HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-25 Ordinance 5459jb SL/Amending ORD 18.18 (DC) District 1 July 2018
Ordinance No. 5459
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Chapter 18.18
(Downtown Commercial District) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code (PAMC) to Repeal Section 18.18.040 Relating to a Nonresidential Square
Footage Cap in the CD Downtown Commercial Zoning District to Implement and
Conform to the Updated Comprehensive Plan 2030
The Council of the City of Palo Alto ORDAINS as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations. The City Council finds and declares as follows:
A. The 1998 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Palo Alto included a program, Land
Use Program L8, to limit new nonresidential development in the Downtown area to 350,000
square feet or 10 percent above the amount of development existing or approved as of May
1986 , and to reevaluate this limit when nonresidential development
reached 235,000 square feet. This program perpetuated the already existing Downtown cap
adopted in 1986 by Ordinance No. 3696 which had amended the Zoning Code to add a new
chapter codifying the Downtown cap.
B. Beginning in 2013, when Downtown nonresidential development was
approaching 235,000 square feet, the City reevaluated the Downtown cap, studying land use
and traffic conditions and impacts, at the same time that the Comprehensive Plan update
process was underway.
C.
2017, the Council determined to maintain a cumulative citywide cap on nonresidential
development of 1.7 million square feet and apply it to office/R&D development only with
certain exemptions, to continue on an ongoing basis the annual limit on office/R&D
development by a separate ordinance, and to eliminate the 350,000 square foot cap on
nonresidential development in the Downtown in thenexisting Program L8 and focus on
monitoring development and parking demand. Accordingly, former Program L8 is not included
in the Comprehensive Plan 2030 as adopted by the Council on November 13, 2017.
D. This Ordinance, which would remove the Downtown cap from the Zoning Code,
implements and is in furtherance of the updated Comprehensive Plan 2030.
SECTION 2. Section 18.18.040 (Repeal of Regulations) of Chapter 18.18 (Downtown
Commercial (CD) District) of Title 18 (Zoning) is repealed in its entirety.
18.18.040 Repeal of Regulations
The department of planning and community environment shall monitor the number of
square feet approved for nonresidential development in the CD district and the number of
square feet approved for nonresidential development pursuant to a planned community (PC)
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jb SL/Amending ORD 18.18 (DC) District 2 July 2018
zone if the site of the PC zone was within the CD district on the effective date of this
chapter. When 350,000 square feet of nonresidential development have received final design
review approval pursuant to Chapter 18.76 or have received building permits, if no design
approval is required, this chapter shall be repealed and a moratorium shall be imposed. This
moratorium shall prohibit the city's acceptance or processing of any application for planning
approval or a building permit for new nonresidential square footage in the CD district. This
moratorium shall remain in effect for one year while the city undertakes a study of what
regulations would be appropriate in the CD district. The moratorium may be extended by the
council until such study is completed and appropriate regulations are implemented.
SECTION 3. Any provision of the Palo Alto Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent
with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is
hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any
reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each
and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or
unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be
subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5. The Council finds that the Ordinance is within the scope of and in furtherance of
the Comprehensive Plan 2030 which was evaluated in that certain Final Environmental Impact
Report certified and for which findings were adopted by Council Resolution Nos.
9720 and 9721 on November 13, 2017, all in accordance with the California Environmental
Quality Act . Pursuant to Section 15168 of the State CEQA Guidelines, the City has
determined that no new effects would occur from and no new mitigation measures would be
required for the adoption of this Ordinance.
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jb SL/Amending ORD 18.18 (DC) District 3 July 2018
SECTION 6. This Ordinance shall be effective on the thirtyfirst date after the date of its
adoption.
INTRODUCED: February 11, 2019
PASSED: February 25, 2019
AYES: CORMACK, FINE, KNISS, TANAKA
NOES: DUBOIS, FILSETH, KOU
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
NOT PARTICIPATING:
ATTEST:
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
Assistant City Attorney City Manager
Director of Planning & Community
Environment
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