Article 11 — Hillside Planned Development (H-P-D) Permit

The purpose of the H-P-D permit is to assure that the intent and purpose of the hillside planned development district are effectuated.

The terms and symbols used in this section shall have the following meanings:

A. Base density means the number of dwelling units per gross acres as determined by Section 10-2.4.1105(A).

B. Contour interval means the difference in elevation between adjacent contour lines on a topographical or planimetric map.

C. "I" means the contour interval measured in feet.

D. "L" means the summation of the length of all contour lines measured in feet.

E. Open space means landscaped areas and areas retained in their original state without enhancement by landscaping which are owned in common by owners of the residential lots within a development or the required yards in a residential district.

F. Ridge means a connected series of major and minor hills.

G. Ridgeline means a ground line located at the highest elevation of the ridge running parallel to the long axis of the ridge.

H. Weighted incremental slope (WIS) means a number assigned to a specific parcel of land for the purpose of determining its relative slope conditions and is determined according to the following:

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WIS = 0.0023IL
Area in
Acres
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The calculation of the WIS shall be performed pursuant to the criteria and procedure set forth in Section 102.4.1103(E).

I. Stream means a natural body of water following a specific course in a definable channel which flows either intermittently or year round.

J. Pond means a natural or man-made small body of water located in a specific area which contains water either intermittently or year round.

K. Riparian vegetation means that vegetation to be found along the banks of a defined stream or pond.

Any application for an H-P-D permit shall be accompanied by the following data prepared by a design team consisting of an architect, landscape architect and registered civil engineer:

A. A site plan showing general locations of all streets, on-street and off-street parking, bicycle paths, riding trails, hiking trails, buildings and other man-made structures; typical elevations or perspective drawings sufficient to show building height, building materials, colors and general design; perspective drawings showing the relationship after development of the proposed buildings and the topographic features of the site; and a table listing land coverage by percentage and acreage for the following: open space (intensely landscaped and natural), all streams, ponds and areas existing in riparian vegetation coverage by housing unit roof, parking (covered, open, off-street), streets, sidewalks, paths, recreational facilities;

B. A topographical map showing existing contours and proposed lot lines, which may be integrated with the site plan described above; the lot lines may be omitted if building locations on the site plan make proposed lot lines obvious;

C. A topographical map at a scale not smaller than 1 inch = 100 feet showing contour lines existing prior to grading at an interval of not more than ten (10) feet; a grading plan showing increments of the depths of all cuts and fills in various colors of any similar display which shows the cuts, fills, depths thereof in colors; and a slope classification map showing, in contrasting colors, all land which has less than a 10% slope, that land which has a slope between 10% and 20%, that land which has a slope between 20% and 30%, that land which has a slope between 30% and 40%, and all land which has a slope greater than 40%. The Community Development Director may allow a reduction in the scale of the map or an increase in the contour interval when the size of a parcel or its terrain requires such changes to make the map more meaningful;

D. Profiles showing the relationship of the proposed project to any dominant geological or topographical features which may be on or in the vicinity of the proposed project;

E. The calculation of the WIS factor shall be prepared by a registered civil engineer or a licensed land surveyor and the following criteria and procedure shall be used:

1. The contour map shall have ten (10) foot contour intervals;

2. The interval used in WIS calculation shall be two (2) feet and interpolation of the contour intervals is required;

3. Topographic map scale:

F. Any tree(s) including size and species as defined in §3-8.02 of this Code whether or not such tree(s) is to be removed or destroyed, on the site plan or on a separate plat;

G. Sufficient dimensions to show right-of-way widths, pavement widths, radii of curvature of center lines, street grades, whether streets are to be public or private, and all proposed frontage improvements on new and existing streets;

H. A current preliminary soils and geological report prepared by a registered civil engineer and a registered geologist;

I. A detailed landscaping plan showing the natural open space which will remain upon completion of development, all existing trees (and indicating which trees are scheduled for removal), and the precise boundaries of additional landscaping; the landscape plan shall include container size of all trees and shrubs, species of all plant material, irrigation system plan, street lighting, low level path lighting, street furniture and fencing materials, dimensions and locations;

J. A statement in writing stipulating to the total number of bedrooms to be constructed; and

K. The initial plan shall indicate the density allowed by Section 10-2.4.1107(A) and the location of the proposed units. Any request for density adjustments allowed by Section 10-2.4.1107(B) shall be shown on an alternate plan detailing the location of the additional units and amenities.

Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, an applicant for an H-P-D permit for the development of five (5) or more acres, which development will occur in stages, may submit general information relating to items in subsections (A) and (I) of this section for review by both the Design Review Commission and the Planning Commission. Precise and detailed plans setting forth the information required by these items shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for its review and approval prior to the approval of a tentative subdivision map, building permit or other construction authorized by the H-P-D permit. (§4, Ord. 2239, eff. 7/5/24)

Following are the procedures for processing an application for an H-P-D permit:

A. Review by Design Review Commission and Planning Commission. Upon receipt of the data required by Section 10-2.4.1103 of this section, all such data shall be transmitted to the Design Review Commission for its preliminary review of the site plan and building design. Within thirty days, the Design Review Commission shall advise the Planning Commission in writing of any comments it desires to make and any changes to the site plan

or building design which it deems appropriate as a result of its preliminary review. Upon receipt of a recommendation from the Design Review Commission, the Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing to consider the request for an H-P-D permit. If the Planning Commission recommends approval or conditional approval of an H-P-D permit, its resolution setting forth the reasons for said recommendation shall be transmitted to the Council and to the applicant.

B. Review by City Council. Upon receipt of a resolution from the Planning Commission recommending approval of an H-P-D permit, the City Clerk shall schedule a public hearing before the Council with notice of the time, date and place of public hearing being given, pursuant to Part IV, Article 3. of this chapter. Following the public hearing, the Council may approve or disapprove the H-P-D permit. In approving a permit, the Council may modify the recommendations of the Planning Commission. In making its decision, the Council shall be subject to the same requirements as are placed on either of the commissions by this section.

C. Referral. Council may also refer the matter back to the Planning Commission for further report and recommendation. The Planning Commission shall not be required to hold a public hearing on a matter referred back to it, but shall submit its report and recommendation within forty days after the reference; otherwise the proposed modifications shall be deemed approved.

D. Detailed Plan Review. If the City Council approves an H-P-D permit the detailed development plans and building plans shall be submitted to the Design Review Commission pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 4 of this title for processing and approval. The processing of an H-P-D permit shall not be deemed to be complete until the above approval by the Design Review Commission has been obtained.

E. Denial by Planning Commission. If the Planning Commission recommends denial of an H-P-D permit application, no further action by the City Council is necessary unless the Planning Commission's decision is appealed to the City Council by the applicant pursuant to the provisions of Part IV, Article 5 of this chapter.

F. Permit Amendments. Hillside planned development permit amendments proposing an increase in the number of originally approved dwelling units shall be required to go through the same process required for a new H-P-D permit. Amendments to H-P-D permits not calling for an increase of the number of originally approved dwelling units must be certified to be in substantial conformity with the original permit by both the City Engineer and Community Development Director, and if either fails to make such a finding, the request shall be deemed denied unless overturned on appeal to the Planning Commission pursuant to Part IV, Article 5 of this chapter. The City Council may amend an H-P-D permit in order to protect the public health, safety and general welfare, and the process to be used for such an amendment shall be the same as is required for new H-P-D permits. (§18, Ord. 2134, eff. 11/20/14)

In recommending approval of, or in approving an H-P-D permit, the following findings must be made:

A. The approval of the plan is in the best interests of the public health, safety and general welfare;

B. Off-site and on-site views of the ridges will not be substantially impaired and the roofline of any structure will not be located within a vertical distance of seventy-five feet of the ridgeline. In determining which ridges are subject to this finding, the following criteria shall be used: The intents and purposes set forth in Sec. 10-2.2.501. shall be followed.

C. Any grading to be performed within the project boundaries takes into account the environmental

characteristics of that property, including but not limited to prominent geological features, existing stream beds and significant tree cover, and is designed in keeping with the best engineering practices to avoid erosion, slides or flooding, to have as minimal an effect on the environment as possible;

D. Streets, buildings and other man-made structures have been designed and located in such a manner as to complement the natural terrain and natural landscape;

E. Adequate fire safety measures have been incorporated into the design of the plan;

• F. The plan conforms to the purpose and intent of the hillside planned development district;

• G. The plan is consistent with the City's general plan; and

• H. Streams, ponds and riparian vegetation have been, where possible, preserved in their natural state.

In the recommendation for approval and in the approval of an H-P-D permit, conditions may be imposed which are deemed necessary to protect the public health, safety and general welfare in line with the standards set forth above.

A. Base Density. Except as provided in section 10-2.4.1106 of this section, the base density shall be determined by the following:

Any WIS not shown in the above table shall be determined by interpolation, using the graph and formula set forth in Exhibit A, which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.

B. Density Adjustments. The effectiveness of hillside development can be affected by a number of factors such as the physical characteristics of a specific parcel, the amount of landscaped and natural open space existing within a development, the existence of amenities within a development and the number of people who will reside in the hill area. Therefore, in order to encourage hillside developments which take into consideration the above factors, adjustments may be made in the base density in the recommendation for approval and approval of an H-P-D permit, pursuant to any of the following:

1. The existence of open space beyond that required by Section 10-2.4.1108;

2. The existence of amenities or on-site or off-site improvements which are not normally found or required in residential developments;

3. The existence of a mixture of housing types which provides a variation in the appearance of the development and allows a range of housing prices for differing income levels, and has a projected population which is comparable to or lower than the projected population of a single housing type;

4. The existence of landscaping of a type, size and quantity which exceeds that required by this section;

5. The existence of a topographical feature, including but not limited to a cliff or deep ravine, of a magnitude which causes the WIS to be significantly greater than would be the case if the topographic feature were not considered; and

6. The offer to and acceptance by the City of land in excess of the park land dedication requirements of Section 10-1.516 of this code.

C. General Plan Range. Notwithstanding the density established by subparagraphs A and B above, no property shall develop at a density which exceeds the maximum of the General Plan range within which that property lies, nor shall any property be required to develop at a density less than the minimum of the General Plan range within which that property lies. If a parcel of property is situated within two different general plan ranges, the density range for the parcel shall be the weighted average of those ranges.

The percentage of the site which must remain in open space or be devoted solely to recreation use shall be a minimum of twenty-five percent plus 1.5 times the WIS factor and a maximum of ninety percent. Recreation use as used in this section shall include only those lands which are offered for dedication as public parks and which are acceptable to the City. In addition, no development shall exceed the maximum building coverage allowed in the most comparable residential zoning district.

A. Size and Treatment. In order to keep all graded areas and cuts and fills to a minimum, to eliminate unsightly grading and to preserve the natural appearance and beauty of the property as far as possible as well as to serve the other specified purposes of this article, specific requirements may be placed on the size of areas to be graded or to be used for building, and on the size, height and angles of cut slopes and fill slopes and the shape thereof. In appropriate cases retaining walls may be required.

B. Restrictions. All areas indicated as natural open space on the approved development plan shall be undisturbed by grading, excavating, structures or otherwise except that riding trails, hiking trails, picnic areas, stables and similar amenities may be placed in natural open space pursuant to the approval of an H-P-D permit.

C. Landscaping. The H-P-D permit shall include the planting of newly created banks or slopes for erosion control or to minimize their visual effect.

Development on any Open Space/Agriculture Lands, as defined in this Ordinance, shall: (a) be prohibited on slopes with existing grades of twenty percent (20%) or greater, or within 75 vertical feet of any Ridgeline, or within the area surrounding any Native Tree for a distance of one and one-half times the distance from the trunk to the dripline, which slopes and areas shall be left in their natural state; (b) not exceed a density of one (1) dwelling unit per ten (10) acres; (c) be limited to detached, single-family residential housing and normal

appurtenances; (d) be located and constructed in such a manner as to prevent visual impacts on scenic vistas and existing neighborhoods; (e) not result in the cutting of or damage to any Native Tree; and (f) not be eligible for density bonuses, adjustments or averaging, including without limitation those provided in Section 102.4.1107.

Development within areas identified as High Risk Areas shall be limited to a maximum density of one (1) dwelling unit per twenty (20) acres. If any High Risk Area is located wholly or partly within Open Space/Agriculture Lands, said area shall be subject to the provisions of Section 10-2.4.1110, except that the maximum density shall be as specified in this Section 10-2.4.1111. An application for an H-P-D permit may be filed with the Planning Commission as provided in Article 2 above. In addition to the data required under Article 2, the application shall be accompanied by the following data prepared by a design team consisting of an architect, landscape architect and civil engineer, except that the Planning Manager may waive the requirement for any specific member of the design team or for filing any of these listed data when such is not applicable to the specific project:

A. A site plan showing general locations of all streets, on-street and off-street parking, bicycle paths, riding trails, hiking trails, buildings and other man-made structures; typical elevations or perspective drawings sufficient to show building height, building materials, colors and general design; perspective drawings showing the relationship after development of the proposed buildings and the topographic features of the site; and a table listing land coverage by percentage and acreage for the following: open space (intensely landscaped and natural), all streams, ponds and areas existing in riparian vegetation coverage by housing unit roof, parking (covered, open, off-street), streets, sidewalks, paths, recreational facilities;

B. A topographical map showing existing contours and proposed lot lines, which may be integrated with the site plan described above; the lot lines may be omitted if building locations on the site plan make proposed lot lines obvious;

C. A topographical map at a scale not smaller than 1 inch = 100 feet showing contour lines existing prior to grading at an interval of not more than ten (10) feet; a grading plan showing increments of the depths of all cuts and fills in various colors of any similar display which shows the cuts, fills, depths thereof in colors; and a slope classification map showing, in contrasting colors, all land which has less than a 10% slope, that land which has a slope between 10% and 20%, that land which has a slope between 20% and 30%, that land which has a slope between 30% and 40%, and all land which has a slope greater than 40%. The Community Development Director may allow a reduction in the scale of the map or an increase in the contour interval when the size of a parcel or its terrain requires such changes to make the map more meaningful;

D. Profiles showing the relationship of the proposed project to any dominant geological or topographical features which may be on or in the vicinity of the proposed project;

E. The calculation of the WIS factor shall be prepared by a registered civil engineer or a licensed land surveyor and the following criteria and procedure shall be used:

1. The contour map shall have ten (10) foot contour intervals;

2. The interval used in WIS calculation shall be two (2) feet and interpolation of the contour intervals is required;

3. Topographic map scale:

4. Any tree(s) including size and species as defined in §3-8.02 of this Code whether or not such tree(s) is to be removed or destroyed, on the site plan or on a separate plat;

5. Sufficient dimensions to show right-of-way widths, pavement widths, radii of curvature of center lines, street grades, whether streets are to be public or private, and all proposed frontage improvements on new and existing streets;

6. A current preliminary soils and geological report prepared by a registered civil engineer and a registered geologist;

7. A detailed landscaping plan showing the natural open space which will remain upon completion of development, all existing trees (and indicating which trees are scheduled for removal), and the precise boundaries of additional landscaping; the landscape plan shall include container size of all trees and shrubs, species of all plant material, irrigation system plan, street lighting, low level path lighting, street furniture and fencing materials, dimensions and locations;

8. A statement in writing stipulating to the total number of bedrooms to be constructed; and

9. The initial plan shall indicate the density allowed by section 10-2.4.1111(a) and the location of the proposed units. Any request for density adjustments allowed by section 10-2.4.1111(b) shall be shown on an alternate plan detailing the location of the additional units and amenities.

Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, an applicant for an H-P-D permit for the development of five (5) or more acres, which development will occur in stages, may submit general information relating to items 1. and 9. above for review by both the Design Review Commission and the Planning Commission. Precise and detailed plans setting forth the information required by these items shall be submitted to the Design Review Commission for its review and approval prior to the approval of a tentative subdivision map, building permit or other construction authorized by the H-P-D permit. (§18, Ord. 2209, eff. 3/19/21)