ATTACHMENT A
FINDINGS FOR ZONING CODE AMENDMENT
Zoning Code Text Amendment:
Religious Facilities with Affordable Housing
Attachment A: Findings for Zoning Code Text Amendment Page 1 City Council May 23, 2022
ATTACHMENT A
FINDINGS FOR ZONING CODE TEXT AMENDMENT
Prior to the approval of a Zoning Code Text Amendment, the following findings must be made:
1. The proposed amendment is in conformance with the goals, policies and objectives of the General Plan, and other adopted goals and policies of the City.
The proposed amendment to the Zoning Code is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan as follows:
Land Use Element
Goal 2. Land Use Diversity. A mix of land uses meeting the diverse needs of Pasadena’s residents and businesses, fostering improved housing conditions, offering a variety of employment and recreation opportunities, and supporting a healthy population while protecting the environment.
o Policy 2.1 (Housing Choices). Provide opportunities for a full range of housing types, densities, locations, and affordability levels to address the community’s fair share of regional, senior, and workforce housing needs and provide a strong customer base sustaining the economic vitality of Pasadena’s commercial land uses. The types, densities, and location of housing shall be determine d by the Land Use Diagram and reflect the projected needs specified in the Housing Element.
Goal 4. Elements Contributing to Urban Form. A safe, well -designed, accessible City with a diversity of uses and forms. These diverse forms include distinct, walkable districts, corridors, and transit and neighborhood villages and cohesive, unique single and multi-family residential neighborhoods and open spaces where people of all ages can live, work, shop, and recreate.
o Policy 4.11 (Development that is Compatible ). Require that development demonstrates a contextual relationship with neighboring structures and sites addressing such elements as building scale, massing, orientation, setbacks, buffering, the arrangement of shared and private open spaces, visibility, p rivacy, automobile and truck access, impacts of noise and lighting, landscape quality, infrastructure, and aesthetics.
Goal 7. Architectural Design and Quality. Encourage an architecturally distinguished city with a diversity of building styles. New development will recognize this by supporting a variety of materials, forms, and construction techniques while demonstrating contextual relationship to its surroundings through Zoning Code Text Amendment:
Religious Facilities with Affordable Housing
Attachment A: Findings for Zoning Code Text Amendment Page 2 City Council May 23, 2022
traditional physical concepts (orientation, scale, materials) and non -physical concepts (cultural, climactic, economic).
o Policy 7.1 (Compatibility). Require that new and adaptively re -used buildings are designed to respect and complement the defining built form, massing, scale, modulation, and architectural detailing of their contextual settings.
Goal 20. Information and Participation. All Pasadena communities will be uniformly aware and participate in l and use planning, entitlement processes, and decision - making processes through the communication of clear and understandable information and engagement opportunities.
o Policy 20.3 (Public Involvement and Proposed Projects). Improve neighborhood participation in current planning and land use decisions by affording adequate opportunity to review and comment on plans, programs, activities and reports covering the City’s land use projects.
Goal 21. Desirable Neighborhoods. A City composed of neighborhoods with a variety of housing types that are desirable places to live, contribute to the quality of life, and are well maintained.
o Policy 21.1 (Adequate and Affordable Housing). Provide a variety of housing types (i.e. small subdivisions, row ho using, and condominiums), styles, densities, and affordability levels that are accessible to and meet preferences for different neighborhood types (e.g. mixed use pedestrian environments and traditional suburban neighborhoods), physical abilities and income levels, pursuant to the Housing Element.
o Policy 21.2 (Equitable Distribution of Affordable Housing). Providing for the equitable distribution of affordable housing throughout the City, as defined by the Housing Element goals and policies, capitalizing on opportunities for new development allowed by the densities permitted in the Central District and Transit Villages.
o Policy 21.4 (New Residential Development). Attract new residential development that is well -conceived, constructed, and maintained in a variety of types, densities, locations and costs.
Housing Element
Goal HE-1. Sustainable neighborhoods of quality housing, parks and community services, infrastructure, and other associated services that maintain and enhance neighborhood quality, character, and the health of residents.
Zoning Code Text Amendment:
Religious Facilities with Affordable Housing
Attachment A: Findings for Zoning Code Text Amendment Page 3 City Council May 23, 2022
o Policy HE-1.1 (Neighborhood Character). Encourage, foster, and protect a balanced mix, density, and form of residential and mixed -use districts and neighborhoods. Preserve the character, scale, and quality of established residential neighborhoods.
o Policy HE -1.4 (Neighborhood Involvement). Encourage residents and neighborhood organizations to be proactive in identifying and addressing housing and neighborhood needs and seeking solutions in partnership with the City.
Goal HE-2. An adequate supply and diversity of quality rental and ownership housing opportunities suited to residents of varying lifestyle needs and income levels.
o Policy HE-2.1 (Housing Diversity) . Facilitate and encourage diversity in types, prices, ownership, and size of single-family homes, apartments, town homes, mixed-uses, transit-oriented developments, and work/live housing, among others.
o Policy HE-2.4 (Affordable Housing). Facilitate a mix of household income and affordability levels in residential projects and the appropriate dispersal of such units to achieve greater integration of affordable housing throughout the City.
o Policy HE -2.5 (Adaptive Reuse). Support innovative strategies for the adaptive reuse of residential, commercial, and indus trial structures to provide for a wide range of housing types and residential uses that respect the historic integrity of the structure.
o Policy HE-2.6 (Housing Incentives). Facilitate the development of affordable housing through regulatory concessions, f inancial assistance, density bonuses, the inclusionary housing program, and other City and outside agency programs.
o Policy HE-2.7 (Entitlement Process). Explore continued improvements to the entitlement process to streamline and improve coordination of the processing of development permits, design review, and funding of affordable housing.
o Policy HE -2.8 (Community Involvement). Continue and support dialogue with builders, advocates, nonprofits, residents, finance industry, and other stakeholders in addr essing the housing needs of residents and workforce in Pasadena.
Zoning Code Text Amendment:
Religious Facilities with Affordable Housing
Attachment A: Findings for Zoning Code Text Amendment Page 4 City Council May 23, 2022
Goal HE-3. Expand, protect, and preserve opportunities for households to find and retain housing in Pasadena and afford a greater choice of rental and homeownership opportunities.
o Policy H E-3.2: Partnerships. Support collaborative partnerships with nonprofit organizations, faith -based organizations, developers, business community, and state and federal agencies to develop, rehabilitate, preserve, and retain affordable housing.
The proposed amendments were developed through discussion with members of the public and religious facilities that identified a need for additional housing options as well as possible solutions for consideration. Through dialogue at publicly-noticed study sessions and hearings, d evelopment of the proposed amendments took these concerns and solutions into account, consistent with Housing Element Policies HE-
1.4 and HE-2.8. The proposed amendments include changes to the Zoning Code in order to facilitate the construction of multi-family affordable housing on underutilized sites with existing religious facilities. This increases housing choices and creates opportunities for the production of more affordable housing, consistent with Land Use Policies 2.1, 21.1, 21.2 and 21.4, as well as Housing Element Policy HE -2.1, HE-2.4 and HE -3.2. The amendments will establish a permitting process that allows for a ministerial review process for housing projects that are under certain thresholds. This is consistent with Land Use Policie s 20.3 and Housing Element Policies HE -2.6 and HE-2.7. The amendments will set forth development standards for new construction and will also allow for adaptive reuse of underutilized existing structures into a much needed housing resource for the City’s vulnerable populations. These aspects of the amendments are consistent with Land Use Policies 4.11, 7.1 and 16.6, as well as Housing Element Policies HE-1.1 and HE-2.5.
2. The proposed amendment would not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or general welfare of the City.
The proposed amendments are consistent with numerous policies in the Land Use and Housing Elements of the General Plan. They will provide greater opportunity to provide affordable housing in Pasadena by incentivizing the construction of affordable multi-family housing on underutilized prop erties with religious facilities. Development standards have been established related to height, setbacks, parking, density, etc. to ensure that new development is compatible with surrounding areas. Furthermore, development proposed on any site containing a designated historic resource, a site with an eligible historic resource, or a noncontributing site located within a designated historic or landmark district shall be subject to all applicable regulations within the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and subject to review as determined by Design & Historic Preservation staff. For these reasons, the amendments will not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience, or general welfare of the City.