TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Anne McIntosh, Community Development Director
Nhung Madrid, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Issue a 10-Day Report Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d) for Interim Zoning Ordinance No. 17-0020-U - Sepulveda Blvd (Community Development Director McIntosh).
ISSUE 10-DAY REPORT
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council issue a 10-day report pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d) for Interim Zoning Ordinance No. 17-0020-U.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
On August 7, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 17-0015-U, a 45-day urgency ordinance prohibiting new health care facilities on Sepulveda Boulevard. The City Council expressed concerns that a recent proliferation of new health care facilities, including medical offices, urgent care facilities, clinics, treatment centers and the like were having a detrimental impact to economic development goals, potential sales tax, and the diversity of land uses on Sepulveda Boulevard.
On September 5, 2017, the City Council issued a report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to adoption of Ordinance No. 17-0015-U. On September 19, 2017, the City Council adopted Interim Zoning Ordinance No. 17-0020-U, extending Interim Zoning Ordinance No. 17-0015-U for 10 months and 15 days, which prohibits the establishment of new health care facilities on Sepulveda Boulevard without a Use Permit. Ordinance No. 17-0020-U expires on August 6, 2018 (Attachment 1). When this Interim Zoning Ordinance expires, no Use Permits will be required for new medical establishments along Sepulveda Boulevard unless the use is for new construction in excess of 5,000 square feet.
DISCUSSION:
Government Code Section 65858(d) requires that the City Council issue a report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the Interim Ordinance (Attachment 2). Since adoption of the Interim Zoning Ordinance, the City has ceased accepting applications for change of use and/or Use Permits and/or building permits for new medical establishments on Sepulveda Boulevard as defined by the Interim Zoning Ordinance. Additionally, City staff has been analyzing recent activity regarding health care uses in the City.
On September 13, 2017, a Planning Commission public hearing was held to consider adding a land use classification to the Municipal Code for “Urgent Care office use.” The Planning Commission directed staff to return with draft Municipal Code and Local Coastal Program Amendments to address the Urgent Care land use, and continued the public hearing. On October 11, 2017, the Planning Commission continued the public hearing and approved a Resolution amending the Municipal Code and Local Coastal Plan with some small modifications that incorporates the Urgent Care office use into the definition of Office-Business & Professional land use while strengthening the definitions of the Hospital use and Emergency Health Care use to draw a sharper distinction between the three uses.
Concurrently with these amendments, in September 2017, City Council directed staff to move forward with the Sepulveda Planning Initiatives Project and Work Plan, to consider possibly limiting (but not prohibiting) new office uses along Sepulveda using a cap, or a locational requirement, or allowing medical/office only as part of a mixed-use development. From January through March 2018, staff convened five public meetings with a Community Ad Hoc Working Group to discuss development standards and uses for the Sepulveda Corridor. Following their discussions, the Working Group did not recommend any changes to the current requirements for medical office, or any other medical uses.
On April 25, the Planning Commission received and discussed the Ad Hoc Working Group Summary Report and subsequently held two public hearings on May 23 and June 13 for the Sepulveda Initiatives Planning Project. At those meetings, the Planning Commission discussed the topic of medical/office uses along the Corridor, and did not suggest incorporating new regulations. The Sepulveda Initiatives Planning Project was scheduled for a public hearing for the June 19, 2018, City Council meeting. At that meeting, the City Council continued the public hearing to July 3, 2018. The public hearing and presentation will be heard as a separate item on tonight’s agenda.
POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
ALTERNATIVE #1: Consider extending Interim Zoning Ordinance No 17-0020-U for a second year.
ALTERNATIVE #2: Consider implementing permanent limits on medical uses, including medical office.
PUBLIC OUTREACH/INTEREST:
Since adoption of Interim Ordinance No.17-0020-U, the City has continuously engaged in outreach efforts to various stakeholders including residents, property owners, business owners and real estate professionals to receive their input on the economic vitality, planning, development, and parking standards and other land use issues as it relates to the Sepulveda commercial corridor.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
Attachments:
1. Interim Zoning Ordinance No. 17-0020-U
2. Alleviation Report