Re: Agenda item 5.1
Dear Chair and Members of the Environmental Planning Commission,
Mountain View YIMBY supports Item 5.1 and urges the Commission to recommend the proposed amendments to Council.
The administrative approval process in the draft ordinance is well designed. It eliminates the public hearing requirement for projects qualifying for the AB 130 statutory CEQA exemption, which is the most urgent change: without it, qualifying projects risk being deemed approved because the City cannot act on them within the statutory timelines. At the same time, the process preserves staff’s ability to grant case-by-case flexibility where the Code or a Precise Plan allows exceptions to development standards. That flexibility benefits housing projects and we support retaining it.
The courtesy notice provisions are reasonable. We appreciate that the ordinance requires staff to consider written comments received during the 10-day notice period without creating a basis for neighbors to block projects that comply with objective standards, given the legal protections most projects have under the Housing Accountability Act.
We do ask the Commission to recommend that the ordinance or its findings include a timeline for the continued work toward a fully ministerial framework. The staff report notes that converting remaining discretionary provisions to objective standards requires additional analysis. We agree, and a target date (we suggest Q4 2026) would give both applicants and the public clarity and confidence about when that work will be complete, given staff workload and priorities. Until then, the administrative process is a strong interim step, but the residual uncertainty about how discretion will be exercised project-to-project is a reason to keep moving toward the ministerial standard Council directed in January.
We also support the cleanup amendments that bring our zoning code into conformity with state law on co-located child-care centers (AB 752), family child-care homes in commercial zones (SB 234), by right supportive housing (AB 2162), and low-barrier navigation centers in the Commercial Office zone (AB 101). The AB 101 and SB 234 updates became applicable to the CO, CN, and CS districts when Council permitted residential uses in those zones in December 2025; the zoning code should now reflect that.
Thank you for your consideration.
David Watson, on behalf of Mountain View YIMBY