1 TO: City Council
FROM: Ryan Smoot, City Manager
THROUGH: Brianna Rindge, Director of Community & Economic Development PREPARED BY: Laura MacMorran, Associate Planner
MEETING DATE: April 18, 2023
SUBJECT: Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance No. 847 for Zoning Text Amendment No. 2023-02 Amending Lomita Municipal Code Title XI (Planning and Zoning) to Modify Off-Street Parking Restrictions, to Permit Additional Types of Parking Lot Signs, to Add Definitions, and Finding the Action to be Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt ordinance.
BACKGROUND
On April 4, 2023, the City Council introduced on first reading an ordinance amending various sections of Lomita Municipal Code Title XI (Planning and Zoning) to allow private commercial property owners to designate parking spaces, time-restrict parking spaces, allow corresponding signage, add necessary definitions, and find the project categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. This agenda item is to approve the second reading and adoption of the ordinance.
OPTIONS:
1. Approve the attached ordinance.
2. Do not approve the ordinance.
3. Provide staff with further direction.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Ordinance No. 847
Item No. 7i
CITY OF LOMITA
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
2 Reviewed by: Approved by:
Gary Y. Sugano Ryan Smoot
Assistant City Manager City Manager
Reviewed by: Prepared by:
________________ ___
Brianna Rindge Laura MacMorran
Community & Economic Development Director Associate Planner ORDINANCE NO. 847
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOMITA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING ZONE TEXT AMENDMENT No. 2023-02
AND AMENDING LOMITA MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE XI (PLANNING AND ZONING) ARTICLE 15 (DEFINITIONS), ARTICLE 66 (OFF-STREET PARKING, STORAGE AND LOADING), AND ARTICLE 67 (SIGNS) AND
FINDING THE ACTION TO BE CATEGORICALLY EXEMPT FROM THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT. INITIATED BY BRFI LOMITA II, LLC, 11611 SAN VINCENTE BOULEVARD, SUITE 900, LOS ANGELES, CA 90049 (APPLICANT)
Section 1. Recitals
A. On March 13, 2023, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on Zone Text Amendment No. 2023-02 where public testimony was accepted on the item and recommended City Council approval.
B. On April 4, 2023, the City Council considered this application to amend Lomita’s Municipal Code Sections 11-1.15(D) and 11-1.15(S) (Definitions), Section 11-1.66.05 to modify off-street parking regulations and to amend Article 67 to modify sign regulations, held a duly noticed public hearing and accepted testimony in regard to the same.
The Recitals above are true and correct and are hereby adopted as findings as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2. General Plan
The City Council finds that the ordinance is consistent with the General Plan because it implements the Economic Development Element’s Policy 3 “to promote the improvement and revitalization of existing shopping centers.” The City’s parking and sign standards were adopted when consumer shopping patterns were restricted to instore purchases. The proposed parking and sign standards respond to technological and retail changes. For shopping centers to be revitalized, regulations cannot prevent them from adapting to meet today’s consumer demands.
In addition, the ordinance is consistent with the Land Use Element’s first goal “to promote an orderly pattern of development in the City.” The proposed zone text amendment modifies regulations regarding the permitting and placement of signs in a parking lot. The proposed sign standards provide identification and information for customers ordering online and picking up merchandise in person, and customers whose visits last for a short duration. The adoption of this zone text amendment categorizes signs based upon the function that they will serve and fosters and aids in the harmonious, orderly, and progressive development of the City consistent with the General Plan Land Use Element’s goals and policies.
Attachment 1
Ordinance No. 847
The City Council also finds the proposed changes will preserve, protect, provide for, and foster the health, safety, and welfare of the citizenry in general and the persons who work, visit, or live in this development in particular.
Section 3. Environmental Review
The City Council finds that the ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, pursuant to Section15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) because zoning amendment has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. Alternatively, the adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from CEQA because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15061(b)(3).) THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOMITA HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 4. Zoning Amendments
Based on the foregoing, the City Council hereby approves of the following amendments to the Lomita Municipal Code:
A. Section 11-1.15 (“Definitions”) of Article 15 (“General Provisions”) of Title XI of the Lomita Municipal Code is hereby amended to add the following definitions alphabetically as follows:
Section 11-1.15 (D)
“Designated parking space shall mean a parking space designated, assigned, or reserved for the exclusive use of one particular business’ customers.” Section 11-1.15(S)
“Shared parking space shall mean a private parking area used jointly by two or more uses.
Short-term parking space shall mean a customer parking space which shall not be occupied by the same vehicle for no more than thirty (30) minutes at a time.” B. Section 11-1.66.02 (“Definitions”) of Article 66 (“Off-Street Parking, Storage and Loading”) of Title XI of the Lomita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“Section 11-1.66.02. - Definitions.
For the purpose of this article, unless otherwise apparent from the context, the following words and phrases used in this article are defined in Article 15, Ordinance No. 847
Definitions of the Zoning Ordinance: designated parking space, driveway, floor area, garage, gross floor area, landscaping, loading area, off-street parking, parking area, parking lot, parking aisle, parking space, shared parking space, short-term parking space, turnaround area and turning radius.” C. Subsection (D) of Section 11-1.66.05 ("General provisions”) of Article 66 (“OffStreet Parking, Storage and Loading”) of Title XI of the Lomita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“(D) Parking spaces within a commercial development shall not be designated for the exclusive use of any individual tenant, except as follows:
(1) Any commercial development with parking spaces in excess of the required parking may designate excess parking spaces for the exclusive use of a tenant(s).
(2) A commercial development that does not have parking spaces in excess of the required parking and is located on a parcel with over fifty thousand (50,000) square feet of property area may designate up to seven-and-a-half (7.5) percent of the total number of approved parking spaces for the exclusive use of a tenant(s).
(3) A commercial development that does not have parking spaces in excess of the required parking and is located on a parcel with no more than fifty thousand (50,000) square feet of property area may designate up to of the five (5) percent of the total number of approved parking spaces for the exclusive use of a tenant(s).”
D. Subsection (E) of Section 11-1.66.05 ("General provisions”) of Article 66 (“OffStreet Parking, Storage and Loading”) of Title XI of the Lomita Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“(E) Commercial developments may designate up to five (5) percent of the available parking spaces for short-term parking but no more than 8 spaces. Shortterm parking shall not exceed thirty (30) minutes. The property owner may limit the timeframe that the parking spaces are available only for short-term parking.” E. Section 11-1.67.02 (“Definitions”) of Article 67 (“Signs”) of Title XI of the Lomita Municipal Code is amended to add the following:
“(2.4) Beacon sign shall mean a type of directional sign providing information or directions for motorists to onsite parking or loading.” “(8.5) Designated space sign shall mean a sign identifying a specific parking space for a particular business use.”
Ordinance No. 847
“(26.5) Short-term parking sign shall mean a sign identifying a short-term parking space.”
F. Subsection (4)(c)(vi) of Section 11-1.67.04 (“Sign regulations for specific zones”) of Article 67 (“Signs”) of Title XI of the Lomita Municipal Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows:
“(vi) Parking lot signs.
a. Entrance and exit signs, not to exceed five (5) square feet in area per face. b. Designated parking space signs, one (1) permitted per designated space.
1. Sign maximum size: six (6) square feet, of which up to four (4) square feet is allowed for branding or logos per face, with a maximum height of six (6) feet above the parking lot surface.
2. If present, exposed concrete bases shall be covered with decorative stone, stucco, brick, tile, or a natural veneer that matches the building’s facade.
c. Beacon parking signs may be installed to facilitate traffic circulation associated with designated parking, provided such signs comply with the following requirements:
1. No more than two (2) signs shall be permitted per property.
2. Sign maximum size: two (2) feet by two (2) feet in plan, with a maximum height of twelve (12) feet above the parking lot surface.
3. Up to three (3) square feet per face is permitted for branding or logos.
4. If present, exposed concrete bases shall be covered with decorative stone, brick, tile, stucco, or a natural veneer that matches the building’s facade.
5. May be illuminated provided the luminance is stationary and no more than 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light conditions, or the level recommended by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) for the specific size and location of the sign, whichever is less. d. Short-term parking space signs may be installed to facilitate parking space turnover. The sign shall have:
1. A maximum size of eighteen (18) inches by eighteen (18) inches, with no more than a one (1) inch thickness.
Ordinance No. 847
2. The maximum time within which a particular vehicle may occupy a particular parking space and, if applicable, any designated timeframe. e. All types of parking lot signs shall be installed outside of each parking space’s required minimum dimensions.”
Section 5.
If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or any part hereof is for any reason held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council of the City of Lomita hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
Section 6. Effective Date
This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after the date of its passage; and prior to fifteen (15) days after its passage, the City Clerk shall cause a copy of this ordinance to be published in accordance with the provisions of the law. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 18th day of April, 2023. ____________________________
Barry Waite, Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
Kathleen Horn Gregory, MMC, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Trevor Rusin, City Attorney