Politics & Government

[UPDATED] Council Approves Plan Eyeing 15.6 Acres for Affordable Housing

The Diamond Bar City Council unanimously approved a plan for accommodating 466 low-income units in the city's general plan at Tuesday's meeting.

The Diamond Bar City Council unanimously approved a plan Tuesday identifying 15.6 acres near Diamond Ranch High School as the most likely site for 466 high-density housing units to meet requirements of a regional assessment of housing needs.

The city is not required to see that the 466 high-density units are built, but that a sufficient amount of city property is zoned to accomodate the region's housing needs across "all economic segments of the community," according to the Southern California Association of Governments, which conducts the assessment.

John Douglas, a consultant to Diamond Bar, said that the city could lose local control of land-use planning if the requirements set out in the regional assessment are not met for the planning period, which extends from 2006 to 2014.

Find out what's happening in Diamond Bar-Walnutwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The Regional Housing Needs Assessment is the only portion of the city's general plan that is determined by an outside agency," Douglas said.

Per state law, the city will need to zone the 466 units at a density of at least 30 units per acre. The two parcels identified near Diamond Ranch add to a total of 15.6 acres, which Community Development Director David Gubman said would likely mean a three-story development to meet the required unit density.

Find out what's happening in Diamond Bar-Walnutwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If the changes to the general plan are approved at Tuesday's meeting, the city will still need to go through a separate public hearing process to conduct environmental assessments and change zoning at the property, which is owned by the City of Industry.

On March 22, the Planning Commission recommended that the council pass these changes to the general plan with a 4-1 vote. Planning Commissioner Jimmy Lin voted in opposition.

Tonight's city council meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and the public comment period will begin at 6:45 p.m.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here