HomeMy WebLinkAbout101-Review of the CUP fees.pdf
SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: February 4, 2009 AGENDA ITEM:
DEPARTMENT: Community Development CITY MANAGER: Dave Anderson
PREPARED BY: John F. Livingstone, AICP DIRECTOR: John F. Livingstone, AICP
SUBJECT: Review the fees required for Conditional Use Permits (CUP)
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Direct Staff Accordingly.
REPORT SUMMARY:
Review the fees required for Conditional Use Permit requirements.
DISSCUSSION:
The current cost of a Conditional Use permit may be deterring new businesses from applying for
permits, and looking to other areas or cities that do not require a use permit and the associated
fees. A Conditional Use Permit requires a flat fee of $4,400 and a document storage fee of $300
for a total fee of $4,700. Conditional Use permits for a restaurant typically take approximately
three months from the date the application is submitted to the Community Development
Department to Planning Commission approval.
In the City’s top 10 sales tax contributors there are two restaurants that generate 7.1% of the total
sales tax for the City. Of the top 25 sales tax contributors there are nine restaurants contributing
17.71% of the City’s sales tax. All restaurants require a Conditional Use Permit and are subject
to the associated fees.
The City Council has expressed interest in reducing the cost, time, and uncertainty of obtaining a
Conditional Use Permit. This report focuses on the cost component of the process. The City
Council may choose to lower the cost by subsidizing the Conditional Use Permit fee to
encourage new business development in the City of Saratoga.
Background:
Each zoning district has permitted uses and conditional uses. The permitted uses are allowed
uses that require no discretionary review. The Conditional Uses are also allowed, but only with
Planning Commission approval. Because of their unusual characteristics, conditional uses
require special consideration so that they may be located properly with respect to the objectives
of the Zoning Ordinance and with respect to their effects on surrounding properties. In order to
achieve these purposes, the Planning Commission is empowered to grant and to deny
applications for use permits and to impose reasonable conditions upon the granting of use
permits, subject to review by the City Council.
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Types of permitted and conditional uses:
The following general regulations shall apply to all commercial districts in the City:
(a) Permitted uses. The following permitted uses shall be allowed in any commercial district,
unless a use involves the operation of a business providing direct customer service (including,
but not limited to, conducting a delivery service) on-site between the hours of 1:00 A.M. and
6:00 A.M., in which event such use may be allowed upon the granting of a use permit pursuant
to Article 15-55 of this Chapter:
(1) Retail establishments, except restaurants, markets, delicatessens, and any establishment
engaged in the sale of alcoholic beverages.
(2) Home occupations, conducted in accordance with the regulations prescribed in Article 15-40
of this Chapter.
(3) Parking lots which comply with the standards for off-street parking facilities as set forth in
Section 15-35.020 of this Chapter.
(4) Accessory structures and uses located on the same site as a permitted use.
(b) Conditional uses. The following conditional uses may be allowed in any commercial district,
upon the granting of a use permit pursuant to Article 15-55 of this Chapter:
(1) Restaurants.
(2) Markets and delicatessens.
(3) Any establishment engaged in the sale of alcoholic beverages.
(4) Hotels and motels.
(5) Bed and breakfast establishments.
(6) Institutional facilities.
(7) Community facilities.
(8) Game arcades.
(9) Gasoline service stations on sites abutting Saratoga/Sunnyvale Road, Saratoga/Los Gatos
Road or Saratoga Avenue and accessible directly from such arterial road; provided, that all
operations except the sale of gasoline and oil shall be conducted within an enclosed structure.
(10) Animal establishments, as defined in Section 7-20.010(c) of this Code. All animal
establishments shall be subject to the regulations and license provisions set forth in Section 7-
20.210 of this Code.
(11) Public buildings and grounds.
(12) Public utility and public service pumping stations, power stations, drainage ways and
structures, storage tanks, transmission lines and cable television facilities.
(13) Accessory structures and uses located on the same site as a conditional use.
(14) Antenna facilities operated by a public utility for transmitting and receiving cellular
telephone and other wireless communications.
Findings:
A use permit is not a matter of right, and the Planning Commission may deny a use permit or
impose conditions upon the granting thereof if it finds that the proposed conditional use will
adversely affect existing or anticipated uses in the immediate neighborhood, or will adversely
affect surrounding properties or the occupants thereof.
The Planning Commission may grant a use permit as applied for or in modified form if, on the
basis of the application and the evidence submitted, the Commission makes all of the following
findings:
(a) That the proposed location of the conditional use is in accord with the objectives of the
Zoning Ordinance and the purposes of the district in which the site is located.
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(b) That the proposed location of the conditional use and the conditions under which it would be
operated or maintained will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, or
materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity.
(c) That the proposed conditional use will comply with each of the applicable provisions of this
Chapter.
Number of Conditional Use Permits processed:
2007
Type CUP In the Village Other Areas 2007 CUP Total
Generator 2 2
Antenna/Cell Tower 1 4 5
Accessory 1 1
Restaurant 2 2
Total 1 9 10
2008
Type CUP in the Village Other Areas 2008 CUP Total
Accessory 1 1
Generator 3 3
Day Care 2 2
Height Limit 4 4
Church 1 1
Restaurant 1 1 2
Sleep Center 1 1
Total 1 13 14
FISCAL IMPACTS:
A budget amendment would be required to waive or reduce fees for Conditional Use Permits to
supplement the Community Development Department budget. The Community Development
Department is a self funded department. Waiving fees may also cause an increase in use permit
applications.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FOLLOWING RECOMMENDED ACTION:
N/A
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
The Council could recommend staff investigate a way to streamline the Conditional Use process.
FOLLOW UP ACTION:
As directed.
ADVERTISING, NOTICING AND PUBLIC CONTACT:
Notice of this meeting was properly posted.
ATTACHMENTS:
None