HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 5864 N.C.S. 09/07/1971 EER:sw 8-27-71
Resolution,No 5864 N:,C.L.
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE LEGISLATIVE4`
POLICY AS PREPARED BY PLANNING: CONSULTANTS,
WILLIAMS AND MOCINE, RE DEVELOPMENT
POLICY OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA
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INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMAN TiL �� At A Regular Meeting of
AMACWIMIld
the City Council of the City of Petaluma on the 7th day of - - September 19 71
BE IT RESOLVED THAT
WHEREAS , the Planning Commission has reviewed
the legislative policy' Memorandum as prepared by planning con-
sultants , Williams and Mocine, which provides guidelines to
developing new .legislation regulating dedeIcpment in the City
of Petaluma; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission upon reviewing
the memorandum has recommended that the Council approve the
draft as presented;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City
Council of the 'City of Petaluma adopt the legislative policy
memorandum as prepared by Williams and Mocine as the City ' s
official legislative policy.
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under the...P.E2Wer and authonty conferred uponthisCouncil by the Charter of said City.
/ COUNCILMEN VOTE
Seconded by. /t��r /r� Ayes Noes Absent
Councilman Robert A. Brunner
I"hereby certify that the.foregoing. resolution was duly and
regularly introduced and adopted by the Council of the City of• John W. Cavanagh, Jr.
Petaluma, on the 7th day of September .1971 , by
the following vote: Richard W. Clecak
�:.. � Robert E. Daly I!;
SEAL
Mayor of the City of Petaluma Fred V. Mattel
_..__� .... • William A. Perry, Jr.
_ fin_ 8 aa:c :c< P -- //
City Clerk
of �" Mayor Helen Putnam
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WILLIAMS &. MOCINE CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING
//. 1045 Sansome Street, San Francisco, California 94111
June 21, 1971
CITY OF PETALUMA
LEGISLATIVE POLICY MEMORANDUM
INTRODUCTION
The Legislative Policy' Memorandum is an important document. It represents
a step intermediate between the Development Policy Statement adopted by
the Planning Commission and the City Council and the preparation for
adoption of actual zoning;; subdivision and other legislation. Review of
the Legislative Policy Memorandum by the Planning Commission and the City
Council will enable the consultants to revise the City's legislative
documents in ways clearly desired by the City.
The controls of the City's land use legislation work in two quite different
but equally important situations:
1. The ordinances must be designed to protect and conserve human and
property values in the presently: developed parts of the City. Such
conservation includes orderly change of land uses when appropriate ,
conservation. and protection of stable communities , and measures for
the improvement: of deteriorated areas .
2. The ordinances must be designed to give firm but flexible guidance to
new development at the. urban fringe with. emphasis on the quality of
total development as well as on the protection of the natural setting
within which development takes place.
Basic Principles. The ordinance should incorporate the following basic
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/ principles :
1. The ordinance must reflect fundamental equity to the greatest extent
possible. Unusual burdens should not be imposed on one segment of
the population in order to benefit another. Judgments or interpretations
of individuals or boards are necessary to gain desirable variety, but
the areas of judgment and interpretation should be carefully spelled
out .
2. Policies and procedures should be conducive to orderly, effective and
economical administration.
3. Policies should preserve variety and promote freedom of choice among
all the people of the community.
4. Policies should be designed to preserve and enhance the environment
of Petaluma, both natural and man-made.
Procedures by which the ordinance is administered are a crucial part of
the ordinance. There are several broad objectives which a satisfactory
zoning administration practice should seek to achieve. The most important
of these objectives can be broadly stated as follows:
1. Administration should be prompt, consistent and impartial .
2. Administration should clearly differentiate between different types
of actions such as variances, conditional use reviews, plan develop-
ment review and design and site planning reviews.
Insofar as possible, each type of administrative decision should be made at
the lowest level of administration consistent with the importance of the
decision and should be final unless specifically appealed to higher authority..
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GENERAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND INTENT OF ORDINANCE REVISIONS
j Broad Policies Established by the Citizens' Committee: on Development Policy.
Throughout the entire Policy Conference, there was emphasis on the necessity
for the City to control both the rate of growth and the quality of the
environment. A real environmental concern focused on open space (amount
and distribution) and preservation of a greenbelt. Fostering variety in
development was deemed an important objective of the new policies and
revisions of legislation. There was a strong interest in finding methods
to provide in advance for needed facilities rather than to react after
problems have arisen. Schools, parks, playgrounds and open space, and
safety facilities (primarily fire protection and ambulance service) were
paramount concerns. Improved ways of raising funds for improvements in
advance of development are needed. These will allow new owners to know
before they buy what public facilities are available and what their share
in paying for such facilities will be. It will require subdividers of
sizable areas to set aside land at reasonable prices and in the right
locations for the needed facilities and perhaps to help in the initial
financing and construction, Zoning and other land development ordinances
are all needed to help in these major areas of concern.
Hierarchy of Planning.and .Design Controls Related to Proposed Zoning
Procedures.
The adopted policy for fostering variety implies a sophisticated set of
regulations which will allow flexibility in design and site development and
at the same time provide for additional public control of quality of design.
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To carry out this .concept, and some of the more specific policies discussed
later, the following hierarchy of planning and design control documents
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are proposed:
I. G.P.P. -- General Plan for Petaluma
. Adopted Long-Range General. Plan for the City
. General Compliance of Zoning Required.
II. F.P. -- Functional Plans (may be part of the General Plan)
. Adopted Plans for Thoroughfares, Transit, Parks, etc.
. General Compliance of Zoning Required.
III. E.D.P. -- Environmental Design Plans
. Adopted Development Plans for Separate Districts of Petaluma.
. Compliance of Zoning Including Private P.C.R' s and P.U.D. ' s
Required.
IV. P.C.D. -- Planned Community District
. Privately Prepared Intermediate-Range Development Plans.
. When Approved by City Become General Guides to Specific Zoning.
May sometimes result in amendments to (III) E.D.P. ' s.
V. P.U.D. -- Planned Unit Development
. Privately Prepared Specific Plans for Short-Range Development
Projects.
. When Approved by City Become a Detailed Guide to Specific Land
Development.
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VI. S. P.A.A. -- Site Plan and Architectural. Approval
Approval. of Site and Architectural Plans is Required for Designated
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Multi-Family., Commercial, and Industrial Uses.
The City adopted its General Plan in 1962 and has made some revisions to
it through the years. Additional revisions will be proposed as part of
this program. Environmental Design Plans are being prepared as part of
the current program. When reviewed, modified and adopted, they will
provide essential links between the long-range General Plan and immediate
land development proposals and regulations. The E.D.P. ' s are based on
careful considerations .of alternative patterns for large sections of the
City. The E.D.P. ' s will accomplish two important purposes: establish
the City' s short- and intermediate-range policies so that large and small
developers will have clear guides for their private planning; and give
the Planning Commission and Council an adopted overall design plan to
judge each private "development proposal against. The E.D.P. ' s are an
essential step in creating a complete hierarchy of design and planning
controls.
Specific Provisions for Flexibility and Quality Control -- P.C.D. , P.U.D.
and S.P.A.A.
For variety in development and living environments in Petaluma, there is
a need to foster a full range of dwelling types and provide well for the
housing needs of all the residents of Petaluma. Specifically, more
apartments and additional large size lots (10,000 square feet and larger)
appear needed. The standard 6,000 square foot lot subdivisions need to be
interspersed with other types of development for better variety. More
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implement the City' s stated. policy of providing more open space better
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Site Plan and Architectural Review provisions will apply to all P. C.D.
and P.U.D. Districts and to visually or operational significant uses. The
review comes into operation when a plan is first submitted and is followed
through, with more refinement, as a project moves into construction. In
addition, multi-family, commercial and industrial uses, public and quasi-
public uses such as lodges, clubs and churches, and signs and other
advertising devices are normally subject to Architectural and site plan
review.
Control of the Fringe Area and Agricultural Zoning.
It is the policy of the City to contain urban growth, to retain a greenbelt
of agriculture and open space around Petaluma, and to insure that urban
development is of good quality and supplied with adequate public facilities:
Much of the greenbelt (the Sonoma Mountains, for instance) and even the
close-in fringe area around the City will remain under County jurisdiction
and Petaluma must request Sonoma County to control development and protect
agricultural uses where appropriate. To implement its policy directly,
Petaluma must annex the area which will eventually become urban in the
near future. Within its expanded area of control, City zoning regula-
tions can be particularly instrumental in regulating the rate of growth
and directing expansion in a logicaland economical manner.
An agricultural district to reserve blocks of agricultural land and
preclude premature subdivision will be needed in the revised Ordinance.
The. A District regulations will make the District exclusively agricultural
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and delete all non-agricultural uses from the list of permitted uses.
The current Agriculture-Residence District (A-R) has provisions for
livestock farming, keeping of horses, etc. This will be deleted from the
Ordinance and special regulations written which apply to a parcel of
sufficient size to accouuuodate such animals. If a substantial number of
egg or chicken ranches would appear to become non-conforming because of
this change, liberal provisions for their continuance will be included
in the new Ordinance.
The outer limits of the urban area where topography is rough will be
zoned for half acre lots. This low density development helps retain a
green open framework for the City. (See next section on Residential Policies
and Proposed Zoning Districts.)
To carry out the greenbelt and urban form development policies adopted by
the City, the Environmental Design Plans propose a series of ring parkways
to help define a boundary between the urban and the rural areas. Plan
lines will be needed in some cases. Subdivision regulations are to be
revised to make provision for such parkways at the time subdivision
occurs.
RESIDENTIAL POLICIES AND PROPOSED ZONING DISTRICTS
The City' s adopted residential policy states that a variety of density and
building types should be offered in order to promote a wide range of
dwelling choice in terms of cost or rent. One of the major housing costs
today is land -- it is impossible to build moderate-cost housing on large
lots close to any urban area at the present time. Unreasonably high levels
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of street improvements , wide pavement on short residential streets , for
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instance , also add to. costs. Petaluma has not received its needed amount
instance ,
apartment construction and virtually hone of the newer compact housing
FF types , such as townhouses , have been built. One major reason is that the '
Zoning Ordinance does not provide for the density at which these types of
units are economical. The major source of low income housing in Petaluma
at the present time is mobile home parks and there is a great deal of
pressure to expand in this direction . The proposed zoning revisions
must offer alternatives other tham mobile homes for moderately priced
housing construction. At the same time., large undeveloped lots are at a
premium. More 10,000, square foot lots (and larger) need to be provided
for.
The following districts are tentatively suggested:
Minimum Square Feet Open Space/Unit
Dwelling Type Lot Size Lot/Dwelling Required
R-1-20,000 Single Family 20,000 --
R-1-10,000 Single Family 10,000 --
R-1-6,000 Single Family 6,000 --
R-1-4,000 Single Family Row 4,000 1,500
R-2-3,000 Compact Single
Family 3,000 . 1,500
Apartments: Range Range
Efficiency 1,400 300 sq. ft .
R-M 1 Bedroom 1 ,500 400 sq. ft..
2 Bedroom 1,900 500 sq. ft .
3 Bedroom 2,400 600 sq. ft.
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All districts will have provisions for usable open space and parking based
on density and size of unit. Usable open space will also be redefined
with the aim of encouraging private space for each apartment as well as
communal space for active recreation where it is needed.
It is the policy of theCity that the new ordinance will provide for both
mobile homes and modular housing, will distinguish between the two and
avoid any tendency for manufactured units to be clustered in any one section
of the City. The present mobile home ordinance spells out development
standards and permitted densities and provides for mobile home overlay
district to be combined with the R-M district. The stated purpose of the
district is to "provide a means of incorporating mobile homes in the R-M
medium density residential zones or districts". In practice, mobile home
parks have not been combined with existing R-M districts but, in fact, are
totally separate areas, having sought and obtained new R-M zoning in
areas previously zoned industrial. Nor are mobile homes a multi-family
use -- they are a type of single family unit and at a maximum permitted
density of seven per net acre, are approximately equivalent to compact
housing developments of townhouses or garden apartments.
Recommendations for mobile home parks include:
• Mobile homes will only be permitted in mobile home parks.
• Mobile home parks will be conditional uses in R-M-3,000 and R-M-2,000
districts.
• A maximum, as well as a minimum, size for mobile home parks will be
established.
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uses rather than the broad array of uses now permi=tted. Related service
and highway uses need to be encouraged to group together and to become
compact clusters rather than to form inefficient and spotty strips of
scattered uses . More specialized district regulations and re-working of
the zoning map can help accomplish this .
The following districts are proposed:
C-N Local Neighborhood -- confined to food markets , retail and small
service uses related to the neighborhood needs and deleting uses now
permitted in the C-N district such as office and business machine stores ,
scientific instrument stores and wholesale establishments without stock.
C-C Core Area -- only minor revisions need to be made to the existing C-C
district.
C-S Service. Commercial -- generally following the existing C-S district .
C-H Highway Commercial -- more restrictive than the present C-H district,
confined to uses which need highway exposure and deleting conditional uses
such as wholesale establishments and hay sales . Recommended map revisions
will show major changes in the extent of the present C-H district .
C-0 Administrative and Professional Offices -- a new district for exclusive
office use close to the Cote Area and elsewhere in the City. The present
Professional-Medical district will be incorporated in the new district.
In locations close to hospitals , non-medical offices or uses not related
to medical care will be conditional uses only.
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A special C-M Commercial. Manufacturing district was considered. This
would accommodate a combination of Service Commercial uses and Light Manu-
• t facturing in one district always subject to Planned Unit Development
procedures. As conceived,, the P.U.D. provisions would permit and
encourage this type of mix in appropriate locations without inclusion
of a special C-M district; Therefore, it is not included in the prelimi-
nary reconuuedations for new districts.
INDUSTRIAL POLICIES AND PROPOSED ZONING.DISTRICTS
It is the City' s policy to encourage industrial development appropriate
to and consistent with the overall growth policy and to preserve appro-
priate areas against residential encroachment. Quantifying potential
industrial land absorption for Petaluma based on absorbtion in the north
Bay Area is being done and a range of potential land needs will be
established. This, along with the work on the Environmental Design
Plans may result in some revision of the present industrial zoning.
City policy states that Petaluma shall seek a variety of industries rather
than one or several large industries to avoid the economic vulnerability
which comes from over concentration in one industry or sector. Related
• to this is the policy of encouraging industrial parks to maintain a
relatively high employment density and utilize a wide range of labor
skills. This policy indicates that the present industrial district
regulations need some expansion.
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{ ADMINISTRATION OF THE 'ZONING ORDINANCE
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Modern zoning ordinances, tailored to meet urban needs and with provisions
for flexibility as described are more complex to administer than older
ordinances with few zones and no flexibility except through legislative
action. Petaluma is too small to have a full-time zoning administrator
and the work of interpreting the ordinance and enforcing it falls on the
planning staff, Planning Commission and the public works department. The
Commission and the Board of Zoning Adjustments and the City Council all
spend many hours on zoning matters.
A well-drawn ordinance can make administration more efficient and provide
better service for the public. Within limits carefully defined by the
Commission, the planning staff should be given more discretion to approve
minor variances, permits for certain types of home occupations, etc. This
will relieve the official bodies of considerable burden, cut down on staff
reports and staff time at meetings and get iuuuediate decisions for
petitioners in many cases. Area and extent of discretion must be spelled
out carefully in the ordinance. It must be recognized that�d�t b �
staff is needed to administer a new improved ordinance of the type which
will help realize the development policies of the City.
OTHER ORDINANCES
The subdivision ordinance requires modernization to meet present day needs
of residents and developers and the provisions for Planned Community and
Planned Unit Development. Flexibility in street design, for instance,
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+ needs. to be
rs^ permitted when a subdivision design is submitted which provides
a better circulation system and land development scheme through variations
{ in street width, provision of parking bays or other innovations than
would be provided by adherence to a' set of rigid standards for street
design. Submission of a preliminary map and conference with City Staff
prior to filing a tentative map will be mandatory.
A grading ordinance is the most essential new ordinance; hillside sub-
divisions need special provisions to permit appropriate development and
to protect the environment at the same time.
STRUCTURE OF THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE
The general structure of the existing zoning ordinance will be retained.
However, for ease and efficiency in administration, a basic change in
the manner of specifying permitted and conditional uses needs to be made.
The extensive lists of uses need to be eliminated and replaced by a short
typical list plus a description of the character of uses permitted or
conditionally approved. At the same time, the list of definitions needs
• to be expanded and modernized.
The purpose section for each district need's to be rewritten, shortened
and sharpened so as to be less general. These sections have an important
application to interpretation and administration of the ordinance. These
changes will eliminate the tedious and time consuming process of amending
the lists of permitted and conditional uses and are in line with City
policy to modernize the ordinance and to provide for efficient administration.
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SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES RECOMMENDED
Other Zoning Considerations.
Regulation of signs and advertising: structures is part of the zoning
ordinance at the present time. Existing provisions which are relatively
weak and permissive should be revised to be much more restrictive in
light of City policy to control the environment and achieve a higher
quality of urban appearance.
A flood plain ordinance, now underway at the staff level, is essential.
It should be included as part of the zoning. ordinance.
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Housing and neighborhoods in Petaluma are generally sound but signs of
threatening deterioration can be observed. A special Rehabilitation
District should be considered for inclusion in the zoning ordinance to
foster neighborhood improvement and upgrading. Final recoimnendations as
to the zone will be made after the Initial Housing Element (part of the
current planning program) is completed. The Rehabilitation District
covers two types of areas;. those with an interface of normally conflicting
uses such as residential and industrial and characterized by a high
percentage of undeveloped land, and those which are old and run-down
residential areas. This subject will be explored more fully.
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