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SacramentoBerkeleySan JoseOaklandMinneapolis, MNSeattle, WAPortland, ORAustin, TX
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Bill / Proposal & Current TimelineSacramento city council voted (unanimously) on Jan 19, 2021 in favor of a resolution that would allow up to 4 units (fourplexes) on single-lots in the next general plan and zoning code.
This change would take into full effect when the General Plan 2040 is passed by city council (est. December 2021)		City Council passed a Resolution to End Exclusionary Zoning on 2/23/21. The resolution is a resolution of intent; no zoning changes have been instituted.

The resolution was introduced with a plan to begin the zoning change to build more fourplexes; the zoning change was separated and sent to the land use, housing, and economic development committee. Discussions on that zoning change will begin in late March. Any ultimate changes to the zoning code are estimated to not be completed until 2022.		In 2020, San Jose city council requested Planning staff to explore "Opportunity Housing" as part of the general plan review. In August 2020, Staff recommended allowing opportunity housing within the half-mile area around transit-oriented urban villages or parcels that share property lines with land that is zoned for multifamily development. Planning staff was directed to explore "opportunity housing" for properties citywide with "residential neighborhood" land use designation.

In late spring 2021, staff plans to present City Council recommendations from staff on this idea, summary of public comments, and economic feasibility study. City Council will then consider any further action. 		City Council voted unanimously on March 16, 2021 to ask planning department to study implication of Oakland's zoning laws and allowing fourplexes to be built on single family neighborhoods.

Resolution was written by Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan. 		In 2019, Minneapolis became first city to "ban" single family zoning in their general plan (General Plan 2040), that called for duplex and triplexes to be built in any residential area in the city, as well as many other housing access goals.

Over the course of 2020, after the general plan went into effect, the planning department and city council updated various elements of the zoning code to meet the goals of the General Plan 2040 and shift to form-based code. Those more detailed zoning changes were passed in December 2020, and went into effect January 2021		In March 2019, Seattle City Council voted to upzone 27 "neighborhood hubs" around transit stations and lines and requiring developers to contribute 5 - 11% of projects to affordable housing. The main effect is allowing for taller buildings / denser construction in area around transit, or areas that already allow for multifamily housing.

This disrupts 6% of land currently zoned for exclusively single-family zoning.		In August, 2020, Portland City Council voted a package of amendments to the city zoning code that legalizes fourplexes on almost any lot and limits building sizes. Developers can also recieve a density bonus of up to 6 units (sixplex) if available to low-income households ("deeper affordability"). The package was called the "Residential Infill Project (RIP)"In May 2019, City Council passed an Affordable Housing Density Bonus program that increased height, density, and lowered parking requirements for projects that have higher percentages of affordable housing. Texas is one of 3 states that prohibits inclusionary zoning ordinances, so this market-based incentive is one of the farthest measures possible.

Broader zoning changes are on pause, indefinitely. After a failed attempt at zoning code reform ("CodeNEXT", 2018), the city council entered a process of reforming land development codes. The drafted code changes were published in Oct. 2019, and City Council passed first and second readings; but they faced public backlash from homeowners, and the city lost a court ruling around a key element of the plan that bars the right of residents to lobby against development.
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StatusPassed; Not in effectResolution of Intent Passed; No zoning changes passedPlanning research; No zoning changes introducedPlanning research; No zoning changes introduced.Passed; in effectPassed; in effectPassed; not yet in effectPaused indefinitely
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Effect Dateestimated December 2021estimated 2022TBDTBDJanuary, 2020 / January, 2021January 2020August 2021N/A
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DetailsTechnically, it was a resolution passed as part of the General Plan rewrite process. Council members voted to "adopt a Resolution directing the City Manager and staff to proceed with the Draft Land Use Map, Proposed Roadway Changes, and other Key Strategies for purposes of the preparation of the Draft 2040 General Plan, CAAP, and the MEIR." One of the "Key Strategies" as part of the Draft Land Use Map was a shift away from unit-based density code to FAR (building footprint)-based code, allowing for multi-units on previously single-family lots. TBDOpportunity Housing refers to enabling multi-unit housing on properties with a Residential Neighborhood General Plan land use designation. In San José, these are typically properties in single-family neighborhoods.

Staff and the General Plan Review Task Force explored allowing up to four units per parcel that could include a mix of a single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex for a total of four dwelling units on the parcel while generally maintaining zoning setbacks and heights. 		The 2021 resolution asks planning department to examine the possibility of fourplexes in currently single-family exclusively zoned areas, particularly in "high resource areas."

There is no deadline for the planning department to respond, but it comes right before Oakland is set to update its city-wide housing element. Planning director showed support for the resolution.		The 2020 General Plan 2040 includes many housing goals and "action steps", which were then codified into zoning code changes. Key changes include:
- all lots must allow up to 3 units (enabling duplexes and triplexes)
- allow mutlifamily on transit routes
- allow for ADUs
- apply inclusionary zoning policies to new developments		This bill represents the culmination of a long planning process starting in 2015, beginning with then-mayor Ed Murray's Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda. This included the often cited "grand bargain" between activists and developers: to table high developer fees for a more moderate proposal of moderate fees and targeted upzoning. Previous drafted proposal leaked that year suggested ending single-family zoning, citing its racist ties, but that was ultimately not proposed.

This bill is the city-wide implementation of "mandatory housing affordability" measure which basically allows for taller and denser buildings in exchange for investment (or inclusion) of affordable housing units. The initial neighborhood upzoning occurred in 2017, applied to 6 neighborhoods. 		The changes are quite extensive, and do a few things at once: for 3 of the major subzones within single-family zoning (R7, R5, R2.5), enable fourplex development, create an affordability bonus (aff. tto 60% of median income) that allows sixplexes, enables "cottage clusters" and two ADUs in single family lots.

Unique to this policy is that with this, they also changed FAR standards such that they reduced the maximum FAR for single family homes to prevent the trend of very large luxury remodels, and increases FAR for duplex / fourplex. Other key details are that on lots that are at least twice the size of the currently zoned max parcel size (many parcels grandfathered in), at least 2 units are required in future sales / demolitions, and the city has wholesale removed all off-street parking requirements for new unit development. Planners have acknowledged that this will create decreased supply of street parking, and hopes that it spurs increased usage of public transit.

While this isn't technically a city-wide end to SF zoning as there are a few zones on the outer edge of city limits that are still SF restricted, it is the vast majority of SF zones (see map linked in resources). In all SF zones, ADUs are allowed. 7000 parcels were rezoned to a higher baseline density category (R5 to R2.5)		TBD
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Previous allowances (SFZ)Single-unit homes (i.e. single-family), duplexes on any corner lot, and up to two Accessory Dwelling Units (not to exceed 1,200 square feet).--"Residential Neighborhood: This designation is applied broadly throughout the City to encompass most of the established, single-family residential neighborhoods, including both the suburban and traditional residential neighborhood areas which comprise the majority of its developed land.
Density: typically 8 DU/AC (Match existing neighborhood character); FAR up to 0.7 (1 to 2.5 stories)"		---- Previous Allowances for R7 - R2.5: duplexes allowed on corner lots only; no other multi-family housing allowed.

R7: ~ FAR: 1.1
R5: ~ FAR: 1.35
R2.5: ~FAR:1.75
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Zoning ChangesChange from dwelling-based density (1 dwelling per parcel) to FAR (i.e. form-based code). Neighborhood form would likely continue to be R-1 building standards:
• Height: 35 ft. maximum
• Minimum setbacks (from street/structures): 20 ft. front, 15 ft. rear, 5 ft. side
• Lot coverage: 40% maximum		TBDTBDTBDThe 2021 Zoning regulations went through wholesale change to form-based code.
The city established 14 form-based overlays that define the ranges of units density, FAR, setback, height, lot sizes, etc. These do not necessarily dictate land use, but are intended to be used in tandem with future land use maps (pending).

There is no one overlay that corresponds to previous single family zoning, but the least-dense overlay is Interior 1: small-scale residential and farthest from downtown. Lots can have 1-3 units, but buildings with 4+ units are generally not allowed. The new requirements:
• Height: 35 ft. maximum (2.5 stories)
- Minimum setbacks: (varies by lot size) front: 20 ft, rear: 6 ft, side: 5 ft
- Max Lot coverage: 45%
- Max FAR: 0.5
Zoning changes are not uniform. Most of the single-family zones will not be changed; of the 6% that will, the changes include several bumps in density:

"Residential Small Lot": Most common change for SFZ. Cottages, single-family attached, stacked housing.1 - 5 units per lot, with requirements that range depending on lot size / type of housing:
- Height: 30 ft
- Setbacks: 10 / 10 / 5
- Lot coverage: 25 - 45%
- FAR: 0.75

"Low Rise 1 or 2": less common change for SFZ. low-rise multi-family housing (cottage, duplex, townhouse, small apartment buildings). 1 unit / 1,300 sq ft
Primary changes occurred to R7 - R2.5 (previously single-family zones).

- Unit Density: R7 - R2.5 allows up to fourplex development (sixplex with aff. bonus)
- FAR: (Scale: SF - Duplex - Fourplex)
-- R7: 0.4 - 0.5 - 0.6
-- R5: 0.5 - 0.6 - 0.7
-- R2.5: 0.7 - 0.8 - 0.9
- Height:
-- R7: 30'
-- R5: 30'
-- R2.5: 35'
- Parking: all off-street parking requirements removed
- Large Lots: Lots that are double or more the size of zoned lot size (i.e. 14,000 ft in R7) must build two units		TBD
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RestrictionsMulti-Units limited to Duplex, triplex, or four-plex TBDTBDTBDUpzoning only in transit corridors; density increase one level of densityLimit density / housing development in lots with contraints or hazards, including: 100-year floodplain, Natural Resource inventory, landslide hazards, unmaintained streets. (restricts about 7% of R2.5 - R7 lots)TBD
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NotesPrior to the resolution, the Sacramento planning staff ran a (statistically significant) survey of city residents on key general plan issues in 2020. When asked about changing zoning to support duplexes / fourplexes in all residential neighborhoods, 40% of respondents strongly supported, and 28% somewhat supported (as opposed to 14% who somewhat oppose, and 16% who strongly oppose). 59% of survey respondents currently live in single-family homes. Councilmember Caroll Fife indicated the need for strong demolition protections and right of return. Kaplan has indicated wanting to align with the efforts in Berkeley. This policy was never going to be a change to all the single-family zoning in the city; while that was part of one draft of proposals, it was never published publicly

Single-family residential still dominates city residential land		In 2018, the city of Austin hired Spencer Cronk as city manager to lead the zoning reform initiative, who was city coordinator for Minneapolis and approved the initial plan to upzone SFZ to triplexes
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City of Sacramento staff have taken steps to try to frame this measure as not a proposal to ban single-family zoning: "there will be no limitation to build single-family zoning"
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Stated MotivationIncreased housing availability, racial equity, disrupting exclusionary neighborhoodsRacial equity, disrupting exclusionary neighborhoods, increased housing availabilityHousing supply (severe housing shortage)Racial equity, housing supply & affordabilityRacial equity; housing supplyaffordable housing; racial segregationaffordable housing; racial segregationHousing affordability
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Sources
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DocumentsCity Council Agenda
Resolution to End Exclusionary Zoning in Berkeley
"Opportunity Housing" San Jose WebpageResolutionCouncil Bill 119444RIP Project BackgroundLand Development Code Revision Process
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General Plan Changes - Summary2/23/20 City Council Meeting AgendaOpportunity Housing Memo2040 Built Form Regulations (passed Dec 2020)Council Bill 119443: Updating Comp Plan to match Zoning ChangesHistory of Racist Planning in Portland
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1/19/21 City Council Meeting - RecordingSan Jose General PlanBuilt Form Regulation HandbookCurrent Zoning MapRIP Zoning Code & Comprehensive Plan Amendments
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Residential Small Lot Zone RegulationsOrdinance Amending Comp Plan & Zoning Code
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"Low Rise 1" Zone RegulationsRIP Summary Staff Report
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ReportingSacramento Bee ArticleBerkeleysideOaklandsidePoliticoThe Seattle TimesCityLabAustin American Statesman: Power Shift Reshapes Debate
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Mercury News ArticleBloomberg City LabNext City: the "Grand Bargain"SightlineTexas Observer: The Fight for Zoning Reform
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Mercurty News Article: Resolution PassedMinneapolis Press: Zoning Changes since Comp PlanSightline Institute
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Sightline Institute: Review of HALA (note: editorialized)
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California Cities
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Other Cities
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News Source: OBI cited
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Intent Phase
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Codifcation Phase
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