RESOLUTION NUMBER: 6521-- 2023
CITY OF SEBASTOPOL
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL, SONOMA
COUNTY, AUTHORIZING STAFF TO SUBMIT A GRANT APPLICATION TO THE
METROPOLTTAN TRANSPORTATTON COMMISSION (MTC) FOR A PRIORITY
DEVELOPMENT AREA (PDA) GRANT FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING OVERLAY/FLEX
ZONING PROJECT
WHEREAS, on December 1,2022 the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) announced a Callfor Projects for Call for Projects for Priority Development Area (PDA) Planning Grants, and informed local jurisdictions of a February 23,2023 deadline for submittals of Applications, as well as grant requirements including compliance with the Transit Oriented Communities Policy; and WHEREAS, in20t2 the City of Sebastopol established the Sebastopol Priority Development Area in a concerted effort to reduce sprawl and focus on infill growth; and WHEREAS, the City of Sebastopol PDA is identified in the General Plan Land Use Element as an Area of Change and is the location of multiple Opportunity Sites in the City's Housing Element, which was adopted by City Councilon January 3,2023, and Certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) on March 7 ,2023, many of which are located along the highway 1l-6 corridor; and WHEREAS, a PDA Planning Grant would fund the Workforce Housing Overlay / Flex Zoning project for the Sebastopol Core Area, which would review zoning along the Hwy 116 commercial corridor in Sebastopol's Core Area PDA (general commercial and office commercial zoning) to review and revise how the city regulates these areas to provide more flexibility for housing to be developed in these area.
WHEREAS, the City's Adopted and Certified Sixth Cycle Housing Element includes several Programs in support of Goal A "Facilitate the Development of Housing" and associated policies, including:
Poticy A-3 Encouroge a variety of housing types such as multi-fomily units, mixed use housing, ADU ond JADUs, single-family ottached (townhouses), ond other typologies that moke housing more affordoble and
Policy A-4 Promote the development of new housing units affordoble to extremely low, very low-, low-, and moderote-income households and housing units thot ore affordable to and oppropriote for speciol needs households, including seniors, extremely low-income households, disobled persons, developmentolly disobled persons, formworkers, lorge families, ond persons experiencing homelessness And,
WHEREAS, the Workforce Housing/ Flex Zoning Project for the Sebastopol Core Area PDA would implement and support several programs of the City's Adopted Housing Element; Progrom A-3.7 Objective Design Stondords - The discretionary review process con act os o constroint to housing development and increase the overoll cost of housing. To focilitote non-discretionary permitting, the City will adopt Objective Design Stondords for mixed-use and multifomily developments These stondords will involve no personal or subjective judgement by a public official ond ore uniformly verifiable by reference to externol criteria availoble to the public.
Program A-3.3 Missing Middle Housing - The City will increose opportunities for smoll lot single-family homes, such os tiny homes ond cottage court housing developments. The City will omend the Code to allow up to 4 units on qualifying single-fomily porcels, subject to objective design stondords os allowed by SB 9. tf the City is not meeting its prorated RHNA within four yeors of program implementation, the City will identify ot leost 20 odditionol sites for the R-5 zoning designation.
Progrom A-3.4 Workforce Housing Overlay Zone - lnfill development is criticolto occommodating growth while reducing sprowl. Stakeholders indicoted support for infill ond adaptive reuse development to help meet the City's housing needs. The City will odopt a Workforce Housing Overloy Program as o market-driven woy to integrate housing into areos near jobs ond tronsit. The progrom will allow housing to be added to underutilized commerciol sites, empty parking lots, unused City-owned sites, unused school sites, ond other porcels neor jobs, tronsit, or both by providing an odditionol set of development options thot londowners con choose to exercise ot their discretion through the opplicotion process.
Program A-3.5 Opportunities for By Right Housing - Community ond stakeholder input indicote strong interest in permitting 100% housing by-right in more commerciol zones, including oreos olong moior corridors and neor the downtown. ln order to respond to feedback ond to focilitate the development of more housing in appropriote zones, the City will modify its Code to ollow purely residentiol uses by-right in commerciol ond downtown zones when ot least 40% of units ore offordoble, subject to objective design ond development standords. And,
WHEREAS, staff estimate the cost of this effort to be 521-5,000 for this new work. Additionally, the City has committed 5127,895 from the General Plan Fund and a State Planning Grant (SB2) for the Objective Design Standards project that will serve as a springboard for this new work, plus additional Traffic study work related to public infrastructure improvements at Covert Lane that has been previously completed by the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CIry COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS Staff is hereby authorized to submit a grant application for the Workforce Housing Overlay/Flex Zoning in response to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC's) Call for Projects for PDA Planning Grants in the amount of 5190,000.
PASSED AND ADOPTED, by the CITY COUNCIL of THE CITY OF SEBASTOPOL, COUNTY OF SONOMA, of STATE OF CALIFORNIA on this 21't day of March 2023.
l, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the City of Sebastopol City Council by the following vote:
VOTE:
Ayes: Councilmembers Maurer,Zollman, Vice Mayor Rich and Mayor Hinton Noes: None
Absent: Councilmember Mclewis
Abstain None
APPROVED:
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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*.u$ Hinton
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Mayor
Larry ughlin
City Attorney
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