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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet 021307 - Study Session CITY OF ATASCADERO CITY COUNCIL **SPECIAL STUDY SESSION** AGENDA Tuesday, February 13, 2007 5:30 P.M. City Hall Council Chambers 6907 El Camino Real Atascadero, California ROLL CALL: Mayor Luna Mayor Pro Tem Brennler Council Member Béraud Council Member Clay Council Member O’Malley A. MANAGEMENT REPORTS: 1. Downtown Commercial Zoning Text Amendment, Zone Change 2006-0124 Study Session (Atascadero Redevelopment Agency) The Atascadero Main Street Organization has requested a study session to discuss the following Downtown zoning issues: 1. A potential change in the zoning ordinance to restrict office, research & development, and health care uses on the first floor within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district, in order to promote more retail and pedestrian-oriented business within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district; and 2. A potential change in the zoning ordinance to require Planning Commission review of all downtown construction projects including those of less than 10,000 square feet. B. ADJOURNMENT: Please note: Should anyone challenge any proposed development entitlement listed on this Agenda in court, that person may be limited to raising those issues addressed at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City Council at or prior to this public hearing. Correspondence submitted at this public hearing will be distributed to the Council and available for review in the City Clerk's office. I, Shannon Sims, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Atascadero, declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing agenda for the February 13, 2007 Special Study Session of the Atascadero City Council was posted on February 6, 2007 at the Atascadero City Hall, 6907 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422 and was available for public review in the Customer Service Center at that location. Signed this 6th day of February, 2007 at Atascadero, California. ___________________________________ Shannon Sims, Deputy City Clerk City of Atascadero ITEM NUMBER: SS A - 1 DATE: 02/13/07 Atascadero City Council Community Development Department – Study Session Downtown Commercial Zoning Text Amendment Zone Change 2006-0124 Study Session (Atascadero Redevelopment Agency) SUBJECT: The Atascadero Main Street Organization has requested a study session to discuss the following Downtown zoning issues: 1. A potential change in the zoning ordinance to restrict office, research & development, and health care uses on the first floor within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district, in order to promote more retail and pedestrian- oriented business within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district; and 2. A potential change in the zoning ordinance to require Planning Commission review of all downtown construction projects including those of less than 10,000 square feet. REPORT-IN-BRIEF: In June 2006 the Atascadero Main Organization contacted the City and requested the Downtown zoning ordinance be reconsidered to restrict office uses and require additional design review of new buildings. The Atascadero Redevelopment Agency was determined to be the appropriate applicant to sponsor the request. The City Council requested that Main Street contact downtown property owners and tenants to gauge their position on a possible code text change. This did not occur and in September 2006 Main Street sent the City a letter requesting that the City hold a study session to discuss issue with the public (refer to Attachment 2). ITEM NUMBER: SS A - 1 DATE: 02/13/07 DISCUSSION: Background: On July 25, 2000, the City Council adopted the Atascadero Downtown Revitalization Plan that established the Downtown Zoning District in order to promote development of a lively pedestrian environment by locating shops and restaurants along sidewalks that would attract customers. At that time, the code restricted first floor office uses (professional and similar office & service uses) and residential uses to the second and third floors of buildings. On April 15, 2003, at the Atascadero Main Street Organization’s request, the Planning Commission forwarded a recommendation to the City Council to approve a Draft Ordinance amendment of the Downtown Commercial Zoning District to accommodate non- retail uses in occupying ground floor, storefront locations as a way to address vacancies occurring within the downtown commercial district. On June 10, 2003, the City Council approved office, health care, and research & development uses on the first floor within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district. At present, the Atascadero Main Street Organization has requested a change in the zoning ordinance to restrict office, research & development, and health care uses on the first floor within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district, citing a changing interest in promoting more active retail-oriented business interest and investment within the Downtown Commercial (DC) zoning district; and require Planning Commission review of all downtown construction projects including those of less than 10,000 square feet. Analysis: Downtown Use Restrictions The first Main Street recommendation is to restrict office, research & development, and health care uses on the first floor. There are two ways this can be accomplished. The first option would be to restrict these uses to the second floor as the original code provided for in 2000. The second option would be to make these uses “conditional uses”. Conditional use would trigger a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process with a public hearing and Planning Commission review. This would provide ability for the Commission to approve uses that fit in the Downtown and deny those that were incompatible with the Downtown. However, past experience demonstrates that these are difficult decisions for the Planning Commission to make. New Construction CUP’s The second proposed amendment would result in replacing the 10,000 square foot CUP requirement for all new development with a requirement that all new Downtown development, regardless of square footage require a CUP. Staff notes that the term “all new development” would require a specific definition of what constitutes new development. The following items may or may not be included in this definition: • New Construction where no construction currently exists. • Major Remodeling where a large percentage of existing construction is altered; • Minor Remodeling where a small percentage of existing construction is altered; ITEM NUMBER: SS A - 1 DATE: 02/13/07 • Façade Improvement where exterior building elevations visible to the public are altered; and • Building Maintenance where existing materials require regularly scheduled maintenance to include minor material replacement, patching or painting. Summary of Issues Staff has identified the following downtown business community and property owner issues and concerns: (1) Downtown is beginning to develop and requires more active retail uses. A primary goal of the Downtown Revitalization Plan is to create a lively and interesting pedestrian experience along Downtown sidewalks. Uses such as offices, health care and research & development do not depend on sidewalk exposure to attract customers. Consequently, these uses have less incentive to create an interesting pedestrian experience and would likely detract from an interesting pedestrian environment, resulting in less space for prospective retailers and less incentive for property owners to develop retail-oriented projects downtown. . (2) More stringent zoning requirements could create unnecessary vacancies within downtown buildings. In the past, property owners in the downtown area and the Main Street organization expressed a number of concerns relative to the idea of restricting office uses. The primary concern is that restricting offices creates a higher vacancy rate within the downtown and it is better to have office-type uses rather than no uses. (3) Importance of quality architecture and pedestrian scale The Downtown Design Guidelines were adopted to promote the conservation and reuse of existing buildings with preferred design quality. The issue of how to implement these guidelines in the form of appearance review for permitted office-type uses and new construction continues to be of concern to the Mainstreet Organization. At present, the Mainstreet organization reviews office-type uses for first floor locations. However, there is no public review opportunity of new development less than 10,000 square feet or for the remodeling of existing commercial buildings. Consequently, Mainstreet is requesting more opportunity for public review and input into the appearance review process through the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process which would require Planning Commission review and public hearing(s). Another concern of the Mainstreet Organization is quality control of downtown projects. The CUP process would contain adopted Planning Commission Exhibits and Conditions of Approval that could be easily monitored and enforced by staff, assuring that important design details (architectural features, materials and colors) are implemented during the building permit and inspection process. ITEM NUMBER: SS A - 1 DATE: 02/13/07 (4) CUP requirements create additional processing time and cost. There are two types of Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) as follows: (1) Major CUP costs $3,205 plus notification fees. Processing time varies with the complexity of each proposed project. Staff processing time typically requires 3 to 6 months depending on the project complexity. (2) Minor CUP costs $1,115 plus notification fees. Processing time requires 2 to 3 months varying with the complexity of each proposed project. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Downtown Zoning District Attachment 2: Main Street Letter ITEM NUMBER: SS A - 1 DATE: 02/13/07 ATTACHMENT 1: Location Map (General Plan / Zoning) Downtown Commercial Zoning Downtown Office Zoning ITEM NUMBER: SS A - 1 DATE: 02/13/07 ATTACHMENT 2: Main Street Request Letter