1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: December 12, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director Via: Fred Ramirez, Assistant Community Development Director – Planning
Scott Plambaeck, Planning Manager
By: Amanda Landry, Principal Planner
SUBJECT: Adoption of an Urgency Ordinance Establishing Interim Development Standards in Response to Senate Bill 423, which added California Government Code Section 65913.4(r)
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BURBANK ESTABLISHING INTERIM DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS IN RESPONSE TO SENATE BILL 423 (Attachment 1) (requires 4/5th vote for adoption).
BACKGROUND
On October 11, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 423, amending California Government Code Section 65913.4 (commonly referred to as “SB 35”), relating to streamlined ministerial approval procedures for multifamily housing projects. SB 423 goes into effect on January 1, 2024 (Attachment 2).
Among the changes included in SB 423 is the addition of Subsection (r) to California Government Code Section 65913.4, which establishes a temporary exemption from the streamlined ministerial approval process for multifamily housing projects proposed on “qualified sites”. Qualified sites are those that satisfy the following criteria:
1. The site is within an equine or equestrian district designated by a general plan, specific or master plan.
2. As of January 1, 2024, the general plan applicable to the site contains, and has contained for five or more years, an equine or equestrian district designation where the site is located.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 3. As of January 1, 2024, the equine or equestrian district applicable to the site is not zoned to include residential uses but authorizes residential uses with a conditional use permit (CUP).
4. The local government jurisdiction has a state- law compliant adopted housing element.
Under SB 423, this temporary exemption will apply to qualified projects submitted on or after January 1, 2024 through July 1, 2025.
DISCUSSION
The only equine or equestrian district designated within the City is the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation identified in the Land Use Element of the Burbank2035 General Plan (Attachment 3). Within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation, residential density is allowed on any site, with “discretionary approval.” This is specified in the General Plan Consistency Tables listed throughout Title 10 of the BMC and depicted below; however, the phrase “discretionary approval” is not currently defined in the Burbank2035 General Plan or in the BMC.
General Plan Consistency Table - BMC Title 101
Burbank2035 Land
Use Designation Maximum FAR Maximum Residential
Density1
Corridor Commercial 1.0 FAR 27 du/acre
Regional Commercial 1.25 FAR 58 du/acre
Downtown Commercial 2.5 FAR 87 du/acre
South San Fernando
Commercial 1.25 FAR 43 du/acre
North Victory
Commercial/Industrial 1.0 FAR 27 du/acre
Rancho Commercial 0.6 FAR 20 du/acre
Media District
Commercial 1.1 FAR 58 du/acre
Golden State
Commercial/Industrial 1.25 FAR 27 du/acre
Institutional Max. floor area determined by Zoning --
Open Space Max. floor area determined by Zoning --
Airport Max. floor area determined by Zoning --
1 with discretionary approval.
The Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) also contains development standards that only apply to properties within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation. These properties have various Rancho zoning designations, including the R-1-H (Single Family Residential Horsekeeping) Zone, Neighborhood Business (NB) Zone, Garden Office (GO) Zone, Rancho Commercial (RC) Zone, Commercial Recreation (CR) Zone, and the Rancho Business Park (RBP) Zone. Article 24 of the BMC entitled “Rancho Master Plan Zones”
1 See BMC §§ 10-1-701.5, 708.5, 714.5, 720.5, 801.5, 808.5, 901.5, 906.5, 910.5, 921.5, 2103.5, 2109.5, 2114.5, 2119.5, 2412.5, 2420.5, 2428.5, 2436.5, 2444.5, 2503.5, 2508.5, 2514.5, 2519.1.5, 2520.5, 2601.5, and 2611.5. 3 sets forth various development standards for all zones with the underlying Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation, except for the R-1-H Zone. However, although these sections of the BMC contain some development standards , many of the standards use vague language and are not enforceable as objective development standards. Further, the City does not have any objective quantifiable standards specifically addressing construction related impacts on equine uses.
For housing development projects processed through the state- mandated streamlined ministerial reviews, the City may only implement those objective standards that are in effect at the time an application is submitted. Without further study, it is unknown if t he lack of standards may result in equine related safety hazards that may detrimentally impact the public health and safety for each ministerial housing project approved in the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation under state-mandated streamlined ministerial review.
Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan
The City Council has acknowledged the need to develop Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation specific objective development standards and on March 28, 2023, directed staff to initiate the development of a Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan and associated General Plan amendment to implement Program LU -1 of the Burbank2035 General Plan goals realization element, and budgeted $1.4 million toward this effort. The Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan would establish objective development standards to ensure consistency with the Burbank2035 General Plan and the land use policies of the 1993 Rancho Master Plan. These actions would help to reconcile public concerns regarding potential development and construction related impacts in the equestrian neighborhoods within the City . Finally, the Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan will also address findings from studies or other observations regarding construction impacts on equine uses resulting from future development.
Preparation for the development of the Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan is currently underway. The process to develop the Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan will in clude extensive and robust community engagement involving potentially affected residents, property owners, and interested stakeholders including business owners and land developers. The draft Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan will be brought to the Planning Commission at a public hearing for consideration and input prior to a formal recommendation and presentation to the City Council at a public hearing.
Necessity for an Urgency Ordinance
Adoption of the proposed Urgency Ordinance is necessary for properties with the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation to qualify for the temporary relief from state mandated streamlined ministerial reviews afforded to equestrian districts by SB 423, while the City undertakes the process to prepare the Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan and associated General Plan amendment efforts. SB 423 takes effect on January 1, 2024, and if approved, the Urgency Ordinance would become effective immediately to satisfy SB 423’s requirement that such changes be in effect on January 1, 2024.
Burbank City Charter Section 500 authorizes the City Council to adopt by a 4/5ths vote an interim urgency ordinance as an emergency measure for preserving the public peace, 4 health, safety , or welfare. Further Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) Section 10- 1-1996 authorizes the City Council to adopt an interim zoning ordinance as an urgency measure without complying with public hearing requirements that would otherwise apply to a proposed zone text amendment in order to protect the public safety, health, and welfare if the Planning Commission is conducting or intends to conduct studies within a reasonable time on zone changes, permitted uses, or property development standards.
Proposed Interim Standards
The proposed Urgency Ordinance would specifically clarify that on sites located within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation, multifamily residential -only housing projects are allowed with a conditional use permit, which is a type of discretionary approval. Further, the interim standards would provide that the phrase “with discretionary approval” appearing in footnote 1 of the General Plan Cons istency Tables in BMC Sections 10- 1-701.5, 708.5, 714.5, 720.5, 801.5, 808.5, 901.5, 906.5, 910.5, 921.5, 2103.5, 2109.5, 2114.5, 2119.5, 2412.5, 2420.5, 2428.5, 2436.5, 2444.5, 2503.5, 2508.5, 2514.5, 2519.1.5, 2520.5, 2601.5, and 2611.5, will mean “with a Conditional Use Permit” for any sites within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation only. For sites falling within any other land use designation, the meaning of the footnote will remain unchanged.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The interim development standards set forth in this Urgency Ordinance are derived from the Burbank2035 General Plan and, as such, were contemplated in the Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Burbank2035 (SCH #2010021004) and no further environmental review is required, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15152. In addition, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, no subsequent EIR is required as there are no changes proposed to the Burbank2035 General P lan land uses or densities as noted in the G eneral Plan Consistency Tables outlined in the BMC , there have been no substantial changes in circumstances, and no new information has become known since the time of the General Plan EIR certification.
The Urgency Ordinance is also exempt from CEQA , pursuant to CEQA G uidelines Section 15061(b)(3), because the Urgency Ordinance is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The Urgency Ordinance establishes that, for the purposes of providing clarity when determining “qualified site” eligibility under the regulatory changes enacted by SB 423, that “discretionary approval” within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation includes approval through a conditional use permit. As this action clarifies existing process, and there are no significant impacts resulting from this procedural clarification, the use of the Exemption is appropriate. Any future changes to the land use or development standards within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation will be studied and implemented through the Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan, which will be prepared in conformance with applicable local and state laws and accompanied by the required environmental assessment pursuant to CEQA.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of the Urgency Ordinance will have no impact to the City’s General Fund.
5 CONCLUSION
Charter Section 500 authorizes the City Council to adopt an U rgency Ordinance by a 4/5ths vote, if necessary, as an emergency measure for preserving the public health, safety, and general welfare . In addition, BMC Section 10- 1-1996 authorizes the City Council to adopt interim zoning ordinances as an urgency measure to protect the public safety, health, and welfare while the Planning Commission studies changes to zones, permitted uses, or property development standards. It is necessary to immediately refine the definition of “discretionary approval” for the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation through this Urgency Ordinance to provide clarity as well as enable qualified properties to be eligible for the temporary relief afforded to equestrian districts by SB 423, which will allow the City to complete its ongoing Burbank Rancho Neighborhood Specific Plan efforts without the significant disruptions associated with projects being reviewed through a state-mandated streamlined ministerial review.
The proposed Urgency Ordinance would immediately institute the interim modifications to the City’s existing development standards and controls and enable properties within the Rancho Commercial Land Use Designation to qualify for a temporary exemption from state mandated streamlined ministerial reviews, as specified in SB 423, which takes effect on January 1, 2024.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Urgency Ordinance
Attachment 2 – SB 423
Attachment 3 – Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Map