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CC - PUBLIC HEARING: Introduction of an Ordinance Approving City-Initiated Annual Zoning Code Amendment (P2025-0023-ZCA) Amending Various Sections of Title 17: Zoning Code of the Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) for Clarifications, Corrections, and Updates, and Exemption from CEQA.
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Meeting Date: May 12, 2025
Contact Person/Dept: Gabriela Silva, Associate Planner
Emily Stadnicki, Current Planning Manager
Phone Number: (310) 253-5736 / (310) 253-5727
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [X] No [ ]
Commission Name: Planning Commission Date: March 26, 2025
Public Notification: (Email) Public Notifications - City Council (04/24/2025), Meetings and Agendas - City Council (05/27/2025); (Posted) City website (04/24/2025), Social Media (04/25/2025); (Published) Culver City News (04/24/2025)
Department Approval: Mark E. Muenzer, Planning and Development Director (04/9/25)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce an Ordinance approving City-initiated Zoning Code Amendment P2025-0023-ZCA, amending various sections of Title 17: Zoning Code of the CCMC to make the corrections, clarifications, and updates outlined in Exhibit A, and adopting an exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3).
PROCEDURES
1. The Mayor seeks a motion to receive and file the affidavit of mailing, publishing, and posting of public notice.
2. The Mayor calls on staff for a brief staff report and the City Council poses questions to staff.
3. The Mayor seeks a motion to open the public hearing and the City Council receives public comment.
4. The Mayor seeks a motion to close the public hearing after all testimony has been presented.
5. The City Council discusses the matter and arrives at its decision.
BACKGROUND
As part of ongoing maintenance and implementation of the Zoning Code, staff has identified various discrepancies in the Zoning Code that require correction, clarification, and/or update to apply the Zoning Code effectively and consistently. In addition, revisions are also necessary to comply with changes to State law. The proposed Zoning Code Amendment (ZCA) is organized by topics or Zoning Code Chapters or Sections; for a complete list see Attachment 3, page 2.
Proposed changes include text and/or diagrams related to rooftop decks, equipment setbacks/projections, standards for site walls/fences, height measurement of rooftop projections, parking stall measurements and placement, electric vehicle charging equipment, bicycle parking, accessory residential structures (not including accessory dwelling units), temporary storage containers, community meetings, various definitions, and details relating to land uses such as health and fitness and pet grooming.
Changes for consistency with State law include secondhand/thrift stores and public notification requirements for certain public hearings.
Planning Commission Public Hearing and Recommendation
The proposed ZCA was presented to the Planning Commission on March 26, 2025. During the public hearing, there were no comments from the public. Following discussion and deliberation, the Planning Commission unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2025-P005 (Attachment 2) recommending to the City Council approval of the Zoning Code Amendment P2025-0023-ZCA, and exemption from CEQA pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3).
ANALYSIS
As staff implements the Zoning Code, certain clarifications and corrections surface, including feedback from the public as well as the Enforcement Services Division and City Council. The proposed changes reflect items identified as necessary to ensure the public has clarity on the requirements.
Other changes are intended to facilitate housing production, such as reducing the number of community meetings required for residential development projects to one (from the existing requirement of two). In addition to streamlining review of housing projects, it also more closely matches community meeting requirements of neighboring jurisdictions (i.e., West Hollywood and Santa Monica), while still encouraging public input. The requirement for non-residential/commercial projects would remain at two meetings, reflecting the City's additional local discretion in the review of commercial projects. This matter was addressed by City Council on March 10, 2025 and remanded to Planning Commission, who recommended the reduction in the community meeting requirement for residential projects.
The proposed amendment also makes changes to comply with Assembly Bill (AB) 2632, which prohibits a local agency from treating a thrift retail store differently from a non-thrift retail store, as it relates to zoning, development standards, or permitting.
Another change proposed to comply with State law, per AB 2904, pertains to public notification requirements for Planning Commission public hearings on zoning code amendments that affect permitted uses. For consistency, the proposed amendment increases the Planning Commission public hearing notification period for all zoning code amendments from 14 days to 20 days.
Attachment 4 provides a detailed list of the changes and explanation of their need and effect.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Public notification via a publication in the Culver City News, was published on April 24, 2025, and posted on the City website and distributed electronically via GovDelivery on the same date. As of the writing of this report, staff has not received any public comments.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The proposed Zoning Code Amendment has no anticipated direct fiscal impact to the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, the adoption of the proposed Zoning Code Amendment, is exempt per Section 15061(b)(3), because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.
CONCLUSION
The revisions proposed will serve to improve the effective implementation and enforcement of the Zoning Code, while maintaining the public interest, health, safety, convenience and welfare, and consistency with the City's overarching goals and objectives. The proposed amendment is consistent with the General Plan and Zoning Code, and the findings are made as outlined in the proposed Ordinance (Attachment 1).
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed Ordinance (including Exhibit A: Proposed Zoning Code Text Changes in "strikethrough/underline" format)
2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 2025-P005 with Exhibit A
3. March 26, 2025, Planning Commission Staff Report (without attachments)
4. Summary of Proposed Zoning Code Revisions
MOTION
That the City Council:
Introduce an Ordinance approving City-initiated Zoning Code Amendment P2025-0023-ZCA, amending various sections of Title 17: Zoning Code of the CCMC to make the corrections, clarifications, and updates outlined in Exhibit A, and adopting an exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3).