Porterville Municipal Code § 206.03 Master Plan Required

The Residential Neighborhood (RN) District is intended to implement the neighborhood centers shown on the General Plan Land Use Diagram and guide the design of new residential neighborhoods. More specifically, these standards are intended to accomplish the following purposes:

A. Create compact neighborhoods with a defined, mixed-use center including public open space, a school or other community facilities, and neighborhood commercial.

B. Create neighborhood centers with a mix of retail, civic, and service-oriented uses to support local transit and provide places for social interaction for neighborhood residents.

C. Create a street system that is well-aligned with and connected to streets in adjacent neighborhoods and allows residents to walk, bike, or drive directly and safely to parks, schools, and neighborhood shopping via a continuous system of streets, sidewalks, and bike routes.

D. Provide a variety of housing types, designs, and lot sizes to serve the range of household types and incomes in Porterville, and give each home individuality. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)

A RN District may be established within the potential RN district areas shown on the Zoning Map by Zoning Map amendment according to the procedures of Chapter 613, Amendments to Zoning Map and Text, and the standards of this chapter. The minimum area of a RN District shall be eighty (80) acres. The City Council may approve a RN District for smaller areas, but not less than forty (40) acres, upon finding that a RN District of eighty (80) acres or more is infeasible. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)

An application for a rezoning to an RN district shall include a master plan. The master plan shall be accepted and processed concurrently, in the same manner as a Conditional Use Permit application, pursuant to Chapter 601, Common Procedures, and Chapter 604, Conditional Use Permits, although additional information is required to be submitted in order to determine that the intent of this Chapter and the General Plan will be fulfilled.

A. Required Elements. An application for a master plan in the RN District shall include the following elements in addition to any application requirements established by the Zoning Administrator.

1. Land Uses. The location of proposed land uses and a summary of the total land area dedicated to each use. Schools shall be located as shown on the General Plan Land Use Diagram unless an alternative site has been mutually agreed upon by the City and the applicable school district. Other land uses shall be allocated and distributed within the plan area according to the standards of Section 206.04, Land Use Mix and Distribution within Residential Neighborhoods.

2. Street System:

a. Location of major and minor arterial streets, parkways and minor and collector streets, and proposed spacing of intersections.

b. Proposed street alignments in relation to existing and planned streets on all abutting properties.

c. Cross-sections or equivalent information that indicates the elements (travel lanes, parking lanes, bike lanes, planter strips, sidewalks, sound walls, street tree spacing) and dimensions of elements to be included in each street type within the plan area.

d. Any proposed traffic calming facilities.

3. Pedestrian and Bike Network. A system of bicycle and pedestrian routes that provide access to all parts of the plan area. All proposed mid-block pedestrian connections or connections from the ends of cul-de-sacs to streets and parks shall be delineated.

4. Utilities. Location of main utility lines that must be extended into the project area to accommodate the proposed land uses and densities. The plan also must show utility placement in relation to street trees. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)

The land uses within a RN district shall be allocated and distributed according to the standards of this section.

A. 1. Consistency with General Plan. Land uses shall reflect the required land use mix in the General Plan Land Use Diagram. Adjustments to the locations of land uses indicated on the General Plan Land Use Diagram may be approved, as long as the total allocation of each use within each plan area is consistent with the proportions indicated on the diagram. Where such locational adjustments are proposed, the standards of this section provide a guide for the minimum allocation of land uses within residential neighborhoods.

2. Residential Uses. Residential uses shall be provided at densities consistent with the General Plan designation(s) for the site. A minimum of twenty (20) percent of the units within each master plan must be small-lot (4,500 sq. ft. or smaller lot size) detached homes, townhouse, or multi-family units within walking distance (1/4 mile) of the neighborhood center.

3. Public Parks. Land for public parks must be provided at a ratio of five (5) acres per one thousand (1,000) residents, or in-lieu fees must be paid as established by the City. Parks shall be consistent with any adopted parks or open space master plan for the city. The allocation of types of parks shall be as follows:

a. A minimum of three and one-half (3.5) acres of neighborhood parks per one thousand 1,000 residents; and

b. A minimum of one and one-half (1.5) acres of community parks per one thousand (1,000) residents.

4. Park Location. At least one (1) public park must be located within one (1) quarter mile, via a direct pedestrian route, of eighty (80) percent of all homes within the master plan area.

B. Non-Residential Uses. At least four (4) percent of gross land area must be designated for non-residential uses, including public and semi-public uses and/or neighborhood-serving commercial uses.

C. Neighborhood Centers. All master plan areas of one hundred sixty (160) acres or more must include a defined, centrally located, neighborhood center composed of a mix of retail, civic, and service-oriented uses, unless an existing or approved neighborhood center is located within one-quarter mile, via a direct pedestrian route, of eighty (80) percent of all homes within the master plan area. At minimum, neighborhood centers shall include:

1. Retail and Service Commercial Uses. Retail and service commercial uses oriented to serving the needs of local residents.

2. Public Plaza, Square, or Commons

a. Size: Minimum area of ten thousand (10,000) square feet.

b. Dimensions: Minimum horizontal dimension of fifty (50) feet.

c. Street Access: Bordered by public streets on at least one (1) side.

d. Required Amenities: Public plazas, squares, and commons shall include street furniture and other amenities such as gazebos, fountains, statuary, flag poles, kiosks, and benches. At least one (1) lineal foot of seating area shall be provided for each thirty (30) square feet of plaza area. Seating may include wooden benches, steps, seating walls, and retaining walls where the seating area is between sixteen (16) inches and thirty (30) inches above grade.

e. Surface and Planting: Public plazas, squares, and commons shall include paved walkways, and may include paved plaza areas. Landscaped areas and pervious surfaces that provide stormwater infiltration shall also be included.

f. Schools: School sites shall be provided as shown on the General Plan Land Use Diagram. Where locational adjustments are proposed, the applicant shall consult with the school district, Community Development Department, and the Parks and Leisure Services Department prior to submission of a master plan. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)

A. Minimum Park Size. Neighborhood parks must be a minimum of two (2) acres in size. Community parks must be a minimum of ten (10) acres in size.

B. Park Frontage and Accessibility. A minimum of sixty (60) percent of the perimeter of any public park must abut a street. Where it is not feasible to locate residences across the street from and facing the park, frequent pedestrian access to the park must be provided at the ends of cul-de-sacs.

C. Landscaped Area. At least fifty (50) percent of the horizontal area of any park shall consist of landscaped pervious surfaces such as turf, live plantings, gravel, sand, and bark. No more than fifty (50) percent of the area of a neighborhood park may be paved.

D. Detention Basins. Drainage detention basins may be located within parks; however, all parks shall include open turf area above the basin flood line for playing fields and active recreation areas. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)

A. Continuous Street System. All streets and alleys must connect to other streets and alleys to form a continuous vehicular and pedestrian network within the plan area and to adjacent development. The use of gates or other preventative barriers is not permitted on public streets.

B. Connection to Adjacent Areas. Streets shall be aligned with existing and planned arterial and collector streets in adjacent neighborhoods in such a way that a continuous street pattern is created. Where a new residential subdivision occurs adjacent to undeveloped land within the Urban Development Boundary, stubs must be provided for future connections to the edge of the property line. Where street stubs exist on adjacent properties, new streets within a new residential subdivision shall be connected to these stubs.

C. Dead-End Streets. Culs-de-sac and dead end streets shall be prohibited in residential areas except where necessary to give access to or permit satisfactory future development of adjoining land. Cul-de-sacs and dead end streets shall be avoided in all other areas. If cul-de-sacs and dead end streets cannot be avoided, the maximum length shall be six hundred (600) feet. Culs-de-sac longer than three hundred (300) feet shall have pedestrian paths connecting them to parks and adjacent streets.

D. Intersections. A minimum of three (3) collector streets shall intersect each one (1) mile length of arterial street. Pedestrian facilities shall be provided at all signalized intersections.

E. Maximum Block Length. Blocks shall not exceed six hundred (600) feet in length, unless existing adjacent property alignment, topographic, or traffic conditions justify a variation. Pedestrian connections consisting of a paved walkway at least five (5) feet wide within a ten (10) foot landscape right-of-way must be provided no more than three hundred fifty (350) feet apart for any blocks over six hundred (600) feet.

F. Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided along both sides of the street.

G. Pedestrian and Bicycle Paths. Continuous and convenient bicycle and pedestrian access shall be provided from every home within a plan area to the nearest neighborhood center, school, and park.

H. Traffic Calming. Traffic calming street design or devices shall be included as needed to ensure that designated speed limits are not exceeded.

I. Street Trees. Street trees shall be provided on all public street frontages. Fifteen gallon trees shall be planted in a linear fashion within planter strips between the curb and sidewalk, at least thirty (30) feet on center. Each master plan shall indicate the type and location of proposed street trees and how utility placement will accommodate street tree placement. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)

No more than three (3) homes within each block face may be designed to have the same front elevation. There must be two (2) distinguishing and obviously different characteristics, such as building envelope, front porch, window pattern, or roof shape, between the front elevations of homes within a single block. (Ord. 1866, 11-19-2019)