DATE: SEPTEMBER 13, 2022
DEPARTMENT: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
FROM: MEGAN HUNTER, DIRECTOR
BY: JONATHAN MOORE, SENIOR PLANNER
MONICA GURMILAN, ASSOCIATE PLANNER
THROUGH: LISA BRINTON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
TITLE: VISIÓN SALINAS 2040 GENERAL PLAN UPDATE
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
This is an Administrative Report on the Visión Salinas 2040 General Plan update. No action is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council receive and accept the Administrative Report on the Visión Salinas 2040 General Plan.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City is updating its General Plan and preparing its first Climate Action Plan under the umbrella of Visión Salinas 2040. Since the last update to Council in March 2022, staff have continued community engagement efforts (workshops, working groups, pop ups and surveys). The next big engagement topics to be addressed this calendar year include environmental justice, public safety, and the Housing Element. Based on community input, staff have developed draft Place Type land use designations and map. Place Types respond to a variety of community needs by emphasizing how uses come together to create a sense of place to maximize limited infill development opportunities. This Administrative Report summarizes community engagement efforts and the development of the draft Place Type designations and map.
BACKGROUND:
Since launching Visión Salinas 2040 in 2021, the Community Development Department (CDD) has presented regular reports on the General Plan Update (GPU) to Council. Prior to this Study Session, the most recent update was March 2022, which coincided with the preparation of the state General Plan Annual Progress Report (APR). The March 2022 report summarized General Plan implementation and accomplishments during the 2021 calendar year (APR) and Visión Salinas 2040 engagement efforts including hosting an Existing Conditions Webinar to present research that will help frame the GPU and community discussions.
DISCUSSION:
Visión Salinas 2040 Community Engagement Update
Below is a summary of engagement activities since March 2022. Primary activities include community workshops, working group meetings and pop ups and community events.
Community Workshops
First Climate Action Plan Workshop via Zoom, reporting on the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in Salinas, and the unique challenges and vulnerabilities faced by the community. (April 2022) Community Design Webinar via Zoom, focused on neighborhood improvements and the proposed shift from traditional land use and street classifications to place-based Place Types and Street Types. (June 2022) Working Groups
Staff held seven (7) Working Group meetings from February through April 2022. Working Groups reviewed and discussed current General Plan and related policies in areas such as housing, transportation, economic development, environmental justice, sustainability, and water management.
Attachment 1 provides a detailed summary of workshops and Working Group meetings including links to complete meeting notes.
Taking Engagement to the Community
Entered into an agreement the Center for Community Advocacy (CCA) to directly outreach to farmworkers and hire resident “ambassadors” to hold small group discussions on General Plan topics.
Conducted pop-ups at events such as Ciclovía and Movie Night at the Park (July and September), and other community locations.
Distributed notebooks, water bottles, blankets, and other items branded with Visión Salinas 2040 to build awareness.
Preparing 400 youth activity kits which will be distributed through Library and Community Services. Using the kits, youth can design their own Visión Salinas 2040 city and post photos of their creations to visionsalinas.org. The kits will also have an information sheet on the General Plan Update.
Staff is planning two environmental justice workshops in September (one in English, one in Spanish) and outreach around the topic of public safety will begin in October.
Housing Element Update
Housing has been discussed at many General Plan meetings and in many other recent planning processes, but specific engagement is necessary to elevate this Element. Staff anticipates that the City’s overall production target for the next eight years will be 6,674 units, based on the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) methodology the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments adopted in April 2022. A key component of the Housing Element is a Sites Inventory that identifies potential locations for housing production. Staff has started drafting the Sites Inventory and will align it with the Place Types to facilitate future housing development. The City is closing in on one year until the statutory deadline of December 2023 submission of its 6th Cycle Housing Element. Because of state mandated deadline and review procedures, the Housing Element preparation and approval process may need to run ahead of the other parts of the General Plan.
Place Type Land Use Designations
Through this General Plan Update, staff is proposing a new approach to land use designations and land use map that aims to create and reinforce quality places where people want to live, work, play, and learn. The draft Place Types and Place Type Map were developed from community feedback heard at the seven (7) land use workshops held in 2021, Working Group and Steering Committee meetings. Draft Place Types incorporate land use policies and recommendations of recent strategic plans including the Alisal Vibrancy Plan and Economic Development Element. In general, residents and stakeholders wanted to see more housing and mixed-use development, sufficient area for businesses to grow, and a variety of entertainment and recreation for all ages.
The draft Place Types (Attachment 2) and Place Type map (Attachment 3, also available as a an interactive map) respond to community identified needs by increasing flexibility to make the most use of limited infill sites and new development opportunities in the Future Growth Area (FGA). Even with the FGA buildout, there is a need to grow up, not just out. Place Type and map details will continue to be vetted and refined through future engagement and work on the Housing Element Sites Inventory. Some key changes include addition of two (2) mixed-use designations, plus special districts for the downtown and Alisal Marketplace, residential Place Types that allow for more housing in the “Missing Middle” (bungalows, duplexes, townhomes etc.) range that may be more affordable through design, unique place types for the West Area and Central Area Specific Plans that reference the recently approved documents, and and update to East Area of the FGA to blend the community’s desire for higher housing density with the vision and objective of a previous draft specific plan.
DEPARTMENT COORDINATION:
Although the development of this report was led by Community Development, it is expected that all departments, the City Council and Commissions continue to be involved in the General Plan Update.
CEQA CONSIDERATION:
The proposed action of accepting the GP APR and the administrative report on the GPU are not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per Guidelines Section 15378. An Environmental Impact Report will be prepared for the General Plan.
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
Visión Salinas 2040 furthers multiple components of the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. The GPU will help implement the AVP through incorporating major land use and other policies. The SALC economic studies will include recommendations for actions to support Ag Tech business development. The Land Use and Housing Elements are crucial tools for identifying housing sites at multiple income levels and encouraging Transit Oriented Development. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) itself is a part of Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability and the Safety and Environmental Justice Elements will also address vulnerability and resiliency.
FISCAL AND SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT:
This report has no direct fiscal impact to the General Plan. However, it is anticipated that the General Plan process will cost approximately $3.4 million dollars. The City currently has approximately $2.6 million for this effort planned in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP, Project # 9701). The Local and Regional Early Action entitlement grants received total $855,000 and combined with the Sustainable Agricultural Land Conservation grant (all reimbursable grants) of $250,000 brings total available funding to approximately $3.4 million. In anticipation of the need to offset the costs of the General Plan, a General Plan/Zoning Maintenance Fee was established in 2015 and has surpassed the original estimate of generating between $150,000 to $200,000 annually. This funding will be used toward future needs to maintain the General Plan including the Housing Element, which must be updated ever eight (8) years to be eligible for grant funding.
ATTACHMENTS:
2022 (January – August) Workshop and Working Group Summary Draft Place Type Description Table
Draft Place Type Map
Current General Plan Land Use Map
Page | 3
Page | 1
CITY OF SALINASCOUNCIL STAFF REPORTCITY OF SALINASCOUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY OF SALINAS
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY OF SALINAS
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT