CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
5/9/2022
1 SUBJECT:
Introduction of an Ordinance to approve Text Amendment TA-121-22, initiated by the City of Pacifica, to extend the Growth Management Ordinance codified in Chapter 5 of Title 9 of the Pacifica Municipal Code, which has a current termination date of June 30, 2022. The Ordinance to be considered would affect property citywide in the A (Agricultural) zoning district and HPD (Hillside Preservation District) overlay zoning district. Recommended California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) status: Exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). The Planning Commission recommended approval of the Ordinance by a vote of 5-0 (with two absences) on April 18, 2022.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to introduce, waive the first reading, and read by title only, an Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Pacifica approving Text Amendment TA-121-22 to amend Chapter 5 of Title 9 of the Pacifica Municipal Code to extend certain provisions of the Growth Management Ordinance.”
STAFF CONTACT:
Christian Murdock, AICP, Acting Planning Director
(650) 738-7341
[email protected]
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
1. Overview
The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed ordinance on April 18, 2022. At the public hearing, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 (with two absences) to recommend City Council approval of Text Amendment TA-121-22 (“Proposed Ordinance”) by adopting Resolution No. 2022-008 (Attachment B). The Planning Commission agenda packet and minutes from April 18, 2022, are included as Attachment C and Attachment D, respectively. Public comments received after publication of the Planning Commission agenda packet but prior to this City Council public hearing are included as Attachment E. Public comments received after the Planning Commission public hearing but prior to publication of the City Council agenda packet are included as Attachment F.
In 1993, the voters of the City of Pacifica adopted Ordinance No. 604-C.S. to add a new Chapter 5 of Title 9 of the Pacifica Municipal Code (“PMC”). The ordinance is known as the City of Pacifica Growth Management Ordinance (GMO). The GMO contains three main components:
1. A requirement for voter approval of any a) rezoning out of the A (Agricultural) zoning district; b) change of the “B” Lot Size Overlay District associated with an A-zoned parcel; or, c) change to the uses or structures permitted on an A-zoned parcel.
2. A requirement for voter approval of any a) rezoning out of the HPD (Hillside Preservation District) overlay zoning district; or, b) change to the standards governing the HPD overlay zoning district in Chapter 4 of Title 9 of the PMC.
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3. A residential development allocation (RDA) process that a) establishes an annual allotment of 70 new residential units per year; b) exempts certain types of dwelling units from the requirement to obtain an RDA; and, c) imposes distribution and phasing criteria for the allocation of RDAs.
As enacted by the voters, the GMO had an initial termination date of June 30, 1997. The City Council has adopted several ordinances to extend the termination date of the GMO, most recently with the enactment of Ordinance No. 817-C.S. in 2017 to extend the GMO for five years until June 30, 2022.
The Proposed Ordinance the Planning Commission has recommended for approval by the City Council proposes extending the GMO for five years — to June 30, 2027 — and making clarifying changes so that the dates referenced in PMC Sections 9-5.07 [Agricultural land] and 9-5.08 [Hillside protection] also reflect the five-year extension. Staff proposes not making any clarifying changes to the RDA provisions specified in PMC Sec. 9-5.03 [Annual allotment], Sec. 9-5.04 [Exemptions], Sec. 9-5.05 [Allocation]; and Sec. 9-5.06 [Distribution and phasing], as these provisions are not currently enforceable under Senate Bill 330 (“SB 330”).
2. Description of Proposed Ordinance
The existing provisions of the GMO, codified in Chapter 5 of Title 9 of the PMC, are included as Attachment G with strikethrough and underline showing deletions and additions, respectively, contained in the Proposed Ordinance. As noted above, some provisions of the GMO related to the RDA process are not currently enforceable pursuant to state law. The City is currently unable to enforce these provisions due to changes in state law that took effect following the City’s last extension of the GMO in 2017. Specifically, under the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (“HCA”), enacted via SB 330 in 2019, the City is prohibited from establishing or implementing any provision that “Limits the number of land use approvals or permits necessary for the approval and construction of housing that will be issued or allocated within all or a portion of the affected county or affected city…” or that “Acts as a cap on the number of housing units that can be approved or constructed either annually or for some other time period.” Government Code section 66300(b)(1)(D). For this reason, staff does not recommend making any clarifying changes to the RDA provisions at this time. This will enable the City to retain the RDA provisions for future implementation when permissible under state law, as the HCA contains a sunset date of January 1, 2034. However, until the HCA sunsets, the City will be unable to implement the RDA provisions.
Aside from the RDA provisions contained in the GMO, the Proposed Ordinance would extend the overall GMO for five years and make clarifying changes reflecting the ongoing enforceability of the voter approval requirements for changes to the A (Agricultural) and HPD (Hillside Preservation District) zoning districts by updating the dates referenced in these specific provisions (PMC Sections 9-5.07 [Agricultural land] and 9-5.08 [Hillside protection]. The new termination date established in the Proposed Ordinance would be June 30, 2027.
Overall Growth Management Ordinance Termination Date
The Proposed Ordinance would amend Section 9-5.11 of the PMC to extend the termination date of the GMO by five years to June 30, 2027.
A (Agricultural) and HPD (Hillside Preservation District) Voter Approval Requirements The Proposed Ordinance would amend Sections 9-5.07 and 9-5.08 of the PMC related to requirements for voter approval to modify A (Agricultural) and HPD (Hillside Preservation District) zoning classifications and standards, respectively, to clarify that these provisions would remain in effect through June 30, 2027.
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3. General Plan and Local Coastal Program Consistency
The Planning Commission found that the Proposed Ordinance, which would amend the GMO to extend it for five years, and make clarifying changes to PMC Section Sec. 9-5.07 [Agricultural land] and PMC Section 9-5.08 [Hillside protection] to reflect their continued enforceability, is consistent with the General Plan and the Local Coastal Program because it would ensure the electorate has a voice in decisions concerning the sensitive hillside resources and would prevent the conversion of agriculturally-zoned lands to other land uses, consistent with General Plan and Local Coastal Program policies including but not limited to the following:
A. General Plan, Open Space Element Policy No. 1: Retain open space which preserves natural resources, protects visual amenities, prevents inappropriate development, provides for the managed use of resources, and protects the public health and safety.
B. General Plan, Open Space Element Policy No. 3: Encourage development plans which protect or provide generous open space appropriately landscaped.
Balance open space, development and public safety, particularly in the hillside areas.
C. General Plan, Community Design Element Policy No. 3: Protect the City's irreplaceable scenic and visual amenities.
D. General Plan, Community Design Element No. 4: Establish development standards that would keep open the steep slopes and visually prominent ridgelines.
E. General Plan, Linda Mar Neighborhood Narrative (p. 47): A few parcels in agricultural land use remain in the area. Those which are economically viable should be encouraged to remain.
F. Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) Policy No. 8: The use of private lands suitable for visitor-serving commercial recreational facilities designed to enhance public opportunities for coastal recreation shall have priority over private residential, general industrial, or general commercial development, but not over agriculture or coastal-dependent industry.
G. LCLUP Policy No. 19: The maximum amount of prime agricultural land shall be maintained in production to assure the protection of the areas' economy, and conflicts shall be minimized between agricultural and urban land uses through the following:
(a) By establishing stable boundaries separating urban and rural areas, including, where necessary, clearly defined buffer areas to minimize conflicts between agricultural and urban land uses.
(b) By limiting conversions of agricultural lands around the periphery of urban areas to the land where the viability of existing agricultural use is already severely limited by conflicts with urban uses and where the conversion of the lands would complete a logical and viable neighborhood and contribute to the establishment of a stable limit to urban development.
(c) By developing available lands not suited for agriculture prior to the conversion of agricultural lands.
(d) By assuring that public service and facility expansions and non-agricultural Pacifica City Council 4
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development do not impair agricultural viability, either through increased assessment costs or degraded air and water quality.
(e) By assuring that all divisions of prime agricultural lands and all development adjacent to prime agricultural lands shall not diminish the productivity of such prime agricultural lands.
H. LCLUP Policy No. 20: All other lands suitable for agricultural use shall not be converted to non-agricultural use unless:
(1) continued or renewed agricultural use is not feasible, or; (2) such conversion would preserve prime agricultural land or concentrate development consistent with Policy 23. Any such permitted conversion shall be compatible with continued agricultural use on surrounding lands.
I. LCLUP Policy No. 21: The long-term productivity of soils and timberlands shall be protected, and conversions of coastal commercial timberlands in units of commercial size to other uses of their division into units of noncommercial size· shall be limited to providing for necessary timber processing and related facilities.
4. City Council’s Role
The City Council in its capacity as the legislative body of the City and in the exercise of its police power under the California Constitution is required to approve legislative actions on behalf of the City. The City Council is not bound by specific findings when approving legislative items, and may consider all information relevant to the public health, safety, and welfare of persons within the City.
Prior to adopting any legislative item, the City Council must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Compliance with CEQA requires the identification of potential significant impacts on the environment and identification of measures to mitigate any such effects. Discussion of CEQA compliance in relation to the Proposed Ordinance is contained in the following section of this report.
5. California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Status
Adoption of the Proposed Ordinance would be exempt from CEQA because of the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Because the Proposed Ordinance would only modify the expiration date of existing provisions codified in the PMC to maintain the status quo, and because the Proposed Ordinance would not result in any direct or indirect physical change in the environment, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that Proposed Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment; therefore, the Proposed Ordinance is not subject to CEQA.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
The Council may choose not to introduce and adopt the Proposed Ordinance, which would result in the GMO expiring on June 30, 2022.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
“Environmental Sustainability” The Proposed Ordinance would contribute to preserving hillsides in a manner consistent with this City Council Goal.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No direct fiscal impact.
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ORIGINATED BY:
Planning Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A - Proposed Ordinance to Extend Growth Management Ordinance (DOCX) Attachment B - Planning Commission Resolution No. 2022-008 (PDF) Attachment C - Planning Commission Staff Report (without attachments) - April 18, 2022(PDF) Attachment D - Planning Commission Meeting Minutes - April 18, 2022 (PDF) Attachment E - Public Comments Received After Planning Commission Agenda Publication (PDF)
Attachment F - Public Comment Received Prior to City Council Agenda Packet Publication (PDF)
Attachment G - Current Growth Management Ordinance with Redlines - PMC Title 9, Chapter 5 (PDF)