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File Number: 21-758 Currently, the Site Plan Review procedure for projects in nonresidential and mixed-use districts is standardized. However, in the residential districts, there are two types of Site Plan Review, major and minor, whose procedures vary depending on specific project characteristics. The draft amendments propose to standardize Site Plan Review procedures by establishing three levels of Site Plan Review, as noted in Attachment 2 (Proposed Site Plan Review Process). The amendments also clarify that the Site Plan Review process will run concurrently with any other discretionary permits according to the permit with the highest level of review authority. The proposed Site Plan Review procedure amendments would shift the review authority for new homes larger than 4,000 square feet and new homes or additions that exceed the single story/18 foot height limit in the RS-VP District to the ZEO rather than the BZA. However, the ZEO’s decisions would be appealable to the BZA or the project could be elevated to the BZA for approval where the ZEO determines the public interest would be better served by having the BZA conduct Site Plan Review. Miscellaneous: Other amendments include removing ‘Parking Exception’ as a specific approval type and processing requests via Major Site Plan Review at a noticed public hearing by the ZEO rather than the BZA. The amendments also include deleting references to the obsolete Site Development Subcommittee. Planning Commission Public Hearing On November 4, 2021, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and took public testimony on the proposed Objective Standards Amendments. The Commission received a letter from a local organization, San Leandro 2050, requesting that the parking reductions proposed by staff be further reduced and extended to the Multi-Family (RM) Districts to reduce the cost of housing and advance environmental goals (See Attachment 4). Four public commenters spoke at the hearing with mixed perspectives on parking reductions. After deliberation, the Planning Commission adopted a Resolution recommending approval of the proposed amendments to the City Council on a 6-0 vote (Commissioner Mendoza absent) with the following modifications: 1) Add shared use car space(s) as an amenity option to Section 4.4.336(B)(4) 2) Eliminate parking minimums and establish a 0.5 space/unit parking space for all new Multi-Family and Mixed-Use Developments in the DA and SA Districts 3) Require 15% of actual parking provided in the DA and SA Districts to provide Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers; and 4) Require a minimum of 1 bicycle parking space/unit to supplement reduced parking for DA and SA Districts Staff is supportive of all of the above changes with the exception of Item 2 above related to the 0.5 parking space/unit maximum. Local developers have expressed concerns about high parking minimums and low parking maximums, which hinder their ability to respond to market demands for housing. Staff anticipates that the 0.5 parking space/unit maximum could further curtail housing development in San Leandro and lead to negative parking outcomes for surrounding Page 8 City of San Leandro Printed on 12/30/2021 26