City Council

11. DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL CORE SPECIFIC PLAN (DCCSP) AND RED HILL AVENUE SPECIFIC PLAN (RHASP) REVISIONS UPDATE On December 5, 2023, the City Council was provided an assessment of the Downtown Commercial Core Specific Plan (DCCSP) and the Red Hill Avenue Specific Plan (RHASP), which identified potential revisions to remove barriers to redevelopment and better align the specific plans with the real estate market. The assessment was prepared by Economic Planning Systems (EPS), Inc., who provided the City Council with a summary of findings and policy options. The Council received and filed the report and directed staff to bring forward the recommended policy actions at future Council meetings, for individual consideration and action. Since that time, the City Council has taken action on two recommended items. On February 20, 2024, the City Council approved a policy action regarding parkland in-lieu of dedication fee ("park fee") assessed for residential rental projects in the DCCSP and RHASP; and on March 5, 2024, the City Council took action regarding the City’s voluntary workforce housing ordinance by temporarily suspending the affordable housing in- lieu fee for 36 months. This report provides a status update on the remaining near- and mid-term policy options to be considered by the City’s Planning Commission and subsequently presented to the City Council. Recommendation: That the City Council direct staff to implement the following items: 1. Provide initial findings and recommendations to the Planning Commission in June 2024 and initiate Specific Plan Amendments thereafter on the following items: • Reductions in residential parking standards. • Modifications to private storage area requirements. 2. Provide initial findings and recommendations to the Planning Commission in Fall 2024 and initiate Specific Plan Amendments thereafter on the following items: • Modifications to the types of land uses allowed (i.e., retail, mixed-use and residential), including ground floor retail requirements, at key nodes within the DCCSP and RHASP. • Revisions, if applicable, to retail and mixed-use parking standards in the DCCSP and RHASP. • Modify height restrictions where historic preservation is not a concern. 3. Initiate Specific Plan Amendment to eliminate the Residential Allocation Reservation (RAR) Program contained in the DCCSP and RHASP in Winter 2024, in correlation with the adoption of Objective Design Standards (ODS).