ORDINANCE NO. 2026-XXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNION CITY FOR ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT (AT-25-003) TO AMEND TITLE 18,
ZONING, OF THE UNION CITY MUNICIPAL CODE (UCMC) TO AMEND CHAPTERS 18.08 DEFINITIONS; 18.27, VILLAGE MIXED USE (VMU) DISTRICT; 18.36, COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS; 18.50, CIVIC FACILITIES (CF) DISTRICT; AND 18.92, OPEN SPACE (OS) ZONING DISTRICT WHEREAS, the California Constitution, Article XI, Section 7, provides cities and counties with the authority to enact ordinances to protect the health, safety, welfare, and morals of their citizens; and
WHEREAS, the City of Union City is proposing Zoning Text Amendment (AT-25- 003) to update zoning regulations in Chapters 18.08 Definitions; 18.27 Village Mixed Use (VMU) District; 18.36 Commercial Districts; 18.50 Civic Facilities (CF) District; and 18.92, Open Space (OS) Zoning District of Title 18, Zoning, of the Union City Municipal Code; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend the City’s Zoning Ordinance provisions to support local businesses in terms of operations and allowed uses and facilitate ongoing projects on City-owned properties; and
PLANNING COMMISSION REVIEW
WHEREAS, the UCMC authorizes the Planning Commission to review and make recommendations to the City Council on amendments to UCMC Title 18, Zoning; and WHEREAS, on November 21, 2025Notice of the Planning Commission public hearing was published in The Argus newspaper in compliance with Government Code § 65854; and
WHEREAS, on December 11, 2025The Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the amendments, receive a Staff Report and Presentation dated December 11, 2025, take public testimony, deliberate on the item, and adopt Resolution No. 11-25, recommending approval of the amendments. The Staff Report and Resolution are incorporated herein by reference; and
CITY COUNCIL REVIEW
WHEREAS, on December 19, 2025, notice of the City Council public hearing was published in The Argus newspaper in compliance with California Government Code § 65090; and
WHEREAS, on January 13, 2026, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the amendments, receive a Staff Report and Presentation dated January 13, 2026, and incorporated herein by reference, review the Planning Commission’s recommendation, take public testimony, and deliberate on the item before taking action on the amendments; and
Ordinance No. 2026-XXX
Zoning Text Amendment (AT-25-003)
WHEREAS, the amendment to UCMC Title 18 is shown in Exhibit A, which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference; and
WHEREAS, a red-lined version of the amendment to UCMC Title 18 is shown in Exhibit B, which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UNION CITY DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals
The above recitals are true and correct and made a part of this Ordinance.
SECTION 2. CEQA
Approval of Zoning Text Amendment (AT-25-003) is exempt from environmental review per the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Section 15061(b)(3), the general exemption for projects with no potential for significant effect on the environment. As a series of text amendments, the amendments will not have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 3. Findings
The City Council makes the following findings in support of the approval of this Ordinance, based on the whole of the record before it.
1. That the proposed Zoning Text Amendments are consistent with the following Union City 2040 General Plan policies. There are no applicable specific plans. • Policy ED-3.1 Support Local Business Expansion, Policy ED-7.3 Remove regulatory barriers and Policy SA-11.9 Allow Uses that Support the Vision for the Historic Alvarado District. The proposed amendments implement these policies through removing regulatory barriers which have made it difficult for local businesses to expand and allow for new use in the VUM zoning district that supports the vision of the Historic Alvarado district. • Policy PF-3.1 Enhance and Improve water service and Policy PF-3.2 Preserve and Enhance Water Supply. The proposed amendments support these policies by facilitating the use of City owned property as temporary contractor yards for public projects including utility improvements by USD and ACWD.
2. That the proposed Zoning Text Amendments are necessary and desirable to achieve the purposes of Title 18, which seek to promote and protect the public health, safety, morals, comfort, convenience and the general welfare of the people.
SECTION 4. Approval
The City Council hereby approves the amendments to the UCMC, as described above and as shown in Exhibit A, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 5. Severability
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the Ordinance, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are Ordinance No. 2026-XXX
Zoning Text Amendment (AT-25-003)
severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable.
SECTION 6. Publication and Effective Date
Within fifteen (15) days from and after adoption, this Ordinance shall be published once in The Argus, a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in Alameda County and circulated in the City of Union City, in accordance with Government Code § 36933. This Ordinance shall take effect and be enforced thirty (30) days after its adoption.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Union City at a regular meeting held on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
APPROVED:
GARY SINGH
Mayor
ATTESTED: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
THAI NAM N. PHAM
City Clerk
KRISTOPHER J. KOKOTAYLO
City Attorney
Attachments
1. Exhibit A – Amendment to UCMC Title 18
2. Exhibit B – Amendment to UCMC Title 18 (Redlined)