Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Special Orders of the Day
SUBJECT:
Title
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 19-1904 ADOPTING REVISED ZONING STANDARDS REGARDING PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS AND UNUSED PERMIT EXPIRATION (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
On February 19, 2019, in a public hearing, this item was continued by City Council to March 19, 2019. The item was properly and timely noticed before the February 19, 2019 City Council meeting. Ordinance No. 19-1904, which proposes to change the public hearing noticing requirements and to extend the validity of Site Plan and Design Reviews, was presented on February 19, 2019 in one staff report with temporary sign regulations (Ordinance No. 19-1923), Exhibit Nos. 1, 2, and 3.
Noticing Requirements
This portion of the amendment to the CMC was initiated by the Planning Commission to notify a greater number of community members regarding projects in their neighborhood. The proposed amendments will streamline processing of projects and achieve greater community outreach.
Unused permits
This portion of the amendment to the CMC was initiated by staff to provide applicants a longer period of time to obtain building permits once planning approvals are obtained. Extending the time period from one year to two years to obtain building permits following land use entitlement approvals will streamline completion of viable development projects. In staff’s opinion, one year is not enough time for applicants to secure building permits for their projects, given the requirements of designing building plans and the length of time necessary to obtain their approvals.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. OPEN the public hearing, TAKE public testimony, and CLOSE the public hearing.
2. Waive further reading and INTRODUCE Ordinance No. 19-1904, “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A TEXT AMENDMENT TO TITLE IX (PLANNING AND ZONING) OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDING THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS: SECTION 9146.23 (FRONT YARD) OF DIVISION 6 (SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS) OF PART 4 (INDUSTRIAL USES) OF CHAPTER 1 (ZONING), CORRECTING A TYPOLOGICAL ERROR; SUBSECTION (C) OF SECTION 9172.13 (ZONE CHANGE), SUBSECTION (C) OF SECTION 9172.21 (CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT), SUBSECTION (C) OF SECTION 9172.22 (VARIANCE), SUBSECTIONS (C) AND (I)(1)(a) OF SECTION 9172.23 (SITE PLAN AND DESIGN REVIEW), SUBSECTION (C) OF SECTION 9172.25 (EXTENSION OF NONCONFORMING PRIVILEGE), AND SUBSECTION (C) OF SECTION 9172.26 (RELOCATION REVIEW) OF DIVISION 2 (PROCEDURES BY TYPE) OF PART 7 (PROCEDURES) OF CHAPTER 1 (ZONING); SECTION 9173.22 (NOTIFICATION OF HEARING (CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 65854 THROUGH 65854.5) OF DIVISION 3 (ELEMENTS OF PROCEDURE) OF PART 7 (PROCEDURES) OF CHAPTER 1 (ZONING), AND SECTION 9203.16 (PROCESSING AND APPROVAL - PUBLIC HEARING) OF PART 3 (TENTATIVE MAPS) OF CHAPTER 2 (SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS), REQUIRING ALL PUBLIC HEARING NOTICES FOR ALL PROPERTIES WITHIN A 750-FOOT RADIUS AND 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE HEARING.”)”
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE such other action as the City Council deems appropriate consistent with the requirements of law.
IV. BACKGROUND
Noticing Requirements: Time and Distance
It is necessary to periodically update the Zoning Ordinance to improve the welfare of the community. The code amendment proposes to streamline the noticing time and distance requirements by making them uniform across the CMC.
Currently, CMC Section 9173.22 requires a 10 day notice for public hearings; and 20 days posting of the site for public hearings. Staff proposes to change the noticing time period requirement to 10 days for public hearings and for posting of sites for public hearings.
The Planning Commission has also expressed that the current noticing radiuses are deficient and has requested to increase the radiuses. Noticing distance requirements varies from a 300-foot radius (CMC Section 9172.23 - Site Plan and Design Review) to a 500-foot radius for various discretionary permit applications located within the CMC Legislative, and Admin/Quasi-Judicial sections and CMC Section 9173.22.
At the Commission’s direction, this amendment proposes to increase the noticing distance to further the public interest and maximize government transparency. The amendment proposes to expand the noticing radius distance to 750-foot radius for all discretionary permits including all legislative and quasi-judicial decision relating to land use.
Unused Permit Expiration
CMC Section 9172.23 states that an unused permit expires “within one year from the Approving Authority’s action.” However, larger projects take longer to obtain building permits after Planning approval, exceeding the allowable time. As a result of this one-year time restriction, projects are either delayed because developers must obtain Planning Commission approval for extensions or the entitlements expire if a timely extension is not filed. If a viable project expires, further delays occur because the applicant must go through the entitlement process again and obtain the appropriate approval(s) from the Planning Commission and/or the City Council. The amendment proposes to change the unused permit expiration time to 2 years to allow appropriate time for projects to go through the development review process and obtain the necessary building permits.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Ordinance No. 19-1904 (Procedures) (pgs. 4-9)
2. Strikeout and Underline version of proposed changes (pgs. 10-13)
3. City Council Staff Report February 19, 2019 (pgs. 14-18)
Prepared by: Manraj G. Bhatia, Assistant Planner