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File Number: 19-682 <br />“medium localities” category, which is eligible for up to $310,000 in grant funding. The purpose of <br />the Planning Grants Program is to provide financial and technical assistance to local <br />governments to update planning documents to: <br />• Accelerate housing production; <br />• Streamline the approval of housing development; <br />• Facilitate housing affordability; <br />• Promote the development of housing; and <br />• Ensure geographic equity in the distribution and expenditure of allocated funds. <br />On September 16, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution 2019-154 authorizing the City <br />Manager to apply for SB 2 Planning Grant funding for a potential grant of up to $310,000 to <br />develop objective residential design standards and stimulate high quality residential and <br />mixed-use development. <br />On December 30, 2019, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sent a <br />conditional award letter and on February 6, 2020, HCD provided the City with a Planning Grants <br />Program Standard Agreement, outlining standard grant terms and reimbursement information, for <br />execution and confirming acceptance of the grant funds. <br />Analysis <br />The SB 2 Planning Grants Program provides funding for the City of San Leandro to evaluate the <br />General Plan and Zoning Ordinance and develop objective design and development standards. <br />Currently, proposed development projects are evaluated, in part, against design guidelines and <br />subjective criteria through a discretionary review process. A new set of objective development <br />standards will be crafted for each Zoning District that accommodates multi-family development. <br />Establishing objective standards will provide property owners and developers with greater <br />predictability and will streamline the development review process. The objective design and <br />development standards will be incorporated into the Zoning Code through a Zoning Code <br />Amendment. <br />Staff from the Community Development and Engineering and Transportation Departments <br />received proposals from three qualified firms and held interviews prior to selecting Miller Planning <br />Associates, who stood apart due to its multi-disciplinary team’s thoughtful approach and <br />extensive experience writing zoning codes and form-based planning documents. Martha Miller, <br />Principal and owner of Miller Planning Associates, will serve as project manager and primary <br />author of the objective development standards with support from Urban Field Studio, an urban <br />design and architecture firm, and Lexington Planning, a planning and entitlement firm. <br />Preparation of Objective Development Standards will consist of the following primary tasks: <br />• Task 1: Project Initiation and Site Analysis; <br />• Task 2: Identification of Development Constraints; <br />• Task 3: Stakeholder and Community Engagement (including coordination with City <br />Departments, key stakeholder sessions, and community workshops); <br />• Task 4: Preparation of Objective Development Standards and General Plan Update <br />Language; <br />Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 2/25/2020 <br />998