Council Action Guide: Community Benefits and Associated Site Review Criteria Updates - Phase II

Adopt Phase II Community Benefits & Site Review Criteria

Off Track: Consider rescoping in July 2021

The community benefits program will include a suite of regulations and incentives that tie specific community benefits to requests for additional development rights (such as building height, floor area and residential density). The program will identify the specific amount and type of community benefit required with specific development requests. The project scope also includes updates to the Site Review criteria that relate to the community benefits program as well as enhancing the criteria to better achieve city goals.

• City Council check-in on project occurred on March 2021.
• Passage of an ordinance extending the Appendix J map to expire on August 31 was passed in April 2021.
• Planning Board recommended denial on the Community Benefit Phase II ordinance on June 3. Later, City Council did not pass the proposed ordinances associated with Community Benefit on June 15.

• Council did not approve the proposed ordinance for Phase II Community Benefit. A discussion on July 13th or later may occur about next steps. Once the Community Benefit Phase II work is complete, staff intends to continue working on the associated Site Review criteria update, which is a component of the overall project. Draft criteria will require more public outreach and legal review.

• Future discussion on whether an ordinance related to Community Benefit Phase II will be passed before Appendix J expires or whether the project should transfer to the next council. An ordinance related to the Site Review criteria update is anticipated in Quarter 3 or 4 depending on direction on the overall Community Benefit Phase II project.