Antioch Planning Commission to Talk Cottage Communities

The Antioch Planning Commission will take up “cottage communities” at its upcoming meeting which will require the city to adopt changes to both its city code and zoning.

At its October 18 meeting, the commission will discuss Innovative Housing (IH) Overlay District and Accessory Dwelling Units. This would be on 33 parcels at 26 locations–faith based properties (approx 90 acres of land).

This opportunity for housing on faith based land comes after the signing of Senate Bill 4 the Affordable Housing on Faith and Higher Education Lands Act of 2023, on September 11 of this year and it was signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 11th.

This law allows ministerial approval of 100 percent affordable housing on land owned by faith institutions and nonprofit colleges, even if local zoning prevents housing. The law opens up over 170,000 acres of land statewide for affordable housing that would have otherwise undergone lengthy and expensive processes involving rezoning, environmental analysis, and discretionary approval. SB 4 joins Assembly Bill (AB) 1851 (2020), which eliminated barriers related to parking, in facilitating affordable housing development on faith-owned land.

Meanwhile, SB 4 requires all rental homes built on faith-owned land to carry a deed restriction to maintain the affordability of homes for at least 55 years, a length of time that is tied to many public funding requirements but that does not consider the unique needs of faith institutions or the funding reality in Antioch

This comes as a Cottage Community in Walnut Creek just broke ground last week on Hope Village. That community aims to address the pressing issue of affordable and accessible housing in our community. These innovative, smaller, footprint homes are constructed to the same high-quality standards as traditional housing, complete with a kitchenette, bathroom and shower, bed, and dining area. Strategically located on church property, Hope Village maximizes underutilized land to provide individuals who are unsheltered with a dignified place to call home.

Meanwhile in the City of Pittsburg, in June, a Project Homekey Could Bring 14 Housing Units for At-Risk Young Adults to Pittsburg was on the agenda, but was later pulled and set to be discussed at a later date.

According to the Staff Report (108 pages long), the City of Antioch, working in close partnership with two community organizations, Hope Solutions and Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition, was awarded a Partnership for the Bay’s Future Policy Grant (also referred to as a Breakthrough Grant) in Summer 2022.

The Policy Grant, managed by the San Francisco Foundation, provides jurisdictions a full-time Fellow, technical assistance, and other resources to help local governments create and successfully implement policies to preserve and produce affordable homes. All eleven Policy Grant awardees are made up of a local government and at least one community organization with the intent of creating a more collaborative policy-making process that brings the voices of renters, low-income residents, and people of color more directly into conversation with government.

The Antioch team is using its Policy Grant to advance two affordable housing production strategies related to infill development of small footprint homes:

1. Enable affordable housing production on faith-owned land, including in cottage communities of micro-homes
2. Facilitate Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) production among low-income homeowners

This staff report focuses on the first objective. More information about the Policy Grant can be found at https://www.multifaithactioncoalition.org/break/ .

According to the agenda, the cottage communities envisioned by the Policy Grant team are high-quality, dignified homes. They are not tuff sheds or sanctioned encampments. Homes could be built in factories or on site and would be no more than 1,200 square feet. Each home would have its own bathroom and kitchen. Cottage communities would include shared amenities like community gardens or on-site supportive services

A closer look

According to the Staff Report, here are the 26 possible sites on 32 parcels.

1. Cornerstone Christian Ctr. — E 18th St
2. Cornerstone Christian Ctr. — 1715 E 18th St
3. Grace Bible Fellowship — 3415 Oakley Road
4. Johns Lutheran Church/ Antioch Christian Center — 1360 E Tregallas Rd
5. Antioch Seventh-day Adventist Church — 2200 Country Hills Dr
6. Antioch Seventh-day Adventist Church — 2200 Country Hills Dr.
7. Heritage Baptist — 5200 Heidorn Ranch Rd
8. Templo Santo Church — 201 E 18th St
9. Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church — 1313 A St
10. Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church — 1403 A St
11. Jubilee Christian Center/ Pentecostal Holiness Church — 11 Texas St
12. Iglesia Ni Cristo 548 Texas St
13. Iglesia Ni Cristo 508 Texas St
14. Wesleyan Church 2800 Sunset Ln
15. Hillside Baptist Church 108 Hillside Rd
16. Hillside Baptist Church 108 Hillside Rd
17. Antioch Family Church 330 Worrell Rd
18. Kings Chapel of Antioch 320 Worrell Rd
19. First Missionary Baptist Church 620 E Tregallas Rd
20. The Landing Place (Acts Full Gospel East County) (formerly Salvation Army) 620 E Tregallas Rd
21. Eastside Church of Christ 1020 E Tregallas Rd
22. First Christian Church 2725 Minta Ln
23. New Life Free Will Baptist/Rivertown Community Church 11 Worrell Rd
24. Antioch United Methodist Church on the Rock 50 Walton Ln
25. First Family Church 3195 Contra Loma Blvd
26. First Family Church 3195 Contra Loma Blvd
27. First Family Church 3195 Contra Loma Blvd
28. Ignatius of Antioch Church 3351 Contra Loma Blvd
29. Palabra de Dios 501 Auto Center Dr
30. Iglesia Nueva Esperanza/Antioch Covenant Church 1919 Buchanan Rd
31. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 3015 Rio Grande Dr
32. Journey Church 1200 Putnam St
33. Antioch Church Family 55 E 18th St

All sites are currently developed with faith institutions and have large parking lots or unused land that could accommodate residential uses in addition to the religious assembly use. Sites were selected based on their ownership status, physical capacity to accommodate real estate development, and proximity to essential services. As shown in Attachment D, most of these sites are near schools, shopping centers, and bus stops, making them good locations for affordable housing.

In total, the 33 sites make up 90 acres of land, of which approximately 80 percent (almost 70 acres) is estimated to be developable.

Most of the proposed IH Overlay sites are zoned R-6, which allows for the development of one single-family home on its own lot. The application of the IH Overlay would greatly increase the development potential on these sites.

Six sites (St. Ignatius of Antioch Church, Heritage Baptist, First Family Church, The Landing Place, Grace Bible Fellowship, and Iglesia Nueva Esperanza) are also identified in the Housing Element. These six sites could develop higher-density housing based on their Housing Element rezoning and in compliance with the City’s Multi-Family Residential Objective Design Standards, or they could develop cottage communities under the proposed IH Overlay standards. Furthermore, any sites that qualify for streamlining under SB 4 could also use State law to develop traditional multi-family residences through the SB 4 ministerial process.

ANTIOCH PLANNING COMMISSION
City Hall Council Chambers
200 H St. Antioch, CA 94509
IN PERSON
MEETING AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023, 6:30 PM

Agenda – click here