DATE: September 12, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Development Services Director
SUBJECT
Title
Residential Design Standards: Draft Regulations for the Hayward Residential Design Study
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Council provides feedback on the draft regulations for the Hayward Residential Design Study.
End
SUMMARY
The Hayward Residential Design Study is a long-range planning project that will result in the development of objective residential design standards as well as zoning amendments that ensure General Plan and Zoning Ordinance consistency. At this work session, staff is requesting Council’s feedback on the following proposed revisions to the Hayward Municipal Code:
• Consolidated Residential District Section. Sections 10-1.200 through 10-1.500 of the Municipal Code have been consolidated into a single section governing the four residential zoning districts: Residential Natural Preservation (RNP); Low Density Residential (RL, previously referred to as “RS” or “Single Family Residential”); Medium Density Residential (RM); and High Density Residential (RH). Within this section are new standards and revisions related to building types, setbacks, heights, lot coverage, design standards, and open space. The revised standards are aimed at facilitating new development up to the maximum allowed densities set forth in the Hayward 2040 General Plan while promoting visually attractive development that is aligned with community priorities. The new consolidated Residential District is included in its entirety as Attachment II.
• Additional changes to Chapter 10, Article 1, Zoning Ordinance. In addition to the consolidated Residential District section, further updates were made to Chapter 10, Article 1 of the Hayward Municipal Code to remove subjective standards related to residential development, align with recent State housing legislation, and complete simple “clean up” updates required by the City’s Housing Element. Revisions to the Zoning Ordinance are provided in redline in Attachment III.
• Chapter 10, Article 2, Parking Regulations. The proposed updates include changes to the Off-Street Parking Regulations which are aimed at addressing community concerns, introducing new Transportation Demand Management and unbundled parking policies, and ensuring that standards align with State Law. There are also “clean up” revisions to correct terminology for consistency, remove redundancies, and consolidate all residential parking standards in this Article. Revisions to the Off-Street Parking Regulations are provided in redline in Attachment IV.
• Zoning Map Amendments. The Hayward 2040 General Plan and Zoning Ordinance shape and regulate development throughout the City. Under California State law, the Zoning Ordinance shall be internally consistent and compatible with the City’s adopted General Plan. Furthermore, if inconsistencies exist, residential development is required to fully comply with the General Plan. Of the 20,791 RL zoned parcels in the city, 857 of those parcels have General Plan land use designations that require a greater density than is currently allowed by the RL District. To remedy these inconsistencies, two changes are proposed. First, all residentially zoned parcels will default to their underlying General Plan land use designations to determine the applicable density range. Second, as identified in Attachment V, 49 parcels are proposed to be rezoned where defaulting to the density allowed by the underlying General Plan land use designation is not sufficient to address the inconsistency.
At the August 24 Planning Commission work session, staff received the following specific feedback on the draft standards:
• The Commission generally supported the updated development standards as proposed. However, they suggested the façade design standards use a point system rather than a menu of options to allow for the options to be weighted differently. They also suggested staff consider further reducing the front yard setback for RH zoned properties.
• The Commission supported adding some of the design standards for the Residential Districts to the Mission Boulevard Code, including a point system for façade design.
• The Commission applauded the point system for open space amenities but recommended minor adjustments, including reducing point values for pools and amphitheaters, increasing the number of lower point options, and re-weighting options based on frequency of use (i.e. basketball courts are more likely to be used daily than amphitheaters).
• The Commission unanimously recommended that staff develop standards to streamline the development review process for small lot detached residential subdivisions.
• The Commission supported the idea of Transportation Demand Management measures, but recommended expanding the measures to incentivize ride-share services, shuttle services, services aimed at larger households, and other alternative modes of transportation. Additionally, they wanted staff to explore converting the proposed TDM table into a point system and/or restricting eligibility for the TDM reductions to certain transit-rich areas of the city.
• The Commission supported establishing reduced parking ratios for senior and special needs housing, understanding these populations have less parking demand than other types of housing.
At this work session, staff is requesting specific feedback from the Council on the following questions:
• Does the Council support the updated development standards being proposed?
• Does the Council support the recommendations proposed by the Planning Commission at the August 24 Work Session?
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Proposed HMC Section 10-1.200, Residential Districts
Attachment III Additional Revisions to HMC Chapter 10, Article 1, Zoning Ordinance (redline)
Attachment IV Revisions to HMC Chapter 10, Article 2, Off-Street Parking Regulations (redline)
Attachment V List of Parcels Proposed to be Rezoned
Attachment VI Map of Parcels Proposed to be Rezoned