Coral Street Overlay District and Temporary Housing Regulations
This update takes steps toward implementing state law and the City’s vision related to emergency and temporary housing uses by creating a new overlay district and updating existing regulations for emergency shelters. The Coral Street Visioning Report was approved by City Council in 2023 and directed the City to make zoning changes to this area to support temporary housing and related services on Coral Street. State law also requires the City to zone for a capacity of temporary housing based on the City's 2023 Point In Time unsheltered population count. The update implements Housing Element objectives 1.2e and 3.3f.
The update creates the Coral Street Overlay District comprising several parcels along and near Coral Street as shown in the diagram below. An overlay district creates an additional set of regulations and/or allowances in addition to the existing zoning regulations already in place on those parcels. In this case, the overlay would allow for temporary housing uses and affordable housing as by-right uses in addition to the types of commercial or industrial uses already allowed on those sites. The overlay also modifies some development standards related to those newly allowed uses, increasing the allowable building height to five stories and 60 feet and imposing requirements for affordable housing projects to acknowledge potential nuisance features from the adjacent industrially zoned area. This update does not approve any specific development project but rather creates new rules governing the types of uses and buildings that could be approved in the future.
The update also amends standards regulating the use and development of temporary housing in compliance with state law, which limits allowable regulations to the number of shelter beds, parking spaces, waiting and client intake area size, management, proximity to other temporary housing facilities, length of stay, lighting, and security. State law also requires these regulations to be objective in nature.
The update was approved by City Council on March 24. 2026. Amendments that are part of the Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan will be heard by the Coastal Commission later in 2026.
Approved Ordinance 2026-06
Approved Ordinance 2026-07
Past Events
November 19, 2025 Community Meeting
The Community Development Department held a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, November 19, 2025 to gather input on a variety of policy efforts, including the Coral Street Overlay zoning district and updates to related standards for temporary and emergency housing. The meeting included brief presentations from City staff and time for questions and answers. The recording and Q&A report are available here:
December 18, 2025 and February 5, 2026 Planning Commission Meetings
The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed amendments and recommended that the City Council formally approve them with a further recommendation to modify the maximum allowable building height to five stories and 60 feet, less than the maximum building height of eight stories and 85 feet envisioned in the Coral Street Visioning Report.
See the December 18, 2025, Planning Commission meeting page and the February 5, 2026, Planning Commission meeting page for recordings of those meetings along with the staff report and draft amendments.
March 10, 2026 and March 24, 2026 City Council Meetings
The City Council approved the temporary housing amendments at the March 10, 2026, City Council meeting and approved a second reading of the ordinance along with an update to the City's Industrial Land Preservation Policy at the March 24, 2026, City Council meeting. The City Council accepted the Planning Commission's recommendation for building height, added a parking requirement for temporary housing consistent with what is allowable under state law, and added an additional requirement to notify tenants in affordable housing units of potential nuisance features from nearby established industrial uses.