HomeMy WebLinkAboutEPC 2017-04-05 Item 5.2 MemoMEMORANDUM
Planning Division, Community Development Department
DATE: April 05, 2017
TO: Environmental Planning Commission (EPC)
FROM: Diana Pancholi, Associate Planner
Terry Blount, AICP, Assistant Community Development Director/
Planning Manager
SUBJECT: Annual Review of the General Plan Action Plan
Introduction and Purpose:
The purpose of this item is to present to the EPC the annual review of the General Plan
Action Plan and to make recommendations regarding moving forward with some
priority action items which will help achieve the City Council’s major priority theme-
based goals over the next year.
Background:
In 2012 the City Council adopted a new General Plan 2030 and reviewed the General
Plan Action Plan. The General Plan Action Plan is a list of action items that carry out
the General Plan’s goals and policies. These action items include programs, plans,
studies, ordinance updates, and other measures.
Annual City Review:
The EPC is responsible for the annual review of the Action Plan. The EPC monitors the
progress the City is making in implementing the General Plan, and may recommend the
deletion, modification, or addition of action items to help implement the General Plan.
The EPC last reviewed the Action Plan in March 2016. As a part of the annual review
process the action items are being presented again to the EPC.
General Plan Action Items:
City staff has reviewed the list of action items and has updated the list to reflect the
current status of the Action Plan (see Exhibit 1). Further this year, staff has rearranged
the action items list into two tables. Certain action items are implemented on a
5.2
Annual Review of the General Plan Action Plan
Page 2 of 4
continuous basis based on current City practices and policies. These items have been
removed from the list and grouped into a new “Ongoing General Plan Action Items”
list (see Exhibit 2).
Last year, the EPC reviewed 491 General Plan action items and identified eighteen
actions items from the action items list as the priority items (see Exhibit 3). A key
change/update in the General Plan action items from last year is the completion of
action item #135 - Measure E-1.1: Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit A.
Recommendation:
The City Council identified four major priority goals at a study session held February
27, 2017. The draft goals are:
1. Promote strategies to protect vulnerable populations and preserve the
socioeconomic and cultural diversity of the community.
2. Improve the quantity, diversity, and affordability of housing with an added
focus on middle income and ownership opportunities.
3. Develop and implement comprehensive and coordinated transportation
strategies to achieve mobility, connectivity, and safety for people of all ages.
4. Promote environmental sustainability with measurable outcomes.
The next step in the City Council goal-setting process includes receiving feedback from
advisory bodies on potential specific projects that fulfill the priority theme-based goals over the
next two fiscal years (FYs 2017-2018 and 2018-2019). The next item on the agenda, Item
#5.3 (EPC Input on City Council Major Goals [FYs 2017-2019]), presents an extensive list
of all of the major projects that the Planning Division is currently engaged in, as well as
those projects that have been identified as ones the Division could potentially be
working on (see Item #5.3, Exhibit 2). Many of these intersect with the General Plan
action items.
Because the Planning Division is currently experiencing severe staffing limitations, staff
suggests designating the action items that intersect with the list of all of the major
projects that the department is currently engaged in, as well as those projects that have
been identified as ones the department could potentially be working on, as the priority
Annual Review of the General Plan Action Plan
Page 3 of 4
ones (see Exhibit 4). Based on this, the staff recommended EPC priority action items
would be:
1. East Whisman Precise Plan (LUD 19.1.1 – LUD 19.4.1)
2. City-Wide: Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Ordinance (LUD 3.1.1,
LUD 17.2.1, LUD 19.1.1, Measure T-1.1)
3. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program (GGRP) (MOB 9.1.1)
4. North Bayshore - District Sustainability Performance Measurements (see below)
Staff is also recommending the following changes to the current action items list:
1. Add a new action item related to District sustainability performance
measurements in North Bayshore (NBS) Precise Plan area. Through this action
item the City will create a list of NBS district sustainability topics/categories
baseline measures and strategies (see Exhibit 1, item# 32).
2. Discuss the feasibility of item #23 - LUD 10.2.1: Urban ecology awareness (see
Exhibit 1, item #23). This item aims at establishing a process to ensure potential
impacts of proposed projects to the natural ecosystem is made available prior to
approval of project concepts involving open space or undeveloped land. Staff
has done further research into this item and has concluded that it is not feasible
to conduct impact assessment prior to defining the project.
A typical development project review process includes various cycles of project
assessment. Usually the development proposal is refined through these cycles.
The environmental review for the project is done based on what the
development proposal is. Hence, it is not feasible to conduct an impact
assessment prior to defining the project. As per the current development review
process, once the environmental review is completed, the project is reviewed by
the decision makers (EPC or City Council). Based on this process, staff finds that
it is not feasible to address the impacts before defining the project and
recommends deleting this action item from the list.
Annual Review of the General Plan Action Plan
Page 4 of 4
Exhibits:
1. General Plan Action Items List, 2017
2. Ongoing General Plan Action Items
3. EPC Priority General Plan Action Items, 2016
4. Staff Recommended EPC Priority General Plan Action Items, 2017