HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Resolution 2022-17 11/15/2022 DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
RESOLUTION 2022-17
CITY OF PETALUMA PLANNING COMMISSION
RECOMMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT OF THE
IMPLEMENTING ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION 11.040 (ALTERNATIVES TO ON-SITE
PARKING) AND ASSOCIATED REFERENCES IN SECTION 11.030 (OFF-STREET PARKING -
GENERAL REGULATIONS) AND SECTION 11.065 (POWER OF THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
(DIRECTOR) TO MODIFY REQUIREMENTS)
WHEREAS, City of Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance (IZO) §25.010 provides in pertinent
part that no amendment that regulates matters listed in Government Code § 65850 shall be made to the
IZO unless the Planning Commission and City Council find the amendment to be in conformity with the
General Plan; and
WHEREAS, to address statewide climate and housing challenges, the State has acted to reform
parking mandates; and
WHEREAS,Assembly Bill 744, passed in 2015, limited the maximum parking requirement to .5 parking
spaces per bedroom for housing near transit and for affordable low-income households; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, Senate Bill 1069 and Assembly Bill 2299, which eliminate off-street parking
requirements for ADUs under specific conditions, including within a half-mile radius of transit and within
designated historic districts; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, Assembly Bill 1401, prohibits a public agency with a population of 75,000 to
600,000 from imposing minimum parking requirements on residential or commercial development within
'/4 mile of public transit; and
WHEREAS, in September 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2097 which precludes
a city from imposing or enforcing minimum parking requirements on residential, commercial, or other
development projects within '/2 mile of a major transit stop and instead, allows the market to determine
the optimal number of parking spots needed in each project, as defined by Govt. Code Section
65863.2(e)(6); and
WHEREAS, eliminating minimum parking standards, not only disincentivizes people to drive and
own vehicles which contributes to carbon neutrality goals, but it reduces barriers to the production of
affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, many Bay Area cities have eliminated minimum parking requirements for designated
areas of their communities and others, have eliminated the minimum parking requirements citywide such
as San Francisco, Alameda, Emeryville, and Berkeley; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma City Council declared a climate emergency in the spring 2019 in
order to address the adverse effects of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the
highest extent possible in future years; and
WHEREAS,the City pursued a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2030 via an adopted
Climate Emergency Framework and corresponding Climate Ready 2030 initiative; and
WHEREAS, the framework recognizes that one of the City's largest increasing contributors to
greenhouse gas emissions is transportation and to achieve the carbon neutrality goal, the City must
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 1
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
reduce its dependence on automobiles and identify potential parking and transportation alternatives for
all Petalumans; and
WHEREAS, on March 28, 2022, the City held a study session to discuss how parking and associated
parking regulations shape the character and behavior of the City and best practices and tools to guide
the development of new off-street parking policies to meet the City's General Plan and the Climate
Ready 2030 goal of reducing Petaluma's car dependency and achieving carbon neutrality by updating
the City's parking rules and increasing transportation options; and
WHEREAS, a robust study of existing street parking conditions is forthcoming in addition to another
workshop at City Council, and Nelson\Nygaard's study will feed into updates to the City's Implementing
Zoning Ordinance and new parking rules for development projects in Petaluma; and
WHEREAS,a Zoning Text Amendment application was received by Arris Studio Architects on behalf
of BPR Properties LLC to modify the required parking requirement for the Hampton Inn Petaluma (formerly
the Silk Mill) Lodging - Hotel/Motel land use to support their Historic Site Plan and Architectural Review
(HSPAR) application to expand the hotel by 18 guest rooms and maintain the existing number of parking
spaces; and
WHEREAS, Planning's response to this application has been to develop a City-wide parking
reduction Zoning Text Amendment for Planning Commission's consideration; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Zoning Text Amendment is an effort to reduce parking demand for all
uses under special circumstances due to changing transportation needs with the prevalence of ride-
hailing car services utilized by hotel guests; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Zoning Text Amendment is broadly written to be applicable to all land
uses as described in Tables 4.1 -4.5 of Chapter 4-Zone Districts And Allowable Land Uses to allow greater
flexibility in reducing minimum parking requirements and would allow the IZO to continue to be responsive
to evolving multi-modal transportation patterns, our needs, City goals and to align with local and state
parking reform mandates regardless of other changes in the future; and
WHEREAS, the proposed amendment to IZO Section 11.040, and amendment of associated
references in Section 11.030 and Section 11.065,would grant designated review authorities the discretion
to reduce a project's minimum parking requirement in cases where the project can demonstrate that
demand for parking would be less than that required by the Table 11.1 and where the review authority
can make certain additional findings in order to approve such a request; and,
WHEREAS, the proposed amendment outlines two processes to reduce the minimum parking
required, including:
1. A minor adjustment to required onsite parking of 25 percent or less may be approved at the
discretion of the Director or the review authority for associated project entitlements if it is
determined that the reduction is consistent with the certain findings;
2. Major Adjustment.A reduction to required onsite parking of 25 percent or greater may be granted
through Conditional Use Permit approval if it is determined that the reduction is consistent with
certain findings; and
WHEREAS, each of these processes would require that the applicant provide a parking demand
analysis (Minor Adjustment) or parking demand study (Major Adjustment) adequately demonstrating that
the number of parking spaces approved will be sufficient for its safe, convenient, and efficient operation
of use and that the review authority make certain findings to that effect; and
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 2
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
WHERAS, the Planning Commission and Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee held a duly
noticed public hearing to consider the Zoning Text Amendment on November 15, 2022, at which time all
interested parties had the opportunity to be heard; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission considered the staff report dated November 15, 2022,
including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) determination, included therein; and
WHEREAS, after said public hearing, the Planning Commission adopted its Resolution No. 2022-17,
recommending that the City Council adopt the zoning text amendment; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Planning Commission as follows:
1. The proposed amendment to the Implementing Zoning Ordinance Section 11.040 and associated
references in Section 11.030 and Section 11.065 is in general conformity with the Petaluma General
Plan 2025 in that the amendment implements the policies of the Petaluma General Plan,as described
in the November 15, 2022 Planning Commission staff report.
2. The proposed amendment is consistent with the public necessity, convenience and welfare in that it
will reduce vehicle-related air pollution and provides an alternative to on-site parking for visitors,which
supports policies of the General Plan.
3. The proposed ordinance, attached hereto as Exhibit 1,is hereby referred to the Petaluma City Council
for consideration and findings in accordance with IZO §§25.010 and 25.050.
4. The proposed Zoning Text Amendment is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b)(3), which states that CEQA applies only to
projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The proposed
amendment only modifies the parking requirements for allowable land use and CEQA does not
consider parking an environmental impact. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty the proposed
amendment would not cause a direct or indirect significant effect on the environment.
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 3
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
ADOPTED this 15th day of November 2022, by the following vote:
Commission Member Aye No Absent Abstain
Councilmember McDonnell X
Chair Bauer X
Vice Chair Hooper X
McErlane X
Potter X
Racusen X
Whisman X
DocuSigned by:
RA70Afi0FFFRE4ID
Heidi Bauer, Chair
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
E
Docu 2
FdOd 5
Signed by: DocuSigned by: 1 1 1 ll
nola.,w �a�pp.,�, ' llann�ii�, I`tana�,e.ti � ,1 n �Va � QSSiSlaln+ Cll� Q116V1�1t.1A
FdfiR3fi9CRFD88C556ED25412... 1
Andrew Trippel, Planning Manager Dylan Brady, Assistant City Attorney
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 4
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
Exhibit 1
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL THE CITY OF PETALUMA
ADOPTING A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT OF THE IMPLEMENTING ZONING
ORDINANCE SECTION 11.040 (ALTERNATIVES TO ON-SITE PARKING) AND
ASSOCIATED REFERENCES IN SECTION 11.030 (OFF-STREET PARKING - GENERAL
REGULATIONS) AND SECTION 11.065 (POWER OF THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR
(DIRECTOR) TO MODIFY REQUIREMENTS)
WHEREAS, City of Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance (IZO) §25.010 provides in
pertinent part that no amendment that regulates matters listed in Government Code § 65850 shall
be made to the IZO unless the Planning Commission and City Council find the amendment to be
in conformity with the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, to address statewide climate and housing challenges, the State has acted to
reform parking mandates; and
WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 744, passed in 2015, limited the maximum parking requirement to
.5 parking spaces per bedroom for housing near transit and for affordable low-income households;
and
WHEREAS,in 2016,Senate Bill 1069 and Assembly Bill 2299,which eliminate off-street parking
requirements for ADUs under specific conditions, including within a half-mile radius of transit and
within designated historic districts; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, Assembly Bill 1401, prohibits a public agency with a population of 75,000
to 600,000 from imposing minimum parking requirements on residential or commercial
development within 'Amile of public transit; and
WHEREAS, in September 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2097 which
precludes a city from imposing or enforcing minimum parking requirements on residential,
commercial, or other development projects within '/2 mile of a major transit stop and instead,
allows the market to determine the optimal number of parking spots needed in each project, as
defined by Govt. Code Section 65863.2(e)(6); and
WHEREAS, eliminating minimum parking standards, not only disincentivizes people to drive
and own vehicles which contributes to carbon neutrality goals, but it reduces barriers to the
production of affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, many Bay Area cities have eliminated minimum parking requirements for
designated areas of their communities and others, have eliminated the minimum parking
requirements citywide such as San Francisco, Alameda, Emeryville, and Berkeley; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma City Council declared a climate emergency in the spring
2019 in order to address the adverse effects of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to the highest extent possible in future years; and
WHEREAS, the City pursued a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2030 via an
adopted Climate Emergency Framework and corresponding Climate Ready 2030 initiative; and
WHEREAS, the framework recognizes that one of the City's largest increasing contributors
to greenhouse gas emissions is transportation and to achieve the carbon neutrality goal, the City
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 5
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
must reduce its dependence on automobiles and identify potential parking and transportation
alternatives for all Petalumans; and
WHEREAS, on March 28, 2022, the City held a study session to discuss how parking and
associated parking regulations shape the character and behavior of the City and best practices
and tools to guide the development of new off-street parking policies to meet the City's General
Plan and the Climate Ready 2030 goal of reducing Petaluma's car dependency and achieving
carbon neutrality by updating the City's parking rules and increasing transportation options; and
WHEREAS, a robust study of existing street parking conditions is forthcoming in addition to
another workshop at City Council, and Nelson\Nygaard's study will feed into updates to the City's
Implementing Zoning Ordinance and new parking rules for development projects in Petaluma;
and
WHEREAS, a Zoning Text Amendment application was received by Arris Studio Architects
on behalf of BPR Properties LLC to modify the required parking requirement for the Hampton Inn
Petaluma (formerly the Silk Mill) Lodging - Hotel/Motel land use to support their Historic Site Plan
and Architectural Review (HSPAR) application to expand the hotel by 18 guest rooms and
maintain the existing number of parking spaces; and
WHEREAS, Planning's response to this application has been to develop a City-wide parking
reduction Zoning Text Amendment; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Zoning Text Amendment is an effort to reduce parking demand
for all uses under special circumstances due to changing transportation needs with the
prevalence of ride-hailing car services utilized by hotel guests; and
WHEREAS, the proposed Zoning Text Amendment is broadly written to be applicable to all
land uses as described in Tables 4.1 -4.5 of Chapter 4-Zone Districts And Allowable Land Uses to
allow greater flexibility in reducing minimum parking requirements and would allow the IZO to
continue to be responsive to evolving multi-modal transportation patterns, our needs, City goals
and to align with local and state parking reform mandates regardless of other changes in the
future; and
WHEREAS, the proposed amendment to IZO Section 11.040, and amendment of
associated references in Section 11.030 and Section 11.065, would grant designated review
authorities the discretion to reduce a project's minimum parking requirement in cases where the
project can demonstrate that demand for parking would be less than that required by the Table
11.1 and where the review authority can make certain additional findings in order to approve
such a request; and,
WHEREAS, the proposed amendment outlines two processes to reduce the minimum
parking required, including:
3. A minor adjustment to required onsite parking of 25 percent or less may be approved at
the discretion of the Director or the review authority for associated project entitlements if
it is determined that the reduction is consistent with the certain findings;
4. Major Adjustment. A reduction to required onsite parking of 25 percent or greater may be
granted through Conditional Use Permit approval if it is determined that the reduction is
consistent with certain findings; and
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 6
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
WHEREAS, each of these processes would require that the applicant provide a parking
demand analysis (Minor Adjustment) or parking demand study (Major Adjustment) adequately
demonstrating that the number of parking spaces approved will be sufficient for its safe,
convenient, and efficient operation of use and that the review authority make certain findings to
that effect; and
WHERAS, the Planning Commission and Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee held
a duly noticed public hearing to consider the Zoning Text Amendment on November 15, 2022, at
which time all interested parties had the opportunity to be heard; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission considered the staff report dated November 15, 2022,
including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) determination, included therein; and
WHEREAS, after said public hearing, the Planning Commission adopted its Resolution No.
2022-17, recommending that the City Council adopt the zoning text amendment; and
WHEREAS, on November 25, 2022, a public notice of the December 5, 2022 public hearing
before the City Council to consider the amendment was published in the Argus-Courier; and,
WHEREAS, on December 5, 2022, the City Council of the City of Petaluma held a duly
noticed public hearing to consider the amendment; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council as follows:
5. The above recitals are hereby declared to be true and correct and are incorporated into this
Ordinance as findings of the City Council.
6. In accordance with Sections 25.010 and 25.070 of the City's Implementing Zoning Ordinance,
finds that the proposed amendment to the Implementing Zoning Ordinance Section 11.040
and associated references in Section 11.030 and Section 11.065 is in general conformity with
the Petaluma General Plan 2025 in that the amendment implements the policies of the
Petaluma General Plan, as described in City Council staff report dated December 5, 2022.
7. In accordance with Section 25.070 of the IZO, the proposed amendment is consistent with the
public necessity, convenience and welfare in that it will reduce vehicle-related air pollution
and provides an alternative to on-site parking for visitors,which supports policies of the General
Plan.
8. Finds that the proposed Zoning Text Amendment is exempt from the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b)(3),which states that CEQA
applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the
environment.The proposed amendment only modifies the parking requirements for allowable
land use and CEQA does not consider parking an environmental impact. Therefore, it can be
seen with certainty the proposed amendment would not cause a direct or indirect significant
effect on the environment.
9. Except as amended herein,the City of Petaluma Implementing Zoning Ordinance, Ordinance
No. 2300 N.C.S. remains unchanged and in full force and effect.
10. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this ordinance is
for any reason held to be unconstitutional, unlawful or otherwise invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction or preempted by state legislation, such decision or legislation shall not
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 7
DocuSign Envelope ID:52657AC0-E4B4-4A14-8168-EB90EE0367C3
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of
Petaluma hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted this ordinance and each
and all provisions thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more of said provisions be
declared unconstitutional, unlawful, or otherwise invalid.
11. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after the date of its
adoption by the Petaluma City Council.
12. Posting/Publishing of Notice. The City Clerk is hereby directed to publish or post this ordinance
or a synopsis for the period and in a manner provided by the City Charter and other applicable
law.
Planning Commission Resolution No.2022-17 Page 8