AgdaPkt 2014-12-08 Closed and Joint SA

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9.B. - Page 4 ANALYSIS Downtown Precise Plan Implementation Strategy The Downtown Precise Plan's success is due in large part to its market and form based approach. Rather than dictate the exact type of land use to be constructed on each parcel, the DTPP primarily focuses on the appearance/form of the buildings and surrounding environment. While there are several land-use regulations (for example, retail requirements along Broadway), the DTPP primarily relies on the property owners and developers to determine what should be constructed on their property. These determinations are made by expected consumer demand. While there is land use flexibility on a parcel by parcel basis, the DTPP had to define a "project" in terms of maximum levels of permitted development, to comply with CEQA's environmental review requirements. In other words, a certain number of housing units, office space, retail space and hotel rooms were be specified in the DTPP EIR in order to measure potential impacts. The total demand for each use was estimated based on economic studies conducted during the plan formulation stage, which happened to be when the region and nation were in a deep recession. Fortunately, economic conditions have changed dramatically since that time, which has impacted consumer demand for specific development categories. As noted earlier, the Downtown Precise Plan requires that the Council consider a DTPP amendment when any development category reaches the 80% threshold of MAD limitations. By tying the review to an individual development category threshold (rather than the entire MAD), the DTPP allows the Council to consider increasing or adjusting the MAD in each category when market conditions favor one development category over another. In this case, demand for office space is outpacing other development categories, as compared to what was originally projected at the time of plan adoption. Preliminary Environmental Review Results At that September 22, 2014 City Council meeting, it was noted that there are several options the Council has for moving forward given the amount of office development proposed in relation to the MAD limitations: • The first option would be to move forward with a "major amendment" to the DTPP limitations. In other words, Downtown Precise Plan "Phase 2", where the MAD limitations could be considered in their entirety. The result of this process could be new/increased MAD limitations being set for all categories of development. However, increases in the MAD in all categories would almost certainly require