HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 6469
City of Palo Alto (ID # 6469)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Action Items Meeting Date: 1/19/2016
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: CAC/CC Joint - CP DEIR
Title: Joint Session with the Citizens Advisory Committee for the
Comprehensive Plan Update: Introduction to the Comprehensive Plan
Update Draft Environmental Impact Report & Review of Next Steps in the
Planning Process
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Planning and Community Environment
Recommendation
This is a joint meeting of the City Council and the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) for the
Comprehensive Plan Update. This joint meeting is intended to introduce the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR or DEIR) for the Comprehensive Plan Update in
advance of its publication in early February, and to review next steps in the ongoing planning
process. No action is required at this meeting, although both the City Council and the CAC will
have opportunities to take action regarding the subjects discussed at their regularly scheduled
meetings in the coming months.
Executive Summary
The City of Palo Alto is currently preparing an update to its Comprehensive Plan which will
articulate the community’s vision for the future and serve as a policy framework to support
decision making about land use, development, and related issues between the date of adoption
and 2030.
Part of the planning process involves preparation and dissemination of a Draft EIR for public
review and the updated Comprehensive Plan cannot be adopted until a Final EIR is prepared.
The purpose of this meeting is to give the City Council, the CAC, and other members of the
public an introduction to the Draft EIR and to review the ongoing planning process. This brief
staff report will be supplemented by a power point presentation and an orientation brochure
that will be available at the joint meeting on January 19th.
Just to recap, in the past six months, the City Council and the CAC have each met independently
to review elements of the existing Comprehensive Plan, review recommendations advanced by
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the Planning & Transportation Commission (PTC) in 2014, and receive and review community
input. They have each started to craft the vision statements, goals, policies, programs, and
narrative that will form the draft of the Comprehensive Plan Update and this work will continue
in the coming year. Specifically, the CAC will continue to review policies and programs based
on the City’s Council’s direction on vision and goals, and will prepare draft elements for the City
Council’s review. The City Council will review the draft work products provided by the CAC and
zero-in on key policy questions that require their leadership and direction.
The key policy questions that must be examined and resolved in the coming year relate to the
amount and pace of non-residential growth between now and 2030, the amount and location
of housing growth in the same period, as well as policies and programs related to the type of
housing that is created and to potential incentives or regulations necessary to achieve the
desired results.1 Other key policy questions relate to the transportation infrastructure
investments that the City would like to prioritize, and to the sustainability-based strategies and
initiatives the City wishes to embrace.
The Draft EIR that is being prepared for public review starting in early February uses four high-
level planning scenarios to assess potential impacts of the Comprehensive Plan Update even as
the Update is still being developed. The hypothetical scenarios are intended to inform the key
policy questions referenced above, and -- as described further in the Discussion section below --
the Comprehensive Plan Update that is ultimately adopted is not expected to be identical to
any one of the scenarios, but to draw from one or more of them.
Staff anticipates that publication of the Draft EIR and the companion draft fiscal analysis will
stimulate comments and questions from the Council, the CAC, and the public, as well as ideas
about potentially new or different planning scenarios. These comments, questions, and ideas
are all welcome -- and necessary -- to bring the planning process to a close. Our hope is that
the discussions, these comments, questions, and ideas stimulate and complement those
already underway regarding the Plan vision, goals, policies, programs, and narrative, and
directly inform preparation and adoption of a final Comprehensive Plan Update.
Background
The City’s Comprehensive Plan, Embracing the New Century, Palo Alto 1998-2010
Comprehensive Plan, was adopted in 1998 and sets goals, policies, and programs related to
land use and development issues, including transportation, housing, natural resource,
community services, and safety.
1 The City adopted an updated Housing Element for the period 2015-2023 in late 2014 and this element contains a
list of housing sites sufficient to meet the City’s regional housing needs allocation (RHNA), as well as a list of
policies and implementation programs, many of which suggest incentives and regulations for consideration. While
there is no need to update the Housing Element again as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update, the City made a
commitment to reconsider housing sites along San Antonio and South El Camino as part of the Comprehensive
Plan Update (see Housing Element Program H2.2.5). If some sites are eliminated, new sites would have to be
added or densities would have to be increased on other exiting sites to ensure continued compliance with State
law.
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The Planning Process
The City recognized the need to update the plan in 2006 and began the process in earnest in
2008, when a consultant was retained to work with staff and the PTC. The PTC’s draft work
product was submitted to the City Council in early 2014 and focused on organizational changes
to delete redundancies and to make the text more accessible and user friendly. The PTC’s
effort attempted to emphasize existing themes of the Plan, ensuring they were represented
throughout the document, and to incorporate environmental sustainability issues.
The City Council has not reviewed the PTC’s work product in great depth, and instead elected to
expand community outreach efforts. City Council meetings in 2014 and 2015 helped to define
the scope of this outreach to the public, which included public workshops in 2014 entitled
“Growth Management”, “Critical Issues” and “Alternative Futures.” These outreach activities
culminated in the May 2015 “Summit” and formation of the CAC. The May 30th Summit was
attended by hundreds of residents who provided their thoughts and ideas about their vision of
the community related to housing, transportation and growth management. Outputs from the
“Summit” provided some of the core materials provided to the CAC, which met for the first
time in July.
Since July, the City Council has met four times to discuss vision statements and goal structure
for each element, and provided that feedback to the CAC for their deliberations. The CAC has
met six times and subcommittees related to each element have met three times. The public at
large has participated through the use of the “Digital Commenter” tool at Palo Alto Online; the
tool allows residents to share their thoughts on specific portions of each element, and
comment on already-shared thoughts. Thousands of residents have visited the tool since it was
launched in August 2015, and it is a first-of-a-kind instrument to allow this level of engagement.
The first completed draft based on this extensive citizen involvement, the City Council’s
direction, and the CAC’s work, will be previewed with the City Council on February 1st when the
draft Community Services & Facilities Element is provided for review and comment.
Concurrently with this significant public engagement process, the City Council recognized that
analytical data that reflected the current state of the community, as well as the effect of any
land-use decision making, was critical in further informing the update. In August 2014, a Draft
Existing Conditions Report was published, providing up-to-date information and analysis on
data from current traffic conditions at key intersections and population and other
demographics to noise levels and greenhouse gas emission levels.
To accompany this report, in December of 2014, the City Council authorized preparation of an
impacts study in the form of a Draft EIR to assess the potential impacts and trade-offs
associated with the policy choices that will have to be made as the Comprehensive Plan Update
planning process moves forward this year. The DEIR was to be structured around high-level
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planning scenarios, and was to be accompanied by a fiscal study assessing potential impacts on
the City’s general fund.
CEQA Requirements & the EIR Process
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a State law that requires California agencies
to identify the potential significant environmental impacts of proposed actions and describe
feasible measures that can be taken to avoid or mitigate those impacts. An EIR is required by
CEQA when an agency determines that a project may have a significant effect on the
environment. An EIR evaluates a proposed project’s potential impacts on the environment, and
recommends mitigation measures or alternatives to reduce or eliminate those impacts.
Decision-makers use information in an EIR to help determine whether or not to approve a
project, and what modifications should be incorporated into the project, if any. In this way, an
EIR is used to inform public input and agency decisions; it does not itself constitute a plan or a
final decision.
The most common type of EIR assesses potential impacts associated with a specific
development project. The Comprehensive Plan Update is not a specific development project,
and instead constitutes an effort by the City of Palo Alto to determine comprehensive land
uses, policies, and programs that will guide public and private decision making regarding land
use and development issues over the next 15 years. For the Comprehensive Plan Update, the
City is preparing what’s referred to as a “Program Level” EIR, which assesses the potential
cumulative impacts of development that may occur during the life of the Plan, considers
potential alternatives, and identifies mitigation measures that should be adopted to reduce or
avoid significant impacts. This is the same level of environmental analysis that was prepared
for the existing Palo Alto 1998-2010 Comprehensive Plan. Preparing a program level EIR for
citywide growth allows the City to better identify –and mitigate—cumulative impacts of overall
growth that may otherwise be missed in a more focused project-specific environmental
analysis. It also allows for development of programmatic mitigation strategies that are not
possible in a project-specific analysis, but can be used to address the impacts of development
over the life of the updated plan.
CEQA specifically requires that a program level EIR be prepared for plans that govern a
continuing program. Although the legally required contents of a program EIR are the same as
project specific EIR, a program EIR is more conceptual, with a more general discussion of
impacts, alternatives and mitigations. CEQA clearance for subsequent projects, such as
subsequent rezonings to implement new policies and/or programs, can “tier” off the program
EIR, meaning that they can rely on the program level EIR to a limited extent, and focus any new
analysis on site-specific impacts or impacts that were not covered in sufficient detail in the
program level EIR. Depending on the complexity of the project, subsequent CEQA clearances
can include Negative Declarations and Supplement EIRs.
An EIR describes the objectives for a proposed project, the location of the project and actions
proposed. It evaluates how the existing environment would be changed if the project was
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approved and provides feasible mitigation measures or alternatives to avoid or reduce
significant adverse changes to existing conditions. An important component of the EIR process
provides an opportunity for public input regarding environmental issues and alternatives to be
addressed in advance of the Draft EIR’s preparation. This is the “scoping” step that the City
undertook in 2014, and public input received during this scoping period has been used during
preparation of the DEIR.
Specifically, the City issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) initiating the scoping period for the
Comprehensive Plan Update EIR on May 30, 2014. The NOP was published and disseminated
for public review, including the State Clearinghouse in conformance with CEQA requirements.
An extended comment time period, beyond the mandated 30 days was established to maximize
public input. Public agencies were given June 30 as a comment deadline while the general
public was given August 6, 2014. Five public scoping meetings were held in the form of three
public workshops, one PTC meeting and a City Council hearing. Staff received multiple scoping
comments from the public via letters and comments during public hearings, and also received
three agency comment letters from the Valley Transportation Agency (VTA), the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans). All of these comments have been used in preparation of the Draft EIR.
There is another significant opportunity for public input when the Draft EIR is made available
for review and comment. The Draft EIR is scheduled to be released in early February for an
extended comment period and City staff will actively solicit public comments, as well as
comments from the City Council, CAC, and other interested boards and commissions. Because
the Draft EIR will present the potential impacts and mitigation associated with a set of high-
level planning scenarios, it’s intended to inform the City Council’s selection/creation of a
preferred scenario and finalization of the Comprehensive Plan Update. CEQA requires that the
City prepare formal, written responses to all substantive comments on the Draft EIR that are
received prior to the close of the public comment period. These comments and responses will
be published together with required revisions to the DEIR in the form of a Final EIR (FEIR). The
City Council is required to review and certify the Final EIR prior to taking action on the project.
Discussion
As noted above, public agencies are required by CEQA to conduct environmental review to
identify significant environmental impacts and adopt feasible mitigation prior to making a final
decision on a proposed project. This law ensures that decision-makers and the public
understand the implications of agency decisions in advance. CEQA was recently referred to as
“the tail that wags the planning dog in California”2 and is an important part of any complex,
long-range planning project.
2Page 14 of ”CEQA at 45; Will California Reform its Unique – and Entrenched – Environmental Review Law?” In
Planning Magazine, Volume 81, Number 9, October 2015, by William Fulton. Mr. Fulton, who has written the book
on planning in California, also notes that CEQA “is wound around every planning process and every planning
decision” that is made in the State.
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Knowing this, the City Council agreed to use the CEQA process to help advance the
Comprehensive Plan Update by assessing high-level planning scenarios that illustrate or test
various possible policy decisions in the DEIR as described further below. (See December 8,
2914 minutes at http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/47630).
Like other EIR’s, the Comprehensive Plan DEIR will have a prescribed structure and terminology
for conveying its findings. All EIR’s are required to provide detailed analysis for the
environmental resources defined in Appendix G of the State CEQA Guidelines. The topics range
from aesthetics and cultural resources to greenhouse gas emissions and transportation. Each of
these resource topics is evaluated against significance thresholds to judge the severity of the
impact on a scale from no impact to significant unavoidable impact, and to determine when
mitigation measures are needed to reduce the severity of the impact.
The Comp Plan Update DEIR that will be published at the beginning of February does differ
from most EIR’s in that it assesses a number of planning scenarios that are intended to illustrate
potential impacts of policy decisions that will have to be made as the Comprehensive Plan
Update planning process is completed. By using this innovative approach, the Draft EIR is
intended to advance and inform the planning process, and not to dictate what its outcome will
be.
In keeping with the requirements of CEQA, the Draft EIR will be organized in the following
format:
Chapter 1 Executive Summary
The executive summary chapter provides an overview of the Comprehensive Plan
Update and the four planning scenarios, and then identifies issues to be resolved, areas
of controversy, and conclusions of the analysis. A table is provided that summarizes
potential impacts and proposed mitigation measures in the horizon year of the plan,
which is 2030.
Chapter 2 Introduction
The Introduction provides an overview of the Draft EIR and its purpose.
Chapter 3 Project Description
This chapter describes the proposed Comprehensive Plan and the four planning
scenarios analyzed in the Draft EIR, as discussed further below.
Chapter 4 Environmental Analysis
This chapter is organized into 14 sub-chapters, with each one addressing a different
resource topic required by the State CEQA Guidelines. Each sub-chapter provides
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baseline conditions (usually a description of the existing physical environment), related
laws and policies that are in place, the significance thresholds and methodology used for
the analysis, and an analysis of the potential impacts, as well as recommended
mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate the significant impacts identified. The sub-
chapters are as follows:
o Aesthetics
The aesthetics section reviews aspects of the four planning scenarios that
may impact scenic vistas and other resources, as defined in the
Comprehensive Plan, such as views of the hills or the Bay.
o Air Quality and Community Health Risk
The air quality chapter assesses air quality impacts at a plan level in
accordance with a methodology developed by the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District (BAAQMD). Conclusions of the technical analysis are
integrated within the DEIR, with more information in an appendix.
o Biological Resources
A programmatic evaluation of biological resources in Palo Alto addresses
both direct and indirect impacts of potential development during the life of
the updated Comprehensive Plan. The EIR assesses potential impacts on
listed species, including loss of their habitat, as well as overall conservation
of natural resources.
o Cultural Resources
The DEIR analyzes potential impacts to cultural resources that could result
from development during the life of the Comprehensive Plan Update,
drawing on the Palo Alto Historical Inventory and other existing cultural
resource surveys and documents prepared for the City.
o Geology, Soils, and Seismicity
This sub-chapter analyzes geologic impacts related to geology, soils and
seismicity. It also includes analysis of seismic shaking, liquefaction, erosion,
expansive soils, and subsidence.
o Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
This section summarizes the most recent community GHG emissions
inventory for existing (CEQA baseline) environmental conditions and
forecasts GHG emissions at the Comprehensive Plan Horizon year of 2030.
The projected change in GHG emissions is compared to CEQA baseline
conditions and per-capita thresholds developed by the BAAQMD. The GHG
section also discusses the City’s commitment to reducing GHG emissions in
accordance with the State’s adopted plans and policies.
o Hazards and Hazardous Materials
The intent of this sub-chapter is to study potential impacts from hazards and
hazardous materials. It analyzes potential risk areas for subsurface
contamination, including both soil and groundwater that may potentially
affect development and future environmental contamination and/or liability.
o Hydrology and Water Quality
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This sub-chapter of evaluates potential impacts of development during the
life of the Comprehensive Plan Update on hydrology and water quality,
including stormwater quality. It includes an overview of relevant federal,
State and local regulations as well as a discussion of how these regulations
can reduce potential impacts to hydrology and water quality.
o Land Use and Planning
This sub-section of the EIR describes the existing regulatory framework
applicable to land use, as well as existing land uses in the City and its vicinity,
and evaluates potential impacts from the four planning scenarios. The
evaluation includes a thorough analysis of land use compatibility issues
associated with future development under the proposed Comprehensive
Plan Update.
o Noise
This section includes a noise analysis that identifies potential impacts on
sensitive land uses associated with development during the life of the
Comprehensive Plan Update. The DEIR discusses relevant standards and
criteria for noise exposure, and bases the assessment of impacts on federal,
State, and local ordinances, policies, and standards.
o Population, Housing and Employment
This section focuses on the potential for displacement of people or housing
and for population growth that could result from development during the life
of the Comprehensive Plan Update. Projections of growth (housing and
employment) are described for each planning scenario, along with their
relationship to regional projections prepared by the Association of Bay Area
Governments (ABAG).
o Public Services
Consistent with CEQA, this section evaluates potential impacts on public
services by focusing on the potential need for additional facilities that may
have physical environmental impacts. Services considered include
fire/emergency medical services (EMS), police services, and schools.
o Parks and Recreation
The Parks and Recreation section evaluates potential impacts on existing
park and recreation facilities based on the anticipated increases in
population under each of the planning scenarios.
o Transportation and Traffic
This section analyzes multiple metrics to assess representative transportation
facilities using an updated Travel Demand Model which can project traffic
volumes, transit ridership, and walking and bicycling levels for each of the
planning scenarios. The metrics used include intersection level of service
(LOS), average daily traffic (ADT) and LOS for roadway links, LOS for freeway
segments and volume/capacity for freeway ramps, Vehicle Miles Travelled
(VMT), VMT per capita, and more.
o Utilities and Service Systems
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The City of Palo Alto is the only municipality in California that operates a full
suite of City-owned utility services. The DEIR provides current regulatory
agency context, references, and requirements, as well as a description of
existing utility and service systems within the city, including current
operations, capacity, and facility locations and a comprehensive analysis of
potential impacts related to wastewater, water, stormwater, natural gas,
energy and solid waste systems associated with development expected over
the life of the Comprehensive Plan Update.
In virtually all cases, the sub-chapters include mitigation measures that identify specific
issues that could or should be addressed by policies and programs in the Comprehensive
Plan Update or that require adoption of programmatic mitigation measures to address
the impacts of development during the life of the Comprehensive Plan Update.
Chapter 5 Significant Unavoidable Adverse Impacts
The purpose of this chapter is to summarize all the significant and unavoidable impacts
identified in the previous chapter. At present, it’s anticipated that some or all of the
planning scenarios will have unavoidable impacts related to transportation, air quality,
and greenhouse gas emissions. This is due in large part to the City’s inability to address
issues that are regional and State-wide in scope. Mitigation measures are suggested to
address the issues to the extent feasible and include some potentially far-reaching
programmatic measures to limit new single occupant vehicle trips and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions over time.
Chapter 6 Alternatives
The Draft EIR assesses four planning scenarios at an equal level of detail, including a
“business as usual” scenario which assumes the current Comprehensive Plan remains in
place. In addition, the DEIR includes an alternative chapter which describes two
conceptual alternatives at a lesser level of detail. One alternative is a true “no build”
alternative as required by CEQA for all EIRs, and one is a potential hybrid alternative
combining the slow growth policies of some scenarios (Scenarios 2 and 3) with the
sustainability-minded policies of another (Scenario 4).
Chapter 7 CEQA Mandated Sections
This chapter discusses growth inducement, cumulative impacts and other topics
mandated by the CEQA Guidelines.3
Chapter 8 Organizations and Persons Consulted
A list of all organizations and persons who provided input for the EIR is provided.
3 While the analysis in Chapter 4 assesses the impact of cumulative development assumed under each planning
scenario during the life of the Comprehensive Plan Update, this chapter focuses on cumulative impacts of the
Comprehensive Plan Update in combination with reasonably foreseeable past, present, and future actions outside
of Palo Alto.
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Appendices
The appendices include technical studies, the Notice of Preparation and public/agency
comments.
The Planning Scenarios
At the core the forthcoming Draft EIR are four high level planning scenarios that were designed
to test a range of possible land-use, transportation, jobs and housing choices that must be
made before the Comprehensive Plan Update is completed, and to the show what the impacts
of those possible choices would be. The four planning scenarios were designed to be simple in
nature and to inform the following choices:
How much non-residential growth should the City plan for, and should the City
moderate the pace of office/R&D growth?
How much housing growth should the City plan for, and should the City eliminate
housing sites on San Antonio and South El Camino in exchange for increased densities or
new sites in transit-served areas with more neighborhood services?
What major transportation investments should the City plan for?
What sustainability measures should the City pursue to address the impacts of growth
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Importantly, the four scenarios are not meant to dictate specific policies or their
implementation and any mention of a specific potential policy is merely to provide examples
and not be prescriptive. It may be possible to find other policies that meet the needs of the
concepts tested and achieve similar results, just as it may be possible to frame an additional
scenario to represent the final resolution of the policy choices listed above.
The four scenarios also do not reflect staff’s preference; they are simply snapshots of a
collection of land-use decision concepts grouped together to generate data. For some, the
scenarios may not go “far enough” exploring potential land-use decisions, and for others, the
scenarios may not hit the mark in combining land use and transportation choices. Whether or
not this is the case, the analysis of the scenarios shows a wide set of data that could lead to
consideration of bolder ideas or alternate combinations and permutations of the elements
described.
It is expected that after review of the data from these four scenarios the City Council may “pick
and choose” elements from each scenario, incorporate new concepts not envisioned, or reject
other ideas outright to create a new blueprint for future land-use decisions. If the preferred
plan that is ultimately considered for adoption clearly falls within the ideas and impacts
described in this DEIR, this will be explained in the Final EIR and reflected in the CEQA findings
that appear in the resolution adopting the final plan. If the preferred plan falls outside the
range that’s analyzed in the Draft EIR or is substantially different than what is described, then a
supplement to the Draft EIR will precede preparation of the Final EIR.
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The four scenarios are:
1. “Business As Usual” – the “business as usual” scenario shows the results if the City
continued to operate under the existing Comprehensive Plan with no changes to goals,
policies and programs. Any new housing built would be constructed under existing
zoning and no innovations in housing or new approaches to address the high cost of
housing would be explored. No new growth management measures are anticipated, and
any transit or traffic improvements would come from the existing infrastructure plan for
the City. This scenario uses a local forecast of housing growth based on the City’s past
performance (a long term average of about 145 new dwelling units per year), and
ABAG’s 2013 projection of job growth.4
2. Scenario Two, or the “Growth Slowed” Scenario, would slow the pace of job growth
when compared with Scenario One by moderating the pace of office/R&D development
throughout the city. Scenario Two would also ensure that the modest amount of
housing growth expected under Scenario One would be built-out as small units and
other housing types appropriate for seniors and the Palo Alto workforce.
Transportation investments in this scenario would include implementation of the
County’s expressway plan.
3. Scenario Three, or the “Housing Reconsidered” Scenario, would implement a growth
management regime similar to the interim annual limit on office/R&D adopted by the
City Council in 2015 for the fastest changing areas of the City and would eliminate
housing sites along San Antonio and South El Caminio. In place of these housing sites,
Scenario 3 would increase housing densities on sites Downtown, near California Avenue,
and in other locations in the City close to transit and services. Policies, regulations, and
incentives would be designed to ensure smaller units for the working professional and
senior populations of the City. Transportation investments would include grade
separating the Caltrain crossings at Meadow and Charleston by placing the railroad
tracks in a trench.
4. Scenario Four, or the “Sustainability Tested” Scenario, assumes the most growth in
housing and employment, consistent with ABAG projections. Rather than moderating
the pace of development, this scenario would seek to limit the impacts of development.
Potential policies and regulations would be enacted to advance sustainability objectives,
including free transit passes for residents in transit-served areas, achieving LEED
platinum certification for new development, maximizing local solar energy production,
foregoing new natural gas hookups, and utilizing drought-tolerant landscaping.
Transportation investments would include grade separating the Caltrain crossings at
Meadow and Charleston by placing the railroad tracks in a trench, and incorporating
4 The City does not have the basis for a local forecast of job growth, and will have to rely on ABAG’s forecast until
the new business registry provides useful trend data.
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mix flow bus rapid transit on El Camino Real (with curbside stations and queue jumping
for transit vehicles).
Timeline
The joint meeting on January 19, 2016 will be followed by publication of the DEIR in early
February 2016. A draft fiscal analysis of the impacts related to the need for increased City
service as a result of the adoption of a new Comprehensive plan will also be published in this
timeframe. The public will have at least 60 days to provide written or emailed comments on
the Draft EIR and staff will schedule agenda items at the CAC, City Council, and other boards
and commissions to receive oral input.
As shown in the draft schedule included as Attachment A, CAC meetings are likely to continue
through next year. During the same period, the City Council will have multiple meetings to
provide direction, and a Draft EIR will be prepared, along with a fiscal analysis, both of which
will provide data and analysis to inform Council and community discussions. The Council is
expected to review the existing Housing Element in late February, 2016, and provide comments
on the fiscal analaysis in March. The Council will also continue discussions on Policy L-8 (the
City’s primary growth manangement element in the existing Comprehensive Plan) during that
timeframe. A revised draft Comprehensive Plan Update will be prepared for consideration by
the City Council by the end of 2016/early 2017.
Resource Impact
General plan updates are significant undertakings for any jurisdiction and since 2008, the City of
Palo Alto has invested time and resources in the project. The need to allocate multiple
members of City staff, significant time on the City Council’s agenda, and financial resources for
consultant assistance and event/meeting programming will continue until the adoption of the
updated Comprehensive Plan and its companion environmental document.
Policy Implications
The City’s Comprehensive Plan sets forth the City’s policies with regard to the topics addressed.
The structure comprised of vision statements and goals will inform discussions regarding
updated policies and programs.
Environmental Review
Adoption of an updated Comprehensive Plan requires the preparation and certification of a
program-level Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA).
Attachments:
Attachment A: CAC/Council Revised Timeline (DOCX)
Comprehensive Plan Update Revised DRAFT Schedule Attachment A
Showing Citizens Advisory Committee & City Council Meetings/Interaction
Revised August 19, 2015 -- Page 1
*All dates and topics subject to change.
Additional joint meetings for discussion or City Council direction to the CAC may be scheduled as needed.
Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)
Schedule of Meetings & Topics
Date* City Council
Schedule of Comp Plan Discussions
Selection of Chair/Vice Chair (Action)
Adoption of meeting schedule and CAC ground
rules (Action)
July 14
Community Services & Facilities Element Policies &
Programs (Discussion)
Aug 11
Aug 17 CAC membership, ground rules & schedule
Aug 31 Additional CAC appointments
Comp Plan Structure & Goals/Vision Statements Part
I (Transportation Element)
Revision to Ground Rules RE: Co-Chairs (Action)
Discussion of City Council Direction Regarding
Schedule and Subcommittees (Discussion)
Transportation Element Part I Policies & Programs
(Discussion)
Sep 8
Sep 21 Adoption of Interim Ordinance Establishing an Office
Annual Limit in Portions of the City
Ground Floor Retail Preservation Ordinance
Regarding Cal Avenue Area
Oct 5 Comp Plan Structure & Goals/Vision Statements Part
II (Community Services & Facilities Element)
Transportation Element Part II Policies & Programs
(Discussion)
Oct 20
Nov 2 Comp Plan Structure & Goals/Vision Statements Part
III (Land Use & Community Design Element incl.
Growth Management Policies)
Nov 16 Comp Plan Structure & Goals/Vision Statements Part
IV(Safety and Noise, Natural Environment and
Business & Economics Elements)
Community Services & Facilities Draft Element
Recommendations (Action)
Nov 17
Land Use & Community Design Element Part I –
Planning meeting
Dec 15
January 19 – JOINT MEETING – Introduction to Draft EIR
Transportation Draft Element Recommendations
Part 1 (Action)
Jan 26
Feb 1 Review of CAC work on Community Services &
Facilities Element
Transportation Draft Element Recommendations
Part II (Action)
Feb 16
Feb 22 – JOINT MEETING – Housing Element Policy Discussion
Land Use & Community Design Element Part II
Policies & Programs (Discussion)
Mar 15
Comprehensive Plan Update Revised DRAFT Schedule Attachment A
Showing Citizens Advisory Committee & City Council Meetings/Interaction
Revised August 19, 2015 -- Page 2
*All dates and topics subject to change.
Additional joint meetings for discussion or City Council direction to the CAC may be scheduled as needed.
Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)
Schedule of Meetings & Topics
Date* City Council
Schedule of Comp Plan Discussions
Mar 21 Review of CAC work on Transportation Element
Land Use & Community Design Element Part III
Policies & Programs (Discussion)
Apr 19
Natural Environment Element Policies and Programs
(Discussion)
May 17
June 6 Review of CAC work on Land Use Element
Land Use & Community Design Draft Element
Recommendations (Action)
June 21
Safety and Noise Element Policies & Programs
(Discussion)
July 19
Natural Environment Draft Element
Recommendations (Action)
Aug 16
Business & Economics Element Policies & Programs
(Discussion)
Sept 20
Oct 3 Review of CAC work on Natural Environment &
Safety and Noise
Safety Draft Element Recommendations (Action)
Oct 18
Business & Economics Element Policies & Programs
(Action)
Nov 15
Implementation Plan (Discussion/Action)
Putting it all together/Final Thoughts and
Recommendations (Discussion/Action)
TBD
REVISED DRAFT COMP PLAN DISSEMINATED FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
(Starting in December)
February
2017
Final Review of Transportation Element
March Final Review of Land Use Element
March Final Review of Natural Environment and Safety
Elements
April Final Review of Business & Economics, Community
Services & Facilities Elements
April Review of Implementation Plan
May Final Review of City Council’s Changes & Errata
UPDATED COMP PLAN & FINAL EIR ADOPTED
May 2017