Once you’ve developed a vision for the plan and answered questions about what kind of land uses you want to see, we examine the existing land use plan and the existing uses of the land, and then consider important follow-up questions, such as:
- Is the existing land use plan acting as a barrier to uses we want to see?
- Are there places where the land use plan is inconsistent or doesn’t match the existing use of the land?
- Are the existing uses balanced and accessible to the community?
- If there are barriers, missing uses, or unbalanced uses, what can we do to facilitate change?
City staff worked on these questions and developed a first draft of the land use plan, including a map and a table of permitted uses. These changes are responsive to each of the questions asked, as described below.
Addressing Barriers
The City’s analysis determined the permitted use table of the Zoning Ordinance is acting as a barrier to certain project goals. For example, a mixed use project (i.e. a building with both housing and new commercial space) is not permitted by right in the City’s Community Commercial zone district. An applicant would need to change the land use and zone district or would need a Conditional Use Permit. This adds cost and time to a project. Therefore, to be responsive to community feedback and facilitate the uses desired in these areas, City staff are proposing the Specific Plans include permitted use tables tailored to each area. A description of changes to the permitted use tables are available for review here.
Addressing Inconsistencies
City staff examined each Corridor Plan area for the following types of inconsistencies: a mismatch between the land use designation and the underlying zone district (e.g. General Plan land use designation of Community Commercial and an underlying zone district of Single-Family Residential) or a mismatch between the land use or zone district and the use of the property (e.g. a property developed with an office with a General Plan land use designation of Low Density Residential).
Since the 1980s, the City has used the Specific Plan process to comprehensively plan development and ensure consistency between the land use designation and zone district. Older areas of the City were developed long before adoption of the City’s modern approach to planning and development, and so inconsistencies sometimes occur in these older areas.
Inconsistencies between the actual use and the permitted use of the land also typically only occurs in the older areas of the City. A use that was legally built but is not permitted by the current zone district is called “existing non-conforming.” While an existing non-conforming use is permitted to continue, the use cannot be expanded or changed, unless it is changed back to a conforming use.
The existence of inconsistent land use and zoning and/or existing non-conforming conditions can make it difficult to obtain financing for a property, and to redevelop, improve, or sell a property. Staff have carefully examined all of the planning areas to identify areas of inconsistency and propose corrections wherever possible. The preliminary draft of the proposed land use and zone district maps are available for review here.
Addressing Balanced and Accessible Uses
In addition to addressing barriers and inconsistencies, City staff also reviewed the permitted use tables and land use maps to determine whether changes could be made to improve the balance of land uses. For example, it is usually ideal to have the highest residential densities located adjacent to commercial areas. This provides an appropriate buffer and transition of uses that step down in intensity: a higher-capacity road fronted by businesses, followed by high density residential with easy access to services in the commercial area, and finally transitioning to medium and then low density residential uses as you move further from the main road. Some changes are proposed to the permitted use tables and land use maps to ensure an appropriate balance of uses. It is important to emphasize the changes facilitate appropriate use of the land; they are not intended to add barriers or restrictions that will negatively impact property owners.
Accessibility is being addressed through an ongoing effort the City is undertaking to review the primary streetscapes and circulation design in the plan areas. While a preliminary draft plan is not currently available, the City is actively working on preliminary conceptual plans to present to the community. The plans will include an existing conditions analysis, the identification of existing constraints and opportunities, and conceptual plans describing the types of improvements which could address the identified constraints and opportunities.
Facilitating Change
Each Specific Plan will include an Implementation chapter describing the procedures and processes for development in the plan areas. The City’s intent is to provide more streamlined processes for applications, which will lower costs, shorten timeframes, and provide greater certainty for applicants who are proposing to make improvements to their properties. A project would only be eligible for this streamlining if it is consistent with the design standards and policies of the Specific Plan. The Implementation chapter and design standards will be drafted after outreach has been completed on the land use plan and conceptual streetscapes plan.