Title
Public Hearing on Updates to the City’s Zoning Ordinance Regarding Reasonable Accommodation, Fences and Barriers, and Non-Conforming Buildings and Uses. Consider a Recommendation to the City Council on staff-initiated amendments to the Alameda Municipal Code at Section 30-2 Definitions; Section 30-5.6 Building Site, Areas and Easements; 30-5.7 Projections from Buildings and Roof Planes, Permitted Encroachments and Treatments of Minimum Required Yards; Section 30-5.14 Barriers and Fences; Section 30-5.17 Reasonable Accommodation; and Section 30-20 Nonconforming Buildings and Uses, and other minor, administrative, miscellaneous amendments to implement the 2023-2031 Housing Element, to conform to State law, and to reflect current practice. Environmental Determination: Exempt pursuant to the common-sense exemption, CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3).
Body
To: Honorable President and Members of the Planning Board
From: Steven Buckley, Secretary to the Board
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In furtherance of Housing Element programs and to conform to State law and current practice, Staff has drafted revisions of the zoning ordinance to address several technical aspects related to reasonable accommodation, fences and barriers, and non-conforming buildings and uses. This public hearing provides an opportunity to review revised documents in response to feedback from the Planning Board and community. The Planning Board is asked to make a recommendation to the City Council.
BACKGROUND
The Planning Board conducted a worksession on September 11, 2023 to discuss staff-proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance. The attached ordinance has been revised in response to those comments and further staff analysis. The technical analysis and discussion from the prior staff report is available online at <https://www.alamedaca.gov/GOVERNMENT/Boards-Commissions/Planning-Board> and so is not repeated here. Copies of the material are also available upon request at the Permit Center, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue, Room 190, during regular business hours, or by contacting the Planning Services Manager at 510-747-6822.
Reasonable Accommodation.
Section 30-5.17 of the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) provides a procedure to obtain exceptions to otherwise-applicable zoning code standards in order to facilitate equal access to housing opportunities by persons with disabilities. These provisions are required to comply with State and federal fair housing laws. Referred to as “reasonable accommodation,” the provisions, as applied to zoning codes, are meant to allow various physical modifications to a building or site that aren’t otherwise allowed or to allow them with administrative approval instead of requiring a public review process that could delay or complicate the approval of what is otherwise a legally mandated adaptation to ensure fair access to housing. Although fair housing law applies to discrimination of any kind, reasonable accommodation in this context is primarily aimed at facilitating housing choice for persons/individuals with disabilities through modifications to buildings and sites even if inconsistent with local zoning and development regulations. The City’s existing code requires revisions to simplify the procedure for obtaining these accommodations.
The proposed amendments (Exhibit 1) add to and are more comprehensive than amendments already made during the Housing Element adoption process, when several of the prior required findings were removed. The proposed amendments address possible barriers to housing by:
• Making the process administratively simple and cost-free to the applicant.
• Allowing anyone to apply (whether they be a resident, representative, or development sponsor).
• Allowing the accommodation to remain permanently even if the person with a disability does not remain in residence.
• Explicitly requiring confidentiality of information pertaining to the applicant’s disability.
• Providing a shortened review period during which the Planning Director must act.
• Clarifying the necessary findings and specifically allowing the Planning Director to consider equally effective alternatives.
• Providing that no public notice / review is required, and an appeal is allowed only by the applicant if they are aggrieved by the decision of the Planning Director.
The attached ordinance has been updated to reflect prior feedback from the Planning Board and community, and additional technical clean up by staff.
Fences and Barriers.
Section 30-5.14 of the AMC addresses barriers and fences. The ordinance has evolved over time in response to differing needs and aesthetic opinions. Chain link and barbed wire tend to be the most controversial fence materials and have been allowed, prohibited, and regulated in different ways over time. In addition, the concept of a “barrier” as opposed to a “fence” was introduced many years ago to include traditional fences, walls, and hedges where they block access and views. Although hedges provide some of the same function and improved aesthetics of a fence, they are also living elements that grow over time and require regular maintenance to stay within a prescribed height and width. As such, they are more difficult to regulate and sometimes cause conflict among neighbors that requires the City’s involvement.
The following summarizes the proposed amendments.
• The section is renamed “Fences” rather than “Barriers and Fences” and reference to hedges is removed from the definition and regulations throughout the section.
• A method for measuring height is moved to the definition section; previously it was less clearly located in a regulation.
• See-through-style (e.g. lattice) is more clearly and simply defined.
• Distinctions between residential and other lots are made throughout.
• Barbed wire and similar materials are still prohibited.
• Chain link fence regulations are clarified.
• Existing fences that do not conform are allowed to remain in place.
The attached ordinance has been updated to reflect prior feedback from the Planning Board and community, and additional technical clean up by staff.
Non-Conforming Lots, Buildings and Uses.
Sections 30-2, 30-5, and 30-20 of the AMC provides definitions, provisions related to non-conforming lots and yards, and provisions related to non-conforming buildings and uses. These sections are necessary because, as zoning regulations evolve, certain pre-existing buildings and uses, which were established under prior rules, become inconsistent with the new rules but may still be viable to maintain for an indefinite period of time. These uses and buildings may also need repair or expansion, or may change use over time, so the zoning code needs to provide rules for how those changes are considered in light of vested property rights and a general intent to gradually bring non-conforming uses and buildings into line with current expectations for development in the City. In addition, some permits are approved but never implemented or uses are abandoned, and a procedure is needed to declare these permits and uses lapsed.
The following summarizes the proposed amendments.
• Definitions currently refer to some unspecified effective dates and amendments to prior codes. The proposed amendments clarify that a non-conforming use or building is one that was legally established according to whatever codes were in effect at that time and no longer conforms due to subsequent amendments. (AMC section 30-2)
• Some edits made during the Housing Element adoption and zoning code amendment process inadvertently deleted a section related to non-conforming lots and the allowable reduction in yards. The proposed amendments add those sections back into the code. (AMC section 30-5.6)
• Clarifications are proposed to the section referring to accessory buildings, additions within non-conforming yards, and additions that exceed allowable height. (AMC section 30-5.7)
• Definitions are added to the general provisions section to establish that some non-conforming buildings and uses may have been established without permits and therefore are not legal and are not eligible for the provisions of these sections. (AMC section 30-20.1)
• Clarification is provided to state that a Use Permit may be granted to modify or expand a non-conforming use where it is deemed acceptable, perhaps as a result of inadvertently excluding that use from a rezoning action or other reason. (AMC section 30-20.2)
• A section related to non-conforming uses and buildings is proposed to be edited so that it only refers to non-residential buildings, with separate sections for residential buildings and for other uses. (AMC section 30-20.4)
• New sections are proposed to be added to address when established uses and buildings can lose their non-conforming status. This includes abandonment, complete destruction, and voluntary demolition. (AMC section 30-20.7)
The attached ordinance has been updated to reflect prior feedback from the Planning Board and community, and additional technical clean up by staff. The previously-proposed section regarding lapse of permits has been removed, as it was found to be duplicative of existing code sections.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed amendments are exempt from CEQA pursuant to section 15061(b)(3), the common-sense exemption where it can be seen with certainty that the proposed zoning text amendments have no possibility of having a significant effect on the environment because they relate to minor adjustments of land use regulations at legally existing uses and buildings. It would otherwise be too speculative to consider citywide impacts of the types of effects of these text amendments.
CLIMATE IMPACT
The proposed revisions have no reasonably foreseeable direct relation to climate impacts.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Planning Board agenda was posted to the City website and on the City Hall bulletin board and notice was provided in the newspaper at least 10 days before this hearing.
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct a public hearing to discuss the recommended amendments to the Alameda Municipal Code, Section 30-5.17 Reasonable Accommodation, Section 30-5.14 Barriers and Fences, and Sections 30-2 Definitions, 30-5 General Provisions and Exceptions, and 30-20 Nonconforming Buildings and Uses, and make a recommendation to City Council per findings in the attached resolution.
Prepared By,
Steven Buckley, Planning Services Manager
Reviewed By,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
Exhibits:
1. Draft Resolution
2. Draft Ordinance
3. Comparison of Existing and Proposed Ordinance