REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Study Session on the Zoning Code Comprehensive Update
Report
BACKGROUND
The Community Development Department is preparing a comprehensive update to the City of Santa Clara Zoning Code. The City of Santa Clara’s current Zoning Code has not been comprehensively updated since it first came into effect in 1969. For this study session, staff will provide an overview on the current status of the Zoning Code Update and provide an opportunity for the City Council to provide input on the scope and identify key issues.
DISCUSSION
On November 16, 2017, the City hired a consultant, Mintier Harnish, to work on updating the City’s Zoning Code. The goal of the Zoning Code Update process is to develop a more up-to-date, readable and relevant Zoning Code that better aligns with the City’s General Plan.
On November 14 through 16, 2017, the City of Santa Clara Zoning Code Update consultants conducted interviews with key community and industry leaders, stakeholders, and City staff, to gather feedback on key issues and opportunities for the Code update. The interviews included 22 participants. The input provided during these interviews helped provide a starting point for the Zoning Code Update. The stakeholder interview process identified the following major objectives for the Zoning Code Update:
§ Simplification and modernization
§ Streamline the multiple appeals process
§ Create an overlay zoning district for the Old Quad neighborhood
§ Consider potential form-based design elements
§ Integrate Specific Plan zoning districts
§ Improve the Architectural Committee process
§ Improve the Minor Modification process
Additional information will be provided to the City Council at the study session to support the discussion.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This is an information report only and no action is being taken by the City Council and no environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) is required at this time. The Comprehensive Zoning Update will undergo environmental review and an environmental document will be brought to the City Council when the Council considers the Update for approval in 2019.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Community participation is a key part of the Zoning Code Update. Staff organized a community meeting with Old Quad neighborhood members on June 19, 2018, to discuss potential avenues for future change. The topics discussed with community members included the potential for creation of an Old Quad Overlay which would provide unique single family development standards, design criteria, processes, and code definitions that address areas of the Old Quad neighborhood’s areas of concern.
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
Staff
Reviewed by: Andrew Crabtree, Community Development Director
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Stakeholder Summary Report