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is followed by pre -zoning and annexations for unincorporated areas, or directly by PUD rezoning and development plans for areas already within City boundaries. More detailed analysis of the PUD, design review, and conditional use permit processes is below. Planned Unit Development Pleasanton makes extensive use of Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning to provide residential builders with substantial flexibility in planning their projects. The PUD process is used both for projects on sites that are designated and/or zoned for residential uses; and frequently for sites that are requesting either a zone change, General Plan amendment, or annexation into the City for the purposes of residential development. The formal PUD submittal requires developers to prepare a comprehensive development package consisting of site plans, grading plans, landscape plans, building architecture or design guidelines, and case -specific studies such as traffic reports and acoustical analyses. These documents are reviewed by City staff, the public is notified, and public hearings are held by the Planning Commission and City Council. In some cases, the Housing Commission first considers the project to make recommendations and to assess the affordability and compliance with the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance; this occurs during, not after, City staffs review of the project. The Planning Commission makes its recommendation to the City Council, which adopts an ordinance approving a PUD development plan. The environmental review for these projects may be an EIR or Negative Declaration (or Mitigated Negative Declaration), unless the project is within a Specific Plan area for which an EIR was previously prepared, and provided the project is found to be in conformance with the Specific Plan, no further environmental analysis occurs. The City encourages, prior to submittal of a formal PUD application, the use of the preliminary review process. Although not required, the City has found that this three -to four-week review process facilitates and shortens the overall process. No fee is required (except where a Planning Commission work session is requested for early input on the preliminary application), and detailed plans are not required; submittal of a conceptual site plan and building massing or designs is sufficient to achieve the intended purpose, which is to identify key issues, make suggestions to improve the project, and assign a City staff contact to work with the applicant. In some cases, neighborhood meetings or workshops conducted by the Housing Commission or Planning Commission are held, which, although adding time to review of a preliminary application can provide valuable early feedback to an applicant that allows them to move more efficiently through review of a formal application. As previously noted, the City is preparing updated and expanded objective design standards for residential and mixed-use developments consistent with the Housing Accountability Act. For sites already zoned or designated for residential uses, while the PUD process requires City Council approval, in accordance with the Housing Accountability Act, the City will only base its review, and related approval or denial of a project, on the applicable objective standards that have been adopted by the City. Housing Constraints City of Pleasanton I C-27