City Council

3. PUBLIC HEARING TO ADOPT ORDINANCE O2M24-4831 APPROVING ZONING TEXT\nAMENDMENT AMD-24-01 MAKING GENERAL CLARIFYING UPDATES TO THE\nCITY’S ZONING CODE AND DETERMINE THIS ACTION IS EXEMPT FROM CEQA –\nF2M20-24, N2M24-73, O2M24-4831\nThis is the time and place set by Notice No. N2M24-73 for the City Council to hold a public\nhearing to consider an ordinance approving a Zone Text Amendment amending various\nsections of the Alhambra Municipal Code on zoning, as well as adding new sections, to\naddress new State legislation and clarify ambiguous provisions as well as correct\ntypographical and formatting errors and modify use allowances. At its February 26, 2024\nmeeting, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. O2M24-4828, which proposed minor\nchanges to the AMC to reflect current practices, clarify confusing parts of the AMC, and\nbring outdated sections into compliance with State law. This ordinance is brought\nseparately from Ordinance No. O2M24-4828 because it proposes changes to the City’s\nZoning Code, which requires review by the City’s Planning Commission. This proposed\nclean-up addresses items that were identified in the lead-up to and shortly after the\nJanuary 22, 2024 adoption and March 2, 2024 implementation of the comprehensive\nZoning Code update, including addressing new State legislation, eliminating\ninconsistencies, and creating greater clarity in implementing the new Zoning Code. The\nvarious items being addressed in this Municipal Code clean-up fall within two (2) broad\ncategories: 1.) proposed amendments and 2.) proposed additions. All of the proposed\namendments and additions have been reviewed for consistency with the City’s General\nPlan, as required by AMC Section 23.33.080 (General Plan Consistency Required for\nZoning Amendments). In Attachment 1 of staff’s June 24, 2024 report, each proposed\namendment and addition is briefly described in a table, which includes a breakdown of the\ncategories applicable to each amendment or addition, as well as any recommended\nchanges by the Planning Commission.\nAt their May 6, 2024 regular meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed\nordinance and adopted Planning Commission Resolution No. 24-09, recommending the\nCity Council approve Zoning Text Amendment AMD-24-01 with four revisions to the\nproposed regulations for Personal Storage uses. Additionally, in response to Planning\nCommission questions regarding the meaning of “public projects” in the proposed new\nsection 23.01.090, minor changes have been made to the language of that section from\nwhat was presented to the Planning Commission to clarify the definition. Since being\npresented to the Planning Commission, a couple of additional non-substantive changes\nhave been made to the language in the ADU section, the sections relating to Community\nDevelopment Director hearing procedures, and to the provisions related to minimum\nresidential density requirements to further clarify these provisions.\nThe City reviewed the environmental impacts of the proposed ordinance under the\nCalifornia Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq. “CEQA”)\nand the regulations promulgated thereunder (14 Cal. Code of Regs. §§ 15000, et seq.,\nthe “CEQA Guidelines”). This Ordinance is not subject to further review environmental\nreview because: (1) it will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical\nchange in the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15060(c)(2); (2) there is no possibility\nthat this Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment (14 Cal. Code Regs.\n§ 15061(b)(3)); and (3) the Ordinance, by itself, do 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: City Council:\n1. Conduct a public hearing to receive public testimony;\n2. Determine which of the Planning Commission’s recommendations to include and\ndirect the City Attorney to introduce and give first reading by title only, waiving\nfurther reading to the following ordinance entitled:\nOrdinance No. O2M24-4831: AN ORDINANCE OF THE ALHAMBRA CITY COUNCIL\nADOPTING ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT AMD-24-01 AMENDING THE ALHAMBRA\nMUNICIPAL CODE TO ADDRESS NEW STATE LAWS, ELIMINATE\nINCONSISTENCIES, CLARIFY AMBIGIOUS PROVISIONS, CORRECT\nTYPOGRAPHICAL AND FORMATTING ERRORS, AND MODIFY USE\nALLOWANCES\nwhich ordinance shall return for a second reading and adoption at the next City\nCouncil meeting on July 22, 2024.