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Page 9 of 27 The DTPP sets forth goals and strategies for development across the larger downtown area. The DTPP articulates the City Council’s multiple goals, including without limitation reviving downtown as a commercial hub, creating a strong employment district, providing just enough parking to meet the needs of residents, workers and visitors, encouraging non-vehicular travel, and encouraging preservation of historic resources. (DTPP, p. 14) The DTPP also describes various strategies for achieving these goals, such as creating a dense downtown area in a manner that expands the employment base, including compact, taller buildings reflective of an urban (rather than suburban) environment, and capitalizing on nearby commuter rail. The DTPP also provides an overarching vision for physical structure of downtown, including buildings up to 12 stories/136 feet high in the downtown core. The Project site is located on a city block that is entirely within the 12-story height zone, with the exception of a 3-story stepdown that is required along the Middlefield street frontage of the parcel that is directly adjacent to the south of the historic resource at 611 Middlefield Rd. There are no height stepdowns required on the Project site or any of the parcels along the Jefferson Avenue side of the block on which the Project is located. Building heights are then gradually lowered the further the distance from the downtown core. To guide and regulate development pursuant to the foregoing goals and policies, the DTPP includes development regulations to address historic preservation, permitted uses, streets, public frontage, building placement and landscaping, parking, building heights, façades, architectural character, and signage. As discussed in the Background section of this report, the DTPP contains development Standards (which are mandatory), and Guidelines (which are recommended.) Projects within downtown must comply with all standards, but may request deviations from the guidelines. As the DTPP states at page 25: “In various cases, the Guidelines provide a choice of treatments that will achieve the desired effect, and any one may be selected. Although direct conformance with the Guidelines is the surest route to swift approval, developers are permitted to propose alternative design details if they are able to show that such details implement the overall Plan objectives with respect to the desired character of the Downtown.” With the exception of the reduced parking pursuant to allowances under the State Density Bonus law and DTPP, the 612 Jefferson Project complies with all DTPP mandatory standards, and all but fifteen of the guidelines. The fifteen guideline deviations were appropriately reviewed as described in the Planning Commission staff report, and as further described below. ii. The Project Meets All Applicable Mandatory Standards and All But Fifteen Guidelines, for Which Deviations May Appropriately Be Approved by the City. 8.A. - Page 9