HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-10-21 Ordinance 4380ORDINANCE NO. 4380
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
ESTABLISHING AN ADDITIONAL EXCEPTION TO A
MORATORIUM ON CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOLITION
OF OLDER RES IDENCES , AND DECLARING THE URGENCY
THEREOF, TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY
The City Council of the City of Palo Alto does ordain as
follows:
SECTION 1. Fj.ndi,pgs. The Council finds and declares:
A. At the regular City Council meeting of September 16,
1996, the Council enacted Ordinance No. 4369 as an urgency measure
to preserve the public health and safety by temporarily prohibiting
the demolition of residential structures originally constructed
before 1940. Thereafter the City Counei1 amended Ordinance
No. 4639 to add exceptions for property owners who, although they
had not yet acquired a legally vested right to proceed, had
nonetheless made substantial investments in the preparation of
demolition and reconstruction plans, equipment, and materials, all
in good faith reliance upon the City zoning and building laws and
regulations that existed before September 17, 1996.
B. Since enactment of the above -referenced exceptions,
City staff have identified an additional category of property
owners who, for the reasons described above, should be allowed to
proceed upon the basis of the City zoning and building laws and
regulations that existed before September 17, 1996.
C. City staff have also concluded that it is necessary to
have immediate Council direction to take the actions necessary to
develop implementing historic preservation regulations pursuant to
the proposed interim ordinance.
D. It is necessary for the preservation of the public
health and safety to enact as an urgency measure an ordinance that
creates an additional exception to the temporary demolition
moratorium so that unreasonable economic hardships resulting from
even a short-term delay can be avoided or minimized.
SECTION 2. Additional Exceptions for Specified
Development Projects and Buildings. The demolition prohibition in
Section 3 of Ordinance No. 4639, as amended, shall not apply to the
following development projects:
1. Any development project for which a complete
application for a demolition permit has been received and filed on
or before September 17, 1996.
SECTION 3. The Director of Planning and Community
Environment is directed to commence immediately the preparation of
written historic preservation regulations necessary to implement
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the proposed interim ordinance entitled, 'ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO ADDING CHAPTER 16.50 OF THE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH INTERIM REGULATIONS GOVERNING HISTORIC
DESIGNATION AND DEMOLITION OF RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES BUILT BEFORE
1940 AND REVIEW OF THE DESIGN QUALITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD
COMPATIBILITY OF REPLACEMENT STRUCTURES.'
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be effective immediately
upon adoption.
SECTION 5. The Council finds that this project is exempt
from the provisions of the Environmental Quality Act (`CEQA')
because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility
that this project will have a significant effect on the
environment, and because this ordinance falls within the emergency
project exception to CEQA set forth in Section 15268 of the CEQA
Guidelines.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the
Council of the City of Palo Alto which commenced on October 21,
1996, and was passed by a four -fifths vote of all Council members
present at the meeting as follows:
INTRODUCED AND PASSED: October 21, 1996
AYES : ANDERSEN, FAZZINO, HUBER, KNISS, MCCOWN, ROSENBAIJM, SCHNEIDER, WHEELER
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT: SIMITIAN
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!THIS DOCUMENT IS CERTIFIED TO BE AM
ORDNANCE DULY PASSED SY THE COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND
THEREAFTER PO P 10 THE COUNCIL
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WAYS OF ITS PASSAtiE}
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APPROVED:
Manager
Director of Pla. ..r. and
Community Environment
961021 ape 0051619