Laserfiche WebLink
File Number: 18-042 <br />that resulted in the establishment of a “hearing draft” of the Zoning Code in 1991. After further <br />discussion and amendments over the following year, the current iteration of the Zoning Code was <br />adopted by the City Council in 1992. <br />Since that time, the City has regularly updated individual chapters of the Zoning Code, primarily in <br />response to specific issues, State legislative mandates or to bring the Zoning Code into <br />conformance with General Plan or Specific Plan updates (i.e., inclusionary zoning, accessory <br />dwelling units, etc.). <br />The last major update to the Zoning Code was approved by the City Council in September 2016 <br />in conjunction with the 2035 General Plan update. The changes were necessary to bring the <br />Zoning Code into conformance with both the Downtown Transit Oriented Development (TOD) <br />Strategy and the 2035 General Plan Update. While that public planning process implemented <br />provisions such as the new Industrial Transition (IT) zoning district and updates to the Downtown <br />Area (DA) zoning and development standards (including changes to the P-zoning district), it did <br />not seek to comprehensively address the format and layout established in 1992. The 2035 <br />General Plan Update planning process also led to the creation of new land uses such as the Bay <br />Fair TOD and IT designations, the addition of a Medium High Density Residential designation, <br />updates to Park and Open Space designations, removal of obsolete land uses such as Office, <br />adjustments to allowable densities downtown, and mixed-use boundaries to reflect market trends <br />and long-range forecasts. During the 2016 Zoning Code amendment process, staff initially <br />recommended eliminating the P-zoning district because of the removal of the Office land use, but <br />public feedback in favor of retaining the P-zone caused it to remain. <br />Analysis <br />The City typically amends the Zoning Code a couple of times each year. Over time, multiple <br />piecemeal changes have made the Zoning Code more difficult to use. While one section may <br />have been updated or “cleaned-up,” sometimes other related codes were overlooked, resulting in <br />unintended inconsistencies. The Planning Division has identified in recent years over 40 different <br />code sections that need to be addressed through a clean-up effort. <br />Despite the major effort undertaken during the 2016 Zoning Code update, functional and <br />organizational aspects of the Zoning Code still need to be addressed. The timing to organize the <br />Zoning Code through a comprehensive update is ideal given the number of significant initiatives <br />anticipated for 2018, including the upcoming Bayfair TOD Specific Plan, and further discussion <br />regarding short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and telecommunications. In addition, recent <br />public comments have shown an interest in revisiting the multi-family residential development <br />standards within the Professional Office (P) zoning district provisions. <br />Public comments on the P zoning district development standards have included requests to <br />amend the General Plan. Although the withdrawn Planned Development (PD) application at 1388 <br />Bancroft generated considerable public controversy and highlighted concerns with the Zoning <br />Code, the need to revisit publically vetted and established General Plan and Downtown Transit <br />Oriented Development policies are not necessary or recommended. <br />Considerations related to a comprehensive versus a targeted Zoning Code amendment effort <br />Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 1/30/2018 <br />34