HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-10-26 Ordinance 5358DocuSign Enveloj:>e ID: C8C68718-2BB3-4AFF-B635-4B12850DFFF1
Ordinance No. 5358
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending Chapters 18.04,
18.08 and 18.30 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Amend Retail
Zoning Regulations for the (CC2) California Avenue District.
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings
A. The City of Palo Alto has long been considered the birth place of Silicon Valley.
With its proximity to Stanford University, its international reputation, its deep ties to
technology firms, its highly rated public school system and its ample public parks, open space
and community centers, Palo Alto continues to serve as a hub for technology based business.
B. Palo Alto is considered one of Silicon Valley's most desirable office markets.
According to one study, Class A office rates have climbed 49 percent since the start of 2010.
The same study reported Class B office space increasing by 114.4% since 2010.
C. In particular, average commercial rental rates have gone up significantly from
2013 to 2015. In 2013 the average monthly rental rate citywide for office was $4.57 per square
foot. That rate increased to $5.12 in 2015. While retail rents have also increased during this
period, retail rents are considerably lower than office rents. The average monthly rental rate for
retail in 2013 was $4.21 and in 2015 was $4.88.
D. These record high monthly rental rates for office and low vacancy rates have
created financial incentives to replace current retail use with office use where such conversions
are permitted by the City's zoning ordinance. These economic pressures are more severe in the
downtown and California Avenue districts but exist throughout the City. In addition, these
trends place particular pressure on small and medium-sized businesses.
E. While Palo Alto has several commercial areas which currently house large scale
formula retail businesses, the City of Palo Alto desires to retain and foster an eclectic, vibrant
and diverse collection of retail and personal services establishments in the California Avenue
area in particular.
F. Small-and medium-sized businesses tend to be non-traditional or unique and
better scaled to be consistent with the City's neighborhood-and pedestrian-centered
character.
G. Comprehensive Plan Policy L-5 directs the City to: "Maintain the scale and
character of the City. Avoid land uses that are overwhelming and unacceptable due to their
size and scale."
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H. Comprehensive Plan Policy L-31 directs the City to: "Develop the Cal-Ventura
area as a well-designed mixed use district with diverse land uses, two-to three-story buildings,
and a network of pedestrian-oriented streets providing links to California Avenue."
I. Palo Alto is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan, and it is expected
that the updated Comprehensive Plan will contain additional policies and programs designed to
preserve existing retail uses in the City.
J. Notwithstanding the economic viability of a formula retail business, the
standardized architecture, color schemes, decor and signage of many formula retail businesses
can detract from the distinctive character and aesthetics of many Palo Alto neighborhoods.
K. The unregulated establishment of formula retail businesses in Palo Alto may
hamper the City's General Plan policies seeking to maintain the character of the City and
promote diverse, pedestrian-oriented land uses.
L. Money earned by independent businesses is more likely to circulate within the
local neighborhood and City economy than the money earned by formula retail businesses
which often have corporate offices and vendors located outside of Palo Alto.
M. The public's health, safety and welfare can be detrimentally affected as non-
traditional or unique, neighborhood-serving retail service and related uses are priced-out by
rising rents and replaced by uses that do not provide similar services or that fail to activate the
street frontage by creating pedestrian activity and visual interest (i.e. non-traditional or unique
shop windows and doors). These changes affect neighborhood quality of life, and mean that
local residents have to drive to similar retail destinations in other locations, diminishing the
public health benefit when residents can walk to needed services and increasing traffic
congestion, vehicle miles traveled, and greenhouse gas emissions. These impacts are evident in
neighboring communities that have permitted large scale retail businesses to displace smaller
locally owned businesses.
N. On May 18, 2015, the City Council discussed these issues in detail and directed
staff to prepare an urgency ordinance that would preserve existing ground floor retail and
retail-like uses, and regulate the proliferation of formula retail businesses in the California
Avenue district. These measures are taken at this juncture in order to prevent the over-
proliferation of formula retail in the California Avenue area.
0 . On July 8, 2015 and August 26, 2015, the Planning and Transportation
Commission conducted public hearings on this ordinance and recommended approval to the
Council. On September 21, 2015, the City Council conducted a public hearing on this ordinance.
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SECTION 2. Section 18.04.030 (Definitions) of Chapter 18.04 (Definitions) of the Palo
Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to add definition 57.6 and amend definition 125 as
follows:
(57.6) "Formula retail business" means a retail, personal, or eating and drinking
service that is one of ten (10) or more business locations in the United States
required by contractual or other arrangement to maintain any of the following
standardized characteristics: merchandise, menu, services, decor, uniforms,
architecture, fa~ade, color scheme, signs, trademark, or servicemark. For
purposes of this definition:
(A) Standardized merchandise, menu and/or services means 50% or more
of in-stock merchandise from a single distributor bearing the same or
similar markings; 50% or more of menu items identical in name and
presentation with other locations; or 50% or more of services offered
identical in name or presentation with other locations.
(B) Decor means the style of interior furnishings, which may include but
is not limited to, style of furniture, wall coverings or permanent
fixtures.
(C) Color Scheme means the selection of colors used throughout, such as
on the furnishings, permanent fixtures, and wall coverings, or as used
on the fa~ade.
(D) Uniforms mean standardized items of clothing including but not
limited to standardized aprons, pants, shirts, smocks or dresses, hats,
and pins (other than name tags) as well as standardized colors of
clothing.
(E) Fa~ade means the face or front of a building, including awnings,
looking onto a street or an open space.
(F) Trademark means a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination
of words, phrases, symbols or designs that identifies and distinguishes
the source of the goods from one party from those of others.
(G) Servicemark means a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a
combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs that identifies and
distinguishes the source of a service from one party from those of
others.
(125) "Retail service" means a use generally open to the public and
predominantly engaged in providing retail sale, rental, service, processing, or
repair of items primarily intended for consumer or household use, including but
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not limited to the following: groceries, meat, vegetables, dairy products, baked
goods, candy, and other food products; liquor and bottled goods, household
cleaning and maintenance products; drugs, cards, and stationery, notions, books,
tobacco products, cosmetics, and specialty items; flowers, plants, hobby
materials, toys, household pets and supplies, and handcrafted items; apparel,
jewelry, fabrics, and like items; cameras, photography services, household
electronic equipment, records, sporting equipment, kitchen utensils, home
furnishing and appliances, art supplies and framing, arts and antiques, paint and
wallpaper, carpeting and floor covering, interior decorating services, office
supplies, musical instruments, hardware and homeware, and garden supplies;
bicycles; mopeds and automotive parts and accessories {excluding service and
installation); cookie shops, ice cream stores and delicatessens.
{A) "Extensive retail service," as used with respect to parking
requirements, means a retail sales use having more than seventy-five
percent of the gross floor area used for display, sales, and related
storage of bulky commodities, including household furniture and
appliances, lumber and building materials, carpeting and floor
covering, air conditioning and heating equipment, and similar goods,
which uses have demonstrably low parking demand generation per
square foot of gross floor area .
{B) "Intensive retail service" as used with respect to parking
requirements, means any retail service use not defined as extensive
retail service.
SECTION 3. Section 18.08.040 {Zoning Map and District Boundaries) of Chapter 18.08
{Designation and Establishment of Districts) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended
as follows:
The Retail Shopping {R) combining district currently applicable to property on
California Avenue between El Camino Real and Park Boulevard shall be extended
to additionally include: {1) property on both sides of Cambridge Avenue between
El Camino Real and Park Boulevard; {2) property on Mimosa Lane, Nogal Lane,
and New Mayfield Lane; {3) property on Birch Street between California Avenue
and Cambridge Avenue; and {4) property abutting the east side of Park
Boulevard between Jacaranda Lane and Grant Avenue. The Retail Shopping {R)
combining district shall not be applied to property within these boundaries
subject to the following zoning: "CC{2){P) Community Commercial Subdistrict {2)
with Pedestrian Combining District" as described in Ordinance No. 4848; and "PC
Planned Community" as described in Ordinance No . 4127. The subject
properties, as rezoned by this ordinance, are shown on the map labeled Exhibit
"A," attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
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SECTION 4. Section 18.30{A).040 {Permitted Uses) of Chapter 18.30{A) {Retail Shopping
{R) Combining District Regulations) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to read
as follows:
Except to the extent a conditional use permit is required pursuant to Section
18.30{A).OSO, the following uses shall be permitted in an R district:
{a) Eating and drinking services, except drive-in and take-out services.
{b) Personal services, not including beauty shops, nail salons, and
barbershops on California Avenue .
{c) Retail services.
{d) All other uses permitted in the underlying commercial district,
provided they are not located on a ground floor.
SECTION 5. Section 18.30{A).OSO {Conditional Uses) of Chapter 18.30{A) {Retail
Shopping {R) Combining District Regulations) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
The following uses may be conditionally permitted in an R district, subject to the
issuance of a conditional use permit in accord with Chapter 18.76 {Permits and
Approvals):
{a) Financial services, except drive-in services, on a ground floor.
{b) All other conditional uses allowed in the underlying commercial
district provided they are not located on a ground floor.
{c) Formula retail businesses on California Avenue.
{d) Beauty shops, nail salons, and barbershops on California Avenue.
SECTION 6. Section 18.30{A).060 {Special Requirements) of Chapter 18.30{A) {Retail
Shopping {R) Combining District Regulations) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby
amended to read as follows:
The following special requirements shall apply in the R retail shopping combining
district:
Lawful conforming permitted uses or conditional uses operating pursuant to a
conditional use permit which were existing on April 26, 1984 may remain as
grandfathered uses and shall not require a conditional use permit or be subject
to the provisions of Chapter 18.70. Such uses shall be permitted to remodel site
improvements on the same site for continual use and occupancy by the same
use; provided, that any such remodeling shall not result in increased floor area,
shifting of building footprint or building envelope, or increased height, length or
any other increase in the size of the improvement, or any increase in the existing
degree of noncompliance. The intentional destruction or demolition of more
than fifty percent {50%) of the exterior walls by horizontal linear feet at the
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ground floor, or, for structures not principally supported by exterior bearing
walls, fifty percent (50%) of primary structural elements of an improvement
(including columns, and structural frames) shall terminate any right to a
grandfathered use or conditional use pursuant to this section, even if the
reconstructed improvement does not alter the building footprint, height, length,
envelope, size, or degree of noncompliance. If a use deemed grandfathered
pursuant to this section ceases and thereafter remains discontinued for twelve
consecutive months, it shall be considered abandoned and may be replaced only
by a conforming use .
A use deemed grandfathered pursuant to this section which is changed to or
replaced by a conforming use shall not be reestablished, and any portion of a
site or any portion of a building, the use of which changes from a grandfathered
use to a conforming use, shall not thereafter be used except to accommodate a
conforming use.
SECTION 7. Section 18.30(A).070 (Waivers and Adjustments) of Chapter 18.30(A) (Retail
Shopping (R) Combining District Regulations) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby added
as follows:
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II
II
18.30(A).070 Waivers and Adjustments. The following shall be grounds for a
request for waiver or adjustment of this Ordinance:
(a) Economic Hardship. An applicant may request that the requirements
of this Ordinance be adjusted or waived only upon a showing
that applying the requirements of this Ordinance would effectuate an
unconstitutional taking of property or otherwise have an
unconstitutional application to the property.
(b) Documentation. The applicant shall bear the burden of presenting
substantial evidence to support a waiver or modification request
under this Section and shall set forth in detail the factual and legal
basis for the claim, including all supporting technical documentation.
Any request under this section shall be submitted to the Planning and
Community Environment Director together with the fee specified in
the municipal fee schedule and an economic analysis or other
supporting documentation. A request under this section shall be
acted upon by the City Council.
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SECTION 8. Section 18.76.015 (Additional findings for specified retail uses) of Chapter
18.76 (Permits and Approvals) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby added as follows:
18.76.015 Additional findings for specified retail uses.
A conditional use permit shall not be granted in a R-Combining district for a
formula retail business, or a beauty shop, nail salon, barbershop, or financial
services use, unless it is found, in addition to the findings required by section
18.76.010, that:
(1) The retail or personal service business will offer merchandise and/or
services that meet the underserved needs of the City's residents and
visitors.
(2) The type of retail or personal service business will enhance the
balance and diversity of businesses in the district and in the City as a
whole.
(3) The retail or personal service business will enhance the economic
vitality of the district where the business is proposed to be located
and of the City as a whole. In considering this finding, the director or
city council may consider existing retail vacancy rates within the
district and in the City as a whole.
(4) The retail or personal service business is consistent w[th the character
of the district where the business is proposed to be located.
(5) The design of the retail or personal service business will be
compatible with the architectural and aesthetic character of the
district where the business is proposed to be located.
SECTION 9. Formula retail businesses on California existing on the effective date of this
Ordinance shall be considered legal, conforming uses notwithstanding the lack of a conditional
use permit.
SECTION 10. The Director of Planning and Community Environment shall report to the
City Council on the impact of this Ordinance approximately two years after its adoption.
SECTION 11. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any
reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or
sections of the Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the
Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the
fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be held invalid.
SECTION 12. The City Council finds that this ordinance falls under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption found in Title 14 California Code of Regulations
Section 15061(b)(3), because it is designed to preserve the status quo and therefore does not
have the potential to significantly impact the environment, and Section 15305, because it is
designed to assure the maintenance, enhancement, or protection of the environment and
involves procedures for the protection of the environment.
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SECTION 13. This ordinance shall be effective on the commencement of the thirty-first
day after the date of its adoption.
INTRODUCED: September 12, 2015
PASSED: October 26, 2015
AYES: BERMAN, BURT, DUBOIS, FILSETH, HOLMAN, KNISS, SCHARFF, SCHMID, WOLBACH
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATIEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Deputy City Attorney
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Mayor
APPROVED:
Q DocuSigned by: {t .. ~ff-~
3QEZ?Q8EA?DB4Q8
City Manager
~DocuSigned by:
ll:~F~~
Director of Planning and Community
Environment
DocuSign Envelope ID: C8C68718-2BB3-4AFF-B635-4B12850DFFF1
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::::: City Jurisdictional Limits Boundary
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California A venue
Existing and Proposed Expansion
of the
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v101315
This map is a product of the
City of Palo Alto GIS
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This document is a graphic representation only of best available sources.
The City of Palo Alto assumes no responsibility for any errors C1989 ID 2015 City of Palo Alto
Docu~.
Certificate Of Completion
Envelope Number: C8C687182BB34AFFB6354B 12850DFFF1 Status: Completed
Subject: Please DocuSign these documents: ORO 5358 Cal Ave and Formula Retail Ordinance v8.pdf, ORO 5358 -...
Source Envelope:
Document Pages: 9
Certificate Pages: 5
AutoNav: Enabled
Envelopeld Stamping: Enabled
Record Tracking
Status: Original
10/29/2015 11:36:00 AM PT
Signer Events
AlbertS Yang
Albert.Yang@CityofPaloAito.org
Senior Deputy City Attorney
City of Palo Alto
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Not Offered
10:
Hillary Gitelman
Hillary.Gitelman@CityofPaloAito.org
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Not Offered
10:
James Keene
jarnes. keene@cityofpaloalto. org
City Manager
City of Palo Alto
Security Level: Email, Account Authentication
(None)
Electronic Record and Signature Disclosure:
Accepted: 4/14/2015 5:40:07 PM PT
I D: 44 fe333a-6a81-4cb 7 -b 7 d4-9254 73ac82e3
In Person Signer Events
Editor Delivery Events
Agent Delivery Events
Intermediary Delivery Events
Signatures: 3
Initials: 0
Holder: Kim Lunt
kimberly.lunt@cityofpaloalto.org
Signature
Using IP Address: 45.37.102.216
luDocuSigned by:
l!,~,F~~Wv
Using IP Address: 199.33.32.254
G DocuStgned by:
~:,:t!
Using IP Address: 199.33.32.254
Signature
Status
Status
Status
Envelope Originator:
Kim Lunt
250 Hamilton Ave
Palo Alto , CA 94301
kimberly.lunt@cityofpaloalto.org
IP Address: 199.33.32.254
Location: DocuSign
Timestamp
Sent: 10/29/201511:46:18AM PT
Viewed: 10/29/2015 12:14:14 PM PT
Signed: 10/29/2015 12:44:57 PM PT
Sent: 10/29/2015 12:44:59 PM PT
Viewed : 10/29/2015 12:47:27 PM PT
Signed: 10/29/2015 12:47:59 PM PT
Sent: 10/29/2015 12:48:01 PM PT
Viewed: 11/13/2015 2:27:34 PM PT
Signed: 11/13/2015 2:27:49 PM PT
Timestamp
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