Article 15.04.809 — WAIVERS

This article is intended to provide an alternate means of granting relief from the requirements of Article XV for minor deviations from dimensional and design standards when so doing would be consistent with the purposes of Article XV and it is not possible to grant a variance. Further to this end, it is the policy of the City to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to provide reasonable accommodation for protected uses and for persons with disabilities seeking fair access to housing through a waiver of the application of the City's zoning regulations. This article authorizes the Zoning Administrator to grant administrative relief from Article XV's dimensional requirements to achieve these objectives.

The Zoning Administrator may grant relief from the dimensional requirements specified in Article XV, not to exceed 10 percent of the requirement. The Zoning Administrator also may grant a waiver that would exceed 10 percent where such a waiver is necessary to comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of State and/or federal law, based on a determination that the specific circumstances of the application warrant such an accommodation. Waivers may be granted for:

A.

Setbacks. Up to 10 percent of front, side, and rear yard setback standards.

B.

Build-to Lines. Up to 10 percent of the standards for building façade location.

C.

Parking. Up to 10 percent of the dimensional standards for parking spaces, aisles, driveways, landscaping, garages on sloping lots, and parking facility design.

D.

Fences. Up to 10 percent of the standards for the maximum height and location of fences.

E.

Lot Coverage. Up to 10 percent of the maximum amount of lot coverage.

F.

Height. Up to 10 percent or two feet of the maximum building height or other height limitations, whichever is less.

G.

Landscaping. Up to 10 percent of the required landscaping.

H.

Transparency. Up to 10 percent of the minimum ground-floor building transparency requiring views into buildings.

I.

Other Standards. Up to 10 percent of other development standards not listed in Section 15.04.809.030 below.

Waivers cannot be granted for any of the following standards:

A.

Lot area, width, or depth;

B.

Maximum number of stories;

C.

Minimum number of required parking spaces;

D.

Minimum or maximum residential density; or

E.

Maximum floor area ratio (FAR).

15.04.809.040 - Procedures.

A.

Authority and Duties. The Zoning Administrator must approve, conditionally approve, or deny applications for waivers based on consideration of the requirements of this article.

B.

Application Requirements. An application for a waiver must be filed and processed in accordance with the procedures in Article 15.04.803 (Common Procedures). In addition to any other application requirements, the application for a waiver must include data or other evidence explaining why the findings necessary to grant the waiver, set forth in Section 15.04.809.050 (Required Findings), are satisfied.

C.

Review of Waiver Requests for Reasonable Accommodation to Ensure Access to Housing. An application for a waiver based on a request for a reasonable accommodation to ensure access to housing will be referred to the Zoning Administrator for review and consideration. Such a request may exceed the 10 percent limits in Section 15.04.809.020 (Applicability). The Zoning Administrator must issue a written decision within 45 days of the date the application is deemed complete, and may grant the reasonable accommodation request, grant with modifications, or deny the request. All written decisions must give notice of the right to appeal and to request reasonable accommodation in the appeals process.

D.

Concurrent Processing. If a request for waiver is being submitted in conjunction with an application for another approval, permit, or entitlement under Article XV, it must be heard and acted upon at the same time and in the same manner as that application.

A decision to grant a waiver must be based on the following findings:

A.

The waiver is necessary due to the physical characteristics of the property and the proposed use or structure or other circumstances, including, but not limited to, topography, noise exposure, irregular property boundaries, or other unusual circumstance.

B.

There are no alternatives to the requested waiver that could provide an equivalent level of benefit to the applicant with less potential detriment to surrounding owners and occupants or to the general public.

C.

The granting of the requested waiver will not be detrimental to the health or safety of the public or the occupants of the property or result in a change in land use or density that would be inconsistent with the requirements of Article XV.

D.

If the waiver requested is to provide reasonable accommodation pursuant to State or federal law, the review authority must also make the following findings in addition to any other findings that this article requires:

1.

That the housing or other property that is the subject of the request for reasonable accommodation will be used by an individual or organization entitled to protection;

2.

If the request for accommodation is to provide fair access to housing, that the request for accommodation is necessary to make specific housing available to an individual protected under State or federal law;

3.

That the conditions imposed, if any, are necessary to further a compelling public interest and represent the least restrictive means of furthering that interest; and

4.

That denial of the requested waiver would impose a substantial burden on religious exercise or would conflict with any State or federal statute requiring reasonable accommodation to provide access to housing.

The decision-maker has the authority to impose reasonable conditions that are related and proportionate to what is being requested by the applicant, as deemed necessary and appropriate to ensure that the provisions of the General Plan, any applicable specific plan, and Article XV are met. The decision-maker may require reasonable guarantees and evidence that such conditions are being, or will be, complied with. Waivers approved based on State or federal requirements for reasonable accommodation may be conditioned to provide for rescission or automatic expiration based on a change of occupancy or other relevant change in circumstance.

The Zoning Administrator's decision on a waiver may be appealed to the Planning Commission in accordance with Section 15.04.803.140 (Appeals).