80A - JOINT PH - TRANSIT ZONING CODE, FINAL EIR, SPECIFIC PLAN ETC. - ORIGINAL PACKET PROVIDED TO COUNCIL

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Transit Zoning Code /Proposed Development May 27, 2010 Page 8 General Plan Amendment The Land Use Element of the General Plan serves as a long -range guide for land use and development in the City and facilitates growth reflecting the community's vision. The Land Use Element establishes land use designations that identify maximum densities and intensities of development, as well as to provide goals and policies. As it exists today, the most intense category for multi - family residential development in the Land Use Element allows for a maximum of 15 dwelling units per acre and does not allow for mixed -use development. The Land Use Element also includes a land use designation called District Center. This designation allows up to 90 dwelling units per acre in a mixed -use environment. Examples of the District Center are found at the MacArthur Place South and City Place developments. While the District Center designation would accommodate more intense transit - oriented development, the permitted density of 90 dwelling units per acre would be inappropriate for the majority of the Transit Zoning Code area. To fill the gap between development at 15 units and 90 units per acre, the Urban Neighborhood Land Use Designation is proposed. The Urban Neighborhood Land Use Designation will primarily apply to residential areas where pedestrian oriented, neighborhood serving commercial uses, schools, civic/community centers and neighborhood serving parks also occur. Urban Neighborhood will allow for a mix of residential uses and housing types, such as low to mid -rise multi - family, townhouses and single family dwellings, with some opportunities for live -work. This Land Use Designation will also allow for existing industrial uses to either retain their industrial zoning or transition into one of the zoning designations within the TZC. Either vertical (e.g. an apartment built over a shop) or horizontal (e.g. an apartment built next door to a shop) mixed uses will be permitted based on the zoning standards. There will be an emphasis on tying together the uses with pedestrian linkages to the street, allowing for a high degree of walkability, transit options and to encourage all forms of transportation, including pedestrian and bicycle travel. The intensity standard for the Urban Neighborhoods ranges from a floor area ratio of 0.5 to 1.5. For example, the floor area ratio of 0.5 would allow a 3,000 square foot building in a typical 0,000 square foot parcel. In SD 84 residential density will be based on a combination of floor area ratio and zoning development standards. A total of 144.99 acres of land in the City will be designated Urban Neighborhood. The General Plan Amendment will also extend the District Center land use designation to an additional 58.72 acres and create the Transit Village major development area. The intensity of development, measured in Floor Area Ratio (FAR), will be increased to five in the Transit Village and three in the Downtown to reflect intensity of development allowed by the standards established in the Transit Zoning Code. In addition, since the last comprehensive update to the Land Use Element was in 1998, demographic, land use, economic and infrastructure are being updated to reflect current status. Lastly, taking advantage of the conversion of the General Plan from a paper to a digital format, the entire General Plan has been reformatted to conform to a single graphic format, and to include a common table of contents and pagination system (Exhibit 8).