Updated 10/10/2025
City of Pleasant Hill Rezoning
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In response to the number of inquiries that the City has received related to the proposed rezoning of various properties throughout the City, the following FAQs have been prepared to provide responses to some of the more frequently asked questions.
1. What role does the General Plan and Housing Element have in the proposed rezonings?
The City adopted a new General Plan in 2023 which outlines a long-term, visionary framework to guide future growth within the City through 2040. As part of the General Plan, the City also adopted a new Housing Element. As mandated by the State, the Housing Element follows an eight-year cycle (2023-2031) and establishes a comprehensive plan to address housing needs in Pleasant Hill over those eight years.
The General Plan map associated with the 2040 General Plan reflects the required changes in the approved Housing Element.
As a General Law City, the City is required by law to amend the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map so that the underlying zoning of all properties aligns with the overarching General Plan designations. This is the final phase in the process to ensure that the General Plan, including the Housing Element, and the Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map are consistent.
2. Why is the City rezoning my property?
The City adopted a new 2040 General Plan in May 2023. As a result, several areas of the City were re-designated to a different General Plan designation (e.g., some single-family properties were re-designated to mixed-use). Therefore, the City is now rezoning those properties to ensure that underlying zoning districts are consistent with the overarching General Plan designations.
3. Why is the City rezoning properties above-and-beyond what is required to meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) mandates from the State of California?
Updated 10/10/2025
The Housing Element establishes a comprehensive plan to address housing needs in Pleasant Hill between 2023-2031. Part of this includes locating “housing opportunity sites” to meet the City’s RHNA mandate of 1,803 total units. However, the Housing Element includes citywide programs and policies that go above and beyond the RHNA.
For example, Program F in the Housing Element requires the rezoning of almost 105 acres of existing, low-density, high-resource areas of the City to higher density mixeduse or multi-family designations to promote housing mobility and increased housing choice in some of the existing low-density areas through the rezoning. The required rezonings must occur within two years of the certification of the Housing Element, or no later than November 22, 2025. Further, Program R of the Housing Element requires the City to add new mixed-use zones and revise development standards to allow for missing middle housing types by 2026.
All the programs in the Housing Element are required to be implemented in the given timeframe to maintain compliance.
4. Why did the City change some single-family residential areas to mixed-use? As part of the General Plan process, there was extensive discussion about changing the designations for certain existing single-family areas, such as the East Vivian residential area east of Contra Costa Boulevard, to allow for future mixed-use development.
Because the General Plan is a long-range document, the City anticipated areas where those potential changes could occur over the next few decades. Accordingly, the City considered areas as appropriate for increased flexibility of uses based on, among other factors, their connectivity and proximity to nearby commercial uses. Further, the changes would provide opportunities for varied and increased housing opportunities that would partially address anticipated long-term growth needs, as well as any Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) mandates from the State of California.
5. What does a “mixed-use” zoning designation mean?
Mixed-use zoning districts allow for a range of commercial and residential uses that provide flexibility to property owners. For example, a mixed-use development could include a ground floor coffee shop, grocery store, or retail component with residential units on the floors above (“vertical mixed-use”). Alternatively, a mixed-use development could contain a stand-alone commercial use that shares the same site as a townhome or compact single-family residential use (“horizontal mixed-use”).
Updated 10/10/2025
6. What will happen to my single-family home if my property is rezoned to a mixeduse zoning district (Mixed-Use, Mixed-Use Neighborhood Business, etc.)? Nothing will happen to existing single-family residences, as single-family residential uses are permitted within all mixed-use zones, nor will those existing homes become nonconforming due to the zoning change. Additionally, the mixed-use zone includes language allowing existing properties to remain as a single-family use. If property owners wish to make improvements to their existing single-family properties within mixed-use zones, the City will not compel them to comply with the commercial component requirements of the mixed-use zones.
7. Is this effort to rezone properties, including the change to a mixed-use zoning district, related to a development project?
No, none of the proposed zoning changes have any relation to a development project(s).
Presently, the City does not have any new mixed-use development applications under review.
8. Were traffic impacts analyzed with the proposed rezonings? The General Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR) considered potential traffic of increased density as it relates to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT), which is required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
If a development application is submitted, based on the scope of the project, the City may require a traffic study as part of the individual development review to determine any potential impacts of the project. There are established thresholds, based on project types, that determine what constitutes a traffic impact. If a project’s impacts fall below these thresholds, no additional traffic analysis will be required; however, if a project exceeds the thresholds, an analysis must determine potential mitigations for those impacts, if possible.
9. Will my property taxes increase?
No, the County Assessor confirmed for City staff that properties are reassessed for tax purposes when there is a change in ownership, or when physical improvements are made to the property that add value. A rezoning does not trigger a reassessment.
Updated 10/10/2025
10. Is the City taking control of my property through this rezoning (i.e., eminent domain)?
No, the City neither has ownership control of any property proposed to be rezoned nor does the City intend to use eminent domain to acquire any properties for the purposes of rezoning.
11. Where can I find out more information?
To review a copy of the proposed Rezoning Map, visit the City’s website: https://www.phillca.gov/1666/Comprehensive-Zoning-Ordinance-Amendment You can also contact Haley Croffoot, Senior Planner at [email protected] or (925)671-5297