Fremont City Council Meeting: 01/14/25 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Planning
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Plans, Policies and Studies
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5339) DOC ID: 5339
Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
2024 CODE UPDATE - HOUSING ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION – Citywide - PLN2025-00074 - Public Hearing (Published Notice) To Consider Adoption of a Resolution for Objective Design Standards for Historic Homes Associated with State law Compliance and an Ordinance for Associated Text Amendments to the Historic Resources Chapter (FMC Chapter 18.175); and to Consider Exemptions for the Proposed Amendments From the Requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Each on a Separate and Independent Basis, Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines §15061 (Review for Exemption), §15183 (Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning), §15262 (Feasibility and Planning Studies), and §15378 (Project).
Contact Persons:
Name: James Willis Joel Pullen
Title: Senior Planner Planning Manager
Div/Dept: Planning Planning
Phone: 510-494-4449 510-494-4436
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: As part of the implementation of the 2023 – 2031 Housing Element of the Fremont General Plan, the City is required to enact the policies and rules contained in a number of programs. Program 4 requires the City adopt objective standards for historic homes to reduce the processing time and uncertainty for applications related to eligible historic resources. The State of California requires the City implement certain programs in the Housing Element within two years of the Housing Element’s adoption in January 2023, including Program 4.
The proposed objective standards for eligible register resources, which are attached to this staff report along with the associated updates to the Fremont Municipal Code (FMC), are intended to accomplish the requirements of Program 4 prior to the State mandated deadline. The proposed objective standards would preserve protections necessary for maintaining the historic integrity of historic homes in Fremont, while still meeting the City’s and State’s goals to increase the supply of housing.
BACKGROUND:
Fremont Housing Element
The Housing Element is an element of the Fremont General Plan that contains an eight -year plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. It provides a blueprint for how the City of Fremont can protect the housing stability of existing residents; preserve and improve the existing housing stock; and produce new housing at all income levels.
On January 10, 2023, the Fremont City Council voted unanimously to adopt the 2023–2031 Housing Element. Shortly after its adoption, the Housing Element was submitted to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review and certification. HCD is responsible for reviewing every Housing Element in the State and Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
determining whether the Housing Element complies with State law. On March 22, 2023, HCD certified Fremont’s 2023–2031 Housing Element.
The 2023-2031 Housing Element contains six goals, as listed below:
• Goal 1. Preserve, Maintain, and Improve the Existing Housing Supply
• Goal 2. Help Current Residents Maintain Stable and Safe Housing in Fremont
• Goal 3. Promote Production of New Affordable and Market-Rate Housing
• Goal 4. Maximize Support and Resources for Affordable Housing Production
• Goal 5. Address Disparities in Access to Housing and Disproportionate Housing Needs
• Goal 6. Maintain a Compliant Housing Element and Zoning Ordinance
As part of the implementation of the certified Housing Element, a number of programs were adopted. The specific program related to historic properties is Program 4 which reads:
Program 4. Objective Design Standards for Historic Homes. The City promotes preservation of historic resources through a program that screens possible historic resources when projects come in for alteration or demolition. There have been several successful large residential projects in the City that incorporated historic resources and allowed them to be adapted into modern housing. Additionally, the City has received much interest from homeowners of individual historic homes in adding an ADU consistent with the City’s adopted objective design standards for ADUs on historic properties. In order to reduce the processing time and uncertainty for applications involving historic resources, the City would develop a set of objective design standards for the review of projects involving historic homes.
The City is required to adopt regulations to enact Program 4 within two years of the Housing Element’s adoption.
State Housing Law
State law requires that a city’s Housing Element demonstrate that the City has adequately planned to meet the housing needs of the community at all income levels. This obligation includes both providing zoned capacity to accommodate a city’s allocation of housing and developing policies and procedures to facilitate the development of that housing. The requirements for a compliant Housing Element are set by the California Government Code.
Since the last Housing Element update in 2015, multiple state laws have modified the requirements for a certified Housing Element. A brief summary of relevant laws is below:
• AB 72 (Santiago, 2017) authorized the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to review actions by local jurisdictions in the middle of a planning period for consistency with their Housing Element and State law. It provides HCD greater authority to react to violations of Housing Element law, including the imposition of penalties. Specific penalties could include revocation of a Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 3
previous Housing Element certification and referral of violations to the attorney general for legal action.
• SB 166 (Skinner, 2017) required local jurisdictions to maintain adequate sites to accommodate the remaining Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) throughout the Housing Element planning period. If a development is proposed on a Housing Element inventory site at a density lower than the intended density in the Housing Element, a jurisdiction must either make findings that the Housing Element’s remaining sites have sufficient capacity to accommodate the remaining unmet RHNA by each income level or identify and make available sufficient sites to accommodate the remaining unmet RHNA for each income category.
• SB 35 (Wiener, 2017) added a requirement that local jurisdictions must allow for a streamlined ministerial approval process when the jurisdiction has not yet made sufficient progress toward their allocation of the regional housing need.
• SB330 (Skinner, 2019) prohibits local jurisdictions from imposing or enforcing new design standards on housing projects that are not objective. The law also prohibits an agency from holding more than five hearings in connection with review of a proposed housing development and does not allow residential projects to be denied on the basis of requested density bonus concessions and waivers. Furthermore, the law prohibits jurisdictions from creating new standards which make housing development more difficult from the rules in effect in 2018, including rules related to height, setback, and density.
As a result of recent legislative changes, the penalties for having a non-compliant Housing Element have substantially increased. Jurisdictions without a compliant housing element have historically been ineligible for state administered funding programs, including programs for affordable housing. Recent changes have added additional basis for action against cities with a non-compliant housing element, including:
• Litigation from the State Department of Justice
• Loss of permitting authority
• Financial penalties up to $50,000 a month
• Court receivership of housing element process
Furthermore, HCD has created a new Housing Accountability Unit (HAU) that is tasked with enforcing Housing Element law throughout the planning period. The HAU intends to review local government actions, or failures to act, that it deems inconsistent with an adopted Housing Element or State law. This includes failure to implement program actions included in a previously certified Housing Element. HCD may revoke Housing Element compliance at any point during the planning cycle if it finds that a jurisdiction’s implementation actions are not consistent with state law.
During review of the City’s Housing Element, HCD identified the subjective nature of the City’s historic review process, particularly for single family and two-family homes as well as ADUs, as onerous and not being in compliance with State housing laws. The City is therefore Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 4
required to implement changes in the process to streamline review of these types of projects. These rules are not specific to Fremont, but are Statewide regulations imposed on local jurisdictions to streamline housing development in response to the housing crisis.
Many of the recently passed State housing laws include requirements for objective standards and permit streamlining. Objective standards must provide clear and quantifiable requirements for projects and streamlining would reduce the number of public hearings that a housing project may be subject to. The intent of these new laws is to facilitate housing production goals statewide to help alleviate California’s housing crisis.
Historical Architectural Review Board
On November 14, 2024, the Fremont Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) held a public hearing to consider a recommendation to the City Council regarding these same historic objective standards and zoning text amendment. After asking some questions about the applicability of the standards and how they could help alleviate the housing shortage, the Board unanimously recommended approval to the City Council with no modifications.
Please refer to the HARB staff report (Informational 2) and the draft HARB minutes from that hearing (Informational 3). There were no public speakers at the HARB hearing.
Planning Commission
On December 12, 2024, the Fremont Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider a recommendation to the City Council regarding the proposed zoning text amendment and the proposed historic objective standards. The Planning Commission asked questions about the types of projects that these objective standards would apply to and questions about how many eligible historic resources there are in Fremont currently. There were no public speakers at the Planning Commission hearing. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the zoning text amendment and historic objective standards unanimously to the City Council. Please refer to the Planning Commission staff report (Informational 4) and the draft Planning Commission meeting minutes (Informational 5).
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Project Description:
The City is required by State Law to enact programs contained in the Fremont Housing Element. Program 4 requires the City to prepare objective standards for historic homes to be in conformance with recently passed State Law. The proposed Objective Standards for Eligible Register Resources (Objective Standards) are intended to meet the requirements of Program 4. These Objective Standards would not apply to listed register resources, nor to projects involving demolition or relocation of listed or register eligible structures. These objective design standards would provide a streamlined and standardized basis by which to review proposed projects at eligible historic single-family and two-family residential properties, while ensuring that projects which seek to maintain and expand the City’s housing supply do not negatively impact the significance and character of Fremont’s historic buildings. These objective design standards are provided as a set of checklists which are intended to inform project development and reduce uncertainty and delays in the review process. Failure to adopt objective standards under Program 4 could result in the State HAU finding the City out of compliance with the certified Housing Element and could result in enforcement actions being imposed upon the City as described above.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 5
General Plan Conformance:
The following General Plan policies are among those most applicable to this project:
LAND USE POLICY 2-1.11: Infill Emphasis – Focus new development on underutilized or “skipped over” sites that are already served by infrastructure and public streets.
Strongly discourage, and where appropriate prohibit, the conversion of open space or underdeveloped land on the fringes of Fremont to urban uses.
LAND USE ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION 2-2.5.A: ZONING UPDATE – Update Fremont’s zoning regulations, including the zoning map, to achieve consistency with the General Plan vision and Land Use Plan and shift toward a form-based approach to regulating development in City Center and the Town Centers. The update should reflect best practices in zoning, including the use of form-based codes, and should explore innovative and creative ways to achieve a more pedestrian-friendly and sustainable land use pattern. At the same time, the update should also address zoning “fundamentals” such as definitions, allowable densities and floor area ratios, height and bulk controls, and the use of overlays to achieve place specific objectives.
LAND USE POLICY 2-3.2: Neighborhood Reinvestment – Encourage continued reinvestment in Fremont neighborhoods by the public and private sectors. While the basic land use pattern in many neighborhoods is already set and will be maintained, their improvement and evolution should be viewed an important part of the City’s sustainability initiatives.
Housing Element Goal 3: Promote Production of New Affordable and Market-Rate Housing - Fremont has adequate General Plan land use designations and zoning in place to meet the community’s RHNA targets. However, significant barriers exist to develop enough new housing, in particularly affordable housing, to meet the community’s needs. Goal 3 focuses on removing the barriers to the production of affordable and market rate housing in Fremont.
Housing Element Goal 4: Maximize Support and Resources for Affordable Housing Production - Construction of affordable housing generally requires large subsidies from Federal, State, County or local government sources in order to be financially feasible, yet there is not nearly enough funding available to subsidize all of the affordable housing needs in the region. The lack of available resources is a significant barrier to the production of affordable housing. Goal 4 focuses on maximizing resources, streamlining processes, and providing incentives to encourage the production of affordable housing.
Housing Element Goal 5: Address Disparities in Access to Housing and Disproportionate Housing Needs - Disparities in housing access and quality exists in Fremont, particularly among low-income people of color. Residents of color are more likely to experience homelessness, cost-burden, and overcrowding. Residents of color are also more likely to be renters than homeowners, which contributes to their disproportionate housing instability. Goal 5 focuses on meaningful actions to address the factors that detract from fair housing access within Fremont.
Housing Element Goal 6: Maintain a Compliant Housing Element and Zoning Ordinance - Goal 6 focuses on consistent evaluation of the effectiveness of Housing Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 6
Element programs during the planning period, and adjusting/adapting to changes in state law, and economic conditions to stay on target with housing goals.
Analysis: The Housing Element is a mandatory element of the General Plan, and it includes State-approved policies and programs to increase housing opportunities in the City.
California Government Code section 65585(i) requires that the City implement all new housing laws, and noncompliance may result in the State revoking certification of the City’s 2023-2031 Housing Element. Program 4 was included as a Housing Element implementation action to capture changes in State law not yet reflected in the City’s Planning and Zoning Ordinance or other design guidelines. The purpose of the Objective Standards and this Code Update is to align the FMC and the City’s development process with recently passed State legislation and to provide more clarity to the public, staff, and decision-makers when applying regulations to eligible historic housing development projects and residential uses.
Staff has made a good faith effort to prepare the Objective Standards and zoning text amendments to be in complete compliance with State law; however, State legislation is complicated and nuanced, primarily because of the annual changes enacted by the Legislature. As such, many of the state laws informing the proposed amendments are still being interpreted by courts throughout the State. Future amendments to state laws and court interpretations of the laws are likely, which could result in the need to modify the proposed amendments or other areas of the FMC. Staff will monitor amendments and new interpretations of the law and bring forward any future amendments to City codes, as necessary.
The following Community Character Element policies are among those applicable to this project:
COMMUNITY CHARACTER Policy 4-6.1: Protection of Historic Resources - Identify, preserve, protect and maintain buildings, structures, objects, sites and districts which are reminders of past eras, events, and persons important in local, state, or national history. Historic structures which provide significant examples of architectural periods and styles of the past are irreplaceable assets. They should be protected to provide present and future generations with examples of the physical environments in which past generations lived and worked. The needless destruction and impairment of significant historic resources must be prevented so that opportunities for public enjoyment and economic utilization of such resources are not diminished or lost.
COMMUNITY CHARACTER Policy 4-6.2: Construction and Alterations within Historic Areas - Require new construction or alterations to Register Resources or Potential Register Resources located within a designated HOD or NCA to be subject to review and approval by the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB). However, single - family residential properties (other than Fremont Register Resources and Potential Register Resources) located within an HOD or NCA are not subject to review by HARB.
COMMUNITY CHARACTER Implementation 4-6.2.A: Secretary of the Interior Standards - Review proposed alterations to Register Resources and Potential Register Resources in a manner that is consistent with the recommended procedures and best practices provided in The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 7
Historic Properties, including guidelines for preserving, rehabilitating, restoring and reconstructing historic buildings.
COMMUNITY CHARACTER Policy 4-6.5: Design Compatibility - Preserve the architectural continuity and design integrity of historic districts and other areas of strong architectural character. New development within such areas does not need to replicate prevailing architectural styles exactly but should be complementary in form, height, and bulk.
COMMUNITY CHARACTER Policy 4-6.6: Historic Preservation Regulations - Observe local, State and Federal historic preservation laws, regulations and codes to ensure conservation of Fremont’s significant historic resources. These laws include but are not limited to Mills Act Historic Property contracts, the California Historical Building Code, and State laws related to archaeological resources.
Analysis: Fremont values its historic heritage and has established policies and regulations to protect historic resources in the City. The City proactively identifies, maintains, and protects its historic resources. The proposed Objective Standards and the associated amendment to the FMC would allow the City to continue to protect the integrity of eligible historic resources while remaining in compliance with recently passed State legislation. Furthermore, the proposed Objective Standards would allow the HARB to remain focused on reviewing projects related to properties on the Historic Register(s) and larger developments in the historic overlay districts of Niles and Mission San Jose.
Zoning Amendment:
Currently, certain types of projects are eligible for expedited review in which planning staff, rather than the HARB, make the required findings per FMC 18.175.250. These projects are typically less likely to adversely impact a historic resource, such as in-kind replacement of existing features such as windows and doors, siding, porches, stairs, and other exterior features that are damaged beyond repair or had been removed, and replacement of roof coverings, fences and paving consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. The HARB may also delegate review of certain projects to planning staff, including removal of incompatible additions and alterations, seismic retrofitting, minor alterations that do not impact the historic character of a property or are not visible from public-rights-of-way, and construction of small accessory buildings and structures. In these cases, planning staff must make the required findings that a project adheres to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and relevant local guidelines and standards.
The proposed amendment to FMC 18.175.250 (Expedited review of minor alterations to register/potential register resources) would allow City staff to implement the Objective Standards in accordance with Program 4 and State law. The addition of subparagraph 6 would allow the use of the Objective Standards to review additions, new construction, and ADU projects that have been identified as containing an eligible historic resource, but the resource is not actually on the historic register. The ordinance would only apply to single family and two-family lots, not multi-family or mixed use, nor would it apply to projects that contain a home that has been converted into a different use such as a commercial conversion.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 8
Objective Standards:
The proposed Objective Standards are intended to provide a more streamlined review process for projects at single- and two-family residential properties that are eligible for the Historic Register. Projects may include alterations to original features of historic residential buildings (preservation/maintenance of original features, repair or replacement of features, and mechanical upgrades), additions, accessory dwelling units, and new construction on historic residential properties. The objective standards would not apply to projects involving demolition or relocation of eligible register resources or to certain agricultural structures.
Adhering to the Objective Design Standards provides an alternative to the discretionary design review process as required by Program 4 of the adopted Housing Element. Project applicants who propose alterations, additions, or new construction which do not comply with the objective design standards at historic residential properties would proceed with the City’s existing discretionary design review process, which involves HARB review, as provided in the FMC.
The Objective Standards document contains a flow chart diagramming the process to utilize the Objective Standards. Applicants would first need to determine if their project is eligible for the Historic Register through the normal process of having a qualified historian prepare a Department of Parks and Recreation form to document the history of the site. If the project is eligible for the Historic Register, and the proposed project is eligible to use the Objective Standards, the applicant would complete the appropriate checklist contained in the Objective Standards then utilize the appropriate Architectural Style Worksheet to identify the allowable and prohibited architectural elements and exterior materials. The completed checklist would be submitted with the project application for staff ministerial review. If staff confirms the proposed work is eligible to use the Objective Standards and the proposed architectural elements and exterior materials conform to the appropriate Architectural Style Worksheet, the project would be approved. Please refer to the attached Objective Standards document for more details on the process.
FINDINGS FOR APPROVAL: In accordance with FMC Chapter 18.225, amendments to the Zoning Ordinance must be heard by both the Planning Commission and City Council.
Pursuant to FMC §18.225.060, to approve the proposed zoning text amendment, the City Council must make the following findings specified in FMC §18.225.050:
(1) The proposed amendment is consistent with the General Plan and, where the amendment is to the text of the General Plan, it is consistent with the other policies and chapters.
Analysis: The proposed amendment would be consistent with the General Plan Land Use and Community Character Elements because the proposed amendment would streamline the process to review certain projects affecting eligible historic resources, update the City’s land use regulations to achieve consistency with State law, and support compatible land uses.
Furthermore, the proposed amendment would also implement Program 4 from the City’s 2023-2031 Housing Element, which is part of Fremont’s General Plan.
(2) The proposed amendment furthers the public interest, convenience, and general welfare of the city.
Analysis: The proposed amendment would further the public interest, convenience, and general welfare of the City because the proposed amendment would implement the City’s Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 9
Housing Element, which is part of the City’s General Plan. The proposed amendment would ensure that the City’s planning and zoning regulations comply with State law. The proposed amendment would streamline the process by providing development standards that are relevant to current development regulations, objective, easy to use, flexible and equitable, and ensure the health and safety of Fremont residents.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The proposed text amendment and Objective Standards are exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to, without limitation, each on a separate and independent basis, CEQA Guidelines:
1) In that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed text amendment and Objective Standards would have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment, and because the proposed amendments would only modify certain zoning procedures to implement the City’s 2023-2031 Housing Element and would not approve any development. §15061(b)(3) Review for Exemption.
2) In that the proposed text amendment and Objective Standards are consistent with the development densities and policies in Fremont’s General Plan, for which an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) [SCH #2010082060] was previously prepared and certified, and none of the circumstances necessitating further environmental review are present. The proposed amendment and Objective Standards do not involve peculiar impacts that were not previously analyzed or discussed as significant effects in prior EIR(s) on the general plan and zoning with which the project is consistent, there are no previously identified significant effects which are substantially more severe than analyzed in the prior EIR(s) or cannot be substantially mitigated by the imposition of uniformly applied development policies or standards applied on a citywide basis, and the proposed amendment and Objective Standards are necessary to conform with state law. Any conceivable impact of the proposed amendments would be too speculative for reasoned analysis in the absence of specific development proposals. §15183, Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning and/or §15162 Subsequent EIRs and Negative Declarations.
3) In that the proposed amendment and Objective Standards may lead to possible future actions, but the City has not yet approved, adopted, or funded those possible future actions. §15262 Feasibility and Planning Studies.
4) In that the proposed amendment and Objective Standards are an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. §15378 Project.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Exhibit A - Draft Ordinance XX-2025
• Exhibit B Resolution 2025-XX
• Exhibit C - Fremont ODS for Potential Register Residences Council Staff Report (ID # 5339) Meeting of January 14, 2025 Updated: 1/8/2025 8:41 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 10
• Informational 1 - Fremont ODS Process Flowchart
• Informational 2 - HARB Staff Report
• Informational 3 - HARB Draft Minutes 11-14-24
• Informational 4 - Planning Commission Report 12-12-2024 • Informational 5 - Draft Planning Commission Minutes 12-12-2024
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Hold public hearing.
2. Find that the project is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per, without limitation, CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 Review for Exemption, CEQA Guidelines Section 15262 Feasibility and Planning Studies, and CEQA Guidelines 15378 Project, and find that no further environmental review is required pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, as the project is consistent with the General Plan, for which an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (SCH#2010082060) was previously prepared and certified and/or §15162 Subsequent EIRs and Negative Declarations;
3. Find that the proposed zoning text amendment and Objective Standards are consistent with the Fremont General Plan;
4. Find that the proposed zoning text amendment and Objective Standards further the public interest, convenience, and general welfare of the City by ensuring consistency between the FMC and the City’s General Plan, with State law, and provide for a streamlining of the process of reviewing eligible historic resources by providing development standards that are relevant to current development regulations, objective, easy to use, flexible and equitable, and ensure the health and safety of Fremont residents;
5. Introduce the ordinance amending Title 18 (Planning and Zoning) attached to this report as Exhibit B;
6. Adopt the resolution attached to this report as Exhibit C, implementing Program 4 of the City’s 2023-2031 Housing Element to identify Objective Design Standards for modifying eligible historic resources for single family and two family residential development.