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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2 CUP Requirements SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL RETREAT MEETING DATE: January 30, 2009 AGENDA ITEM: DEPARTMENT: Community Development CITY MANAGER: Dave Anderson PREPARED BY: John F. Livingstone, AICP DIRECTOR: John F. Livingstone, AICP SUBJECT: Review the requirements for Conditional Use Permits (CUP) RECOMMENDED ACTION: Direct Staff Accordingly. REPORT SUMMARY: Review the current Conditional Use Permit requirements. DISSCUSSION: 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. The entire zoning ordinance was updated in 1986. This included Article 15-55 for Conditional Use Permits. In 2006 minor changes were made to the Conditional Use section that included changing the appeal time from 10 to 15 days and permit expiration time from 24 to 36 months to be consistent with the rest of the code. Other than minor updates this section has not been comprehensively looked at in over 20 years. The only other related change was to section 15- 19.050 C-H districts that made personal service businesses at the street level with primary access from Big Basin Way a Conditional Use. Due to the change in the economy and the availability of vacant spaces throughout the City it is a good time to take a comprehensive look at what the Council would like to see in the future and how the Conditional Use Permit tool can be used to accomplish that goal. 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, Page 1 of 4 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. (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. Page 2 of 4 (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 Costs associated with a Conditional Use Permit: 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. Economic Discussion: 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. The current cost of a Conditional Use permit may be deterring new businesses from applying for permits to fill vacant spaces, and looking to other areas or cities that do not require a use permit. FISCAL IMPACTS: A revision to the ordinance could be included in the advance planning work program. 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 over the average 12 per year. CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FOLLOWING RECOMMENDED ACTION: N/A Page 3 of 4 Page 4 of 4 ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS: The Council could recommend waiving fees for Conditional Use Permits. The Council could recommend the relaxation of the CUP requirement for restaurants or other specific uses. This could also be limited to specific zoning districts such as the Village. Other cities such as the City of Campbell have used this technique successfully to encourage new business in their downtown. Possible negative impacts to allowing all restaurants to be a permitted use would be the inability to control unwanted restaurant uses and parking impacts. FOLLOW UP ACTION: As directed. ADVERTISING, NOTICING AND PUBLIC CONTACT: Notice of this meeting was properly posted. ATTACHMENTS: None