The Fortuna Planning Commission on a unanimous vote recommended the Fortuna City Council adopt amendments to Title 17 of the Fortuna Municipal Code and to the city zoning map to align local land-use rules with the Mill District Specific Plan and the city's housing element.

Contract city planner Michelle told the commission the text amendments would update definitions and explicitly treat supportive housing, transitional housing and community care facilities for six or fewer individuals as residential uses "permitted in the same manner as other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone." She said the changes are intended to bring the city's regulations into compliance with state housing law and to implement specific housing-element programs.

The proposal includes map changes replacing two older qualified combining (Q) zones with a single Q overlay that would apply to three geographic areas identified in the staff report (Areas A, B and C). Under the proposed Q overlay single-family homes and accessory dwelling units would remain principally permitted; multifamily development would be permitted by right where at least 20% of units are affordable to lower-income households. Multifamily developments with fewer than 20% affordable units would remain subject to a use permit, staff said.

Michelle summarized state requirements for supportive housing developments: 100% of units set aside for lower-income households, a 55-year affordability covenant, dedicated on-site space for supportive services and minimum unit standards (bathroom and kitchen/cooking facilities). She said state guidance from the California Department of Housing and Community Development requires jurisdictions to permit supportive housing in zones that allow multifamily or mixed uses and that local discretion to alter those rules is limited.

On mapping, staff noted that rezoning some Mill District parcels simply to RM (residential multifamily) would have made about 57 existing single-family homes on roughly 79 parcels legally nonconforming, creating barriers to rebuilding after casualty and to financing for major repairs. The proposed Q overlay preserves the ability for homeowners to rebuild with a building permit rather than needing a conditional use permit, staff said.

Staff also explained CEQA coverage: the Supplemental EIR certified earlier this year for the Mill District already covered the Area A rezoning; staff recommended applying the general-rule CEQA exemption for the remaining text and map changes (Areas B and C) because the amendments do not change general plan densities.

During public comment Myrna Ferrer, a resident of Area A, said she attended to learn whether the rezoning would allow multifamily and thanked staff for earlier explanations. Staff confirmed mailed notices and a North Coast Journal publication; one resident in the chamber asked additional questions about rebuilding and heavy-industrial allowances in the Mill District. Staff answered that the Mill District zoning adopted earlier this year remains in place and that the new Q overlay is not intended to compel redevelopment but to preserve homeowners' rights to rebuild.

Commissioners asked for and received clarifications about noticing, CEQA, and design-review requirements in commercial thoroughfare zones (commercial thoroughfare would continue to require design review and a conditional use permit for market-rate multifamily; supportive housing could be principally permitted where multifamily is principally permitted). Staff said objective design standards allow multifamily by right in some commercial zones if the design standards are met; commercial thoroughfare remains subject to conditional use.

Commissioner (name not specified) moved to adopt Resolution PD-2025-3137 recommending the City Council approve the proposed amendments; another commissioner seconded. The commission approved the resolution by roll call: Commissioner Amen (approve), Commissioner Calkins (approve), Commissioner Christiansen (approve), Commissioner Doris (approve), Commissioner Hawley (yes), Vice Chair Nichols (yes) and Chair Keim (yes). The resolution recommends the City Council certify CEQA compliance, amend Chapters 17.03, 17.06 and 17.08 of the Fortuna Municipal Code and amend the zoning map consistent with the housing element and Mill District Specific Plan.

Next steps: the resolution will be forwarded to the Fortuna City Council with the commission's recommendation; additional public notices and hearings will follow at the council level. Staff also noted several upcoming subdivisions and that Adams Construction has submitted initial site plans for townhomes.