1. In January of each year, the city council shall begin the allocation application procedure by setting development objectives for the following calendar year and, if appropriate, succeeding years. Development objectives shall be set by resolution of the city council. If a secondary allocation pool is to be created for that year, the council shall also set development objectives and eligibility requirements for the secondary pool.

2. Development objectives are intended as an indication to the development community of the city’s expectations for a given year and may include, but are not limited to issues such as housing mix (types and affordability); east/west development ratio; needed public facilities; infrastructure improvements; and infill areas where development might be encouraged.

3. Development objectives will be based on assessment of the future residential development as provided by general plan policy, service capacities (including traffic considerations), capital improvement plan recommendations, city council goals, past development history, environmental constraints and other pertinent data.

1. In January of each year (following the council establishing development objectives), the department of community development shall make available "notice of intent to develop" forms. Said forms will be sent to all known local developers, and the availability of the forms will be advertised to other potential developers through Bay Area housing and development newsletters and other means of outreach. The forms will be accompanied by a narrative describing the council’s development objectives and shall serve as the vehicle by which allocations are requested for a given year.

2. Notice of intent to develop forms shall be required for each residential project subject to the growth management system and seeking development approval in the calendar year specified on the form. Developers intending to apply for more than one project must complete a separate form for each; applications for development approval will not be accepted unless a notice has been returned to community development and planning department within the designated time period.

3. Completed notice of intent to develop forms must be returned to the department of community development by March 31st signed by the property owner or his/her authorized agent and shall contain the following information:

In addition, developers will be asked to provide a two-year projection (i.e., two years beyond the year for which the form is being filed) of their development activity in Petaluma in terms of numbers and types of units and general location of projects. This information will be used by the city’s department of community development staff to assess future development trends.

4. Applicants requesting allotments or reservations for subsequent phases of already approved projects need only return the notice of intent to develop form with the allocation and/or reservation request portion completed, as long as the project phase for which allocations are being requested is substantially similar to that described in the initial notice form for the project. At any time, however, the director of community development may require that additional information be included on the subsequent notice forms.

5. The number of allocations or reservations requested on the notice of intent to develop form should not be construed as a guarantee that the applicant will either receive that number of allotments from the city council or that the project will be approved for that number of units.

6. In any given year, an applicant may request partial allocations from both the annual allocation pool or the secondary pool for a single project; however, allocations for any unit may not be requested from both pools.