SCH Number 2020110169

Project Info

Title

2021 Housing Element

Description

The 2021 Housing Element is a proposed change to the General Plan Update approved by the City on August 5, 2020 following certification of the General Plan Update Final EIR (SCH No. 2019080418). The General Plan Update EIR includes a comprehensive analysis of the impacts of City buildout compared to baseline physical conditions. The EIR analysis estimated General Plan buildout could accommodate the construction of between 20,000 and 25,000 housing units and the addition of 25 to 30 million square feet of non-residential building space through the year 2035. These ranges were used in order to provide flexibility for future projects which could affect City buildout, ensuring that some future project changes could still fall within the scope of the General Plan EIR. The 2021 Housing Element EIR will either be a Supplement to the General Plan Update EIR or a Subsequent EIR. In order to comply with the City’s RHNA obligation the 2021 Housing Element contemplates adding capacity for approximately 3,000 lower income units through a mix of strategies, including increasing the allowable density of vacant properties to accommodate high density residential land use, changing the land use of vacant sites from commercial uses to high density residential uses, and some redevelopment/intensification strategies. This increase in housing units generally falls within the buildout range described within the General Plan EIR, but because it would affect the General Plan’s mix of uses, the 2021 Housing Element could have effects on vehicle miles traveled and other transportation-dependent analyses, such as greenhouse gases, air quality, energy, and noise. The 2021 Housing Element EIR will be a program EIR intended to support future, project-specific environmental analysis for implementing projects.

2 documents in project