San Clemente Municipal Code Ch. 15.44 Residential Development Control

The people of the City of San Clemente find and declare as follows:

A. The City has adopted a General Plan and City ordinances relating to the regulation of the residential development.

B. The City is experiencing a period of residential development which is adversely affecting the capacity of the streets and local freeway system to meet traffic demands, the capacity of parking facilities in business, beach and other areas, the capacity of area schools to absorb children, the village by the sea character of the community, the quality of life prevalent in the City, its sphere of influence and the surrounding region, and the cost to households of some utilities and municipal services.

C. It is the intent of the people of the City to achieve a steady, rather than a fluctuating, overly rapid, rate of residential growth each year in order that the services provided by City, school, park, utility and/or service agencies operating in the City and surrounding region can be properly and effectively staged in a manner which will not overextend existing facilities, and in order that deficient services may be brought up to required and necessary standards while minimizing, by means of long-range planning, the avoidable costs of short-sighted facility expansion.

D. It is the intent of the people of the City to establish control over the quality, distribution and rate of growth of the City in the interest of:

1. Preserving the character of the community;

2. Protecting the open space of the City;

3. Protecting the quality of life in the City;

4. Ensuring the adequacy of City facilities, school facilities, recreation and park facilities, and services;

5. Ensuring a balance of housing types and values in the City which will accommodate a variety of families including families of moderate income and older families on limited and/or fixed incomes;

6. Ensuring the balanced development of the City;

7. Preventing further significant deterioration in local air quality;

8. Ensuring that the traffic demands do not exceed the capacity of streets that are in character with the City's semirural nature;

9. Ensuring that the City does not grow in a pattern that places a severe strain on the local freeway system;

10. Ensuring the adequacy of fire protection and police services;

11. Ensuring adequate water and sanitary sewer system.

E. It is the purpose of this chapter to augment the policies of the City as recorded in the General Plan and other City ordinances relating to the regulation of residential development.

F. In order to accomplish this purpose, the City must be able to control the rate, distribution, quality and economic level of proposed development on a year-to-year basis. To this end, the residential development control system for the City codified in this chapter shall be in effect from and after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter until December 31, 2006.

G. It is further the intent of the people of the City that the award of development allocations pursuant to this chapter be accomplished, in accordance with the criteria set forth herein, fairly, impartially and without discrimination against any particular parcel of land or development project.

H. It is the further intent of the people of the City that this chapter not affect the zoning or other land use approvals for a particular parcel of land or development project, but shall be a regulation of the timing, or rate, of development.

(Prior code § 38-1)

The system set out in this chapter shall apply from the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter to all residential development, in the City, including mobilehomes, with the exception of the following:

A. Projects of not more than four (4) residential dwellings, limited to only one (1) such project per developer per calendar year;

B. Fourplexes or lesser-numbered multiple dwellings on a single existing lot;

C. Single-family residential units on a single existing lot;

D. Rehabilitation or remodeling of an existing dwelling, or conversion of apartments to condominiums, so long as no additional dwelling units are created;

E. Projects of single-family dwellings where no residential lot is less than two and one-half (2½) acres in size; and

F. Construction of model home complexes when a development allocation has been approved for the project and units within the model home complex will not be occupied, transferred or sold for individual occupancy until a development allocation has been received for such units, or, the units qualify under an exception provisions pursuant to this section at the time occupancy is requested. The developer shall sign an agreement to be recorded providing for these limitations prior to the issuance of a building permit.

(Prior code § 38-2)

A. .....In order to administer the system set forth in this chapter, and especially to make the valuations set forth in Section 15.44.060, a Residential Development Evaluation Board (hereinafter called the Board) is established, consisting of the duly appointed members of the Planning Commission of the City.

B. .....The procedures and bylaws of the Board shall be developed by the Board, subject to the approval of the City Council, and the provisions of this chapter. The Planning Department of the City shall serve as the staff of the Board.

(Prior code § 38-3)

A. .....The number of dwelling units hereinafter to be constructed each year in the City (except for dwelling units exempted in accordance with the provisions of Section 15.44.020), is a maximum of five hundred (500).

B. .....The annual allocation may be modified by the City Council to an amount not greater than ten (10) percent more or less for any given year, provided that the annual allocation for the next succeeding year shall be set higher or lower, as the case may be, in order to redress any excess or deficiency. This ten (10) percent rule shall apply in all instances except that expressly provided for in Section 15.44.070(A).

C. .....The annual allocation shall be continuously applicable to the City's jurisdictional boundaries and shall not be modified by reason of annexation or additional territory.

(Prior code § 38-4)

No building permit of nonexempt projects may be issued unless a development allocation for such project has been granted. At any time prior to obtaining a building permit, the developer of proposed projects not exempted from application for development allocation pursuant to the provisions of Section 15.44.020 shall apply for a development allocation as set forth herein.

(Prior code § 38-5)

The Board shall consider annually all applications properly submitted and shall make recommendations to the City Council based on the criteria set forth below:

A. Availability of Public Facilities and Services. The Board shall examine each application for its relation to or impact upon local public facilities and services, and shall rate each development by the assignment of from zero (0) to ten (10) points (zero (0) indicating very poor, ten (10) indicating excellent) on each of the following attributes:

1. The capacity of the water system to provide for the needs of the proposed development without system extensions beyond those normally installed by the developer;

2. The capacity of the sanitary sewers to dispose of the wastes of the proposed development without system extension beyond those normally installed by the developer;

3. The capacity of the drainage facilities to adequately dispose of the surface runoff of the proposed development without system extensions beyond those normally installed by the developer;

4. The ability of the Fire Department to provide fire protection according to the established response standards of the City without the necessity of establishing a new station or requiring addition of major equipment or housing facilities to an existing station;

5. The capacity of the appropriate school to absorb the children expected to inhabit a proposed development without necessitating or adding to double sessions or other unusual scheduling or classroom overcrowding;

6. The capacity of major street linkage to provide for the needs of the proposed development without substantially altering existing traffic patterns or overloading the existing street system, and the capacity of Interstate 5 within the City limits to provide for the needs of the proposed development without substantially altering the freeway level of service;

7. The availability of public facilities (such as parks, playgrounds, etc.) to meet the demands for vital public services without extension of services beyond those provided by the developer;

8. The ability of the Police Department to provide police protection and service according to the established response standards of the City without the necessity of establishing a new station or requiring the addition of major equipment or facilities to an existing station;

9. The above shall be evaluated in the manner provided for in the "RDEB criteria" as adopted and amended from time to time by resolution of the City Council.

B. Quality of Design and Contribution of Public Welfare and Amenity. The Board shall further examine each application and shall rate each development by the assignment of from zero (0) to ten (10) points (zero (0) indicating very poor, ten (10) indicating excellent) on each of the following attributes:

1. Site and architectural design quality which may be indicated by the harmony of the proposed buildings in terms of size, height, color and location with existing neighboring development;

2. The amount and character of open space landscaping;

3. The amount and character of slope landscaping;

4. Site and architectural design quality which may be indicated by the arrangement of the site for efficiency of circulation, on- and off-site traffic safety, privacy, etc.;

5. The provisions of public and/or private usable open space;

6. Contributions to and extensions of existing systems of foot or bicycle paths, equestrian trails and facilities and/or greenbelts;

7. The provision of needed public facilities such as critical linkages in the major street system, school rooms, functional parks, or other vital public facilities;

8. Site and architectural design quality which may be indicated by the amount and character of modification of the topography, including quantity of grading, extent of natural slopes and/or filled and impact on ridgelines;

9. Absence of deleterious impact on trees and archeological sites;

10. The provision of significant water conservation features;

11. The provision of energy generation and conservation features, such as additional insulation, house siting and design, solar techniques and other innovation techniques;

12. Absence of deleterious impact on the physical and/or aesthetical environment;

13. The provision of units in a project formally reserved and dedicated as senior housing. If the project does not include senior housing, this criteria shall not be subtracted or figured into the total percentage points;

14. Those specific units which are formally dedicated for occupancy by low-income persons within a project which is funded or subsidized as a low-income project pursuant to the provision of applicable federal, state or local laws or programs, shall be entitled to ten (10) additional bonus points. For the purpose of this chapter, a project is funded or subsidized pursuant to applicable federal, state or local laws or programs if it receives a loan, grant or continuing financial subsidy for the purpose of developing low-income housing units. If the project does not include low-cost housing, this criteria shall not be subtracted or figured into the total percentage points;

15. Absence of deleterious impact on historical or cultural landmarks;

16. The above shall be evaluated in the manner provided for in the "RDEB criteria" as adopted and amended from time to time by resolution of the City Council.

C. After having studied each application in accordance with subsections A and B of this section, in regard to each of these criteria, or so many of them as may be applicable, and having assigned evaluation points on a scale of zero (0) to ten (10) in accordance with its findings, the Board shall prepare a chart documenting the points awarded in each subdivision of subsections A and B of this section. The chart shall also indicate the subtotals for points in subsections A and B of this section and the overall totals for points awarded in all these sections. In addition, the Board shall prepare three (3) lists as follows:

1. A list ranking the competing projects from the highest to the lowest percentage of points scored in subsection A of this section. The percentage shall be calculated by dividing the points scored in subsection A of this section by the total maximum points possible in subsection A of this section.

2. A listing ranking the competing projects from the highest to the lowest percentage of points scored in subsection B of this section. The percentage shall be calculated by dividing the points scored in subsection B of this section by the total maximum possible points in subsections A and B of this section.

3. A cumulative list ranking the competing projects from the highest to the lowest percentage of the combined points scored in subsection B of this section combined. The percentage shall be calculated by dividing the total points scored in subsections A and B of this section by the total maximum points possible in said subsections A and B.

D. Having evaluated each development in accordance with the criteria set out in this section, the Board shall publish in appropriate ways the rating given to each development on each of those criteria. The Board shall then schedule a public hearing to be held within fifteen (15) to thirty (30) days of classification of the point assignments made by the Board.

1. The applicant or any interested party may request the Board, at public hearing, to reevaluate the point assignment made on any or all of the criteria. The primary criteria for the Board to alter its point assignment on a particular development is demonstration by the applicant or interested party that there exists pertinent information which the Board was not aware of at the time of the original evaluation.

2. Any applicant or interested party who is dissatisfied with the Board's action may, within seven (7) days of the action, submit written notification of such dissent to the City Clerk, which will be furnished to the City Council prior to the awarding of development allocations.

E. Having evaluated each application, the Board shall present their lists of evaluations and recommendations to the City Council for the awarding of development allocations.

(Prior code § 38-6)

A. .....The City Council shall consider, at a public hearing, the Board recommendations and rankings of the proposed development in each of the three (3) lists prepared pursuant to Section 15.44.060 and shall award development allocations based on their evaluation of those recommendations and rankings.

1. Development Program Allocation. The number of dwelling units for which development allocations shall be issued shall not exceed the allocations established in accordance with Section 15.44.040.

2. Allocation Limitation. No single developer shall, in any one (1) year, be issued a development allocation for dwelling units in excess of a number to be established by resolution of the City Council.

3. Minimum Point Requirements. The City Council shall eliminate from consideration any development which has not been assigned the minimum points required to meet the minimum standards of that specific criterion, exclusive of bonus points. If in a given year the highest-ranking development does not at least meet both the minimum point requirements, the City Council shall make no development allotment for that year. The number of units will then be added, as the only allowed exception to the ten (10) percent rule in Section 15.44.040(B), to the allocation for the ensuing year.

B. .....The City Council will make the annual development allocations at a time to be selected by the City Council, but in no event later than thirty (30) days following submission of the lists and recommendations of the Board as provided in Section 15.44.060(E).

C. .....Should an applicant for a custom lot sale project or such applicant's successor-in-interest fail to initiate construction within five (5) years after award of the development allocation, the City Council may rescind all or part of the development allocation and reassign the allocation to an on-going project that received an allocation during the same or any subsequent year.

D. .....Any applicant that has modified or altered a project which has previously been awarded development allocations may request that the City reallocate the previously awarded development allocations to the modified or altered project when such modifications or alterations are not "minor" as that term is used in Resolution 86-93, Exhibit "B"(6) (i). An applicant seeking to reallocate previously awarded development allocations to a modified or altered project shall complete the reallocation application on the form provided by the City, and shall submit the application, together with the required fee, to the Community Development Department. The City Council shall reallocate the previously awarded development allocations to a modified or altered project if it is determined at a public hearing that the following conditions are satisfied:

1. The project has previously been awarded development allocations;

2. The applicant is not seeking to increase the number of units in the project;

3. All elements of the revised or altered project meet all minimum City standards required for the project;

4. The revised or altered project has previously been awarded all necessary discretionary approvals; and

5. After a reevaluation of the revised or altered project pursuant to the then-current Residential Development Evaluation Board's standards, the points awarded to the revised or altered project are equal to or greater than the number of RDEB points in each RDEB category originally assigned to the project.

If the above conditions are not satisfied, the applicant must resubmit the project for development allocations in the next annual development allocation sequence as if no allocations were ever awarded.

Applications for a reallocation of previously awarded development allocations for modified or altered projects may be submitted at any time. The reallocation of development allocations shall not affect the number of development allocations to be awarded in the year in which the reallocation is made.

(Prior code § 38-7)

Should the arrangement of projects as provided in Section 15.44.070(A) produce the situation in which two (2) projects have equal evaluation point scores, but only one (1) project can be permitted within the quota, the City Council may offer those applicants a pro rata share of the number of units available within the quota, or may dispose of such a tie in any other manner deemed equitable by the City Council.

(Prior code § 38-8)

Any legal action to challenge any decision of the Board, City Council or any other governmental body performing a function under this chapter shall be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within thirty (30) days immediately following the action challenged.

(Prior code § 38-9)

The City Council may, after a public hearing, by a four-fifths (⅘) vote, amend any part of this chapter, providing the amendment is consistent with the intent of this chapter. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no amendment to the type of exemptions provided in Section 15.44.020 or to the number of available annual allocations provided in Section 15.44.040 shall be effective without prior ratification of a majority of the voters of the City at a general or special election.

(Prior code § 38-10)