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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes September 11, 2014 Page 5 of 11 East Bay communities such as Berkeley and Emeryville might need more spacious micro units than San Francisco. Action 59.02-F would facilitate construction of additional dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods via zoning amendments that would lower lot size requirements for corner lots and/or by establishing an exception process to allow a second primary home on large lots. While continuing use of multi-family design guidelines in the Downtown TOD and the South Area of East 14th Street, Action 59.06-A would develop additional guidelines that apply more broadly to multi-family projects on infill lots. Mr. Miller said this addition would address community concerns about how multi-family development fits within the context of lower- density neighborhoods. In terms of next steps, Mr. Miller said staff is seeking a recommendation to move the Working Draft along to the City Council for consideration at its meeting on October 6, 2014, after which the document would go to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for review. The City will then undertake an Initial Study to ensure compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and, as appropriate, feed any additional revisions and updates to HCD during its review period. HCD will return the Working Draft, with its comments, to the City in December 2014. After the HCD feedback has been incorporated, the Final Draft Housing Element document will come back to the Planning Commission and on to the City Council for adoption by January 31, 2015. In the meantime, Mr. Miller emphasized that Housing Element issues can continue to be addressed by direct communication with staff, at any stakeholder or neighborhood meetings, at Planning Commission and City Council meetings, and at General Plan Community Meetings scheduled for October 23 and 28, 2015. The website (www.sanleandro2035.org) also has a link in “Virtual City Hall” to provide comments and feedback. Commissioner Rennie, having noticed that a significant portion of the potential multi-family housing sites are along East 14th Street, asked whether mechanisms are in place to address the different types of housing stock to develop there, including market -rate units, to ensure meeting the City’s economic development goals and avoid conflict with Policy 3.03, which calls for locating affordable housing “in a variety of neighborhoods rather than concentrated in one particular part of the City.” Mr. Miller said that East 14th Street actually has only about 15 percent of the City -wide housing capacity identified in the Working Draft, with probably 50 percent focused around the downtown BART station, and to a lesser extent, the Bayfair BART station. The expectation is that a lot of the BART-area housing will be above-moderate, serving commuters and people seeking higher- density living lifestyles. He also pointed out that regardless of where the units are located, it’s a bigger question of how the City builds above moderate income housing when 90 percent of the capacity is in high-density, multi-family units. Part of the General Plan update involves working with the City’s Economic Development staff and looking at the market for different land uses and strategies to stimulate market-rate housing at higher densities. Secretary Liao added that when reviewing projects, staff is mindful of the General Plan policy to avoid segregating housing in one particular area, and in fact, San Leandro’s current stock of affordable housing units, located in approximately 16 or 17 complexes, is spread o ut throughout the City. Projects that require discretionary review not only come before either the Planning Commission or the Board of Zoning Adjustments, he noted, but also trigger staff review of pertinent General Plan policies to ensure balance and avoid over-saturation of one particular type of housing. In addition, Secretary Liao said, limited funding for subsidies constrains the ability to