City Council

2.\nPUBLIC HEARING TO ADOPT ORDINANCE O2M26-4863 APPROVING ZONING TEXT\nAMENDMENT AMD-26-04 MAKING GENERAL CLARIFYING UPDATES TO THE\nCITY’S ZONING CODE; AND DETERMINE THIS ACTION IS EXEMPT FROM CEQA –\nF2M20-24, N2M26-46, O2M26-4863\nThis is the time and place set by Notice No. N2M26-46 for the City Council to hold a public\nhearing to consider an ordinance approving a Zoning Text Amendment amending various\nsections of Title 23 (Zoning) of the Alhambra Municipal Code, as well as adding new\nsections, to address new State legislation, eliminate inconsistencies, clarify ambiguous\nprovisions, correct typographical and formatting errors, and modify use allowances. This\nis a City-initiated application. From time-to-time updates are made to the Alhambra\nMunicipal Code (AMC) to address new State legislation, clarify ambiguous provisions, or\ndelete outdated language. While some of these changes require immediate consideration\nby the Council, most can be addressed periodically. Accordingly, staff brings a code clean-\nup ordinance to the Council on an annual basis to address modifications needed due to\nnew legislation, as well as other suggested clarifying changes. Clean-ups to the Zoning\nCode are processed separately from clean-ups to the rest of the AMC as Planning\nCommission review is required for Zoning and General Plan Amendments. Similar to prior\nclean-ups, this update will address new State legislation, eliminate inconsistencies, and\ncreate greater clarity in implementing the Zoning Code. This Zoning Code clean-up\nincludes both proposed amendments and additions. Amendments consist of revisions to\nexisting sections of the AMC, while additions incorporate entirely new sections into the\nAMC. The nature of and reasoning for each proposed amendment and addition can be\nclassified by five (5) general categories: 1.) Clarification; 2.) Consistency; 3.) Compliance\nwith State laws/Federal laws; 4.) Typographical & Formatting; and 5.) Use Allowances &\nRegulations. Some of the proposed amendments and additions are a combination of these\nfive categories. In Attachment 1 of the staff report for this item, each proposed\namendment/addition is briefly described in a table, which includes a breakdown of the\ncategories applicable to each amendment/addition. All of the proposed amendments and\nadditions have been reviewed for consistency with the City’s General Plan, as required by\nAMC Section 23.40.080 (General Plan Consistency Required for Zoning Amendments).\nAt their April 6, 2026 regular meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed\namendments and additions in Ordinance No. O2M26-4863, and adopted Planning\nCommission Resolution No. 26-02 by a vote of 7-0, recommending the City Council\napprove Zoning Text Amendment AMD-26-04, with one minor revision to verbiage for\ntandem parking standards (incorporated at the recommendation of staff) and a request to\nverify accuracy of language included in two sections pertaining to Urban Dwelling Units\n(SB 9 Units). The recommendations by the Planning Commission are listed in Planning\nCommission Resolution No. 26-02, which is Attachment 3 of the staff report for this item,\nand appropriate revisions have been incorporated into Ordinance No. O2M26-4863.\nThe City reviewed the environmental impacts of this Ordinance under the California\nEnvironmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq. “CEQA”) and the\nregulations promulgated thereunder (14 Cal. Code of Regs. §§ 15000, et seq., the “CEQA\nGuidelines”). This Ordinance is not subject to further review environmental review\nbecause: (1) it will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change\nin the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15060(c)(2); (2) there is no possibility that this\nOrdinance will have a significant effect on the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs. §\n15061(b)(3)); and (3) the Ordinance, by itself, does not constitute a “project” as defined in\nsection 21065 of the Public Resources Code and the CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code\nRegs. § 15378). It can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this Ordinance\nmay have a significant effect on the environment.\nRecommended Action:\nCity Council:\n1.\nConduct a public hearing to receive public testimony;\n2.\nDirect the City Attorney to introduce and give first reading by title only, waiving\nfurther reading to the following ordinance entitled:\nOrdinance No. O2M26-4863: An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Alhambra\nadopting Zoning Text Amendment AMD-26-04, amending the Alhambra Municipal\nCode to address new state laws, eliminate inconsistencies, clarify ambiguous\nprovisions, correct typographical and formatting errors, and modify use allowances\nwhich ordinance shall return for a second reading and adoption at the next City\nCouncil meeting on June 22, 2026;\n3.\nDetermine this action is exempt from CEQA.