Annotated Outline of Proposed Changes to Title 16, Zoning Ordinance For Working Group Review, August 17, 2006 OVERVIEW This annotated outline identifies and describes recommended changes to the Menlo Park Zoning Ordinance (Title 16 of the Municipal Code) to accomplish the objectives of the Commercial Zoning Ordinance Update (CZOU). These changes are based on the Consultant s analysis of the existing Ordinance as well as comments and recommendations received from community members, the Working Group, and City staff. The City Council s overall goal for the CZOU is to streamline the regulations. We recommend revising the content, and in some cases, the format of selected sections of the Zoning Ordinance in order to: Reorganize the district structure to better reflect the desired character of commercial and industrial areas; Make it easier to find out which rules apply to which uses in different districts; and Assign applications to an appropriate level of review. The following table lists each chapter of the Zoning Ordinance that will require revision and briefly describes the proposed changes; a glossary of key zoning terms is at the end of the outline. TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF ZONING AMENDMENTS BY CHAPTER Chapter Proposed Changes 16.04 Definitions Delete use definitions that will be replaced by the new use classifications. Optional: Move all definitions, along with the classifications, to the end of the Zoning Ordinance. 16.08 Districts Established General Regulations 16.30 16.46 (commercial district chapters) 16.44 16.46 (industrial districts chapters) Revise Section 16.08.010, which lists all the zoning districts, to reflect the revisions to the commercial and industrial redistricting scheme. Replace individual chapters devoted to each commercial zoning district with a single chapter that incorporates all of the new commercial zoning districts. Revise use regulations to reflect the updated use classifications, and identify which uses should be permitted, limited, administratively permitted, conditionally permitted, or prohibited in each of the districts. Put use regulations and development regulations in tabular format for easy reference. Replace individual chapters devoted to each industrial zoning district with a single chapter that incorporates both of the new industrial zoning districts. Revise use regulations to reflect the updated use classifications, and identify which uses should be permitted, conditionally permitted, or prohibited in each of the districts. Put use regulations in tabular format for easy reference. 1
TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF ZONING AMENDMENTS BY CHAPTER Chapter Proposed Changes 16.78 Special Uses Revise to include standards for a broader range of specific commercial and industrial uses that may have potential impacts of concern, or need certain operating rules, in all zoning districts in which they are permitted or conditionally permitted. Incorporate provisions for specific land uses that are now scattered in other sections of the ordinance. 16.80 Nonconforming Uses and Structures 16.82-16.88 Administrative Provisions Revise as necessary to allow substitution of nonconforming benign commercial and industrial nonconforming uses with uses that do not intensify or worsen nonconforming considerations. Consider licensing scheme to deal with more troublesome nonconforming uses. Revise as necessary to reflect changes in provisions applicable to commercial and industrial uses related to permits, public hearings, appeals, and amendments. 16.98 (new chapter) Insert comprehensive set of land use classifications pertinent to commercial and industrial districts as a new chapter that falls at the end of the zoning code, or alternatively, directly after the existing Chapter 16.04, Definitions. 16.99 (relocated chapter) Optional: Relocate general definitions from Chapter 16.04 to 16.99. In the interest of drafting a clear and understandable adopting ordinance, we propose to divide the zoning text amendments into two main groups. The first group includes the primary substance of the update: the revised commercial and industrial districting scheme and commercial and industrial use regulations. The second group consists of standards that must be revised in support of the new districts and use regulations, in order to maintain consistency within the Zoning Ordinance. These consistency provisions include the revised use classifications, standards for specific uses, certain non-conforming use regulations, and administrative provisions. This annotated outline also follows the organization that we propose to use for the Public Review Draft of the adopting ordinance. CORE PROVISIONS Commercial and Industrial Base Districts and Use Regulations The update will consolidate use regulations for Menlo Park s commercial districts in a single chapter of the Zoning Ordinance. Regulations for the industrial districts will also be placed into a single chapter. These unified chapters will replace the separate chapters for each district that are in the existing Ordinance. Each chapter will include purpose statements for each district, land use regulations, and development and design standards that are carried over from the existing ordinance. (Revision of the development standards is not within the scope of the Consultant s work.) The new base district chapters will include references to supplemental use regulations located in other chapters of the Zoning Ordinance, primarily the standards for specific land uses in revised Chapter 16.78. Each of the two new base district chapters will include the following sections: Specific Purpose of the Zoning Districts. Each zoning district will have a specific purpose that is based on any relevant General Plan policies and generally explains how the district implements the City s land use policy. Including purpose statements within the body of the zoning district regulations will convey legislative intent and serve as a guide for administration of the district regulations. Purpose statements can provide a basis for the findings required for action on discretionary permits. They can also serve as specific reference criteria for any rezoning that is needed to implement the General Plan or in the event of future rezoning proposals. (Draft 2
purpose statements for the suggested new zoning districts were presented in the Issues and Options paper; these can be adapted to the existing districts.) Land Use Regulations. The heart of this section is a table showing the uses that are permitted in each district. The table will list use classifications in alphabetical order. As shown in the following example, the table specifies the type of regulation imposed on each use: permitted (P), permitted subject to limitations (L-), permitted subject to an administrative use permit (A) or permitted subject to a conditional use permit (C). Limited uses are those permitted as a matter of right, subject to limitations such as location, size, hours of operation, buffering or other design requirements to ensure their compatibility with surrounding uses. The table will identify the limitations applicable to specific uses by number (e.g. L-1, L-2, etc.) and describe the limitations in text following the table. A separate column for additional regulations will refer to other sections of the Zoning Ordinance that apply to particular land uses. Although some ordinances list uses that are prohibited, this can lead to confusion regarding the status of uses that are not identified as either permitted or excluded outright; therefore, we do not recommend it. The table below is provided as an example of the format that will be used. It is not intended to represent proposed use regulations. TABLE 2. EXAMPLE USE REGULATION TABLE NC RC DC GO LO Additional Regulations Commercial Use Classifications Adult Businesses C Section 16.78.XXX Ambulance Services P Animal Sales and Service See subclassifications below. Animal Retail Sales P P P P P Animal Boarding C Animal Clinics C L-1 C L-1 C Section 16.78.XXX Banks and Financial Institutions P P P P P Etc. Public, Semipublic, and Service Use Classifications Cemetery C Clubs and Lodges C P P P Section 16.78.XXX Colleges and Trade Schools, Public or Private C C C C C Community Center C C L-2 L-3 C Community Social Service Facilities C C L-2 L-3 C Etc. L-1: Must be located a minimum distance of 100 feet from any residential unit, hotel, or motel; otherwise, requires a conditional use permit. L-2: Permitted if occupies less than 5,000 square feet of floor area. Additional floor area may be allowed with a conditional use permit. L-3: Permitted if occupies less than 10,000 square feet of floor area. Additional floor area may be allowed with a conditional use permit. 3
We propose the following organization for the commercial and industrial district regulations: Chapter 16.30 Commercial and Office Districts This chapter will establish the regulations for the proposed commercial and office districts. 16.30.010 Purpose General Purposes for Commercial and Office Districts This section states the general purpose of the commercial and office districts. Specific Purposes for Each District This section states the purposes of each individual district, and may identify specific geographic areas where the district applies, as well as intended land uses. It also could identify subdistricts if they were to be created and mapped. 16.30.020 Land Use Regulations This section will consist of a table in a format like the example above, indicating permitted, limited, administrative, and conditional uses by district and will also include reference to regulations for accessory, temporary and nonconforming uses. Specific limitations will be noted where applicable. 16.30.030 Development Standards (Reserved) The existing commercial development standards will be retained. (Development standards are not part of the scope of the CZOU). Because several districts will now be in a single chapter, it may be useful to put the development standards into table format. Chapter 16.40 Industrial and Employment Districts This chapter will include purpose statements, use regulations and development standards for the industrial districts. The structure would be the same as described above for the commercial and office districts. 16.40.010 Purpose A. General Purposes for Industrial and Employment Districts This section states the general purpose of the industrial and employment districts. B. Specific Purposes for Each District This section states the purposes of each individual district, and may identify specific geographic areas where the district applies and intended land uses. 16.40.020 Land Use Regulations This section will consist of a table in a format like the example above, indicating permitted, limited, administrative, and conditional use by district and will also include reference to regulations for accessory, 4
temporary and nonconforming uses. Specific limitations will be noted where applicable. 16.40.030 Development Standards (Reserved) The existing industrial development standards will be retained. Because two districts will now be in a single chapter, it may be useful to put the development standards into table format. Standards For Specific Uses Chapter 16.78 in the current Menlo Park Zoning Ordinance identifies a set of uses that have special characteristics and always require a use permit. It lists considerations for determining if these uses should be approved. The considerations address potential hazards and nuisances such as noise, smoke, odor, and dust, and function as a set of performance standards for these uses. The current chapter also lists standards and limitations for a few specific land uses; for example, it requires that churches be located on sites at least 20,000 square feet in area. This chapter will be updated to reflect the revised use classification names. It will incorporate existing rules for special uses, most of which are located in Chapter 16.78, but a few of which are located in other chapters. For example, the Administrative Permits section of Chapter 16.82 has a condition of approval for sidewalk cafes/outdoor seating that could be translated instead into a standard. The list of uses will also be expanded to include additional non-residential uses that may be either permitted or conditionally permitted in the base districts, but need special site treatment or operating rules in order to ensure their compatibility with the surrounding area. The base district regulations will include cross-references to these standards for specific uses. Where uses are permitted outright in some of the commercial and industrial base districts, but always subject to special rules, it can reduce the number of discretionary permits. The chapter will incorporate the existing rules for special uses, and will be expanded to address other uses of concern in Menlo Park. The chapter can also address accessory uses and temporary uses that may require special standards. Chapter 16.78 Standards for Specific Uses (Illustrative List) 16.78.010 Adult Business Establishments 16.78.020 Automobile Rentals; Auto/Vehicle Sales and Services 16.78.030 Automobile Repair and Other Heavy Vehicle Service 16.78.040 Automobile Washing 16.78.050 Banks and Otehr Financial Insitutions 16.78.060 Convenience Markets 16.78.070 Day Care Centers 16.78.080 Gas Station and Other Light Vehicle Services 16.78.090 Hospitals and Clinics 16.78.100 Hotels and Motels 16.78.110 Liquor Stores (Alcoholic Beverage Sales) 5
16.78.120 Live Entertainment 16.78.130 Outdoor Eating Areas 16.78.140 Outdoor Retails Sales 16.78.150 Personal Services, Restricted 16.78.160 Recycling Collection Facilities 16.78.170 Religious Facilities 16.78.180 Tobacco Sales 16.78.190 Wholesale Distribution and Storage CONSISTENCY AMENDMENTS A number of amendments would be needed to support, and ensure consistency with, the revised commercial and industrial base district and use regulations. Use Classifications For the July 13, 2006 Working Group meeting, the Consultant prepared a draft set of non-residential use classifications. The classifications are updated to be more comprehensive, reflect modern industries and unique characteristics of land uses in Menlo Park, and follow a logical structure. The draft classifications will be revised based on comments received from Working Group members and City staff, and collected in a new chapter of the Zoning Ordinance that is separate from the general definitions chapter. Existing definitions that will be replaced by new use classifications will be deleted from the definitions chapter (Chapter 16.04). For example, the definitions for administrative office and adult entertainment establishment would be updated and moved to the use classifications, while general definitions such as alley and apartment would remain in the definitions chapter. We recommend that both the use classifications and general definitions be moved to the end of the Zoning Ordinance. This way, the basic and most frequently consulted rules are up front, and references in the back. Users should only need to consult the use classification and definitions chapters to clarify the meaning of specific terms stated in the district regulations. We recommend that the use classifications chapter be organized as follows: Chapter 16.98 Use Classifications 16.98.010 Purpose 16.98.020 Residential Use Classifications (reserved; revision of the residential use classifications is not part of the CZOU project). 16.98.030 Commercial and Office Use Classifications 16.98.040 Industrial and Employment Use Classifications 16.98.050 Public, Semipublic, and Service Use Classifications 6
16.98.060 Transportation, Communication, and Utilities Use Classifications Chapter 16.99 General Definitions (Optional relocation from Chapter 16.04) This chapter will include all the definitions from Chapter 16.04, Definitions, of the existing code, except that definitions that will be replaced by the new use classifications would be deleted, using strikeout text. General Provisions (Chapter 16.08) Chapter 16.08 lists the zoning districts and contains a few general site development regulations applicable to multiple districts. There will be minimal changes to this chapter. The list of districts in Section 16.08.010 of the existing ordinance will be revised to reflect changes to the names of commercial and industrial districts and to delete the Conditional Development District, if the City wishes to make that change. Though it is not part of the CZOU, the City may want to consider moving sections of this chapter that represent development standards for commercial and industrial districts to the base districts. See Other Recommendations at the end of this outline. Nonconforming Uses and Structures (Chapter 16.80) Chapter 16.80, Nonconforming Uses and Structures, includes a number of provisions that apply specifically to uses and structures in commercial and industrial districts. Some provisions have been identified as being particularly problematic for commercial uses. The existing structure of this chapter will be retained, but based on Working Group and Staff recommendations, the text of some provisions may be revised (see discussion of Notification and Exception procedure in the separate paper on Draft Use Regulations). City staff expects that the following sections should be able to be deleted: 16.80.035, 16.80.055, 16.80.100. Administrative Provisions (Chapters 16.82 16.88) The administrative provisions (e.g., permits, public hearings, appeal and amendments) will be revised as necessary to be consistent with any changes in the commercial and industrial use regulations. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS The following sections are not directly related to commercial and industrial use regulations and are therefore outside the scope of the CZOU. However, they are potential organizational improvements that the Consultant has identified in the course of examining the Zoning Ordinance. These changes could improve the commercial and industrial development standards through consolidating development regulations in one place, or enhancing cross-references. Include a section in each base district that cross-references administrative provisions applicable to the district. This makes it easy for users to find the permit procedures that will apply to their applications. Relocate several sections that are currently in Chapter 16.08, Districts Established-General Regulations, to the base districts. The following sections, all of which include additional 7
requirements for commercial and industrial uses, should be moved to Chapter 16.30 Commercial and Office Districts, Chapter 16.40 Industrial and Employment Districts, or Chapter 16.78 Standards for Specific Uses or cross-referenced in these chapters: Section 16.08.060 Increase in building height in C-3, C-4, and M-2 districts. Section 16.08.090 Debris and refuse areas, which also applies to multiple residential districts. Chapter 16.60, Encroachments and Balconies, contains provisions regarding balconies and decks in commercial and industrial districts. These provisions could be moved to Chapter 16.30 Commercial and Office Districts, or Chapter 16.40 Industrial and Employment Districts, as appropriate. 8
GLOSSARY OF TERMS Development Regulations and Standards. Specific requirements that regulate land use intensity and the physical form of development its size, bulk and siting. Typical standards include limitation on building height, front, side and rear yard setbacks, landscaping, parking and sign controls. Use Classifications. A system of organizing and defining types of land use. A hierarchal approach allows similar terms to be grouped together, e.g. commercial land uses vs. industrial land uses. Use Regulations. Codified rules for determining in a zoning district what land uses are allowed by-right or only permitted if standards are met or a conditional use permit is approved. Use Standards. Specific limitations or requirements for land use compatibility, which may include size or locational limits (e.g. the type of street where a use is allowed), spacing criteria (e.g. distance from another similar use), landscaping, buffering or screening requirements, and restrictions on hours of operation. Zoning Districts. The division of a city into areas or zones, consistent with the General Plan, in order to specify and regulate the use of land and structures and the location, height, and bulk of structures and prescribe other standards for physical development. 9