CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
September 18, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Anita D. Gutierrez, AICP, Development Services Director SUBJECT: TRANSFORMATIVE CLIMATE COMMUNITIES (TCC) POMONA HOUSING STUDY AND PARKING ANALYSIS.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council receive and file the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Pomona Housing Study and Parking Analysis.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The TCC Pomona Housing Study and Parking Analysis provides a robust analysis of the city’s Downtown core and provides three development approaches for the city to consider when planning for future economic growth and development opportunities. The report is presented to the City Council for input and comment; no formal action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item has no General Fund impact; the Project was wholly funded with Pomona Regional Early Action Planning REAP Program funds. The maximum grant contribution through SCAG is $270,000 to be used solely for the procurement and payment of the Consultant, which is disbursed directly from SCAG to the consultant. There is no reimbursement or pass-through to the City.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On June 6, 2022, the City Council approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to support the City of Pomona Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Pomona Technical Assistance Project (Project) with funding, consultant procurement, and administrative oversight. The Project consisted of parking, mobility, and open space infrastructure and housing feasibility analysis for Pomona’s City-owned parking lots within its Downtown area to potentially support housing development and leverage the City’s TCC project outcomes.
DISCUSSION:
This Project was made possible due to REAP funding becoming available under the California 2019-2020 Budget Act. SCAG was awarded $47 million in REAP funding to support local governments and stakeholders with housing planning activities that accelerate housing production and meet the region’s goals for producing 1.3 million new housing units by 2029, as determined by the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). SCAG has framed its REAP funding into three umbrella categories, including (1) Partnerships and Outreach, (2) Regional Housing Policy Solutions, and (3) Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS) Integration. As part of Category (3) Sustainable Community Strategies, SCAG has committed to pursuing partnerships with a particular emphasis on state-funded Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) areas within Priority Growth Areas to further next steps on housing-supportive land use analysis and strategy development.
In July of 2022, through a competitive bidding process executed by SCAG, the Lamar Johnson Collaborative was selected as the Project consultant. The Project had four objectives:
Objective #1: Comprehensive Analysis of Parking in the Downtown Pomona Specific Plan Objective #2: Comprehensive Analysis of Mobility and Open Space Infrastructure.
Objective #3: Comprehensive Market Feasibility Analysis for Housing Objective #4: Recommendations to the City for Redevelopment of City-Owned Parking Lots Over the last twelve months, the consultant executed a multi-layered approach to collect, analyze, and synthesize data to inform recommendations on catalyzing downtown development to spur housing development and utilize the public parking lots most efficiently. The project team used multiple methods to demonstrate the existing conditions of the project area, including surveys, aerial drone footage, and geographic information systems (GIS) to visualize and analyze City of Pomona data on green and open space, community assets, parking, mobility, and zoning and housing.
There were two rounds of community engagement, including stakeholder meetings and public workshops in November of 2022 and February of 2023. This feedback and input qualitatively informed the understanding and analysis of the existing conditions. The study concluded that Pomona’s downtown is ripe for a resurgence but needs one or more catalysts to drive it. As such, three development approaches are provided as the City considers future economic growth and development opportunities. Those approaches are described in detail in the Draft TCC Pomona Housing Study and Parking Analysis (Attachment No.1). Approach one focuses on the Heart of Downtown, prioritizing the Transit Oriented Development District immediately around the Transit Center and 2nd Street to capitalize on existing activity and increasing downtown district density. Approach two focuses on the Greening of Pomona by connecting community assets and new developments through an aggregation of new parks and an improved downtown street (mobility) network designed and programmed to attract residents and development. Approach three focuses on plugging –in housing where it’s missing by encouraging missing middle housing typologies and other small-scale development to infill remaining vacant lots for a more robust live, work, and play downtown district. Each approach can be considered and used in combination or separately depending on the City’s needs.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports the 2021 City Council Priority 3: Increased Opportunity and Housing Stability – Goal J: Encourage the development and maintenance of quality housing opportunities for all.
Prepared by:
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Anita D. Gutierrez
Development Services Director
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – Draft TCC Pomona Housing Study and Parking Analysis Attachment No. 2 – LJC Presentation
TCC Pomona Housing Study and Parking Analysis