Long Range Planning
The Planning Division works on longer-term policy and strategic planning activities and programs which are designed to guide the physical design and development of Pinole.
Key initiatives and activities include:
- Updating and implementing Pinole’s General Plan, which guides future land uses and development in the city.
- Updating the Housing Element of the General Plan. State Housing Element law (Government Code Sections 65580-65589.8) requires each local government to review and update the Housing Element of its General Plan every eight years.
- Preparing and implementing Specific Plans for specific opportunity areas within the city. These plans may focus on economic or employment development, neighborhood design or enhancement, transit, mixed uses, or a combination of these.
- Preparing, updating, and implementing the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
- Managing infill development in the City.
- General Plan Update
- Objective Design and Development Standards
- Zoning Ordinance Updates
- Climate Action and Adaptation Planning
- Development Impact Fee Update
Pinole is currently updating the City’s General Plan including an update to the Health & Safety Element and a new Environmental Justice Element.
Background
In 2016, the California legislature adopted Senate Bill (SB) 1000 requiring local jurisdictions to review and update Safety Elements of the General Plan to address and update hazards related to flooding, fires and to include climate adaptation and resilience strategies. In addition, SB 1000 added the topic of Environmental Justice to be addressed in local jurisdictions’ General Plans as a separate Element or addressed through related goals, policies and objectives within other Elements. In adopting this legislation, the State found that low-income communities and communities of color have experienced disproportionate environmental effects, pollution burdens and related health impacts. As a result, these communities face barriers to overall health, livelihood, and sustainability. Based on State guidance, Environmental Justice-related work must disclose and work to reduce the disproportionate health risks in disadvantaged communities, to promote civic engagements in the decision-making process and to prioritize improvements that address the needs of identified “disadvantaged communities.”
Pursuant to Program 13 in the City’s Adopted Housing Element, the City is developing objective development design standards (ODDS) for the review of multi-family housing and mixed-use development applications, in addition to SB 9 projects.
Housing Element Program 13
Housing Element Program 13 was developed in response to state housing laws, including the Housing Accountability Act, SB 330, and SB 35. These laws significantly restrict localities from applying non-objective (subjective) development standards to the review of a housing project of two or more units. Only adopted objective standards that do not require interpretation are allowed to be used to deny eligible housing projects.
Implementation of Program 13 will ensure that the City has a robust set of adopted objective development standards that will provide multifamily developers with more predictability and a clear and streamlined review and approval process. In turn, the City will set clear expectations for the design of multifamily developments in Pinole.
Background
In recent years, the State of California has enacted several new laws to increase housing supply and affordability and reduce obstacles to housing production. New State mandates present an opportunity for cities and counties to revisit existing design guidelines, convert any subjective guidelines to design standards, and create objective residential design and development standards that expedite the application and design review process. Program 13 in the City’s adopted Housing Element involves adoption of Objective Development and Design Standards for all eligible housing projects. As defined in State Law, objective standards are defined as:
standards that involve no personal or subjective judgements by a public official and …[are] verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark … knowable by both the development applicant … and the public official.
State Law prohibits local jurisdictions from denying or decreasing densities of affordable or market rate multi-family housing projects unless the projects fail to meet one or more adopted objective standards established in the General Plan, Zoning Code, Specific Plan, or design guidelines.
Review Process
The Ad-Hoc Design Review Committee of the Planning Commission is assisting in the development of these standards that will ultimately be reviewed by the full Planning Commission for a recommendation on adoption by the City Council. The ODDS work includes review and updates to following documents:
- The Three Corridor Specific Plan (last updated: 2020)
- The Zoning Code (last updated: 2020)
- The Old Town Design Guidelines (last updated: 1997)
Timeline
Staff anticipates that the full Planning Commission will review the Ad-Hoc Committee’s recommended updates to the Specific Plan, Zoning Code and Old Town Design Guidelines at a public hearing in August or September 2024. The City Council would review the Planning Commission’s recommendations at a public hearing in September or October 2024.
The City anticipates a number of Zoning Ordinance updates will be processed in 2024. Check back for more information.
Learn more about the development of the City’s first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan.
About
Impact Fees are not the same as application or permit fees, which are used to cover the cost of the City’s review, processing and in the case of building permits, inspection, of a given proposal. Impact fees established in Chapter 3.20 of the Pinole Municipal Code are assessed and collected by the Building Division upon issuance of a Building Permit.
Supporting Information
Fee Subsidy/Deferral
Pursuant to PMC §17.32.040, the City Council may subsidize or defer payment of city development impact fees and/or building permit fees applicable to the affordable housing units or the project of which they are a part. The affordability control covenant shall include the terms of the fee subsidy or deferral.
Contact
For questions regarding impact fee assessments for an actual or proposed development project, please contact the Building Division at BuildingQuestions@pinole.gov. For general questions regarding the impact fee assessment, you may contact LWhalen@pinole.gov.