While a PDA is an area earmarked and prioritized for housing, jobs and services, the designation, in itself, has no impact on maintaining or preserving the small-town character of a community. If preserving the small town character is a key community goal, the community-driven planning process required by a PDA designation would control building scale, … Continued
Yes! The purpose of a PDA designation it to begin a community-driven planning process. Through this planning process, we will continue to refine the PDA boundaries based upon community input. Additionally, MTC/ABAG provides access to funding for jurisdictions with PDAs to help facilitate this process.
Yes. After a PDA has been designated, it can be removed at any time by the local jurisdiction. This process is known as a rescinding a PDA. A designated PDA can be removed by the City Council adopting a resolution rescinding the PDA. While removing the PDA is immediate, it may continue to appear as … Continued
Environment review streamlining refers to the level of environmental analysis a development project is required to perform as part of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA requires that all development projects in California conduct some level of environmental analysis. In many cases, a city will conduct a comprehensive environmental analysis for a neighborhood as … Continued
No. A PDA is a tool that provides access to funding for area planning and needed and/or planned infrastructure improvements. A PDA holds no authority or power over environmental review or exemptions prescribed by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, a PDA can provide a funding source to develop and adopt community-driven planning processes. … Continued
No. The San Rafael General Plan 2040 update has been in process for the last two years and is near completion. A draft of the General Plan 2040 is expected to be published for public review within the next month. The designation of a new PDA would not impact the current work on or the … Continued
There is a significant difference between a PDA and both a Transit Priority Area and a Transit Priority Project;. While there may be overlap in the areas defined as a PDA, TPP, or TPA, they are not directly related or linked. A PDA is a planning and financing tool that is part of the Plan … Continued
Sometimes government can get a little carried away with the acronyms, click here for a full list of the acronyms and their definitions.
RHNA is the State-mandated housing allocation that is provided to each local jurisdiction, which is required to be addressed in the Housing Elements of all local General Plans. The housing allocations from RHNA is applied to the city as whole. There is no “allocation” that is applied to or assigned to PDAs. Therefore, there is … Continued
The City is committed to ensuring citizen safety as we face these challenging times. The City has implemented budget cuts in every department in the City of San Rafael. Greater needs and fewer staff resources available could lead to cuts in areas of homelessness initiatives, our Climate Change Action Plan, library hours in our three … Continued
