*NOT YET APPROVED*
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Ordinance No.___
Interim Urgency Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Chapter 18.40.160 (Replacement Project or Discretionary Review Required) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Allow for Early Demolition or Deconstruction on Contaminated Sites
The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. Pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the California Government Code, the California Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of hazardous materials release sites.
Remediation of the hazardous conditions on these sites to a level that is compatible with residential use can take years.
B. Usually, the existing improvements on the site must be demolished before remediation of the contamination can occur. Before demolishing existing improvements, property owners must secure a demolition or deconstruction permit from the City.
C. Chapter 18.40.160 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code currently provides that the permits for building permits for a replacement project must be approved before a demolition or deconstruction permit is issued. The process of securing planning entitlements and building permits for a replacement project can take years.
D. The Council now intends to amend the municipal code to allow a demolition or deconstruction permit to be issued, so that remediation of hazardous conditions may proceed, prior to issuance of a planning entitlement or building permit for a proposed replacement project, subject to certain conditions enumerated in the Ordinance. If the subject property is designated as a housing inventory site in the City’s operative Housing Element, the replacement project must be a Housing Development Project, as defined in state law. All property owners will be required to remediate the hazardous conditions to a level that is compatible with residential use.
E. Allowing these permitting and cleanup processes to proceed simultaneously will eliminate significant delays in the remediation of hazardous conditions and the preparation of contaminated sites for new development.
F. The City Council declares that this emergency ordinance is necessary as an emergency measure to preserve the public, peace, health, or safety by allowing property owners to proceed with remediation of hazardous or contaminated conditions on a site without waiting until the proposed replacement project has completed the planning entitlement and building permit process. This will help alleviate Palo Alto’s housing shortage by eliminating delays in the preparation of contaminated sites to host new housing units. *NOT YET APPROVED*
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G. Because of Palo Alto’s urgent need for more housing, this amendment to Title 18 is necessary for the public health, safety, or welfare, and there is insufficient time for consideration by the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) prior to Council action.
The Council therefore declares that an interim ordinance pursuant to Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 18.80.090 is an appropriate measure, pending consideration of a permanent ordinance by the PTC.
SECTION 2. Section 18.40.160 (Replacement Project or Discretionary Review Required) of Chapter 18.40 (General Standards and Exceptions) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows (additions underlined):
18.40.160 Replacement Project or Discretionary Review Required (a) Except where necessary for health and safety purposes (as determined by the City’s Building Official), no permit required under Title 2 (Administrative Code), Title 12 (Public Works and Utilities), or Title 16 (Building Regulations) shall be issued:
(1) for demolition or deconstruction of a single family residence or duplex in the Low- Density Residential District (Chapter 18.10) or Single Family Residential District (Chapter
18.12), unless building permit plans for a replacement project have been approved. This subsection shall also apply to demolition of a single family residence or duplex in the Multiple Family Residential District (Chapter 18.13) when the replacement project does not require discretionary review.
(2) For any project requiring discretionary review under Title 18 or Title 21, unless the application for discretionary review has been approved. (3) For demolition of deconstruction of a residential unit, unless a replacement project has been approved that contains at least as many residential dwelling units as will be demolished.
(A) if the proposed development project is not a housing development project, the replacement housing units may be located on a site other than the project site but shall be located within Palo Alto and shall be developed prior to or concurrently with the proposed development.
(B) If the existing residential unit(s) is a nonconforming use, it shall be replaced in a manner consistent with the current zone district regulations. (C) Replacement of Protected Units, as those terms are defined in California Government Code Section 66300.5, shall be subject to the additional requirements of California Government Code Section 66300.6
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this section, a permit for demolition or deconstruction may be issued before the approval of planning entitlements or building permits for a replacement project in order to allow for the remediation of hazardous conditions on the site. *NOT YET APPROVED*
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(1) This subdivision (b) applies only to properties that are eligible for inclusion on any list of hazardous materials release sites maintained pursuant to California Government Code Section 65962.5 and are subject to a remediation plan or similar that has been approved by the applicable oversight agency, such as the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Water Resources Control Board, or County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, and that requires demolition or deconstruction of the existing site improvements for decontamination to proceed.
(2) Sites granted an early demolition or deconstruction permit pursuant to this subdivision (c) must remediate the hazardous site conditions to the environmental screening levels compatible with residential use, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board.
(3) If the subject property is designated as a Housing Inventory Site in the City’s operative Housing Element, the site may be used only for a Housing Development Project as defined in California Government Code Section 65589.5. The property owner shall sign and record a covenant against the property, in a form acceptable to the city attorney, which requires that the property be used only as the site of a Housing Development Project for as long as the subject property is listed as a housing inventory site in the operative Housing Element.
The covenant shall be binding upon all successors in interest to the property. (4) This subdivision (b) does not apply if the subject property is listed in, or is determined to be eligible for listing in, the California Register of Historical Resources. (5) This subdivision (b) does not apply if it would require demolition of an existing residential use on a portion of the property in order to complete remediation. (6) This subdivision (b) shall be effective only through March 10, 2026, unless extended by the City Council or superseded by replacement ordinance.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or sections of the Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.
SECTION 4. The Council finds that the Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that it will have a significant effect on the environment. The Ordinance does not itself authorize any work that could impact the environment or alter the state or local permitting process that currently applies to demolition or other work on contaminated sites. By removing a local procedural requirement, the Ordinance changes only the timing of when a property owner may apply for a demolition permit.
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*NOT YET APPROVED*
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SECTION 5. This ordinance shall be effective immediately upon adoption by a four-fifths vote of the City Council and shall expire on March 10th, 2026, unless extended by the City Council or superseded by replacement legislation.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
City Attorney or Designee City Manager
Director of Planning and
Development Services