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Richmond Transit Village: Partnerships in building housing

Overview

The Richmond Transit Village in Contra Costa County is a mixed-use, transit-oriented infill project spanning nearly 17 acres. The project is located at the City of Richmond’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Amtrak Stations to provide high density housing within walking distance of public transit. The main goal of the project is to work proactively with the city, local businesses and residents, the developers, transit agencies, and government partners to plan for the continued economic revitalization of the station and the station area, primarily along Macdonald Avenue.

The transit village project was facilitated by an innovative approach taken by BART and the Richmond Redevelopment Agency to use the existing station property for new residential development instead of surface parking. The transit village contains 231 units of ownership housing; 27,250 square feet of retail space; a 3,700 square feet intermodal transit station which houses facilities for transit operators; a five-story, 800-space parking garage for BART with 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail; and multiple townhouses and live-work units. The project also provides 50% of the homes to moderate income buyers. BART approved a new five-level garage to cater to BART parking demands, as well as neighboring retail and civic uses.

Richmond Plaza
Richmond Intermodal Transit Plaza
Source: https://pgadesign.com/projects/richmond-intermodal-transit-plaza/

Policies/Ordinances that Contributed to Project Success

Richmond Transit Village has successfully transformed underutilized land while promoting transit ridership and home ownership. Despite the increase in the overall production of affordable housing, the City would like to see more affordable units incorporated into market-rate housing projects. To do so, the City amended its Zoning Ordinance to incorporate changes in the State’s housing density bonus law that provides incentives for projects receiving a density bonus.

Outcomes

To date, about 800-900 housing units in the downtown area have been approved, mostly on vacant land, including 200 market rate units, 80 for very low-income seniors (built with reduced parking), plus two projects for 206 affordable units. Another 97-unit for sale project was approved with a 20% inclusionary housing requirement.

The plan will add an estimated 1,240 new transit trips daily and increase pedestrian and bicycle activity, but additional traffic congestion at certain intersections may require mitigation. The plan’s traffic impact analysis was conducted using the LOS (level of service) methodology focusing on automobile traffic and vehicle delay while considering the effect of the transit investments and bike/pedestrian features in the plan on reducing automobile trips.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

At each phase, new guidelines, ordinances and laws have been created to address challenges that arise. Currently, most of the developers elect to pay in-lieu fees as an alternative to providing the affordable units required under the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. However, the City’s Density Bonus Ordinance does not specify the amount of parking reductions.

As part of the Zoning Ordinance Update, adopted on November 15, 2016, the city evaluated potential incentives. The goal of these incentives was to ensure adequate provision of affordable housing as mandated in Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) 2014–2022 Regional Housing Needs Allocation. In their findings, ABAG found that most residents in Richmond are spending more than 30% of their income on rent, which is why the city adopted in-lieu fees and density bonuses into their updated zoning ordinance. The city has “a total need of 2,435 units through the year 2022, out of which just over 29% is for low and moderate-income households and another 18% is for very low and extremely low-income households.”

Another challenge that the city is experiencing is attracting more mixed-use developments. Funding available for market rate financing is very limited, and the city and developers have not qualified for new markets tax credit for developments near the transit village. The plan calls for mixed-use income developments for this major activity center and needs financial support to build it.

San Diego, CA: Reducing Parking in a Transit-Oriented Neighborhood

Overview

Located in the Encanto neighborhood in eastern San Diego, Villa Encantada is the redevelopment of an underused 163-space parking lot owned by Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) adjacent to a trolley station. It is the first implementation of the Southeast San Diego Community Plan, which calls for mixed-use villages next to transit stations in the Encanto neighborhood.

The need for parking replacement was determined through an independent third-party traffic impact analysis and the application of the City of San Diego’s Municipal Code parking requirements. The project developers requested to use the Transit Area Overlay Zone (TAOZ) Parking Rate, which would allow for a reduction of 0.25 parking spaces per residential unit and a reduction of 4.3 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial floor space.

The Villa Encantada development has 105 residential, 4 commercial, and 100 public MTS parking spaces. This array includes 95 below-grade residential parking spaces, as well as 14 at-grade podium parking spaces shared between the residential and commercial tenants.

San Diego Transit
Encanto Neighborhoods Community Plan
Source: https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy
/planning/community/cpu/encanto/pdf/EncantoCommPlanUpdate.pdf

Policies/Ordinances that Contributed to Project Success

The City of San Diego has reduced parking requirements by 25% spaces per dwelling unit for transit areas or very low-income housing areas within multi-family residential developments, and by as much as 70% spaces per 1000 square foot feet for commercial, office, and mixed land uses. Other policy reforms include: allowing tandem parking and shared parking; provision for a payment in-lieu of providing on-site parking; and provision for electric vehicle, bicycle, and motorcycle parking, as well as alternative transportation incentives such as transit passes.

The Community Plan Implementation Overlay Zone (CPIOZ) supports transportation improvements in a “transit priority area”. In the Encanto Neighborhoods, this plan will foster the integration of transit within mixed-use residential and commercial areas, thereby reducing parking demand.

Outcomes

The City of San Diego planning staff have made the following observations about the challenges of the planning and development process:

  • The community was concerned that reduced parking requirements in the neighborhood might cause parking spillover onto their residential streets.
  • Some residents thought that too much mixed-use development would draw more cars to the neighborhood streets.
  • Reducing street level parking lots from 6.3 acres to 0.3 acres was a challenge because parking garages increase development costs.
  • The Encanto Village development has adopted the new mobility plan transit overlay into the parking requirements and has 0.5 parking stalls per residential unit, an important achievement for the City made possible through extensive community outreach and engagement.

Ken Malbrough, community resident and chairman of the Encanto Community Group, has observed that the parking requirements adopted were well-received in the community, partly because transit ridership is high and service is fairly frequent on the trolley line that runs through their neighborhoods. Malbrough also affirmed the importance of community involvement in the planning process to guide growth in a manner that reflects the community’s vision.

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South San Francisco Station Area Specific Plan

Revitalizing Aging Downtowns, Protecting Neighborhoods, and Connecting Communities

Place-type: Transit Town Center, Mixed-Use Corridor

Overview

South San Francisco Station Map
Station Area Land Use Plan

South San Francisco’s award-winning Station Area Specific Plan was adopted in February 2015. Its purpose is to expand the City’s currently obscured and relatively inaccessible Caltrain station and better connect the adjoining downtown area and the emerging biotech areas east of Highway 101. The Plan doubles the number of homes in the downtown, adding about 1,400 units and increases commercial square footage for new office and research and development uses by about 1.2 million square feet.

Policies/Ordinances that Contributed to Project Success

The Plan recommends and encourages several parking practices:

  • Shared parking;
  • Implementation of “in-lieu” parking fees as an incentive to developers;
  • Parking maximums for projects to prevent over building on-site parking where there is an adequate supply of off-site parking;
  • Parking minimums that allow for flexibility for developers who wish to focus on urban, transit-oriented development and support off-site parking;
  • Parking policies allowing residential and some commercial developers to “unbundle” the cost of parking from unit or tenant costs; and
  • Car sharing and ride sharing programs.

Improvements to the downtown area will result in a walkable, bike friendly neighborhood with a variety of housing options. These improvements include conversion of existing angled parking to parallel parking to allow widening of sidewalks and bike lanes. Under the Plan, allowable building heights in both the downtown and eastern neighborhood are greatest near the Caltrain station while heights are reduced in the historic downtown and near existing single family and multi-family neighborhoods.

Outcomes

To date, about 800-900 housing units in the downtown area have been approved, mostly on vacant land, including 200 market rate units, 80 for very low-income seniors (built with reduced parking), plus two projects for 206 affordable units. Another 97-unit for sale project was approved with a 20% inclusionary housing requirement.

The plan will add an estimated 1,240 new transit trips daily and increase pedestrian and bicycle activity, but additional traffic congestion at certain intersections may require mitigation. The plan’s traffic impact analysis was conducted using the LOS (level of service) methodology focusing on automobile traffic and vehicle delay while considering the effect of the transit investments and bike/pedestrian features in the plan on reducing automobile trips.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

In developing the Downtown Station Area Plan, City officials found the key to winning public support was the extensive community outreach they conducted to educate the public about the need for additional housing for the growing number of workers and millennials who prefer urban residences, particularly along transit corridors. It was important to get the public’s input by asking questions such as: “What is important to you?” and “What element do you want to see in the plan?”
The public expressed concerns over three main topics: historic preservation, displacement, and traffic. The Plan emphasizes preserving the unique historic character of Grand Avenue by limiting building heights along the street front for new developments. The Plan also includes programs to mitigate the risk of displacement and preserve existing affordable units.

icon_resources-orangeAdditional Resources

East Palo Alto: Ravenswood / 4 Corners TOD Specific Plan

Revitalizing Established Neighborhoods

Place-type: Local Neighborhood, Economically Disadvantaged

Overview

East Palo Alto Revenswood
East Palo Alto Ravenswood/4 Corners Land Use Map
Source: https://www.cityofepa.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community_amp_economic_development/page/2811/map.pdf

To address housing and job concerns of residents, the City of East Palo Alto prepared a Ravenswood / 4 Corners Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Specific Plan in 2013 and recently completed its Vista 2035 General Plan Update.

The Ravenswood / 4 Corners TOD Specific Plan promotes compact, mixed-use development with housing concentrated around job centers and along two major transportation corridors: Bay Road and University Avenue. Mixed-use and high-density residential development is encouraged in the Ravenswood and University Corner/Bay Road areas to have a minimum of 25% of land use devoted to housing to create a new downtown. The Plan area is served by two SamTrans bus routes and the Dumbarton Express Shuttle that provides service between Palo Alto and the Union City BART Station.

Policies/Ordinances that Contributed to Project Success

  • The Plan incorporated feedback from existing community organizations and reached out to a wide range of people through 15 public meetings and three interactive public workshops. The City also assembled a Community Advisory Committee that met over a year long period to review the draft Plan and make recommendations to the City.
  • A mix of new employment will be located primarily in the central and southern portions of Ravenswood to help reduce East Palo Alto’s high unemployment rate, which was 19.2% at the time the Plan was being developed.
  • The Plan provides for up to 825 residential units consisting of multifamily development including townhouses, duplexes, four-plexes, and a wide range of multi-family apartments along with some single-family residential development on small lots.
  • A commuter rail transit station is envisioned along a potential future Dumbarton Rail passenger line just north of the Plan Area, which could make office uses more viable and provide better access for current and future East Palo Alto residents. As an alternative, a bus rapid transit (BRT) stop connecting to the East Bay across the Dumbarton Bridge could be developed

Outcomes

The Ravenswood / 4 Corners Plan is a key component of the City’s awarding winning 2016 General Plan Update. It is forecasted to account for about one-third of citywide projected new housing units and retail space, all the proposed new industrial space, and about 60% of proposed new office space. Key transportation policies in the new General Plan include:

    1. (i) a Vision Zero policy, which places safety first and foremost;
    1. (ii) supportive policies and plans for traffic calming, bicycle and pedestrian networks;
    1. (iii) transit-priority streets; new bicycle and pedestrian-friendly street types; and
    1. (iv) reformed performance measures that prioritize safety over roadway widening.

The City is relying on the pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities and services outlined in the Ravenswood / 4 Corners Specific Plan to reduce the vehicle trips generated by buildout under the new General Plan. These include closing gaps in the sidewalk network, upgrading pedestrian crossings, new multi-purpose trails, and new traffic signals. The General Plan also includes parking management policies, such as shared parking and residential parking permits designed to alleviate curb parking shortages without relying on excessive minimum parking requirements.
In 2017, the City reached an agreement with the City of Menlo Park to work together to prepare reciprocal traffic studies for projects that may have significant impacts on both cities. The agreement also requires developers to conduct separate housing-needs assessments to address potential residential displacement. This approach is one strategy to jointly address shared issues stemming from regional growth and development.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Unlike other nearby cities, East Palo Alto’s major concern is generating new employment to address its jobs-housing imbalance. Thus, the City’s planning is focused on attracting new business, while providing new housing choices—both ownership and rental units—for lower-income families experiencing overcrowding.

Another challenge is that although the Specific Plan and the new General Plan support reducing the need for parking, the current lack of direct rail connections within the City makes it harder to justify reducing the city’s already low parking requirements for new developments.

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