Camarillo City Council
AGENDA REPORT
Date: April 10, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Greg Ramirez, City Manager
Submitted by: David Sanchez, Director of Community Development Subject: Recommendation of a Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment to the Camarillo Municipal Code Amending Certain Sections of Title 19 Related to the Plan Review Procedure and Computation of Parking Requirements
BACKGROUND
The City is considering a proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment to the Camarillo Municipal Code (CMC) to eliminate the Plan Review procedure established in Chapter
19.67. Currently, the Plan Review procedure is required only for certain developments within the Rural Exclusive Residential (R-E) Zone. Equivalent developments in all other residential zones in the City are reviewed through an administrative procedure. The R-E Zone, while being comprised of lots that are larger on average, consists primarily of large single-family homes.
The Plan Review procedure was originally designed to provide greater protection to homeowners from inappropriate uses arising next to their properties or undesirable structures being constructed on neighboring lots. However, with its lengthy submittal requirements, detailed development standards/required findings, and substantial appeal process (allowing appeals up to the City Council level), the procedure presents an impediment to homeowners making simple modifications to their home, like the construction of patio covers, that does not exist for equivalent projects in other residential zones.
Additionally, the Plan Review procedure provides minimal additional protection when compared to the standard Zoning Clearance procedure. Further, the administration, review, and approval of Plan Reviews creates a burden on staff time, requiring substantially more time and resources than similar projects in other residential zones that are approved administratively.
Unrelated to the Plan Review Procedure, because of an error caused by multiple Zoning Ordinance Amendments being worked on concurrently that affected the same municipal
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code section, several changes to Chapter 19.44 “Off-Street Parking” that were approved by the City Council were unintentionally rolled back with the adoption of Ordinance No. 2018. Staff is proposing the reversion of these changes back to the state they were when the Council analyzed and approved them.
PUBLIC NOTICE
A notice of Public Hearing has been advertised for the City Council meeting of April 10, 2024, posted at Camarillo City Hall, as well as on the City’s website (www.cityofcamarillo.org) and an advertisement published in a newspaper of general circulation for the area (Camarillo Acorn).
DISCUSSION
Chapter 19.67 of the CMC establishes the Plan Review procedure for any proposed structure or modifications to any structure in the R-E Zone. An application for a Plan Review can be approved or conditionally approved by the Director of Community Development (Director), subject to meeting the findings established by CMC Section
19.67.020. Per CMC Section 19.67.030, a Director decision pertaining to a Plan Review application is appealable to the Planning Commission by the applicant or any interested person. A Planning Commission decision regarding a Plan Review application is appealable to the City Council in accordance with Section 19.67.040.
Currently, a Plan Review is required only in the R-E Zone, as prescribed by CMC Chapter
19.12.035. City procedures also require that following the approval of a Plan Review, approval of a Zone Clearance is required before a building permit can be issued. Other residential zones require only the approval of a Zone Clearance for similar improvements.
The proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA) would eliminate the Plan Review procedure entirely. The proposed ZOA would also modify several legacy references to the Plan Review procedure found throughout the CMC.
Proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendments to Municipal Code
Below is a summary of the amendments proposed to Title 19 of the CMC. The complete text of the proposed amendments to the CMC in redline form can be found in Attachment
3. •Chapter 19.67 Plan Review: Removal of the entire chapter, which discusses the Plan Review application and decision-making process and establishes procedures for appeals on Director decisions regarding Plan Review applications to Planning Commission and City Council.
•Chapter 19.12 Rural Exclusive Residential Zone: Removal of Section 19.12.035 mandating all developments requiring building permits and/or planning entitlements in the R-E Zone to complete a Plan Review as established by Chapter
19.67. Section 19.12.040 would be modified to establish an administrative review Proposed ZOA – Plan Review Procedure and Computation of Parking Requirements April 10, 2024
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procedure through a Zoning Clearance for permitted “use by right” developments, as is the practice in other City zoning designations. Additionally, Section 19.12.180 referring to Chapter 19.67 for Plan Review procedures, would be removed. •Chapter 19.14 R-1 Single Family Residential Zone: Modifications to Section
19.14.020 and 19.14.040 to remove no longer utilized legacy references to the Plan Review procedure and reinforce the Zoning Clearance procedure as the administrative review mechanism for permitted “use by right” developments.
Additionally, Section 19.14.160 referring to Chapter 19.67 for Plan Review procedures, would be removed. This section is a legacy reference to the Plan Review procedure, as this Chapter does not currently require a Plan Review. •Chapter 19.16 RPD Residential Planned Development Zone: Removal of Section
19.16.340 referring to Chapter 19.67 for Plan Review procedures. This section is a legacy reference to the Plan Review procedure, as this Chapter does not currently require a Plan Review.
•Chapter 19.30 M-1 Light Manufacturing Zone: Modification of Section 19.30.242 to remove no longer utilized legacy references to the Plan Review procedure.
Staff Analysis
The original intent of CMC Chapter 19.67 and the Plan Review procedure was to create a mechanism to ensure proposed projects complied with the City’s expectations for contextually appropriate and high-quality development. The Plan Review procedure was intended to ensure that proposed projects met the architectural design standards of the City, were compatible with the surrounding community, and were internally compatible with existing and or proposed structures on site. The process also contained provisions requiring that development proposals were consistent with other development standards, including zoning code and or specific plan development standards.
As the City’s Zoning Ordinance and land use regulations have evolved to become more streamlined, the Plan Review procedure still exists for the R-E Zone. Currently, a Plan Review is required in accordance with CMC Chapter 19.67 for the construction of any building or structure, the commencement of any new use, and or the modification of any existing building or use on any lot in the R-E Zone (with the exception of Accessory Dwelling Units).
For example, a Plan Review is currently required for patio covers, and auxiliary buildings such as garages in the R-E Zone. In the R-1 and RPD Zones, these structures are approved through a Zoning Clearance and can be issued over the counter the same day an application is submitted, while a Plan Review requires around three weeks.
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Additionally, a Plan Review is currently required for a new single family dwelling unit on a single lot in the R-E Zone, while in the R-1 Zone a single-family dwelling unit on a single lot is approved through a Zoning Clearance.
The review process through a Zoning Clearance (as described below) would provide an equivalent quality of review. The proposed ZOA would eliminate the Plan Review process entirely throughout the CMC.
Within the R-E Zone, the proposed ZOA would replace the current Plan Review procedure with a Zoning Clearance. A Zoning Clearance would be required for the construction of any building or structure, or the reconstruction and/or modification of any building or structure. Such Zoning Clearances would be reviewed administratively by the Director of Community Development or their designated representative. No public hearing would be required, and consistent with all other zoning clearances issued by the City, the Director’s decision on an administrative Zoning Clearance is non-appealable to the Planning Commission. In order to issue an administrative Zoning Clearance, the Director would have to make findings that the proposed development’s architectural design, including the proposed colors, texture, materials, and massing, are both internally compatible to other adjoining uses and structures on the subject property; and compatible with the uses and structures surrounding and adjacent to the surrounding property. This proposed provision would retain the City’s ability to ensure robust and appropriate project/design review in a manner similar to the current Plan Review procedure, while eliminating the more cumbersome portions of the Plan Review procedures.
As noted above, the Plan Review procedure is utilized only in the R-E Zone, however several historic legacy references are found throughout the CMC, including in the zoning standards for the R-1, RPD, and M-1 Zones. Staff proposes that these references to Chapter 19.67 be removed to maintain internal consistency within the Zoning Ordinance.
The proposed ZOA would not impact current procedures in any zone except the R-E Zone. Homeowners Associations would retain their existing authority to approve or deny changes to homes in the R-E Zone.
Correction to Chapter 19.44, Off-Street Parking
On February 14, 2024, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2018, an omnibus ordinance implementing various amendments to the CMC in response to changes in state law. Due to an oversight by staff, resulting from concurrent work on multiple ordinances amending the CMC Ordinance 2018 unintentionally overwrote two amendments to the CMC created by Ordinance 2007. These amendments were as follows:
•Corridors, lobbies, conference rooms, stairways, restrooms, elevator and mechanical shafts, and unmanned electrical or mechanical rooms will be excluded from the square footage when computing floor area for parking purposes.
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•Employee only kitchens, lunchrooms, exercise rooms, and locker rooms will be excluded from the square footage when computing floor area for parking purposes.
These amendments were in the interest of supporting local businesses, specifically the life science industry. Ordinance 2018 reverted these amendments unintentionally. Staff is proposing that this error be corrected alongside the proposed elimination of the Plan Review procedure.
CONSISTENCY WITH CITY COUNCIL GOALS & OBJECTIVES
The proposed ZOA was evaluated for consistency with the City Council’s 2023-2024 Goals and Objectives. The proposed ZOA is consistent with the following goal:
•It is the goal of the City Council to provide cost effective, efficient services to the public while minimizing impacts on the environment.
If adopted, the proposed ZOA would retain the City’s ability to conduct appropriate design review, while eliminating the more cumbersome portions of the Plan Review procedures in the R-E Zone. This will result in substantial cost and time savings to the public, without compromising the City’s thorough design review process.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND LAND USE COMMITTEE (“EDLUC”) REVIEW The EDLUC reviewed the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment during its regular meeting on February 22, 2024. The EDLUC expressed their support of the proposed ZOA and suggested no changes to the proposed CMC redlines. Since the EDLUC meeting, staff have not made any substantive changes or revisions to the ZOA or proposed CMC redlines.
PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW
The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment during its regular meeting on March 19, 2024. After a presentation by staff, the Planning Commission made several positive comments and voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution recommending approval of the proposed Ordinance to the Council.
After the Planning Commission meeting, several changes to the proposed revisions to Section 19.12.040 of the CMC were made on the advice of the City Attorney’s Office.
These changes minutely changed staff’s proposed wording to better describe the Zoning Clearance procedure, but did not substantively alter the redlines reviewed and recommended by the Planning Commission
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no budget impact as a result of this action.
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CEQA DETERMINATIONS
The proposed Ordinance is recommending procedural amendments to CMC that have no potential to result in physical changes to the environment. Therefore, the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2), 15060(c)(3), 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3.
Specifically, the proposed Ordinance would not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change on the environment (CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c)(2)); the proposed ordinance does not meet the definition of a “Project” as established by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378, as the Ordinance is considered “general policy and procedure making” as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2) (CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3)); and the proposed Ordinance is covered by the general exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment (Section 15061(b)(3)).
RECOMMENDATION
1. Find that the proposed Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under the State CEQA Guidelines §§ 15060(c)(2), 15060(c)(3), and 15061(b)(3); and
2. Waive further reading and introduce an Ordinance amending certain sections of Title 19 related to the Plan Review procedure and computation of parking requirements..
ATTACHMENTS
1. Ordinance
2. Resolution No. PC 24-03
3. Proposed Redlines
4. Public Hearing Notice
REFERENCE MATERIALS – AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT CITY HALL None