To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Vincent Smith, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Michael Walker, Senior Planner
TITLE:
Title
Extension of Interim Zoning Ordinance and Temporary Moratorium
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt an Ordinance extending for 22 months and 15 days Urgency Interim Ordinance No. O2023-004 of the City Council of the City of Napa, State of Califorinia, implementing the City’s October 22 General Plan Update, commonly known as the City of Napa 2040 General Plan, by amending Title 17 of the Napa Municipal Code to (1) add interim zoning districts and associated interim zoning regulations, (2) amend the zoning map to rezone certain properties to the new interim zoning districts (3) establish interim procedures for review of permit applications, pending the adoption of a comprehensive updated to the zoning code, and (4) impose a temporary moratorium on new or expanded service stations, and determining the actions authorized by this Ordinance are exempt from CEQA or have been adequately analyzed and addressed by a previous CEQA action.
Body
DISCUSSION:
A. Background
On April 18, 2023, the City Council adopted an Urgency Interim Zoning Ordinance to implement portions of the City of Napa 2040 General Plan pursuant to Government Code Sections 36937 and 65858.
The Urgency Interim Ordinance established new mixed use zoning districts, amended the zoning map to rezone properties to the new mixed use zoning districts and established interim procedures for review of permit applications pending adoption of a comprehensive update to the City’s Zoning Ordinance.
Further, the Urgency Interim Ordinance imposed a temporary moratorium on new or expanded service stations. The original Urgency Ordinance presented to City Council by staff also proposed a moratorium on new or expanded drive-through uses to allow time for staff to develop regulations for such uses in accordance with the 2040 General Plan. However, upon deliberation by City Council, the Council directed staff to remove drive-through uses from the temporary moratorium (see Attachment 2).
B. Ordinance Extension
The Urgency Interim Ordinance adopted by City Council on April 18, 2023 is valid for 45 days from the date of its adoption unless otherwise extended by City Council in accordance with law. Without an extension, the Urgency Interim Ordinance would expire on June 2, 2023.
The City Council can extend the Urgency Interim Ordinance at a noticed public hearing for an additional 22 months and 15 days, for a total effective period of two years. As with the initial adoption of the Urgency Interim Ordinance, a four-fifths (4/5) vote is required to extend the Urgency Ordinance. The proposed Ordinance (Attachment 1) would extend the Urgency Interim Ordinance for 22 months and 15 days.
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d), and by way of this report, City Staff is providing the City Council with a report of the status of the work that has been undertaken since the adoption of the Urgency Ordinance. Since adoption of the Urgency Interim Ordinance, Staff has been working with outside consultants on amendments to the Zoning Ordinance to conform to and implement the 2040 General Plan, including work on establishing standards relating to service stations and drive through uses. However, the necessary work to address these issues could not be completed within 45 days. Staff recommends extending the Urgency Interim Ordinance to allow Staff time to:
• Continue working with the consultants assisting Staff on amendments to the Zoning Ordinance currently underway.
• Continue work on establishing regulations related to service stations as outlined in the temporary moratorium.
• Finalize an RFP for Consultant Services to assist staff in completing an update to portions of the City’s Municipal Code, including but not limited to Chapter 17 (Zoning) and Chapter 16 (Subdivisions), to implement the goals and policies of the City of Napa 2040 General Plan.
C. Drive-Through Uses in the Active Frontage Overlay
The draft Urgency Interim Ordinance staff presented to Council at the April 18, 2023, hearing included a moratorium on service stations and drive-through uses and prohibited drive-through uses in the new mixed use zoning districts (MU-R, MU-CL and MU-CH) and the Active Frontage Overlay (AF) proposed to be created by the Urgency Interim Ordinance. As part of City Council’s action on the temporary moratorium described in Section A of this report, Council directed Staff to exclude drive-through uses from the moratorium in Section 3 of the Ordinance. Based on Council’s direction on drive-through uses for the moratorium, Staff removed the prohibitions on drive through uses from the new mixed use zoning districts (MU-R, MU-CL and MU-CH) and the Active Frontage Overlay (AF) and instead made drive-throughs conditionally permitted uses. These edits are reflected in Ordinance No. O2023-004 (see Attachment 2).
Staff notes that General Plan Focus Area Goal LUCD-14 seeks to “promote development in Focus Areas that is high-quality and pedestrian-oriented”, a prohibition or strict limitation of drive through uses in the AF Overlay would serve to achieve that Goal and its supporting Policies. As described, the AF Overlay applies to frontages on arterial streets that are designed for pedestrian-oriented development in the General Plan Focus Areas. Further, the AF Overlay is intended to unify and strengthen the corridors by establishing standards that will create active street fronts with widened sidewalks and improved pedestrian connections. In addition, the General Plan includes a policy to “[e]stablish regulations that encourage alternative approaches to traditional
drive through facilities at new and existing businesses. Alternatives shall provide high
quality customer service, using current technology and facilities designs, without
involving sustained idling of fossil fuel powered engines.”
As part of forthcoming updates to the Zoning Ordinance, Staff will reevaluate drive through uses in all existing and newly created Zoning Districts, including the AF Overlay, and return to the Planning Commission and City Council with recommendations for drive though regulations so as to support and implement the policies identified in the General Plan.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
No direct financial impact to the City has been identified with this agenda item.
CEQA:
The Community Development Director has determined that the temporary moratorium on new or expanded Service Stations in Section 3 of the Urgency Interim Ordinance is exempt from CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15061(b)(3), and that the remaining Sections of the Urgency Interim Ordinance establishing new zoning districts and zoning regulations to implement the 2040 General Plan were adequately analyzed by the General Plan EIR certified by the City Council on September 20, 2022 by City Council Resolution R2022-085.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Draft Ordinance Extending Ordinance No. O2023-004
ATCH 2 - Ordinance No. O2023-004
NOTIFICATION:
Legal notice of the public hearing was published in the Napa Valley Register on May 5, 2023.