The Pleasanton City Council on Tuesday considered rezoning small portions of two church properties to allow housing, a step the city is taking to keep its state-certified Housing Element inventory whole.
The two sites are Trinity Lutheran Church at 1225 Hopyard Road and Rock Bible Church at 4100 First Street. Under the proposal, about 0.66 acres of Trinity Lutheran's roughly 3.14-acre property and about 0.74 acres of Rock Bible Church's 1.88-acre property would be designated high-density residential, allowing up to 10 homes on each.
The outcome of Tuesday's council discussion had not been reported as of publication.
What the rezoning does, and does not do
The change would give each church the option to pursue a residential project on the rezoned portion. It does not approve one.
As of August, neither church had submitted a housing development plan, and any future project would still require its own separate city review and approval. Both churches have said they could continue their religious functions on the remainder of their property either way.
Why the city is doing this
Pleasanton adopted its Housing Element in 2023 to meet a state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 5,965 units, 2,758 of them for lower-income households. City planners have said rezoning the two church sites would help the city meet its Housing Element implementation goal.
The city has also said it reached a settlement agreement with the Housing Action Coalition that requires it to consider rezoning additional sites to keep its housing inventory adequate on an ongoing basis.
Staff analyzed five sites from a list of 22 properties before recommending these two, weighing property size, location and suitability for infill development.
