LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Town Council receives Phase II: Comprehensive Advanced Planning Initiative update


Concept of future Moraga Shopping Center development Photo courtesy Moraga Planning Department

Since July 2021, the town has been addressing the state's mandated 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of identifying 1,118 new housing units for the Housing Element. To that effect, Moraga's Comprehensive Advanced Planning Initiative (CAPI) was divided into two phases to create consistency in the town's documents when dealing with specific plans, zoning ordinances, state laws, and regional policy alignments.

Phase I addressed the Housing Element, the full Environmental Impact Report (EIR), rezoning of key sites in both shopping centers, Rheem Objective Standards and rezone of Bollinger Canyon Special Study Area, and General Plan updates for compliance with new state laws.

According to the recent July 12 staff report by Moraga Planning Director Afshan Hamid, "Phase II is driven by the need for an updated forward-looking General Plan, since the existing Plan is now more than 20 years old, relies on outdated data and forecasts, and does not address the full range of issues facing the town today. Phase II focus will be on moving the time horizon forward to 2040 and responding to current issues and State requirements rather than rethinking the guiding principles of the existing Plan."

Phase II will not only update the remaining General Plan Elements, it will also include an Evacuation Study, Housing Element zoning amendment implementations, illustrative guidelines, economic development and climate action policies, the three step Planned Development process, and additional CEQA work needed to update the adopted EIR. Phase II will also provide consideration of new natural resource management policies in relation to creeks, trees, habitat management, and conservation.

As with Phase I, staff will continue to involve the community in various forums in order to collect feedback to incorporate into Phase II. This will include pop-up events, focus groups, workshops, and meetings with stakeholders, besides the regular Town Council and Planning Commission meetings. Outreach to the community will come via social media, the Town website, About Town and newspaper updates.

Phase II will involve the consulting services of the same team used in Phase I. Barry Miller Consulting for the General Plan, Rincon Consultants for CEQA, and Aaron Welch Planning for Illustrative Guidelines and Planned Development Process. A separate contract with Fehr & Peers will cover the Evacuation Study.

? During the Town Council's July 12 meeting, council members unanimously approved the Phase II update which included an increase in the original agreement amount by an additional $75,348 in order to cover the modified scope of work. The original cost of Phase II ($226,244) was approved in July 2021, along with Phase I ($713,039). The new cost of the Phase II agreement is $301,592 which makes the combined total of both phases $1,014,631.