• WHAT: Patterson Planning Commission meeting.
• WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.
• WHERE: City Hall, council chambers, 1 Plaza.
The Patterson Planning Commission this week will examine the latest update to the city’s housing element, one of seven elements of the general plan.
At its Thursday, Nov. 19, meeting, the commission will consider a recommendation to the City Council about the housing element — a lengthy document that includes information about the city’s current demographics and housing availability as well as goals for housing in the future.
The housing element is mandated by the state and must be updated every five years. According to a staff report, this particular housing element update is likely to be short-lived — the entire general plan is undergoing a revision, which will include an updated housing element.
For that reason, the report states, the 2009 update includes very few changes to the housing programs and policies outlined in the 2004 update — other than those required by recent legislation or those made to reflect changes in Patterson’s housing situation over the last five years.
According to the document, the city has done exceedingly well in recent years in meeting overall goals for the number of new houses created — by way of the housing boom and its dramatic rise in residential construction. But it has not done nearly as well in creating housing for low-income families.
The housing element also establishes goals to assist in the creation of new homes while meeting requirements of all socioeconomic groups, including the homeless. That includes allocating enough land for residential use and helping developers move forward with affordable housing projects.
The planning commission will make a recommendation to the city council on whether to adopt the housing element as is, adopt it with changes or reject it. It will also consider a negative declaration for the housing element, a document that states it will have no significant impact on the environment and therefore is not subject to a full environmental review as mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act.
In addition the housing element, the commission will consider a conditional use permit for a furniture consignment store to be located at 600 N. Second St. According to staff, the area is zoned for general commercial, which allows for both secondhand stores and furniture stores.
But because the business will use trucks to drop off and pick up furniture for sale, it requires a conditional use permit. The truck traffic would be outside normal business hours to limit the impact on surrounding businesses, the report states.
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