Preferred Land Use
Alternative
ATTACHMENT A
Preferred Alternative Memorandum
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Preferred Alternative Memorandum
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Development and Review of the Land Use Alternatives ........................................................................................... 3 Recommended Preferred Land Use Alternative ........................................................................................................ 8 Appendix A: Property Owner Requests ...................................................................................................................... 18 Appendix B: Land Use Designations ........................................................................................................................... 19 Appendix C: Alternatives Work Products ................................................................................................................... 24 Appendix D: Survey Results ........................................................................................................................................... 25
Figures
Figure 1: Areas of Change and Stability ........................................................................................................................ 4 Figure 2: Existing General Plan Land Use (left) Compared to Preferred Alternative Land Use (right) ......... 13 Figure 3: Existing General Plan Land Use .................................................................................................................. 14 Figure 4: Changes from Existing General Plan Land Use ....................................................................................... 15 Figure 5: HDR Land Use Designation .......................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 6: Preferred Alternative Land Use ................................................................................................................... 17
Tables
Table 1: Alternatives Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Table 2: General Plan Land Use Mix ............................................................................................................................ 12
Preferred Alternative Memorandum
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Introduction
About the Santa Maria General Plan Update
The City of Santa Maria is undertaking a multi-year effort to update its General Plan to establish strong and visionary policies that support economic development, sustainability, and improved quality of life in the city.
A General Plan is a comprehensive, long-term plan for the physical development of a city, including future land use, conservation, transportation, housing, safety, and environmental justice. Future capital improvements, specific plans, zoning actions, development agreements, and subdivisions must be consistent with the General Plan, and General Plan policies can guide future local decision-making across a range of topics.
The Santa Maria General Plan Update, which will plan development in Santa Maria through the year 2045, is an opportunity for the community to help define the long-term needs of residents, businesses, and employees and the strategies to meet those needs. The General Plan Update has five major phases, which are designed as step-by-step building blocks (see the image below). The project is currently at the end of Phase 3, the “Plan Alternatives” phase.
Purpose of this Memorandum
The purpose of this Memorandum is to present a recommended Preferred Land Use Alternative for City staff, Planning Commission, and City Council review and approval.
The General Plan land use map identifies the allowed uses and the development intensity (measured in dwelling units per acre, floor area ratio (FAR) or jobs/residents per acre) across the City. Zoning districts must be consistent with the General Plan land use designations. Land Use Alternatives model different options for changing the General Plan land use map to accommodate future growth.
The Preferred Land Use Alternative is selected from the Alternatives or incorporates elements of more than one Alternative. The Preferred Land Use Alternative selected becomes the foundation for the Land Use Map and related policies that will be included in the updated General Plan.
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This Memorandum briefly describes the process to arrive at the recommended Preferred Land Use Alternative, describes the recommended Preferred Land Use Alternative, and defines its role in the rest of the General Plan Update process.
The Preferred Land Use Alternative represents the culmination of analysis and input from the community and City staff that occurred during the General Plan Update process from 2020 to present.
This work cannot be summarized in full in this Memorandum; therefore, it is recommended that the reader refer to the appendices for more information about precedents the Preferred Alternative builds on. More information about the Alternatives can be found in the Alternatives Technical Memorandum, the Alternatives Analysis, and Fiscal Impact Analysis, linked here and in Appendix C. Links to other Alternatives work products are linked in Appendix C; all other project materials can be found at www.imaginesantamaria.com/resources, the General Plan Update’s project website.
Next Steps in the General Plan Update
After the City Council approves the direction of the Preferred Land Use Alternative, City staff will continue to review and refine the updated General Plan Land Use Map. City Council will have an opportunity to review the General Plan Land Use Map later in the General Plan Update process and will approve the final Land Use Map before adoption. As the General Plan Update process proceeds, the following additional changes may be considered:
• Broadway Mixed Use and Main Mixed Use Designations. City staff may continue to make minor changes (e.g., allowable heights, densities, parcel-specific designation changes, etc.) to the Broadway Mixed Use and Main Mixed Use designations. Changes may be based on further analysis of development feasibility, property owner interest, recent development trends, and other inputs.
• Transportation planning and land use planning. City staff will conduct further study to ensure the Land Use Map results in development compatible with existing roadways in Santa Maria.
Staff may consider building interfaces with streets, parking, loading, and more. • Final land use designations. City staff may continue to make minor changes to the Land Use Map and designations as necessary.
The Preferred Land Use Alternative is the foundation for much of the rest of the General Plan, but importantly, it does not address in detail many of the related General Plan topics. The following more detailed analysis of the Preferred Land Use Alternative will be completed:
• Transportation Analysis of the Preferred Alternative: The need for enhancements to the vehicular, active transportation, and transit networks as well as required congestion and VMT mitigation will be assessed.
• Infrastructure Analysis of the Preferred Alternative: The impacts to water, wastewater and stormwater systems will be evaluated relative to existing infrastructure master plans. • Facility and Service Needs Analysis of Annexation: A high-level analysis will be conducted to identify potential water, sewer, stormwater, and utility system improvements needed for future uses in potential annexation areas.
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• Fiscal Assessment of Annexation: A fiscal impact analysis will be completed of projected City revenues and expenses associated properties identified for annexation to illustrate the extent of fiscal impacts for the City.
The Preferred Land Use Alternative and the above analysis, in turn, will inform the revision of land use designations and the preparation of General Plan policy frameworks, which will outline goals, policies, and implementation actions for inclusion in the draft General Plan. The policy frameworks will guide City direction on critical topics—including land use, parks, urban design, mobility, infrastructure, public facilities and services, and economic development—in a level of detail greater than could be analyzed in the Plan Alternatives phase. The land use designations and the policy frameworks will serve as the foundation for the updated Draft General Plan.
Development and Review of the Land Use Alternatives
Key steps in Phase 3 of the General Plan Update Process, “Plan Alternatives” are described in this section.
Land Use Alternatives
Alternatives Technical Memorandum
This Phase began with the development of Land Use Alternatives. Land Use Alternatives identify different growth options the City has to achieve the community’s Vision for the future and implement the Guiding Principles. The Land Use Alternatives were distinguished by where they propose changes in General Plan land use designations in different areas across the city. Three Land Use Alternatives were prepared and are described in detail in the Alternatives Technical Memorandum (Appendix C). Critical information about the Alternatives is summarized below.
Inputs
The Land Use Alternatives were developed based on a range of inputs, including:
• Community engagement from Phases 1 and 2 of the General Plan Update process; • Technical reports on existing conditions;
• Direction established in the Vision and Guiding Principles and the map of Areas of Change and Stability, as adopted by the City Council (see Figure 1); and • Input from Planning Commission, City Council, and City staff.
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Figure 1: Areas of Change and Stability
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Growth Planned For
The three Land Use Alternatives all planned for a minimum amount of job and housing growth. Though the General Plan horizon is 2045, the analysis anticipated growth needs through the year 2050 to align with growth projections produced by the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG).
The analysis was based on an understanding of how much housing and employment growth to plan for, which were projected based on potential Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) cycles through the year 2050, SBCAG growth projections, and input from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), City staff, and the Department Advisory Group (DAG). Alternatives growth also takes into account growth the City has already planned via Specific Plans and current pipeline projects.
The Land Use Alternatives all accommodated a minimum of 9,270 housing units and aimed to ensure job diversity and to achieve a net increase of close to 16,000 jobs, which exceeds SBCAG job projections and results in a jobs to housing ratio of 1.2.
Land Use Alternatives Descriptions
The three Land Use Alternatives presented in the Alternatives Technical Memorandum (Appendix C) were:
• Alternative A: Annexation. This Alternative assumed annexation of 1,770 acres outside of City limits.
• Alternative B: City Infill. This Alternative intensified housing and job growth on major corridors and opportunity sites within City limits.
• Alternative C: Hybrid. This Alternative was a hybrid of Alternatives A and B and assumed annexation of 720 acres outside City limits.
Alternatives Technical Analysis
The purpose of the Alternatives technical analysis (Appendix C) was for the community and the City to assess trade-offs among the Alternatives and identify which Alternative (or combination of Alternatives) best fulfills the community’s Vision. This analysis of the three Land Use Alternatives included an analysis of land use impacts; environmental constraints; transportation impacts; market demand; and fiscal impacts.
Table 1 provides a high-level summary of the relative level of land use, environmental, fiscal, and economic impacts associated with each alternative. Some impacts in Table 1 on the following page are visualized with dots. This summary of impacts considers the severity of constraints and the ease of potential mitigation. Fewer dots represent less severity of constraint and greater ease of potential mitigation relative to the other Alternatives. For a full summary of the results of the Alternatives Analysis, see Appendix C.
Higher Impact / Harder to Mitigate
Lower Impact / Easier to Mitigate
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Table 1: Alternatives Analysis
Metric Alternative A: Expansion Alternative B: City Infill Alternative C: Hybrid Land Use
Greenfield land consumed
Development to retail and transit
Walk access to retail and transit
GHG emissions per capita
Environmental
Cultural and historic resources
Air quality
Geologic and flood hazards
Oil and gas well hazards
Agricultural
Noise
Biological/critical habitat
Fire services
Police services
Mobility
Vehicular network Requires new roadways Requires new roadways LOS & Congestion Congestion mitigation required on SR-135, Main Street, and Betteravia Road LOS mitigation required Slightly more LOS
mitigation required
LOS mitigation required
VMT Strive for jobs-housing balance, alternative commute modes, and CEQA VMT threshold compliance
VMT mitigation required VMT mitigation required
Active transportation network Implement Active Transportation Plan Transit system New services required New services required Road sections and diets Update roadway sections; implement road diet policy Emerging technologies Adopt appropriate technologies
Market Demand and Fiscal Impacts
Housing demand All allow sufficient capacity for housing demand Industrial, retail, and office demand All allow sufficient capacity for industrial, retail, and office space Provides the greatest
excess capacity
Fiscal impact All expected to have a positive fiscal impact
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Stakeholder Review and Input
The Alternatives and the results of the technical analysis were presented to the community for review and evaluation. The City of Santa Maria hosted the following engagement activities to gather feedback on the Alternatives:
• Orientations. The City hosted a virtual orientation on April 5, 2023 and in-person orientation on April 6, 2023. The orientations featured a presentation of the three Land Use Alternatives.
Participants were given an opportunity to ask questions about the Land Use Alternatives and were directed to take the online survey (see below). Spanish and Mixteco interpretation was available and recordings of presentations in all three languages were posted on the project website, https://www.imaginesantamaria.com/, following the meeting. Approximately 70 people attended the orientations.
• Online Survey. An online survey was available in English and Spanish on the project website. The survey was available from April 5 through May 2, 2023. 212 people took the survey in English, and 8 took the survey in Spanish. The results are summarized in Appendix D. • Office Hours. The City hosted in-person office hours on April 18 and 19, 2023. The first meeting was held in person while the second meeting was held virtually over Zoom. These meetings were advertised as opportunities for community members to drop in and ask questions about the Land Use Alternatives.
• Technical Advisory Committee Meeting. The General Plan Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met virtually on April 6, 2023 to provide input on the three Land Use Alternatives. • Department Advisory Group Meeting: The General Plan Department Advisory Group (DAG) met on April 10, 2023 to provide input on the three Land Use Alternatives. • Property Owner Requests: Over the course of the project, City staff have received requests from property owners for General Plan land use designation changes. These changes have been reviewed and may be incorporated into the final General Plan Land Use Map, as appropriate. A full list of requests is included in Appendix A.
The orientations, office hours, and online survey were advertised to the community on the General Plan Update project website, via City email distribution lists, and on the City’s local cable tv station.
Summary of Stakeholder Input
When it came to the preferred alternative for future growth, the survey feedback appeared to be evenly split between Alternative B City Infill (41%) and Alternative C Hybrid (40%). The most important outcome (desired by almost 40% of the survey respondents) was better walkability to destinations, followed by reduced traffic congestion. Additionally, almost 60% of the survey respondents either strongly or somewhat supported allowing more high-density buildings along Broadway and Main Street. However, respondents favored densities closer to those assumed in Alternative C: Hybrid. For a more detailed summary of the survey questions and open-ended responses, please refer to Appendix D.
Other input from the DAG, TAC, and office hours included:
• Ensure existing residents in areas underserved by parks, public facilities, services, and commercial uses in the northwest portion of the city benefit from land use changes.
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• Ensure there will be adequate school, infrastructure, police, fire, and healthcare facilities to serve the growing population.
o Alternative B: City Infill could be challenging from a schools, parks, and public facilities perspective since there are not a lot of viable sites for new facilities in the center of the city, where most population growth is expected.
• City department heads generally favor annexation.
• Consider also annexing the area that is north of Main Street and directly east of current City limits because a new water main is serving that area.
• US-101 will bisect the city if it annexes land eastward, so it’s important to establish safe east- west connections.
• Need to understand infrastructure needs, public facility needs, etc. for conversations regarding annexation with the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
Recommended Preferred Land Use Alternative
Vision of the Preferred Land Use Alternative
Reflecting stakeholder input, the Preferred Land Use Alternative balances growth within City limits and on 985 acres of annexed land to the east of current City limits.
Within City Limits
Within City limits, the Preferred Land Use Alternative allows for increased residential development density along Main Street and Broadway. This direction is consistent with the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), which envisions mixed use development and development intensification, among other recommendations, to complement transportation improvements along these corridors.
Outside of Broadway and Main Streets, the Preferred Land Use Alternative also allows for increased residential development density on “opportunity sites” that have high potential to redevelop during the planning horizon1 and allows for residential, institutional, and employment growth occur in strategic locations around the city. Area 9 is an area that has been identified for potential changes, where new housing, commercial, and industrial uses provide more opportunities for living and working on the west side of the city.2
Downtown will continue growing under the direction of the Downtown Specific Plan, where housing, employment and public space development create more vibrancy and activity in the heart of Santa Maria. A large parcel west of Broadway and north of Taylor Street is designated as Community Facilities
1 Redevelopment likelihood based on existing floor area ratio, input from City staff, and an analysis of building value relative to land value.
2 Currently the Area 9 Specific Plan allows the following land uses, with land uses allowed along A street highlighted in bold: Light Industrial (LI); Heavy Commercial Manufacturing/Agriculture (HCM/AG); Heavy Commercial Manufacturing (HCM); General Industrial (GI); Community Commercial (CC); Conservation Open Space (COS); Commercial/Professional Office (CPO). Residential is currently allowed in the CPO zone under the Mixed Use Ordinance.
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to accommodate public uses like schools, open spaces, and government uses in the northwest portion of the city, where there may be future need.
The allowable land use mix and intensity in most existing neighborhoods in Santa Maria do not change significantly under the Preferred Land Use Alternative.
Outside Current City Limits
Outside of existing City limits, the Preferred Land Use Alternative allows for a mix of commercial, housing, and institutional uses on annexed land, providing employment, entertainment, retail, and recreational opportunity for existing and new residents alike. New residential neighborhoods outside City limits will be “complete neighborhoods,” where residents can conveniently access new neighborhood commercial areas, parks, and public facilities like schools, government facilities, and recreation centers. Employment growth in annexation areas will be focused along US-101 to capitalize on regional transportation connections and create a range of jobs in the industrial, office, and retail sectors. New employment uses adjacent to Marian Regional Medical Center and Hancock College will create opportunities for expansion of these campuses or co-location of complementary land uses, like medical offices, housing, and retail.
Preferred Land Use Pattern
Proposed Changes from the Existing General Plan Land Use Map The Preferred Land Use Alternative differs from the land use pattern established in the existing General Plan and existing Specific Plans. A full table of Preferred Land Use Alternative land use designations is found in Appendix B. Likewise, Figures 3-6 illustrate the land use pattern adjustments. Figure 3 shows existing General Plan land use for Santa Maria. Figure 4 shows parcels that have changed in designation from the existing General Plan. Figure 5 shows the distribution of High Density Residential land uses (under the Preferred Land Use Plan, the allowed density of the High Density Residential designation increases from 22 du/ac to 30 du/ac). Finally, Figure 6 shows the distribution of land uses for Preferred Alternative throughout the city.
Specifically, the Preferred Land Use Alternative would:
• Create a larger General Plan Planning Area by assuming annexation of land in three areas to the east of current City limits.
o The first annexation area would be roughly bordered by Vineyard Trail Road to the south, US-101 to the west, Jones Street to the north, and Suey Road to the east. o The second annexation area would include land bordered by Jones Street to the south, Suey Road to the west, Main Street to the north, and Panther Drive to the east. o The third annexation area would include land bordered by E. Main Street to the South, Panther Drive to the west, and the existing City limits to the north and east along the land fill.
• Create three new land use designations: Broadway Mixed Use (BMU) and Main Mixed Use (MMU), both of which allow up to 35 dwelling units/acre, as well as Planned Annexation (PA) (see the Annexation Land Use Policy Direction section immediately below).
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o Eliminate the Medium Density Residential-10 (MDR-10) General Plan land use designation and reassign all parcels currently with this designation to Medium Density Residential-12 (MDR-12) to allow up to 12 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). This better aligns the MDR designation with the corresponding Zoning District, R-2, which allows up to 12 du/ac. • Revise the existing High Density Residential (HDR) designation to allow up to 30 du/ac (the current maximum is 22 du/ac). This increase in density is consistent with State affordable housing law.
• Slightly refine land use designation descriptions.
• Potentially require revisions to the following Specific Plans:
o Amend the Downtown Specific Plan to reflect a new maximum density/intensity established by the General Plan.
o Amend the Entrada Specific Plan to reflect the new Broadway and Main Mixed Use designation.
o Amend the Area 9 Specific Plan to allow low density residential uses along A Street, consistent with the LMDR-8 designation.
• Revise General Plan land uses on a few parcels to reflect project-specific changes in land use designations.
Annexation Land Use Policy Direction
The Preferred Land Use Alternative establishes a new land use designation, Planned Annexation, that will allow for a mix of commercial, residential, industrial, and public land uses in annexed land outside of current City limits. Infrastructure, transportation, and public facility needs as well as environmental and fiscal impacts of the annexation area will be studied further as part of the General Plan update process.
Based on that analysis, General Plan policies will outline a vision and the City’s priorities for future land use, transportation, parks and open spaces, economic development, public facilities, and infrastructure in the annexation areas, but it is assumed the City will develop a specific plan for annexation areas following adoption of the General Plan to provide more detailed guidance on development standards and capital improvements.
From a land use and community design perspective, the following policies will be considered for inclusion in the General Plan land use policy framework to guide land use direction of future planning efforts in annexation areas:
• Require buffering of schools, parks, and homes from infrastructure, major roadways, the Santa Maria regional landfill, industrial land uses, and other land uses that may produce odor or noise or negatively impact air quality.
• Provide 5 parks per 1,000 residents, per the City’s park service standard and plan for new public and recreational facilities.
• Apprise local school districts of anticipated population growth and future planning efforts in the annexation area in order to inform the districts’ facility planning efforts. • Develop a safe, connected network of sidewalks and trails that provides ample connections to destinations.
• Design complete neighborhoods where residents have convenient walking and biking access to public facilities, services, and retail.
• Provide a diversity of housing types for rental and ownership at a range of price points.
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• Site new employment uses near existing institutions, such as educational or research and development (R&D) near Marian Regional Medical Center and Hancock College, and industrial or office along US-101 to provide convenient access to regional transportation.
Land Use Mix
The land use mix of the existing General Plan compared to the Preferred Land Use Alternative is shown in Table 2 and illustrated in Figure 2.
As shown in the table and figure, the Preferred Land Use Alternative redesignates many parcels designated as Community Commercial to either Main Mixed Use or Broadway Mixed Use, decreasing the amount of commercial acreage while creating new Mixed Use acreage. Under the Preferred Land Use Alternative, Industrial/Airport acreage is unchanged, Planned Future Development acreage increases significantly due to annexation, and Public and Open Space acreage increases slightly. Total residential land use acreage decreases slightly due to redesignating a vacant Low Density Residential parcel to a Community Facilities designation; however, additional residential uses would be developed as a part of the Planned Annexation area. The acreage for some other land use categories also changes slightly due to minor changes in the General Plan land use map that reflect recent development projects, as noted above.
Per Figure 2, the percentage of different land uses as a percentage of the city appears to change for all categories even though, as described above, the total acreage of some categories will only change slightly. This is largely due to the fact that the Preferred Land Use Alternative assumes annexation of land in the Planned Annexation Area, which increases the total acreage in the city. Future Specific Plans or master plans for the Planned Annexation Area may also change the percentage of land use types relative to total acreage.
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Table 2: General Plan Land Use Mix
Existing General Plan Preferred Land Use Alternative
Designation Acres Percent Acres Percent
Residential 5,412 35.9% 5,376 33.5%
Lower-Density Residential (LWDR-4) 645 4.3% 645 4.0%
Low-Density Residential (LDR-5) 2,810 18.7% 2,776 17.3% Low-Medium Density Residential (LMDR-8) 607 4.1% 607 3.8% Medium Density Residential (MDR-10) 9 0.1% - -
Medium Density Residential (MDR-12) 612 4.1% 621 3.9%
High Density Residential (HDR-16) 9 0.1% - -
High Density Residential (HDR-22) 717 4.8% - -
High Density Residential (HDR-30) - - 727 4.5%
Mixed Use - - 452 2.8%
Broadway Mixed Use (BMU-35) - - 375 2.3%
Main Mixed Use (MMU-35) - - 77 0.5%
Commercial 1,488 9.9% 1,025 6.4%
Community Commercial (CC) 1043 7.0% 580 3.6%
Commercial/Professional Office (CPO) 363 2.1% 364 2.3%
Freeway Service (FS) 50 0.3% 50 0.3%
Neighborhood Commercial (NC) 31 0.2% 31 0.2%
Industrial/Airport 3,304 21.9% 3,311 20.6%
Light Industrial (LI) 1,003 6.7% 1,010 6.3%
General Industrial (GI) 549 3.7% 549 3.4%
Heavy Commercial/Manufacturing (HCM) 784 5.2% 784 4.9%
Airport Service (AS) 968 6.5% 968 6.1%
Public and Open Space 4,564 30.3% 4,597 28.7%
Primary Agricultural Open Space (AOS-1) 368 2.5% 368 2.3% Secondary Agricultural Open Space (AOS-2) 906 6.0% 906 5.7% Conservation Open Space (COS) 323 2.2% 323 2.0%
Recreation Open Space (ROS) 1,765 11.8% 1,754 10.9%
Community Facilities (CF) 1,203 8.0% 1,245 7.8%
Planned Future Development 270 1.8% 1,282 8.0%
Specific Plan (SP) 291 1.8% 297 1.9%
Planned Annexation Area (PA) - - 985 6.1%
Total 15,058 100% 16,043 100%
Note: Numbers may not add due to rounding. Numbers in red indicate changes in acreage totals.
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Figure 2: Existing General Plan Land Use (left) Compared to Preferred Alternative Land Use (right)
Complementary General Plan Policies
As noted above, during the next phase of the project, the Preferred Land Use Alternative will inform and complement updated General Plan policies related to land use, urban design, mobility, parks, infrastructure, public facilities and services, and economic development. Specifically, policies focused on transportation and public realm improvements will focus on expanding easy neighborhood access to necessities like food, services, and recreation. Likewise, policies will ensure that new parks and public facilities support existing and new neighborhoods.
33%
3%6%
21%
29%
8%
Residential Mixed Use
Commercial Industrial/Airport
Public and Open Space Planned Future Development
36%
10%22%
30%
2%
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Figure 3: Existing General Plan Land Use
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Figure 4: Changes from Existing General Plan Land Use
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Figure 5: HDR Land Use Designation
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Figure 6: Preferred Alternative Land Use
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Appendix A: Property Owner Requests
The following table lists requests from property owners to change existing zoning. The City’s Zoning Map is required per State law to be consistent with General Plan land use, so proposed changes in zoning district may require changing existing General Plan land use. City staff and the consultant team will consider General Plan land use designation changes on the listed parcels following direction from City Council on the Preferred Land Use direction.
Address/APN Current Zoning Requested Zoning
212 N. Benwiley
119-253-009
CM R-3
300 N. Benwiley
119-214-011
CM R-3
304 N. Benwiley
119-214-007
CM R-3
714 S. Blosser Rd.
123-140-032
M-2 R-3
616 S. Thornburg
123-132-012
PD/M-1 R-3
428 S. Thornburg
123-082-008
PF R-3
1095 W. McCoy Lane
111-051-025
PD/M-1 MHP
1955 A Street (Donati)
117-770-062
PD/CPO, PD/M-1 PD/R-3, PD/R-1,
PD/C-2, PD/PF
SE Corner of College and
Stowell (Hancock property)
128-066-031, 129-066-030
PF R-3
725 S. Depot Street
123-150-031
123-150-032
123-150-033
PD/CM
PD/CM
PD/C-2
PD/R-3
PD/R-3
PD/R-3
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Appendix B: Land Use Designations
Land Use Designations
Designation Description
Residential
Residential Agricultural
(RA)
To create a transition area between agricultural and strictly urban uses, as well as provide for a particular residential lifestyle.
Allowed uses: Low-density dwelling units, noncommercial agricultural activities, the keeping of horses and certain commercial agricultural activities on larger (suggested minimum of 5- to 10-acre) parcels.
Density: Max 2 du/ac
Height maximum: 25 feet
Lower-Density
Residential (LWDR-4)
Single-family detached dwelling units with overall (average) density not to exceed four dwelling units per acre with variable lot sizes for single family detached units up to one acre in size.
Allowed uses: Single-family detached dwelling units with variable lot sizes for single family detached units up to one acre in size.
Density: Max 4 du/ac
Height maximum: 30 feet
Low Density Residential
(LDR-5)
To encourage new areas with overall densities responsive to the economic considerations of providing new housing, on a wide range of standard sized lots. providing the amenities and open spaces associated with traditional single-family areas and stabilizing existing areas by discouraging intensification of density.
Allowed uses: Single-family detached dwelling units with variable lot sizes for single-family detached units up to one-fourth acre in size.
Density: Max 5 du/ac
Height maximum: 30 feet
Low Medium Density
Residential (LMDR-8)
To encourage densities that are responsive to the economic considerations of providing affordable single-family housing on small lots while at the same time maintaining adequate individual private open space, design flexibility, and the character of a single-family neighborhood.
Allowed uses: Single-family detached dwelling units, with variable lot sizes for single-family detached units. This development type would usually require zero side yard development to maximize private, usable yards. Developments without zero side yards may require the larger lots and setbacks typically found in the R-1 zones.
Density: Max 8 du/ac
Height maximum: 30 feet
Medium Density
Residential (MDR-12)
To encourage new development while stabilizing existing development. Allows a mixture of unit types. while maintaining the feeling of a single-family neighborhood. To encourage reinvestment in older areas, and provide a land conservation measure by inducing development away from yet undeveloped areas.
Allowed uses: Single-family, detached and attached, duplexes; triplexes; and larger multi-family complexes.
Density: Max 12 du/ac
Height maximum: 30 feet
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High Density Residential
(HDR-30)
To provide for an urban residential environment, preferably close to shopping facilities and existing activity centers, as well as provide an incentive for reinvestment in older established areas.
Allowed uses: Duplexes, triplexes, and larger multi-family complexes.
Density: Max 30 du/ac
Height maximum: 35 feet
Mixed Use
Main Mixed Use (MMU)
To allow for multi-story, multi-use development along Main Street contextual with adjacent residential uses. The intent is to allow for the creation of commercial uses mixed with multi-family housing to create opportunities to live on the Main Street corridor and encourage activity and vitality on Main Street. Uses may be mixed horizontally or vertically, though active ground floor uses, such as restaurants and retail, are encouraged. Design requirements, such as building stepbacks, may be employed to transition to residential uses on adjacent streets.
Allowed uses: Retail, restaurants, service commercial (such as banks or real estate offices), service establishments (such as medical clinics and beauty shops), office buildings, hotels, multi-family housing, townhomes, duplexes. Residential uses are not required in this district.
Density: Max 35 du/ac
Height maximum: 70 feet
Broadway Mixed Use
(BMU)
To allow for multi-story, multi-use development along Broadway. The intent is to allow for the creation of commercial uses mixed with multi-family housing to create opportunities to live on the Broadway corridor and encourage activity and vitality Downtown. Uses may be mixed horizontally or vertically, though active ground floor uses, such as restaurants and retail, are encouraged on the ground floor.
Allowed uses: Retail, restaurants, entertainment, bars, service commercial (such as banks or real estate offices), service establishments (such as medical clinics and beauty shops), office buildings, hotels, multi-family housing. Residential uses are not required in this district.
Density: 35 du/ac
Height maximum: 70 feet
Commercial
Community Commercial
(CC)
To include the majority of retail uses outside the central core, particularly along the lineal development corridors which have emerged. The majority of these uses would be geared to the area-wide market.
Allowed uses: Variety of retail uses, excluding "heavy", land extensive or quasi-industrial commercial uses such as lumber yards, agricultural equipment yards, pipe supply works, etc.
Height maximum: 70 feet
Commercial/
Professional Office (CPO)
To provide areas for offices, which may be compatible with a range of other uses.
Allowed uses: Office development for the following services: medical, legal, travel agencies, insurance, and real estate services, as well as a certain complementary commercial uses.
Height maximum: 35 feet
Freeway Service (FS) To accommodate the needs of the traveling public along major transportation corridors.
Allowed uses: Motels, service stations, restaurants, and rest stops.
Height maximum: 40 feet
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Neighborhood
Commercial (NC)
To provide areas which offer convenience goods and services to local residents without disrupting the residential character of an area. These areas are intended to be small in size and not geared to providing a multitude of more specialized goods and services serving a community-wide or regional market.
Allowed uses: Supermarkets, convenience grocery stores, drug stores, laundromats, bakeries, shoe repair shops.
Height maximum: 30 feet
Industrial/Airport
Light Industrial (LI)
To accommodate industrial uses which contain the process primarily within the building, do not generate negative environmental impacts, and which are most compatible with adjacent nonindustrial uses.
Allowed uses: Research facilities, light assembly plants, non-public-oriented-offices and industrial support offices, tractor sales and display when the property is adjacent to the freeway, and churches on a temporary basis.
Height maximum: 35 feet
General Industrial (GI)
To provide areas for all types of heavy industrial uses, but particularly those which need to be separated from other land uses because of the impacts associated with these activities, such as heavy truck traffic, noise, odor, or dust.
Allowed uses: Range of industrial uses, including heavy manufacturing, heavy trucking operations.
Height maximum: 40 feet
Heavy Commercial/
Manufacturing (HCM)
To permit activities that manufacture and retail on the same site as well as other heavy commercial uses which may be land extensive, require transport of materials by heavy truck, require large loading and docking areas, and where the possibilities of heavy noise generation exist.
Allowed uses: Lumberyards, boat works, warehouses, building supply dealers, mobile home sales, farm equipment sales, equipment repair, and churches within an existing building.
Height maximum: 40 feet
Airport Service (AS)
To provide a broad category facilitating the airport and airport-related commercial and industrial uses not adversely affected by airport operations, to provide for specific areas for aircraft operation and navigation aids, and to minimize the hazard to safe landing and take-off of aircraft.
Allowed uses: Full range of uses, including airport operation and support activities.
Public and Open Space
Primary Agricultural
Open Space (AOS-1)
To preserve certain areas for present and future agricultural production. It also provides for limited residential uses.
Allowed uses: Intensive crop agricultural uses. All land classified as prime agricultural (Class I and II soils).
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Secondary Agricultural
Open Space (AOS-2)
To preserve certain areas for present and future agricultural production. It also provides for limited residential uses.
Allowed uses: Less intensive agricultural uses, including grazing. Includes some lands that are not prime agricultural but are an agricultural buffer and are not now considered suitable for urban expansion.
Conservation Open
Space (COS)
To protect natural resources, provide scenic protection, act as an urban agriculture buffer, allow mineral extraction, and act as a safety buffer between the urban land uses and the levee. It also provides for limited residential uses.
Allowed uses: Includes areas subject to flood hazard, significant groundwater recharge areas, well farms, areas adjacent to creekbeds, areas of surface and sub-surface mineral extraction, levee buffer, airport safety areas, and publicly owned landscaped areas.
Recreational Open Space
(ROS)
To provide for recreation and scenic protection and provide scenic areas along railroad rights-of- way
Allowed uses: Existing and proposed recreational facilities, including neighborhood, community, and regional parks; bikeways; equestrian trails; jogging paths; selected public utility and railroad rights- of-way and associated uses where the right-of-way corresponds to the adopted Bikeways Plan; and publicly owned and operated sanitary landfill operations that have the potential for reclamation and development into the aforementioned recreational facilities.
Community Facilities (CF)
To provide for necessary facilities for use by the public.
Allowed uses: Public facilities, including schools and government buildings.
Height maximum: 35 feet
Planned Future Development
Specific Plan (SP)
To encourage comprehensive planning and urban design flexibility for large land areas through the adoption of a Specific Plan. Such flexibility allows the City to adopt a set of land use specifications and implementation programs tailored to the unique characteristics of each area.
Allowed uses: The Specific Plan designates all land uses, and the geographic boundaries of each use, allowed in the specific plan area. Each use must be consistent with the adopted Specific Plan and the corresponding zoning noted in the plan.
Height maximum: Height depends on each Specific Plan.
Planned Annexation Area
(PAA)
To encourage comprehensive planning and urban design flexibility for large annexation land areas (over 60 acres) through the adoption of a specific plan or master plans following the General Plan Update process, as the City proceeds with annexation. Such flexibility allows the City to adopt a set of land use specifications and implementation programs tailored to the unique characteristics of each area.
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Allowed uses: The specific plan or master plan will designate all land uses, and the geographic boundaries of each use, allowed in each area. Potential uses include residential (single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes, multi-family), public and institutional, parks and recreation, and non- residential (industrial, office, retail, services, etc.) Density: Maximum density will be defined during a specific or master plan process.
Notes:
1. Single-family zones are subject to SB9, which was passed in 2021. This law allows for parcels in single-family zones to be subdivided and duplexes built on each lot.
2. The maximum residential density of any residential land use designation may be exceeded to complement General Plan Housing Element policy (in accordance with the City’s inclusionary housing ordinance and density bonus provisions of Section 65915 of the California Government Code).
3. The City does not currently regulate intensity in its zoning or the General Plan. The final General Plan may regulate maximum intensity via floor area ratio.
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Appendix C: Alternatives Work Products
Alternatives work products are linked in this Appendix. These work products and all products produced for the General Plan Update are found on the project website:
https://www.imaginesantamaria.com/resources
.
• Land Use Alternatives Orientation Videos in English, Spanish, and Mixteco • Land Use Alternatives Presentation Slides (English)
• Land Use Alternatives Presentation Slides (Spanish)
• Alternatives Technical Memorandum
• Alternatives Analysis
• Fiscal Analysis
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Appendix D: Survey Results