Agenda #: 6.1
Meeting Date: June 18, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Fox, City Manager
TITLE: DEVELOPMENT CODE AMENDMENT TO IMPLEMENT HOUSING
PROGRAMS CONTAINED IN THE CERTIFIED 2021-2029 HOUSING
ELEMENT AND TO CONFORM WITH STATE LAW (PL 2022-59).
STRATEGIC
GOAL: Open, Engaged & Responsive Government
RECOMMENDATION:
A. Determine that the proposed Development Code Amendment is categorically and statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”); and B. Introduce first reading by title only, waive full reading of the Ordinance, open the Public Hearing to receive public testimony, schedule the second reading and adoption at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting:
“Ordinance No. 03 (2024): AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF DIAMOND BAR, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF TITLE 22 (DEVELOPMENT CODE) OF THE DIAMOND BAR CITY CODE TO IMPLEMENT HOUSING PROGRAMS CONTAINED IN THE CITY’S
CERTIFIED 2021-2029 HOUSING ELEMENT, TO CONFORM TO CHANGES IN
NEW STATE HOUSING LAWS AND CITY POLICIES, AND TO MAKE
TYPOGRAPHICAL CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS.”
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None.
SUMMARY:
The Diamond Bar Development Code (Title 22 of the Diamond Bar City Code) was first adopted in 1998. Its purpose and intent are “to implement the policies of the Diamond Bar general plan by classifying and regulating the uses of land and structures within the
City of Diamond Bar.”1
Amendments to the Development Code are needed from time to reflect community values, to keep pace with new state and federal laws, to implement local policies, and to resolve the internal inconsistencies and errors that are eventually encountered.
In the wake of the numerous housing and development laws passed by the State Legislature in recent years, together with the housing programs contained in the City’s certified 2021-2029 Housing Element, the proposed ordinance would amend several sections of the Development Code to ensure continued conformance with State law.
The proposed ordinance also incorporates several “cleanup” items to clarify the intent of various existing regulations.
BACKGROUND:
State Housing Laws
In addition to the routine cleanup items and the codifying of miscellaneous laws that the City is already subject to, the amendments proposed in the attached ordinance (Attachment 1) are largely focused on ensuring that the City is in compliance with the onslaught of housing laws passed by the State Legislature in recent years. These laws were discussed during a joint study session of the City Council and Planning Commission on March 26, 2024, and are summarized below:
• The Housing Accountability Act (Gov't Code §65589.5) prevents cities from applying non-objective development standards and findings to proposed housing development projects, limits cities' authority to disapprove or impose certain conditions on proposed housing development projects, and imposes other temporal and procedural limits on cities' review of housing projects. “Objective” standards are those that involve no personal or subjective judgment and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external benchmark or criterion. Cities or counties found to have acted in violation of the Housing Accountability Act may be subject to certain enhanced remedies, including significant fines.
• The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) established laws intended to streamline housing development approvals, requires cities to maintain their existing affordable housing stock and protect displaced tenants of affordable housing units, limits cities' authority to rezone property to a lower residential density, and restricts cities from establishing new residential design standards that are not objective. • State Density Bonus Law (“SDBL,” Gov't Code §§65915-65918), as amended by AB 1287, requires cities to grant increased density, incentives and concessions, and waivers of development standards to residential developers in exchange for the production of affordable housing units.
• No Net Loss Law (Gov't Code §65863) requires that a city make specified findings before it allows development of a parcel at a lower residential density than identified in the city's housing element for that parcel or takes any other administrative, quasijudicial, or legislative action to reduce, require, or permit the reduction of the allowable residential density for such a parcel.
1 DBCC §22.01.020
• Housing Element Law (Gov't Code §§65580 – 65589.11), among other things, requires cities to identify and remove governmental constraints on the production of housing, to treat transitional and supportive housing similarly to other residential dwellings, and to provide for a variety of housing types, including single-room occupancy housing.
• Senate Bill 35 (Gov't Code §65913.4) requires cities to ministerially review and approve qualifying affordable housing projects in an effort to meet statewide affordable housing goals.
• Government Code §65651, et seq. and §65660, et seq. require cities to allow certain supportive housing projects and low-barrier navigation centers as uses to be established by right.
• Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) Law (Article 2, commencing with § 66314, of Chapter 13 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code) requires cities to adopt ordinances providing for streamlined ministerial review and approval of ADUs and JADUs and limiting the development standards cities can apply to ADUs and JADUs.
Diamond Bar Housing Element
The proposed amendments also implement several of the housing programs contained in the City's certified 2021-2029 Housing Element, as summarized below:
• Program H-11. Housing for Persons with Special Needs - Continue to facilitate emergency shelters and transitional/supportive housing and continue participating with Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments on efforts to address homelessness throughout the planning period.
Process an amendment to the Development Code to allow supportive housing, low barrier navigation centers and large residential care facilities consistent with State law.
The proposed Code amendment would update the land use table to reflect mandatory changes in State law, including: removing the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) requirement for residential care facilities serving seven or more persons in all residential zones and reclassify them as permitted by right; permitting “transitional/supportive housing” by right in all residential zones, subject to certain requirements; and adding "supportive housing for the homeless" and "low-barrier navigation centers” as permitted uses by right in the Industrial zoning district, subject to certain requirements pursuant to Government Code Section 65653. • Program H-12. Affordable Housing Incentives/Density Bonus - Amend the Development Code in 2021 consistent with current Density Bonus Law and continue to encourage the production of affordable housing through the use of density bonus and other incentives.
The proposed Code amendment would update the City’s density bonus regulations to conform to the current provisions of the SDBL.
• Program H-13. Efficient Project Processing - Continue to offer streamlined development processing, and periodically review departmental processing procedures to ensure efficient project processing.
The proposed Code amendment would implement various provisions of State law aimed to ease local government constraints on housing development, as well as eliminate conflicting provisions found within the Development Code.
ANALYSIS:
Adoption Process
Before the City Council adopts an ordinance to amend the Development Code, the Planning Commission must first conduct a public hearing to consider the proposed amendments. The Commission then forwards its recommendations via a resolution advising the Council whether or not the proposed amendments should be adopted.
Planning Commission Review
On May 28, 2024, after conducting a duly noticed public hearing, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 2024-07, recommending, by a 4-0 vote (one absence), that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Title 22 (Attachment 2). The staff report and draft meeting minutes from that meeting are included as Attachments 3 and 4 respectively.
No public comments were received prior to or during the Planning Commission hearing.
Proposed Development Code Amendments
The full text of the proposed code amendments is contained in the draft ordinance (Attachment 1). The following discussion cites the applicable Development Code section or chapter being amended, and provides the basis for each proposed amendment. A more detailed discussion for each section was provided in the Planning Commission staff report.
The following sections are proposed to be amended to either correct typographical errors or provide technical clarifications:
22.04.020(c)(3) - Floor area ratio
22.08.040 Table 2-4 - Restrictions on nonconforming structures
22.10.030 Table 2-5 - Office district land use table
22.16.070(1) - Open space requirement
22.16.090(3)(c) - Setback regulations and exceptions
22.16.130 - View protection
22.30.080 (5)(a)(1) - Driveway extensions for single-family residential property
22.42.110 Table 3-15 - Setbacks for accessory uses and structures
22.44.020 Table 4-1 - Director vs. Hearing Officer
22.44.040(a) - Application fees
22.47.020(a) - Plot plan review
22.48.030(b) - Administrative development review
22.48.050(a) and (b) - Responsibility for development review
22.56.020, 22.56.030(c), 22.56.040, and 22.56.050 – Minor conditional use permit review authority
22.60.020 - Applicability of specific plan
22.68.020(b)(1)(a) - Restrictions on nonconforming uses
22.68.030(b)(2) - Restrictions on nonconforming structures The more notable amendments contained in the draft ordinance are listed below:
22.08.030 Table 2-3 - Residential District Land Use Table: Consistent with recent State law, the residential land use table is amended to remove the CUP requirement for residential care facilities serving seven or more persons in all residential zones and reclassify them as permitted by right. “Transitional/supportive housing” is added as permitted by right in all residential zones, subject to new requirements set forth under Development Code Section 22.42.170. Lastly, “Second Units” is deleted because the term has been renamed “Accessory Dwelling Units,” and was already added as a permitted use in all residential zones under an earlier ordinance.
22.10.030 Table 2-6 - Commercial/Industrial District Land Use Table: Consistent with recent State law, the commercial and industrial land use table is proposed to be amended to allow “low-barrier navigation centers” and “transitional/supportive housing” in the Light Industry (I) zoning districts subject to new requirements set forth in Section
22.42.170.
Chapter 22.18 - Special procedures applicable to housing development projects:
Because State housing laws have been amended so extensively, Development Code Chapter 22.18 (“Affordable Housing Incentives/Density Bonus Provisions”) is proposed to be repealed in its entirety and replaced with comprehensively rewritten standards to be fully consistent with State law. The revised Chapter 22.18 is accordingly retitled “Special Procedures Applicable to Housing Development Projects” to more aptly encompass the myriad of legislative mandates it now incorporates, as summarized below:
• Density bonus regulations are revised to conform to the current provisions of the SDBL, which requires cities to grant increased density, incentives and concessions, and waivers of development standards to residential developers in exchange for the production of affordable housing units;
• Provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 are added to require development project proponents to replace demolished residential dwelling units and protected rental units, and to provide relocation assistance and other benefits to existing occupants of demolished protected rental units;
• Minimum requirements for affordable housing regulatory agreements are added; • Provisions of State law pertaining to review by the City of applications for permits and/or land use entitlements for housing development projects are enumerated; and • The “No Net Loss” provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 are enumerated.
22.42.120 - Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units: The proposed amendments would ensure compliance with the most recent ADU legislation:
AB 2221 and SB 897 (2022), AB 976 and AB 1332 (2023), and SB 477 (2024). These bills made several changes to existing law that clarify certain provisions and further ease development restrictions. The most significant recent change was to height restrictions where the construction of two-story ADUs must now be permitted, subject to certain requirements.
22.42.170 - Transitional and supportive housing: A new section is added to address transitional and supportive housing, per State law, specifying that these facilities are permitted in residential zoning districts subject to the same approval requirements, development standards, and restrictions that apply to other residential dwellings of the same type in the same zone, which shall be determined by the City based upon the predominant characteristics of the use. This section also specifies legal requirements, review and approval procedures for "Supportive Housing For the Homeless" and "LowBarrier Navigation Centers," pursuant to State law. These uses are proposed to be permitted uses by right in the Industrial zoning district, subject to certain requirements pursuant to Government Code Section 65653.
22.80.020 - Definitions of specialized terms and phrases: The following definitions are to be added or amended: Low barrier navigation center, Public right-of-way, School (Private, Public and Trade), Specialized education and training, Studio, Supportive housing, and Transitional housing. The housing terms are required in conjunction with the proposed amendments per State housing law. “Public right-of-way” is added since it is not expressly defined anywhere else in the Municipal Code. As noted above, the current definition of “school” is very broad and encompasses all types of schools, education and training facilities, and studios. The proposed amendment would create separate discrete definitions for each.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The proposed Development Code Amendment has been determined to be categorically and statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
Section 27 of the Ordinance provides a detailed analysis to support this determination.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:
Notice for this hearing was published in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper on June 7, 2024, in a 1/8-page display. Pursuant to Planning and Zoning Law Government Code Section 65091(a)(4), if the number of property owners to whom a public hearing notice would be mailed is greater than 1,000, a local agency may provide notice by placing a display advertisement of at least 1/8 page in one newspaper of general circulation. A copy of the public notice was also posted at the City’s designated community posting sites.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the Ordinance as to form.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Attachments:
1. 6.1.a Ordinance No. 03 (2024); Development Code Amendment PL2022-59
2. 6.1.b Planning Commission Resolution No. 2024-07 (not including attachment)
3. 6.1.c Planning Commission Staff Report Dated May 28, 2024 (not including attachments)
4. 6.1.d Planning Commission Meeting Minutes Dated May 28, 2024 (Draft)