2.2.2.1 Impacts of Increasing Densities

In the past several years, development trends have been to increase housing densities within residential developments. Also, the City Council has passed an ordinance creating Interchange Overlay Zones near major interchanges along the newly constructed Mountain View Corridor. This creates a significant challenge for planning future water needs.

One approach to planning would be to base projections on the City's current land use and zoning plan. However, this would fail to capture the potential impacts of the expected changes in density noted above. The alternative would be to base planning projections on higher potential densities, but it is uncertain as to exactly where and what scale these higher densities impact future growth. In this section, two scenarios will be considered. The low-density planning period will be based on land use planning densities, assuming no increases are implemented. The high-density planning period will assume that densities in a few land use categories increase. This specifically includes the currently designated Interchange Overlay Zones and currently undeveloped light industrial areas. The undeveloped or underdeveloped acreage for each land use category and the assumed densities for both planning scenarios are detailed in Table 2-2.

Table 2-2
Assumed Densities by Land Use Type

Land Use Category	Developable Acreage	Low Planning Scenario - Assumed Density (ERC/Acre)	Low Planning Scenario - Additional ERCs	High Planning Scenario - Assumed Density (ERC/Acre)	High Planning Scenario - Additional ERCs
Generally Established Densities
Community Commercial	109	2.2	239	2.2	239
Neighborhood Commercial	54	1.8	98	1.8	98
Parks and Open Land	341	2.1	716	2.1	716
Professional Office	102	2.6	265	2.6	265
Public Facilities	176	2.4	423	2.4	423
Regional Commercial	3	1.9	6	1.9	6
Research Park	352	1.5	529	1.5	529
Transit Oriented Development	39	20	773	20	773
Very Low Density Residential	211	2	421	2	421
Low Density Residential	317	3	950	3	950
Medium Density Residential	331	5.4	1,784	5.4	1,784
High Density Residential	46	8	365	8	365
Very High Density Residential	16	16	258	16	258
Jones Ranch	610	4.9	2,960	4.9	2,960
Copper Rim	177	3.5	618	3.5	618
Woods Ranch	193	4.7	912	4.7	912
Variable Density
Light Industrial	632	1.3	821	3.1	1,984
Interchange Overlay Zone	375	8	3,000	29.3	10,974
TOTAL			15,138		24,274

 

As can be seen in the table, assumptions regarding density can have a significant impact on the amount of projected future growth the City plans for. Increasing densities could potentially add more than 9,000 ERCs of growth in the City and increase in expected growth of more than 60%.