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Three Community Plans Heading to City Council
October 2016
By A. Hayes
 With the support of the Historical Resources Board (HRB) in September, the North Park, Golden Hill, and Uptown community plan updates are now being heard by the Planning Commission. From there they will be heard by the City Council's Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, and finally, the full Council for approval.
Each plan includes a historic survey, historic preservation element, and final Program Environmental Impact report. Links to each plan update are at the end of this article.
SOHO's position for all three plans is to include adequate mitigation measures for historic resources, which is required under CEQA. In this case, mitigation means implementing the potential historic districts. SOHO wants this to happen within three years, the HRB recommendation is for a five-year timeframe. The city is suggesting 11 years with no assurance that this can happen.
SOHO also called for three historic preservation incentives for developers. The HRB recommended two. These incentives include exempting the historic building from floor area ratio calculations and parking requirements, while allowing transferable development rights* and other development tools.
Another SOHO recommendation that the HRB adopted would have the city provide adequate funding and personnel to ensure that the potential districts are created on time.
The HRB did not support or oppose the City's controversial building and zoning requirements (called "supplemental development regulations" in the plans) for the potential residential-only historic districts. The City proposed these regulations as a quasi form of mitigation to help protect the historical character of these areas until each district is brought forward.
While strides were made, the Planning Commission did not include key preservation recommendations—the five-year time frame and funding to implement the historic districts—when it moved the North Park and Golden Hill plans to the Smart Growth and Land Use Committee.
Important Dates
- October 5 The North Park and Golden Hill plan updates are scheduled for the Smart Growth and Land Use Council Committee
- October 6 The North Park and Uptown planning areas supplemental development regulations affect both of these, and so, the commission continued them to October 6, when it will also review the Uptown plan.
- October 19 Uptown is on the committee's agenda
- October 25 The North Park and Golden Hill plan updates are scheduled for City Council
- November 15 Uptown is expected to go to Council
Here are the links to all three plans
*Transferable development rights (TDR) allows landowners to sell development rights from their land to a buyer who can use these rights to increase density at another designated location.
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