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Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes An opportunity for public comment was provided: December 18, 2014 Page 4 of 6 • Barbara Kyle (Assumption Homeowners Association) commented that the State law for Housing Elements requires more specificity than any other element in the General Plan. She noted that she would like to see this level of detail given to other elements of the Plan, in order to maintain a balanced perspective. In particular, she expressed concern that many of the city's best commercial sites were slated for housing, which could mean that housing goals were being achieved at the expense of economic development goals. She noted that part of being a transit friendly, walkable city was to attract mixed uses and not just housing. Ms. Kyle asked that if uses such as restaurants, retail, and entertainment would be precluded from locating on housing sites. She asked if it was permissible to approve other uses on the housing sites after the Element has been submitted to the state. Secretary Liao replied that the list does not indicate that the sites must be used for housing exclusively. For example, The Village was a former housing opportunity site, but given the economy, the developer who purchased the site from the former redevelopment agency felt that the best use would be commercial. The Planning Commission also reviewed the Downtown San Leandro Tech Campus, which was originally envisioned as mixed -income residential. These were originally listed as housing sites, but due to the recession, the developers opted for other uses. Mr. Miller noted that most of the housing opportunity sites are zoned commercial and will not be rezoned to residential. The expectation is that they will be mixed use sites with residential above ground floor commercial. The City wants ground floor commercial on these sites to enhance ground floor street life and create vibrancy, jobs and economic opportunity. The reality has been that the City has been losing its best housing sites to projects that are one hundred percent commercial development. Commissioner Hernandez commented that there is a 6 -acre site on Marina auto row that is currently zoned for commercial use. He asked if the City would consider that area as a site for housing. Mr. Miller replied that this is could be discussed during the Land Use Element. There may be a particular General Plan category or zoning category which may indicate density ranges for housing that are not high enough. Commissioner Hernandez questioned if changes are made to the Land Use Map, would those changes then be made to the Housing Element numbers? Mr. Miller replied that theoretically that should be done so that the whole document is internally consistent. Commissioner Hernandez inquired how the city could implement its healthy homes goals if it did not have a rental housing inspection program. He asked about Appendix B in the Housing Element, and wondered if that was the inspection form. Mr. Miller stated that Appendix B was the physical condition survey, which was done for a few different neighborhoods to see what percentage of the housing stock was in good condition, fair condition and poor condition. It did not cover the interior of the spaces or the compliance with health codes. Mr. Miller noted that the elimination of the rental housing inspection action from the Housing Element does not mean that it will never be considered in the future. Other means of implementation would include working with the county health department and collaborating with county and state level organizations.