3B Public Hearing 2011 0321 - Laserfiche WebLink

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General Plan Amendments 9 March 21. 2011 During summer and fall 2008, the City continued its outreach program. Briefings were provided to the Planning Commission, the Rent Review Board_ and the Human Services Commission. In September, the City of San Leandro. the Asian Business Council, and the Asian Community Cultural Association co- sponsored a housing workshop focusing on the needs of the Asian community, with Chinese language translation services available at the meeting. Also in September, the City sponsored a facilitated workshop with 25 stakeholders. selected to represent a diverse range of perspectives on affordable housing. Attendees included housing advocates, housing and social service providers, realtors, non - profit and for- profit developers, and homeowner association representatives. Additional briefings were provided later in the fa11. One -on -one interviews with local affordable housing professionals and service providers were provided throughout fall 2008. The interviews provided an opportunity for a more in -depth discussion of housing issues with organizations such as Davis Street Family Resource Center and Congregations Organized for Renewal (COR). During February and March 2009, additional work sessions were conducted with the Planning Commission and City Council. Whereas the 2008 work sessions were focused on issue identification and review of trends, the 2009 work sessions focused on policy options and possible solutions to critical housing issues. The meetings included a joint work session between the San Leandro Unified School District Board and the City Council, focused on the combined issues of affordable housing, school overcrowding, and mitigation of enrollment impacts. A final community workshop was conducted in March 2009. The topic was housing policy options and prioritization of housing program funds. Again, extensive outreach was conducted and broad participation was solicited through the web. email invitations, and the local press. Approximately 35 people attended. The meeting included real -time Spanish language translation for several attendees with limited English language proficiency, and sign language services for hearing- impaired attendees. Participants engaged in a "town hall" style discussion of housing policies. and used colored adhesive dots to `rate" different housing policy choices on oversized wall exhibits. i'OD Strategy The City of San Leandro was awarded a $450,000 pilot planning grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and a 551,750 grant from the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority (ACIIA) to study the potential for transit- oriented development (TOD) in the greater downtown area. The study area, hereby referred to as TOD Strategy Area, is the' / mile radius around the intersection of East 14 and Davis Streets. representing 502 acres. This grant recognizes the TOD opportunities offered by both enhanced AC Transit bus service and the existing BART Station in the downtown area. A 27- member Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) was appointed by the City Council in January of 2006. The CAC held ten meetings between January 2006 and May 2007. A consultant team of advised the CAC over this period of time, and an existing conditions report. market study, land use alternatives, financial feasibility, traffic and parking report, station access improvement plan, design guidelines, preliminary land use concept and framework elements reports were all prepared as pan of the effort. The CAC meetings covered an introduction to TOD, the existing conditions report, identifying key factors in the 1/2 mile study area, a market assessment of the study area, a land use alternatives report, financial feasibility of three opportunity sites, traffic and parking strategies, station access plans, design guidelines and overall land use and framework elements. One of the CAC meetings was a field trip to view