Chapter 20.550 — USE PERMITS - MINOR AND CONDITIONAL

• A. Purpose. The purpose of a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit is to provide sufficient flexibility in the use regulations in order to further the objective of this Zoning Code.

• B. Process for reviewing uses. A Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit provides a process for reviewing uses and activities that may be appropriate in the applicable zone, but whose effects on a site and surroundings cannot be determined before being proposed for a specific site.

• C. Special consideration. Certain types of land uses require special consideration in a particular zone or in the City as a whole because they possess unique characteristics or present special problems that make automatic inclusion as permitted uses either impractical or undesirable.

• (Ord. 1017, 2013)

A Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit is required to authorize proposed land uses identified by Article 2 (Zone-Specific Standards) as being allowable in the applicable zone subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit.

(Ord. 1017, 2013)

• A. Conditional Use Permits. Conditional Use Permits shall be approved or disapproved by the:

  1. Commission. Commission, when not considered concurrently with another application that requires Council approval; or

  2. Council. Council, when considered concurrently with another application that requires Council approval; or where the Council is the review authority, as specified in Chapter 20.330 (Affordable Housing - Density Bonuses) and in Chapter 20.545 (Transfer of Development Rights), with the Commission first making a written recommendation to the Council.

• B. Minor Use Permits.

  1. The Director shall approve or disapprove Minor Use Permits.

  2. The Director may choose to refer any Minor Use Permit application to the Commission for review and final decision.

(Ord. 1017, 2013)

An application for a Conditional Use Permit and/or Minor Use Permit shall be filed and processed in compliance with Chapter 20.500 (Permit Application Filing and Processing). The application shall include the information and materials specified in the Department handout for Conditional Use Permit and Minor Use Permit applications, together with payment of the required fee in compliance with the City's Planning Fee Schedule. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide evidence in support of the findings required by Section 20.550.060 (Findings and Decision), below.

(Ord. 1017, 2013)

Each application shall be reviewed by the Director to ensure that the proposal complies with all applicable requirements of this Zoning Code.

• A. Conditional Use Permits.

  1. The Commission (or Council when considering a concurrently filed application) shall conduct a public hearing on an application for a Conditional Use Permit before a decision on the application.

  2. Notice of the hearing shall be provided, and the hearing shall be conducted in compliance with Chapter 20.625 (Public Hearings).

• B. Minor Use Permits. Before a decision on a Minor Use Permit, the City shall provide notice in compliance with Chapter 20.625 (Public Hearings), and as follows.

  1. Notice.

     • a. The notice shall state that the Director will decide whether to approve or disapprove the Minor Use Permit application on a date specified in the notice, and that a public hearing will be held only if requested in writing by any interested person at least five days before the specified date for the decision.

     • b. The written request for a hearing shall be based on issues of significance directly related to the application (e.g., provision of evidence that the request cannot meet one or more of the findings identified in Section 20.550.060 [Findings and Decision], below).

     • c. If the Director determines that the evidence has merit and can be properly addressed by a condition(s) added to the Minor Use Permit approval, the Director may consider the permit in compliance with Subparagraph 3. (If no hearing is requested), below.

  2. If hearing is requested. If a public hearing is requested, and the provisions of Subparagraph B. 1. c., above do not apply, the Director shall schedule the hearing that shall be noticed and conducted in compliance with Chapter 20.625 (Public Hearings).

  3. If no hearing is requested. If no public hearing is requested, the Director shall render a decision on the date specified in the notice referred to in Subparagraph B. 1. a., above.

  4. Appeals. The Director's decision is appealable to the Commission in compliance with Chapter 20.615 (Appeals).

• (Ord. 1017, 2013)

• A. Review authority's action. An application for a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit may be approved subject to conditions, or disapproved by the review authority.

• B. Required findings. The review authority may approve a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit only if it first makes all of the following findings:

  1. The proposed use is consistent with the General Plan and any applicable specific plan;

  2. The proposed use is allowed within the applicable zone and complies with all other applicable provisions of this Zoning Code and the Municipal Code;

  3. The design, location, size, and operating characteristics of the proposed activity will be compatible with the existing and future land uses in the vicinity;

  4. The site is physically suitable in terms of:

     • a. Its design, location, shape, size, and operating characteristics of the proposed use;

     • b. The provision of public and emergency vehicle (e.g., fire and medical) access;

     • c. Public protection services (e.g., fire protection, police protection, etc.);

     • d. The provision of utilities (e.g., potable water, schools, solid waste collection and disposal, storm drainage, wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal, etc.); and

     • e. Served by highways and streets adequate in width and improvement to carry the kind and quantity of traffic the proposed use would likely generate.

  5. The site's suitability ensures that the type, density, and intensity of use being proposed will not adversely affect the public convenience, health, interest, safety, or general welfare, constitute a nuisance, or be materially detrimental to the improvements, persons, property, or uses in the vicinity and zone in which the property is located; and

  6. The applicant agrees in writing to comply with any and all of the conditions imposed by the review authority in the approval of the Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit.

• (Ord. 1017, 2013)

In approving a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit, the review authority may impose any conditions deemed reasonable and necessary to ensure that the approval will comply with the findings required by Section 20.550.060 (Findings and Decision), above. (Ord. 1017, 2013)

No permits or approvals shall be issued for any use involved in an application for a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit until and unless the same shall have become final, in compliance with Section 20.565.030 (Effective Date of Permits).

(Ord. 1017, 2013)

An approved Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit may be modified in compliance with Section 20.565.100 (Changes to an Approved Project). (Ord. 1017, 2013)

The City may conduct a periodic review of the permit to ensure proper compliance with this Zoning Code and any developmental or operational conditions imposed by the review authority. (Ord. 1017, 2013)

A Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit approved in compliance with the provisions of this Chapter shall continue to be valid upon a change of ownership of the business, lot, service, structure, or use that was the subject of the permit application in the same area, configuration, and manner as it was originally approved in compliance with this Chapter and the provisions of Chapter 20.620 (Nonconformities). (Ord. 1017, 2013)

The procedures and requirements in Chapter 20.565 (Implementation, Time Limits, and Extensions), and those related to appeals and revocation in Article 6 (Administration) shall apply following the decision on a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Use Permit application.

(Ord. 1017, 2013)