Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council
Special Meeting of November 3, 2022
Title
INFORMATION REGARDING ALLOWABLE FLOOR AREA RATIOS ON PROPERTIES WITH COMMERCIAL LAND USE DESIGNATIONS
(Community Development Director Jeannie Naughton)
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Staff recommends City Council:
1. Receive a staff presentation regarding allowable floor area ratios on properties with commercial land use designations; and
2. Provide staff and the Planning Commission direction, as desired.
Body
Executive Summary:
At its October 25, 2022 City Council meeting, Councilmember Mary Campbell requested, and all City Councilmembers supported, directing staff to bring an item on the next agenda regarding modifications to Floor Area Ratio (FAR) allowances on properties with commercial land use designations in PLAN Hermosa and why the timing for re-evaluation of these allowances might be appropriate at this time. Based on the information, further direction may include providing direction to the Planning Commission that these issues be evaluated. This report provides an overview of allowable FARs on properties with commercial land use designations, as well as updates on the current efforts to comprehensively update the City’s zoning code, Hermosa Beach Municipal Code (HBMC) Title 17 Zoning, and the 2021-2029 Housing Element.
Background:
The Land Use Element of PLAN Hermosa, the City’s General Plan adopted in 2017, regulates how all land in the City is to be used in the future and reflects the range of physical attributes that are important for the success of Hermosa Beach. Land use designations indicate the intended use of each parcel of land in the City. There are four categories of land use designations in the city: residential; commercial; creative industrial; and institutional. Within each category are distinct land use designations which provide a range of scale, density, intensity, and allowable uses.
The Zoning Code, HBMC Title 17, is the implementation mechanism of the land use designations, and provides specific details regarding uses and development standards (setbacks, building heights, parking standards). Land use designations and zoning districts must be compatible, but need not be the same thing; however, zoning districts must include implementing standards that are within the range of the allowable intensity, density, and uses as the PLAN Hermosa land use designations.
In 2019, the City initiated a comprehensive update of HBMC Title 17 Zoning and Title 16 Subdivisions, to reflect and implement PLAN Hermosa. The tentative timeline for completion and adoption of HBMC Titles 16 and 17 is early 2023.
Additionally, the City is currently engaged in revising the adopted 2021-2029 Housing Element, with a tentative timeline for re-adoption in late Spring 2023. It is anticipated that rather than identifying opportunity sites dispersed throughout the City that would only be available for development of affordable housing, a more comprehensive approach in identifying corridors where residential uses may be permitted-a mix of tenure and type (market rate, affordable, ownership, and rental)-might be necessary to be eligible for certification by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). This approach would also result in higher quality and cohesive development patterns.
Because the City was unable to adopt a Housing Element that substantially complies with State law by October 15, 2022, any re-zonings that might be required to accommodate the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), must be implemented prior to HCD approving and certifying the 2021-2029 Housing Element. Therefore, it is fortunate timing that the City is actively engaged in a comprehensive zoning code update because it could easily fold any required changes into that effort.
During the zoning and subdivision code update process, staff and the Planning Commission received public comment and correspondence regarding revisiting allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in commercial land use designations. The Planning Commission questioned staff as to whether this could be an item to address as part of the zoning code update. The scope of the contract with the City’s comprehensive planning specialist, who is preparing the zoning and subdivision code update, does not include efforts outside of aligning and updating the zoning code to be compatible with the existing General Plan. However, initial discussions indicate that there is willingness to amend the contract to include additional effort in the accompanying California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis, zoning code, and facilitation of additional meetings with the stakeholders of Planning Commission and City Council, should the Council decide to direct staff and the Planning Commission to study and evaluate modifying allowable FARs and the introduction of residential uses in properties with commercial land use designations.
If the Planning Commission and City Council directed staff to move forward with changes in FAR allowances in the commercial land use designations and accompanying changes in the district standards of the zoning code, this action would require processing a General Plan Amendment, which could be folded in with the entitlements staff is already processing for the zoning and subdivision code changes, and the 2021-2029 Housing Element.
Because the zoning code implements PLAN Hermosa, if there were changes or increases made to allowable FAR in commercial land use designations, those changes would need to be reflected and consistent in the zoning district standards, such as: increased height; lot coverage; parking requirements; etc. Policy direction to do so, is at the discretion of City Council.
Revisiting the allowable FAR in the commercial land use designations could serve a dual purpose in accommodating flexibility in the development of commercial properties and meeting the City’s RHNA obligations. Because the comprehensive updates of the zoning ordinance and 2021-2029 Housing Element are well underway, it would be cost-effective to fold any modifications of the allowable uses and FAR into these efforts.
Past Commission and Council Actions
|
Meeting Date |
Description |
|
November 2, 2022 |
Planning Commission Special Meeting, Comprehensive Zoning Code Update: Administrative Procedures. Included in the staff report are all links related to the Comprehensive Zoning Code Update meetings. |
|
August 22, 2017 |
City Council certified the PLAN Hermosa Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and adopted PLAN Hermosa. |
|
November 3, 1987 |
An Ordinance of the City of Hermosa Beach submitted to the voters by the City Council to require a vote of the people to raise the maximum height limit for the C-1, C-2, C-3, and Residential Professional Zones was passed, approved, and adopted by the electorate of the City of Hermosa Beach at the General Municipal Election by the following vote: AYES - 2,795 and NOES - 600 |
Analysis:
Density is typically the primary determinant in the physical layout and appearance of residential development in relation to the size of the lot and is calculated in dwelling units per acre (DU/AC). Residential densities in PLAN Hermosa range from 2-13 DU/AC (Low Density) to 25.1-33 DU/AC (High Density). For example, an 8,000 square foot lot located in the High-Density land use designation would allow for a total of six units. The configuration, height, and ability to attain six units on the site would be determined by the development standards in the Zoning Code (building height, setbacks, required open space, parking, etc.).
Intensity for nonresidential properties is expressed in terms of Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The FAR expresses the relationship between the amount of usable floor area permitted in a building and the area of the lot on which the building is located. FAR is obtained by dividing the total area of the lot and is often represented by a decimal number. FARs in PLAN Hermosa range from 0.05 (Beach) to 2.0 (Gateway Commercial). For example, a 40,000 square foot property with maximum FAR of 1.0 would permit a maximum 40,000 square foot building. Depending on how FAR is defined, this number may or may not exclude non-habitable areas such as parking garages, below-grade, non-habitable areas (or areas that would not easily be converted to habitable areas), ventilation shafts, mechanical areas, etc. The shape, height, and placement of that total floor area would be determined by the development standards in the zoning code (parking, lot coverage, height, setbacks, etc.).
There are five land use designations in the commercial category (Attachment 1): Neighborhood Commercial (0.5-1.0 FAR); Community Commercial (0.5-1.25 FAR); Recreational Commercial (1.0-1.75 FAR); Gateway Commercial (1.0-2.0 FAR); and Service Commercial (0.25-0.5 FAR).
Any increase in FAR would most likely require corresponding changes in the development standards in the corresponding zoning districts (Attachment 2), including allowable building height. On November 3, 1987, Ordinance No. 87-894 (Attachment 3), was passed, approved, and adopted by the electorate of the City of Hermosa Beach at the General Municipal Election, which required a vote of the people through the initiative process, any amendment to the zoning code which would raise the maximum height limit for the C-1, C-2, C-3, and Residential Professional Zones.
The current allowable building heights in the respective zones are: 30 feet in the C-1 Zone; 35 feet in the C-2 Zone; 45 feet in the C-3 Zone; and 35 feet in the Residential/Professional Zone. Commercial spaces typically have higher plate heights than residential structures; if residential uses were introduced to any of the commercial zones, it would most likely be a mixed-use development product, where commercial uses are located on the ground floor, with residential on upper floors. Therefore, achieving more than two stories in conjunction with increased FAR would be difficult to accommodate in the existing height limits, especially in the C-1 and C-2 Districts.
Community Commercial is the only land use designation in this category, with a corresponding zoning district of C-1 Limited Business and Residential, that allows residential uses. There are a total of 36 properties in the C-1 zoning district, 20 of which contain residential uses. To avoid increasing the existing allowable densities in the residential districts, it is appropriate for the City to consider allowing residential uses in the commercial districts, including Specific Plan Areas along Pier Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, and C-2, and C-3 districts. The small number of properties that would allow residential uses in the C-1 district are insufficient to accommodate the RHNA obligation of 558 units the City needs to plan for in the next eight years.
Additionally, given the plethora of housing-related bills that have been signed into law over the past five years and the recent trend of developers utilizing a somewhat obscure State law known as the builder’s remedy, projects that are inconsistent with General Plan land use designations and zoning code development standards are able to bypass local discretionary approval in certain circumstances if the project includes housing and/or contains an affordability component. Adopting measures to plan for residential development in our commercial areas would assist in obtaining certification for the City’s housing element, insulating the City from builder’s remedy project applications, and ensure the city retains local control over the location, scale, and intensity of development.
If Council provides policy direction to the Planning Commission to consider modifications to FAR allowances in the commercial land use designations, staff requests that Council provide further focused direction regarding the following:
1. Consider the possibility of increasing the allowable FAR for all five land use designations in the commercial land use designation category or consider the stipulation of the designations appropriate for study; and
2. In conjunction with increased FAR, consider whether it is appropriate to contemplate introducing residential uses in any of the commercial land use designations. If so, consider the possibility of stipulating which designations are appropriate for study or whether the Planning Commission consider all five designations and recommend appropriate designations for Council consideration.
If increasing FAR in any of the designations would likely require increasing allowable height in the C-1, C-2, and/or C-3 zoning districts, staff would return to Council with a fiscal analysis on costs associated with holding a Special Election, prior to moving forward with any changes to the General Plan, zoning code, or 2021-2029 Housing Element. Additionally, if directed to pursue study of modifications to allowable FAR and corresponding changes to the zoning code, staff would return to Council with an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement between the City and Martha Miller and Associates to facilitate the effort.
General Plan Consistency:
This report and associated recommendation have been evaluated for their consistency with the City’s General Plan. Relevant Policies are listed below:
Land Use Element
Goal 1. Create a sustainable urban form and land use patterns that support a robust economy and high quality of life for residents.
Policies:
• 1.1 Diverse and distributed land use pattern. Strive to maintain the fundamental pattern of existing lad uses, preserving residential neighborhoods, while providing for enhancement of corridors and districts in order to improve community activity and identity.
• 1.2 Focused infill potential. Proposals for new development should be directed toward the city’s commercial areas with an emphasis on developing transit-supportive land use mixes.
• 1.3 Diverse commercial areas. Promote the development of diversified and unique commercial districts with locally owned businesses and job- or revenue-generating uses.
• 1.6 Scale and context. Consider the compatibility of new development within its urban context to avoid abrupt changes in scale and massing.
• 1.7 Compatibility of uses. Ensure the placement of new uses does not create or exacerbate nuisances between different types of land uses.
Goal 6. A pedestrian-focused urban form that creates visual interest and a comfortable outdoor environment.
Policy:
• 6.6 Human-scale buildings. Encourage buildings and design to include human-scale details such as windows on the street, awnings and architectural features that create a visually interesting pedestrian environment.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. If directed by Council to proceed, staff would return to Council with an amendment to the Professional Services Agreement between the City and Martha Miller and Associates to facilitate the effort. The fiscal impact of the expanded contract scope of work would be provided at that time.
Attachments:
1. PLAN Hermosa Land Use Designations Map
2. Draft Zoning Map, Comprehensive Zoning Code Update
3. Ordinance No. 87-894
4. Link to November 2, 2022 Planning Commission Staff Report
5. Link to August 22, 2017 City Council Staff Report
Respectfully Submitted by: Jeannie Naughton, Community Development Director
Noted for Fiscal Impact: Viki Copeland, Finance Director
Legal Review: Mike Jenkins, City Attorney
Approved: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager