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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04162013 - D.4PDF Return D.4 To: Board of Supervisors From: Catherine Kutsuris, Conservation and Development Director Date: April 16, 2013 Contra Costa County Subject:Hearing on a County Initiated Zoning Text Amendment to Establish the Home Occupations Ordinance, Chapter 82-40, County File #ZT01-0006. (County Wide) APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 04/16/2013 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact:674-7788 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: April 16, 2013 David Twa, BY:June McHuen , Deputy RECOMMENDATION(S): A. OPEN the public hearing on the project. B. RECEIVE testimony and CLOSE the public hearing. RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D) C. ADOPT the Negative Declaration dated August 2012, finding it to be adequate and complete, finding that it has been prepared in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the State and County CEQA Guidelines, and finding that it reflects the County's independent judgment and analysis; and specifying that the Department of Conservation and Development, located at 30 Muir Road, Martinez, CA is the custodian of the documents and other material which constitute the record of proceedings upon which the decision is based. D. ACCEPT the County Planning Commission Resolution No. 12-2012 reporting on the Commission's review and actions on this project. E. FIND that the proposed Home Occupations Ordinance is consistent with the County General Plan. F. ADOPT proposed County Ordinance Code 2013-12 - Home Occupations, and REPEAL 82-4.240 of the County Code. G. DIRECT Department of Conservation and Development (“Department”) staff to file a Notice of Determination with the County Clerk. FISCAL IMPACT: The Home Occupations Ordinance, Chapter 82-40, is being funded through the County's Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of the EECBG Program is to implement eligible energy efficiency and conservation strategies deemed appropriate by the DOE that would reduce fossil fuel emissions and improve energy efficiency. The adoption of the proposed ordinance will reduce the permitting costs for county residents interested in establishing a home occupation. BACKGROUND: PROJECT SUMMARY By definition, a “home occupation” is a business activity that is conducted entirely within a residential dwelling unit (e.g. single-family residence, townhome, and apartment) by a person living in the dwelling. The home occupation is clearly secondary and incidental to the use of the dwelling as a home. The proposed Home Occupations Ordinance, attached, provides for streamlining the permit process to ministerially (administratively without public hearing) approve home occupations that meet certain baseline criteria. If an applicant wants a home occupation permit that exceeds the baseline criteria, they continue to have the right to apply for a Land Use Permit (LUP) and go through the discretionary hearing process. In general, the County’s experience is that home occupation reviews have generated very little public interest. They are often approved on consent by the Zoning Administrator without opposition from neighbors or the community. The few exceptions tend to be limited to those activities where an application fails to meet the code criteria. EXISTING PRACTICE OF PROCESSING A HOME OCCUPATION Presently, the zoning code allows the establishment of home occupations in land use districts with application for and approval of a LUP, after conducting a legally noticed public hearing. There is a minimum application deposit of $300.00 and 2-4 months of processing time. Because of the staff time to prepare the report, often the total cost of the land use permit exceeds $300.00 and generally ranges from $500.00 to $800.00. Attached is a permit history that catalogs all home occupations processed by the Department since the year 2000. There have been 178 land use permits for home occupations approved, 10 denied and 12 withdrawn for a total of 200 applications. This demonstrates that nearly 90% of all home occupations are approved. Since 2000, the Zoning Administrator has decided 98% of all home occupation applications. PROPOSED HOME OCCUPATIONS ORDINANCE, CHAPTER 82-40 The purpose of the proposed Home Occupations Ordinance is to establish specific standards and procedures to allow home occupations to be permitted in neighborhoods without changing the character of those neighborhoods. The Home Occupations Ordinance will add Chapter 82-40 to the County Ordinance Code and will repeal the current definition of “home occupation” within the County Ordinance Code (Section 82-4.240), attached. The Ordinance will provide a set of standards to distinguish between home occupations having minimal impact and those having the potential for greater impacts on surrounding properties so that home occupations having minimal impact may be allowed through a ministerial permit process. The Home Occupations Ordinance amendment includes revisions to all zoning districts that allow the establishment of a home occupation through the LUP process. Home Occupation - Definition §82-40.004 A home occupation is defined as a business activity that is conducted entirely within a residential dwelling unit (e.g. single-family residence, townhome, and apartment) by a person residing in that dwelling and is a secondary and incidental use of the dwelling as a residence. Home Occupation – Ministerial Permit §82-40.012 The Home Occupations Ordinance establishes a ministerial permitting process (without public hearing). This process requires that the home occupation comply with standards that address use, location, employees, clients or customers, vehicles, parking, traffic and deliveries, appearance, storage and nuisances. An application for a home occupation permit will be ministerially approved only if it compiles with the following standards: A. Use. The home occupation must be incidental and subordinate to the use of the property as a residence. B. Location. The home occupation must be conducted entirely within a residential dwelling unit. No more than one room, or 20 percent of the floor area, whichever is greater, may be used for the home occupation. A home occupation is allowed within an accessory building that complies with the primary setbacks for the applicable zoning district. C. Employees. Only the residents of the dwelling unit may be involved in the conduct of the home occupation, except as otherwise provided by state law. D. Clients or customers. No clients or customers are permitted at the site of the home occupation, except for students engaged in individual home instruction. If student visits occur, only one student may be present at one time, no more than six student visits may occur per day, and students may be present only between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. E. Vehicles. One business-related vehicle, with a rated capacity of up to one ton, is permitted at the site of a home occupation, except that the following types of vehicles are prohibited: limousines, dump trucks, tow trucks, construction vehicles (e.g. front-end loaders, backhoes), trailers (e.g. construction trailers, chipper trailers), construction equipment (e.g., cement mixers, chippers), vehicles with a rated capacity of one ton or more, and similar vehicles. F. Parking. No portion of a home occupation may occupy a required off-street parking space or cause an off-street parking space to be displaced, except that one required off-street parking space may be occupied by a business-related vehicle. G. Traffic and Deliveries. The home occupation may not generate vehicular traffic that exceeds the traffic normally associated with a single-family residential use. Deliveries to the home occupation may not exceed the frequency of deliveries and types of vehicles normally associated with residential neighborhoods. Deliveries to the home occupation may occur only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. H. Appearance. The residential appearance of the property at which the home occupation is conducted must be maintained, with no exterior indication of a home occupation. Exterior signs advertising the home occupation, window displays, outdoor displays, and other exterior indications of the home occupation may not be used. I. Storage. No equipment, parts, materials, supplies, merchandise, refuse or debris shall be stored outdoors. Equipment, parts, materials, supplies or merchandise may be stored within a permanent, fully enclosed compartment of a passenger vehicle or truck. No refuse or debris may be stored in any vehicle. No hazardous chemicals may be stored at the site of a home occupation, other than those normally associated with a residential use. J. Nuisances. No noise, odor, dust, fumes, vibration, smoke, electrical disturbance, or other interference with the residential use of adjacent properties may be created by the home occupation. The home occupation may not result in water, electricity, garbage, sewer or storm drain usage that exceeds normal residential use. Attached is the draft Ministerial Home Occupation Application and Permit that will require each applicant to initial next to each standard and sign the home occupation permit acknowledging that the home occupation will be incidental to the property’s use as a residence. It is anticipated that the ministerial permit will be a one time fee of $50.00 and may be approved over-the-counter. Home Occupation – Land Use Permit §82-40.014 A Home Occupation may be established after a land use permit is obtained for any one of the following circumstances: A. Two or more business-related vehicles are used or kept at the site of the home occupation. B. The number of student visits exceeds the amounts specified in subsection (d) of section 82-40.010. C. Any portion of the home occupation activity will be conducted outdoors. D. One or more employees of the home occupation are not residents of the dwelling unit. No land use permit to allow a home occupation will be issued unless findings are made per Section 82-40.014 (b) of the Home Occupations ordinance. COMPLIANCE WITH THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) Text amendments to zoning ordinances qualify as “projects” under CEQA and are therefore subject to CEQA review. A Negative Declaration, attached, was posted on August 14, 2012, and the comment period expired on September 4, 2012. No comments were received during the public comment period. Staff finds that the project complies with the requirements of CEQA. CONSISTENCY WITH THE COUNTY GENERAL PLAN The Contra Costa General Plan identifies home occupations as a secondary use of a residence. The Home Occupations Ordinance streamlines the Department’s review of home occupation applications by establishing standards, which if complied with, allow the administrative approval of the home occupation without public hearing. This administrative approval continues to be consistent with the County General Plan; the proposed ordinance ensures that the home occupation use is clearly subordinate and incidental to the use of the dwelling as a residence. Again, if the home occupation application does not meet the standards for ministerial approval, a land use permit may be required. .Based on the ministerial standards set forth in the proposed Home Occupations Ordinance, and the requirement for a land use permit otherwise, this Ordinance is consistent with the Contra Costa General Plan. HEARING OF THE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION The proposed Home Occupations Ordinance was heard by the County Planning Commission on September 11, 2012. The Commission recommended that the Board approve the Home Occupations Ordinance recognizing that the ministerial criteria in the Ordinance provided a streamlined process. As part of the Commission’s deliberation, they discussed the Ordinance's ten criteria to obtain a ministerial permit (e.g. Use, Location, Employees, Clients or Customers, Vehicles, Parking, Traffic and Deliveries, Appearance, Storage and Nuisance). They noted the Ordinance provides the ability to submit a land use permit for four of these criteria but not all ten. The Commission questioned why the Ordinance did not provide the option to apply for a land use permit for the six other criteria (Use, parking, location, Traffic and Deliveries, Appearance and Nuisances). Staff explained that the purpose of the Home Occupations Ordinance is to establish specific standards and procedures to allow home occupations to be conducted in residential neighborhoods without changing the residential character of those neighborhoods. By modifying the Ordinance to provide the ability to obtain a land use permit to alter these criteria (Use, parking, location, Traffic and Deliveries, Appearance and Nuisances), the use may change the residential character of that neighborhood and the ordinance would be inconsistent with the County General Plan. The Commission included this change within their motion. The Department recommends the Board approve the Home Occupations Ordinance as originally presented to the Commission with minor amendment including providing for consistency with new state law regarding cottage food industry. The amendment would add the following text to Section 82-40.012(b) Employees. Only the residents of the dwelling unit may be involved in the conduct of the home occupation .."except as otherwise provided for in state law." CONCLUSION Contra Costa County’s Home Occupations Ordinance will establish a ministerial permitting process. This process requires that the home occupation comply with standards that restrict use, location, employees, clients or customers, vehicles, parking, traffic and deliveries, appearance, storage and nuisances. Home occupations that comply with all of these standards may be administratively approved. By the Department streamlining this process, it reduces the cost and time to the public. Home occupations that do not comply with these standards have the right to file a land use permit and go through the discretionary review process. The proposed Home Occupations Ordinance will not result in environmental impacts (see Section VI above). Therefore, staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors adopt the proposed zoning text amendment to add Chapter 82-40 , Home Occupations Ordinance, to the County Ordinance Code. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: If the Ordinance is not approved, all Home Occupation permits will continue to require approval of a land use permit prior to being established. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: Not Applicable. AgendaQuick©2005 - 2022 Destiny Software Inc., All Rights Reserved