Zoning Code Update – Public Review Draft
City Council | June 22, 2022
PLAN UPDATES
• Sets the 20-year vision for the city
• Address current and future
challenges, building on
community assets
• Provides policy direction for
future decision-making across 12
chapters
• Establishes pattern of future
development in the city (where,
what kind, and how much)
• Review period closed on 5/31
• Acts as the City’s greenhouse gas
reduction program
• Inventories current emissions
• Estimates future emissions
• Establishes greenhouse gas
reduction measures
• Assesses the effectiveness of
greenhouse gas reduction
measures at meeting State
targets
• Review period closed on 5/31
General Plan Update Climate Action Plan Update
• Establishes development
standards and process
• Out for public review
Zoning Code Update
• Evaluates and discloses the
potential impact of plan buildout
• Release date anticipated in June
Environmental Impact Report
UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE / PROCESS
Public Release of Zoning Code and EIR
Community engagement of Zoning Code and EIR
June 2022
Close comment periods on Zoning Code and EIR
Prepare final General Plan, Climate Action Plan,
Zoning Code, and EIR
July 2022
Public Release of Adoption Draft General Plan,
Climate Action Plan, Zoning Code, and EIR
Adoption Hearings Begin
Fall 2022
1. General Plan Background
4 LAND USE DESIGNATIONS
CHANGES TO
LAND USE DESIGNATIONS
GENERAL PLAN LAND USE GOALS
• Complete Neighborhoods
• Transit-Oriented Communities
• Diverse Range of Housing Options
• High-quality Residential Neighborhoods
• Remain a hub of R&D
• Industrial to Thrive in Lindenville and
E101
• Diverse Economy
• Attractive, ped-oriented streets and
civic spaces
• Quality Architecture and Site Design
2. Zoning Ordinance Update
8 ZONING STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
Regulate Use, Development Form, and Placement
• Uses or activity
• Types of buildings and desired character
Set Review Requirements and Procedures
• Administration and project review
requirements
Facilitate Land Use Compatibility
• Performance standards to address
health, safety, and welfare
Provide Predictability and Flexibility
• By-right approvals for developers who are
in accordance with identified
zoning requirements and exception process
What Zoning Can Do
Dictate Architectural Style
• Development controls can improve physical
character with respect to building envelope
but cannot dictate style
Regulate Free Market
• Cannot determine exact mix of tenants in
private development
Establish Land Use Policy
• An implementation tool
Reallocate Impact Costs
• Shift cost burdens to make density or desired
uses more feasible
What Zoning Cannot Do
UPDATE OVERVIEW
• Maintains same overall organization and
numbering system
• Close to "one-to-one" with the General Plan Land
Use diagram
• Carries forward existing use-based zoning
districts and regulations as appropriate in nonchange areas • Establishes transect districts in the "change
areas" to best accommodate the General Plan's
vision for character and flexibility of development
• Creates new citywide Design Standards for all
residential development to address new State law
• Facilitate reinvestment in the community and
development of housing for all segments
Zoning Map
Division I: Authority and Rules
▪ Updated purpose statements to reflect General Plan vision • Emphasize walkability, ped/bike facilities, resilience ▪ Updated districts to reflect new districts/zoning map • Streamlined and new districts
▪ Revised rules for calculating FAR
• Adds ground-floor active uses east of 101 and in select transect zoning districts (T4C, T4M, and T5C) to list of areas excluded
12 13
Division II: Conventional Districts
▪ Five groups of conventional zoning districts
• Residential (RL2.2, RL-8, RM, RH37.5, HR-50, RH-180)
• Downtown Residential (DRL, DRM, DRH)
• Downtown / Caltrain Station Area (DRC, LNC, GAC, DTC, ETC)
• Non-Residential (CC, BPO, BTP-M, BTP-H, MIM, MIH)
• Civic (PQP, S, PR, OS)
▪ Updated uses; development regulations tables; supplemental regulations sections
• Updated per General Plan vision
• Simplified/streamlined
CONVENTIONAL APPROACH (DIVISION II)
R&D, Biotech,and
Mixed Industrial
areas
Downtown and
Station Area
Residential
areas
Residential areas
15 (new) Division III: Form-Based Districts
▪ Six form-based zoning districts
• T3N (T3 Neighborhood)
• T3C (T3 Corridor)
• T4C (T4 Corridor)
• T4M (T4 Maker)
• T5C (T5 Corridor)
• T6UC (T6Urban Core)
▪ Form-Based Code chapter includes the following sections:
• Standards by Zone
• Building Types
• Frontage Types
• Civic Space Types
• Uses by Zone
FORM-BASED APPROACH (DIVISION III)
Lindenville
East of101
Area
El CaminoReal
CorridorArea
FORM-BASED (TRANSECT) ZONES
• Form-Based (Transect) Zones
• Building Types
• Frontage Types
• Open Space Types
FBC: BUILDING TYPES
• Duplex
• Triplex / Fourplex
• Rowhouse
• Live/Work
• Multiplex
• Flex Low-Rise
• Flex Mid-Rise
• Flex High-Rise
FBC: FRONTAGE TYPES
• Arcade
• Dooryard
• Forecourt
• Shopfront
• Porch
• Stoop
• Terrace
FBC: PUBLIC OPEN SPACE TYPES
• Town Square
• Plaza
• Paseo
• Pocket Park
• Greenway
21 Division IV: Overlays and Plan Districts
▪ Deleted, relevant content worked into base zones as
appropriate: Loft Overlay, Hillside Overlay, Bay West Cove Specific Plan, Gateway Specific Plan, Terrabay Specific Plan, Transit Village Plan, El Camino Real/Chestnut Avenue Area Plan ▪ New: Floodplain/Sea Level Rise Overlay
▪ Retained: Downtown Station Area Specific Plan, Genentech Maser Plan
FLOOD PLAIN / SEA LEVEL RISE OVERLAY
100-year Flood Zones
52 inches (100-year flood
+ 2040 sea level rise)
77 inches (100-year flood
+ 3 ft sea level rise)
23 Division V: Citywide Standards
▪ Simplified accessory structures standards (limits on lot coverage in setbacks)
▪ Updated landscaping standards (tree canopy, building
perimeter landscaping requirements)
▪ Simplified outdoor lighting requirements (height, shielding, prohibited lighting)
▪ Updated performance standards (noise, vibration)
▪ Added citywide Site and Building Design Standards chapter. • General site and building design
• Single-family and duplex design
• Multi-family and residential mixed-use design
SITE / BUILDING DESIGN STANDARDS
• Conventional District Regulations (20.060-
110)
• Each Conventional Zoning District
includes site / building design
standards specific to that District
• Form-Based District Regulations (20.135)
• Lot and Development Standards (20.300)
• Landscaping
• Screening
• Site and Building Design Standards
(20.310)
• General Site and Building Design
• Single-Family and Duplex Building
Design
• Multi-Family and Residential Mixed-Use
Building Design
Updated Site / Building Design Standards
CONVENTIONAL ZONES
• Building Modulation / Articulation
• Height Transitional Standards
• Restriction on Blank Walls
• Art / Landscape Requirements for Zero
Lot-Line Walls
• Required Public Open Space
• Increased Landscaping at Ground Floor
New and Updated Site / Building Design Standards
26 Division V: Citywide Standards
▪ Updated parking standards to be consistent with GP goals • Lower standards within Transit Station Areas
• Some standards to be based on required Parking and
Circulation Study
Added provisions for unbundling of parking
• Expanded Parking Reductions section
• Updated short- and long-term bicycle parking requirements • Added EV Charging Station section
▪ Address live music and mobile vending in Temporary Uses ▪ Updated Standards Specific-to-Uses
•Automobile/vehicle service and repair
•Bed & breakfast
•Community assembly
•Drive-through facilities
•Fright truck terminal, warehouse, parcel hub
•Home occupations
•Live/work units
•Manufactured housing
•Outdoor seating
PARKING REGULATIONS
• Parking requirements streamlined for common
commercial and industrial uses to promote
tenanting flexibility
• Parking Management and Monitoring Study
process introduced for uses with non-typical
parking requirements
• Parking ratios developed in coordination with
Transportation Demand Management needs
28 Division V: Citywide Standards
▪ Updated signs chapter
• Updated for content-neutrality (Reed v. Town of Gilbert) • Minimized and reduced exempted signs
• Clarified distinctions between temporary and permanent signs
• Refreshed standards, added some new standards (design, legibility)
▪ Added Community Benefits Program chapter
• For non-residential projects
• FAR "ceilings" indicated in base zone development
standard tables
• City's priorities identified
▪ Updated Transportation Demand Management chapter
• Implements Study completed as part of GP effort
TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT
• Reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled by
new development
• Manage traffic congestion, especially associated
with drive-alone commute trips during peak
traffic periods
• Ensure new developments maximize transit,
active transportation, carpooling and shuttle
usage
• Ongoing monitoring and enforcement program
TDM: SUMMARY FLOW CHART
COMMUNITY BENEFITS PROGRAM
• Grants additional development capacity for non-residential in exchange for community benefits
• For FARs above 1.0, an increase up to 2.5 is permitted by-right, provided:
• Applicant pays Community Benefit fee, or
• Applicant provides a community benefit consistent with City’s priorities • Increase of FAR in excess of 2.5 can be granted by City through a Community Benefits Agreement
COMMUNITY BENEFITS PRIORITIES
• Public Spaces
• Enhanced Connectivity
• Public and Social Services
• Support for Local Businesses
• District TDM Measures
• District Sea Level Rise Mitigation Measures
33 Division VI: Administration & Procedures
▪ Design Review applicability (updated to be consistent with recent State legislation)
▪ TUP, MUP, CUP applicability (clarified)
▪ Conditions of Approval for MUP, CUP (updated)
▪ Waivers and Modifications section (updated, clarified)
STATE STREAMLINING PROVISIONS
• Step 1: Preliminary application process created
• Creation of “preliminary application” which “freezes” development standards • Step 2: Permit Streamlining requirements
• Upon formal application submittal, City has 30 days to review for completeness • Step 3: Consistency Findings
• City has 30-60 days (depending on size of project) to review the project for consistency with applicable requirements
• Prohibits more than 5 hearings when reviewing a residential project that complies with the general plan and with the zoning code objective standards SB 330 Requirements
LIMIT ON PUBLIC HEARINGS / MEETINGS
Current Process
- Design Review Board (1-2)
- Neighborhood Meeting
- Housing Standing
Committee
- Bicycle and Pedestrian
Advisory Commission
- Planning Commission
- City Council (approval
body)
Recommended SB330 Process
- Design Review Board (1-2)
- Planning Commission
(approval body)
- City Council (call for review
/ appeal)
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AUTHORITY
Chief Planner
- Sign Permits
- Minor Use Permits
- Temporary Use Permits
- Permit Modifications
- Short-Term Rental Permit
- Design Review
Planning Commission
- Conditional Use Permits
- Design Review – New
Commercial Buildings
- Design Review – New
Residential and Mixed-Use
Buildings 4 stories or taller
- Precise Plans
- Variances
- Certificates of Alteration
- Master Sign Program
- Calls for Review
City Council
▪ General Plan Amendments
▪ Zoning Ordinance
Amendments
▪ Prezoning
▪ Specific Plans &
Amendments
▪ Development Agreements
▪ Community Benefit
Agreements
▪ Non-Standard Affordable
Housing Agreement
▪ Calls for Review
37 Division VII: Definitions
▪ Definitions of Uses
• Added new uses
• Updated uses as needed
• Deleted out-of-date uses
▪ Definitions of Terms
• Added form-based terms
• Removed all uses
• Cited Government Code Sections where appropriate
Thank you.
June 22, 2022