicia Housing Opportunity Sites Inventory Table and Maps. Other changes to zoning are called for in the Housing Element draft programs to address state law and local objectives related to density bonuses, accessory dwelling units, emergency shelters including low barrier navigation centers, reasonable accommodation, employee housing, residential care facilities, single-room occupancy units, and inclusionary zoning. As part of this effort the Safety Element will also be updated to reflect current science and to address climate change-related hazards, as required by state law.

Benicia

Solano

San Francisco Bay Area

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marin Region 7 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Energy Commission, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay Region 2 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Central Valley Flood Protection Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bay Delta Region 3 (CDFW), California Department of Transportation, District 4 (DOT)

Other (Housing)

General Plan Element, Rezone

Aesthetics, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Noise, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Wildfire