Item B: Minor Land Use Code Amendments

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An important component of the Planning Commission's review was its ability to establish ground rules for review of these amendments. In the interest of keeping the process moving forward, any amendment which posed a concern with a commissioner was allowed limited discussion (10 minutes). If the concerns could not be satisfied, a straw vote was taken to either pull it off the list or keep it moving forward. If pulled off the list, it will be included in the Phase 2 process. Staff would recommend that the council utilize a similar approach when it deliberates on this matter. Following that process, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to formally consider the proposed amendments. The Planning Commission received testimony from four individuals. In general, public testimony was supportive of the proposed amendments. A copy of the minutes of this public hearing is attached. Following the public hearing, the Planning Commission made minor edits to the draft ordinance and recommended City Council adoption of the minor code amendments. The commission also asked that the City Council give particular attention to two of the proposed amendments: Item #32: EC 9.5350: Home Occupations on flag lots: This proposed amendment clarifies the existing prohibition regarding home occupations on flag lots. The Planning Commission raised concern that many low-impact home businesses (e.g. web-based services, businesses with no customers or deliveries) would be precluded. They asked the council to reconsider the current prohibition. Item#37: EC 9.5800: Temporary Uses in commercial zones: The current code limits temporary uses on commercial property to a 2 week period, but does not specify how many events are allowed per year. The proposed amendment limits temporary uses to three per year. The Planning Commission asked the City Council to consider more flexible parameters. To assist the council in the review of this proposal, staff has attached a matrix of the proposed amendments which provides a synopsis of the existing problem and the proposed solution for each amendment. In addition, each code amendment is assigned a number on the matrix which is reflected in the corresponding code section of the draft ordinance to provide easier reference between the two documents. RELATED CITY POLICIES The City Council has included minor code amendments as a priority item on the Planning Division Work Program. This proposal is the first of two phases in staff s effort to complete this task. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council may approve the draft ordinance as recommended by the Planning Commission, direct staff to modify the ordinance or deny the ordinance. CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends adoption of the Minor Code Amendments as recommended by the Planning Commission. L\CMOI200S Council AgendaslMOSI012lS0S1012B.doc