Agoura Hills Municipal Code Part 5 Cs-Mu Commercial Shopping Center-Mixed Use District

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, adopted Aug. 24, 2022, amended Part 5 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Part 5, §§ 9341—9343.12, pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 11-388, § 22, adopted Dec. 14, 2011; and Ord. No. 21-456, § 9, adopted Aug. 25, 2021.

The purpose of the CS-MU district shall be to provide for planned shopping centers where the land and compatible retail stores and associated facilities, including multi-family residential units, are designed and developed together as an integrated whole using modern site planning techniques. The allowance for residential units is to encourage improvements to existing shopping centers, and to provide opportunities for an individual to participate in multiple activities on the site, thereby promoting vehicle trip reduction. The primary tenant in the shopping center will usually be a supermarket, or other large retail tenant, and the center will serve primarily the convenience needs, such as food, drugs, hardware, and personal services, of nearby residential areas. The centers shall exhibit a high level of architectural and site design quality, providing a positive experience for visitors and residents of the center and community; fostering economic vitality and businesses activity; and serving as a center of neighborhood identity and activity. Such centers are required to fit into the surrounding residential pattern of development and create neither architectural nor traffic conflicts. Development, remodel and renovation of such centers shall integrate and promote pedestrian activity with pathway connections between center business areas and parking areas, and to adjoining neighborhoods and districts, as well as incorporate pedestrian amenities like seating areas and outdoor gathering spaces to accommodate pedestrians, outdoor dining and other activities. The pathways shall be clearly articulated with enhanced paving and other design features, landscaping, and wayfinding signage. Multi-family residential units may be included in a center, providing that resident-serving amenities are incorporated into the center; the residential and nonresidential uses are compatible; and the residential and nonresidential portions of mixed-use buildings are seamlessly integrated by architectural design, pedestrian walkways, and landscape. For existing shopping centers, residential use may be allowed only if it is part of a substantial and comprehensive redevelopment, remodel or renovation of the shopping center that improves the architectural and site design in which case, the residential use shall be ancillary to the commercial uses of the center. Alternatively, multi-family residences may be allowed as part of a mixed-use commercial project pursuant to part 3 of chapter 5 of title IX (affordable housing overlay district).

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Uses and structures in the CS-MU district shall be subject to the limitations set forth in the following provisions of this section.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Subject to the provisions of chapter 6, buildings and structures may be erected, structurally altered or enlarged, and land may be used within this district for commercial, service, office and other uses as provided in section 9312.2 commercial land use table for the commercial shopping center (CS) district in part 2 of chapter 3.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

A. Residential uses shall be multi-family dwelling units, in accordance with section 9343.

B. Accessory dwelling units.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Except as provided in section 9342.2, any use or structure not specified in section 9342.1 shall be prohibited in the CS-MU district.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

A. Residential uses shall be provided in the following manner:

1. Part of a new mixed-use development project of commercial and residential dwelling units on a site; or

2. An addition to an existing commercial development to remain on the same site, provided there is a substantial and comprehensive redevelopment, renovation or remodel of the existing center. For residential units to be added to existing shopping centers, the existing buildings shall be required to conduct façade and other improvements to enhance the architectural and site design, and the site shall be brought up to all standards of the CS-MU district.

B. Resident-serving common recreational amenities shall be incorporated into the center totaling a minimum of two hundred fifty (250) square feet per dwelling unit.

C. The residential and commercial uses shall be compatible and seamlessly integrated by architectural design, pedestrian walkways, and landscaping.

D. Residential uses shall consist either of apartments on the upper floors of buildings containing ground floor retail or office uses, or apartments in a solely residential building, providing there are commercial uses on the same site.

E. A conditional use permit is required for the addition of residential uses to an existing commercial development, and for a mixed-use commercial and residential development project, as provided in section 9342.2.A.

F. Projects containing a new mixed-use commercial and residential development shall include construction of both the residential and commercial parts concurrently.

G. Projects consisting of the addition of residential units to an existing commercial development on the same site shall include the construction of the residential part after or concurrently with the required redevelopment, renovation or remodel of the existing center pursuant to section 9343.A.2.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Subject to the provisions of sections 9303, 9391 et seq., and chapter 6, the following development standards shall apply in the CS-MU district; provided, however, that where the provisions of section 9303, 9391 et seq. or chapter 6 conflict with the provisions of this part, the provisions of this part shall apply.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

The minimum project site shall be five (5) acres.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

All lots hereafter created shall contain the following:

A. Minimum lot area: Twenty thousand (20,000) square feet.

B. Minimum lot width: Two hundred (200) feet.

C. Minimum depth: One hundred (100) feet.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

The maximum building coverage shall be fifty (50) percent of the project site.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

The maximum building height shall be thirty-five (35) feet.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

The minimum yard requirements shall be as follows:

A. Minimum front yard: Twenty (20) feet from any existing or proposed right-of-way;

B. Minimum side yard: none except:

1. When adjacent to a residential district or when abutting any street that separates the CS-MU district from a residential district: Twenty (20) feet;

2. The minimum street side yard shall be treated as a front yard;

C. Minimum rear yard: Equal to the height of the tallest buildings in the project.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

The provision of multi-family housing in the CS-MU district shall include the following minimum design requirements for new shopping centers, and for redevelopment, renovation and remodel of existing shopping centers:

A. The project site shall meet at least the minimum standards of the CS-MU district;

B. Residential and commercial uses within a mixed-use building shall be seamlessly integrated architecturally within the building, and the buildings shall be integrated with the remainder of the shopping center through architectural and site design elements;

C. The ground floor of residential and commercial mixed-use buildings along primary street frontages and public sidewalks and plazas shall be occupied by retail, dining and other uses that engage pedestrians;

D. The provision of on-site designated and secured residential parking separate from the on-site commercial use parking;

E. The provision of recreational and other residential-serving amenities, including usable outdoor developed open space for the residents; and

F. Mixed-use commercial and residential buildings shall be designed to assure compatibility among uses and public safety, which shall include at least privacy for residential entrances, separate access, fire suppression barriers, secured resident parking, and noise insulation.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

A. The residential density in a residential and commercial mixed-use development project shall be a minimum of six (6) and a maximum of fifteen (15) dwelling units per acre.

B. The minimum commercial density in a residential and commercial mixed-use development project shall be a maximum of thirty-three (33) percent and a minimum of twenty (20) percent of the gross building square footage of the project, including common residential recreational buildings.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

The transfer of development credits for residential units in this district is to provide flexibility in the development of residential multi-family units, and to encourage the development of cohesively planned complexes of multi-family units. A development credit is a potential entitlement to construct one (1) multi-family residential unit. The transfer of residential development credits may be authorized based on the conditions, and subject to the provisions listed as follows:

A. Residential development credits may be transferred among donor and receiver parcels only within the CS-MU district west of Kanan Road, south of Laro Drive, and east and north of the Medea Creek channel;

B. The development credit can only be exercised when it has been transferred pursuant to the provisions of this section from a donor to a receiver parcel and all other requirements of law are fulfilled;

C. The city council, after recommendation by the planning commission, finds the donor parcel has development credits to be transferred, the receiver parcel has sufficient area designated in the general plan to accommodate development otherwise permitted under city regulations, and that such total development meets all of the applicable requirements of the city's general plan, and this section;

D. The transfer of credits shall be authorized as part of a development agreement, which shall include both the donor and receiver parcels;

E. When development credits are transferred, all such credits for a parcel shall be transferred, and they are thereafter extinguished with regard to the donor parcel;

F. The number of development credits that may be transferred shall not exceed the number of dwelling units provided for in section 9343.7;

G. Before approving the transfer of development credits, the city must find that the appropriate guarantees exist and will be provided to ensure that the transfer conforms to the intent and purposes of the general plan; the transfer will not result in a detrimental effect on the area surrounding the receiver parcel; and the transfer of credits will result in a superior residential development complex that would not otherwise be feasible without the transfer of credits.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Commercial uses adjoining off-site residential neighborhoods shall be designed to be compatible by incorporating the following:

A. Landscape and decorative walls, or comparable buffering and/or screening elements, along the edges of the shopping center;

B. Enhanced architectural treatment of elevations facing the residential uses;

C. Low intensity lighting and screening to minimize light spillover and glare onto residential neighborhoods; and

D. Locating automobile and truck access and unloading areas so that they do not directly front residential neighborhoods, or by providing adequate screening with landscaping and/or decorative walls from the areas to the residential neighborhoods.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

A. Clearly articulated pedestrian paths through parking lots to the center businesses and residences with distinguishing design characteristics.

B. Well-defined pedestrian pathways connecting adjoining shopping centers, and between the centers and adjacent neighborhoods and districts.

C. Outdoor seating and gathering areas near the businesses, including expanded sidewalks or plazas, designed as an integral part of the overall architecture and site design. Outdoor seating, exclusive of outdoor dining areas, shall be provided in expanded sidewalks or plazas at a rate of two (2) percent of the gross commercial square feet.

D. Bike racks or other public bike storage in convenient locations in the center, integrated within the overall architecture and site design of the center.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

A minimum of fifteen (15) percent of the total lot shall be landscaped unless otherwise specified during a discretionary review. In addition, landscaping shall be provided within all required yards adjacent to the public right-of-way. Said landscaping shall be provided and maintained in perpetuity subject to the following:

A. Berming (undulating or embanked) shall be required with a minimum variation of elevation being thirty (30) inches;

B. One (1) native oak tree, twenty-four-inch box in size per fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet of building area shall be provided within said areas;

C. Landscaping shall minimize the visual dominance of the parking areas, shall complement on-site pedestrian amenities and circulation, and serve to modulate pavement temperature; and

D. No other usage or storage shall be permitted within any required landscaping.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Unless waived by the city, all developments shall be screened according to the following:

A. A decorative wall at a minimum height of six (6) feet shall be provided on all property lines except for those adjacent to a public right-of-way.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)

Design standards in the CS-MU district are as set forth in section 9663 et seq.

(Ord. No. 22-461, § 6, 8-24-2022)