HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 2024-03 CODE AMENDMENT 255ORDINANCE NO. 2024-03
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AZUSA CITY COUNCIL AMENDING
SECTIONS 88.30.020, 88.51.050, AND 88.42.190 OF THE AZUSA
MUNICIPAL CODE TO REVISE 1)WALL/FENCE HEIGHT
REQUIREMENTS, 2)MINOR VARIANCE APPLICABILITY, 3) UPDATES
TO THE EXISTING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADUs) AND
JUNIOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (JADUs) REQUIREMENTS,
AND, 4) REVISE THE TOD SPECIFIC PLAN TO ALLOW FOR MEDICAL
OFFICE USES, WITH RESTRICITIONS, ON THE FIRST FLOOR IN THE
DOWNTOWN AND DOWNTOWN EXPANSION DISTRICTS, AND
DETERMINE THE ORDINANCE TO BE EXEMPT FROM CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
WHEREAS, the City of Azusa, California (the “City”) is a municipal corporation, duly
organized under the constitution and laws of the State of California; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code, Section 65800 et seq. authorizes the adoption
and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules and regulations by cities as a means of
implementing the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, on February 22, 2005, the City Council of the City of Azusa (the “City
Council”) adopted the new Development Code (Chapter 88 of the Azusa Municipal Code) with
the understanding that the new format included wholesale changes to the prior Code, and that
revisions would be necessary after the new Code was implemented; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted the TOD Specific Plan and associated Zone Change
at a regular meeting on November 2, 2015; and
WHEREAS, the original approval of the TOD Specific Plan and Zone Change was
considered a “project” under the California Enviromnental Quality Act (“CEQA”), and an
accompanying Final Environmental Impact Report (SCH#2015021018) was certified for the
project by the City Council on November 2, 2015; and
WHEREAS, on March 27, 2024, the Planning Commission of the City of Azusa
recommended that the City Council approve a Draft Ordinance for Code Amendment No. 255.
WHEREAS, all other legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Ordinance have occurred.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA,
CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The above recitals are true and correct and are
incorporated herein by this reference.
SECTION 2. Additions to the Azusa Municipal code are shown in underlined and the
deletions are denoted by strikethrough. Text underlined in blue font represent hyperlinks.
SECTION 3. Sections 88.21.060, 88.30.020, 88.42.190 E.l.a, 88.42.190 E.8, 88.42.190
F.l.a, 88.42.190 F.4, 88.51.050 C, and 88.51.050 of the Azusa Municipal Code are hereby
amended and amended to read in its entirety as shown below:
Sec. 88.21,060 - Azusa TOD Specific Plan.
Purpose. The Azusa Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) General Plan/Development Code
Update and Specific Plan (herein referred to as the Azusa TOD Specific Plan, or, simply
Specific Plan) is a comprehensive document that will implement the vision for the Speeific
Plan Area as established by the City of Azusa planning process.
Allowable Uses. Refer to the Azusa TOD Specific Plan.
1. MUP Requirement for Ground Floor Medical Office - Subject to a MUP, Ground
Floor Medical Services - Doctor Office Use, may be allowed.
Site Planning and Building Design. Refer to the Azusa TOD Specific Plan.
A.
B.
C.
Sec. 88.30.020 B.3 - Fences, Walls, Hedges, and Screening.
Where the ground elevation within six feet of the base of a fence differs from one side of the fence
to the other (as when a fence is placed at the top of a slope or on a retaining wall), the height shall
be measured from the side with the lowest natural grade. The combined height of the retaining
wall and fence may exceed six feet with minor use permit a minor variance approval, but in no
case shall the combined height exceed ame Um feet. The retaining wall shall not exceed four six
in height.feet in height., and the fence on top of- the-r-ctnining w
Sec. 88.30.020 B.3 - Figure 3-1
fence
Combined height
exceed 6 ft. only wit h
A minor variance
permit, but in no Cd\e
shall It exceed 10 ft.
Retaining Wall
:● :ii-y ■
6 ft max
allowed
o>r
Sec. 88.30.020 C-Table 3-1
TABLE 3-1 . MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF FENCES, WALLS, AND HEDGES
Maximum Height (1)Location offence, Wall,
or Hedge
In all zones other than West End District
42 inFront setback
6 ft, except as provided by 88.30.020.B.3.Interior side setback
36 in. within corner cut-off area; 6 ft elsewhere,
except as provided by 88.30.020.B.3.
Side street setback
6 ft, except as provided by 88.30.020.B.3.Rear setback
x-8ftOutside of required setback Same as maximum
In the West End District
8 ft minimum, 16 ft maximumOn site of existing nonconforming auto wrecking
yard
All other locations within the West End District 8 ft outside of required front setback
See. 88.42.190 E.l.a - Accessory Dwelling Units.
Number of ADUs /JADUs AllowedExisting
Structures
ADU Type / Zone
Density
On-Site
- One (1) ADU or One (1) JADUSingle-
Family
Conyerted
(Low Density)
Dwelling
- One (1) ADU and One (1) JADUDetachedSingle-
Family
Dwelling
(Low DensiW)
- Up to 25% of existing units or one ADU unitMulti-FamilyConyerted
whicheyer is greater. (* **)(Mcdium/Modcratc
Density)
Dwelling
- Two (2) ADU and allow up to 25% of the
existing multi-family units on the lot to nroyide an
ADU within the existing dwelling units or one
unit whicheyer is greater. (*,**)
Multi-Family
Dwelling
Detached
(Medium/Moderate
Density)
Multi-family structures that arc proposed to be deycloncd with an ADU within the
units must still comply with the minimum size of dwelling units
*
Portions of existing multi-family structures used as non-habitable space such as
(boiler rooms, storage rooms, attics, basements, garages, laundry rooms, etc.) may be
conyerted into ADUs.
Sec. 88.42.190 E.8 - Accessory Dwelling Units. Deed Restriction
certificate of occupancy for an ADU or JADU,
the title of the
ion. Prior to i:8^
and a copy filed with
run with the land
fofm-(»f-tlic deed restriction will be proyided by the Cit> ai
Dcvelopm^frtr
The ADU or JADU may not be sold o*
The ADU or JADU is rcstri
by this-section.
The deed
hr
er futurehe-
owners.
The deed restriction may^bc removed if the owner eliminates
evidenced by, for exitmfile^
tHi owner may make n written request-(#
ih
facilities. To
ic a
JADU, us
nd Community'
in fact been eliminated. The
c claim that the ADU-orDirector may then
JADU has been eliminated. Appeal-may be taken fr^wi the Director’s determinat
consistent with other-pr-ovis4ons of this Gedc. If the ADU or JADU is not entirely
by virtue of having-a-n of an
rsically
/
r withJADU-removed,
applicable provisions of this Code.
The deed restriction is enforceable by the Director or his or her designee for the
y owner to comply with the deed-
result in legal action against the property owner, and the Cit^^ is-imfhori/.ed to obtain any
equity-, including,- but-not limited to, obtaining an injunction
JADU in vi
&
benefit of the Citii'. Fai
ible to it
use of the
of the illegal unit-
Sec. 88.42.190 F.l.a - Accessoiy' Dwelling Units. Maximum Size
The maximum size of a detached or attached ADU subject to this subsection F is 850 square
feet for a studio or one-bedroom unit and 1,000 square feet for a unit with two bedrooms or more.
No more than t>vo bedrooms arc allowed.
a.
Sec. 88.42.190 F.4 - Accessory Dwelling Units. Building Separation
4. Building Separation. A newly constructed detached ADU shall be set back from anv
other permanent structure on the site bv a minimum of ten feet.
Sec. 88.51.050 C - Variance and Minor Variance. Review Authority
REVIEW AUTFIORITY. A variance shall be approved or denied by the commission. The
zoning administrator may approve a minor variance to grant relief from any of the following
requirements of this Development Code, up to a maximum reduetie« deviation of ten
percent, except as otherwise indicated below.
Setbacks and distance between structures;
Parcel dimensions (not area);
Structure height;
Fence and wall height, for a maximum increase of 2 ft bevond what is permitted bv this
Development Code; or
On-site parking, loading, and landscaping.
C.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The zoning administrator may choose to refer any minor variance to the commission for
hearing and decision.
SECTION 4. Tables 2-2: Downtown District Allowable Uses and 2-3: Downtown
Expansion District Allowable Uses of the TOD Specific Plan are hereby amended and amended
to read in its entirety as shown below:
icnl Sendee Doctor Office use permitted on second or upper floorFootnote 1:
Medical sendees- Doctor Office allowed on second or upper floors; Use may be located on
ground floor only with a MUP provided the following additional criteria can be met:
Windows adjacent to the right-of-way shall remain uncovered. The first 15 feet of
tenant space adjacent to public right of wav shall not be utilized for patient rooms unless
windows arc not present.
SECTION 5. CEQA. Under California Public Resources Code section 21080.17, the
California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) does not apply to the adoption of an ordinance
by a city or county implementing the provisions of section 65852.2 of the Government Code,
which is California's ADU law and which also regulates JADUs, as defined by section 65852.22.
Therefore, the proposed ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA in that the proposed ordinance
implements the State's ADU law.
In addition, the proposed action is exempt from environmental review pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, §§ 21000 et seq.) (“CEQA”) and the
State CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs, tit. 14, §§ 15000 et seq.). Specifically, the activity is not
subject to CEQA because it will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical
change in the environment; the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378, and the activity
is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects, which have the potential for
causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is
no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not
subject to CEQA.
SECTION 6. Custodian of Records. The documents and materials that constitute the
record of proceedings on which this Ordinance is based are located at the City Clerk’s office
located at 213 E. Foothill Blvd., Azusa, CA 91702. The custodian of these records is the City
Clerk.
SECTION 1. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance
or the application thereof to any entity, person or circumstance is held for any reason to be invalid
or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City
Council of the City of Azusa hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance
and each section, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one
or more section, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 8. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days
following its adoption.
SECTION 9, Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance.
Not later than fifteen (15) days following the passage of this Ordinance, the Ordinance, or a
summary thereof, along with the names of the City Council members voting for and against the
Ordinance, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Azusa.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 3rd day of June 2024.
Robert Gorlzales
Mayor
ATTEST:
)STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF AZUSA
) ss.
)
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2024-03 was duly introduced
and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Azusa held
on the 6th day of May 2024, and that thereafter, said ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a
regular meeting on the 3rd day of June, 2024, by the following vote of the Council:
COUNCILMEMBERS: GONZALES, ALVAREZ, AVILA, MENDEZ, BECKWITH
COUNCILMEMBERS:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS
Cornejo, Jr.
ity Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Best, B^t & Krieger, LLP \
City Attorney '