PURPOSE:

At the City Council meeting of October 14, 2003, questions were raised by the public and Council Members about the applicability of the Residential Adjacent Commercial and Industrial Uses (RACI) ordinance to properties with residential uses that are not located within residential zones. Of particular interest was the applicability of these standards when the residential uses are part of a mixed-use planned development. This report will clarify current City standards with regard to the definition of residentially adjacent to facilitate Council discussion on the topic.

DISCUSSION: 

Background

In 1998, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3503 which established new limitation on the use of commercial and industrial properties that are adjacent to residentially zoned property. The stated purpose of the Residentially Adjacent Commercial and Industrial Uses (RACI) ordinance was as follows:

The purpose of this Article is to ensure that commercial and industrial uses do not cause adverse impacts on adjacent properties and residents or on surrounding neighborhoods due to customer and employee parking demand, traffic generation, noise, light, litter or cumulative impact of such demands in one area. (BMC �31-1150(a))

The ordinance placed a number of new limitations on commercial and industrial uses that are residentially adjacent. These new requirements included restrictions on business and operating hours, new development standards, necessitating approvals of conditional use permits for certain business categories, and outright prohibition of other types of business on residentially adjacent properties. The ordinance defined �residentially adjacent� as follows:

�Residentially adjacent� shall mean any commercially and industrially zoned property located within one hundred fifty (150) feet of any residentially zoned property (measured at the two properties� closest points). (BMC �31-203)

Based upon these definitions, the City enforces RACI requirements on commercial and industrial projects that are located within 150 feet of properties that are residentially zoned, not properties that may have residential uses. In contrast, the Adult Business Ordinance, which was adopted after RACI, specifically sets separation requirements from both residential properties and residential uses within a planned development zone.

Mixed Use Projects

With limited exceptions, commercial activities are not permitted within residential zones. In contrast, nearly every commercial zone in the City permits residential units to be constructed above commercial uses through the conditional use permit process. The conditional use permits do not modify the underlying zoning or land use designations of the properties. Since the zoning does not change in this process, the presence of residential units within a commercially zoned property does not trigger any of the RACI requirements. Likewise, any residential only projects that could be approved through a conditional use permit in a Burbank Center Plan commercial zone would not trigger RACI because the action does not change the underlying zoning for the site.

Planned development projects, on the other hand, change the underlying zoning of a property. Planned developments are individualized, project-based zones that may include residential, commercial, industrial, or a combination of uses. The Planned Development ordinance does not establish whether these zones are to be considered to be commercial or residential in nature. However, a planned development is required to be consistent with the General Plan Land Use designation for the area. As such, the determination of whether a particular planned development zone is residential or not is dependent upon the underlying Land Use designation.

There are currently two (2) existing mixed use planned developments (the Gangi and Tunnicliffe projects along Palm Avenue). Additionally, the Council has approved a mixed use project on the Old Police Block. In each of these cases, the properties are located within commercial land use areas and are considered to be commercial zones. This determination is also consistent with the general prohibition of commercial uses in residential zones and the applicability of RACI requirements to mixed use development in commercial zoning districts.

For residential only planned developments, the determination of RACI applicability is also based upon the underlying land use designations. For example, the Senior Artists� Colony and United Cerebral Palsy residential projects, which have underlying commercial land use designations as they are located in commercial areas of the Burbank Center Plan that allow for residential only projects, do no trigger RACI. In contrast, the Cottages and Elmwood projects have residential land use designations and trigger RACI requirements. Determining whether a planned development zone is residential or commercial in this method is consistent with the concept that all planned developments must be consistent with the General Plan.

It is important to note that if any planned development with residential uses were to be considered a residential zone, the RACI implications on surrounding commercial properties would need to be fully analyzed, particularly given the limitations on use that could result. For example, the Senior Artists� Colony and United Cerebral Palsy projects, if considered residential zones, would trigger RACI requirements on properties that previously were not subject to the ordinance. This could lead to the imposition of new standards upon existing uses or the outright prohibition of uses that were previously legal on those properties. The RACI ordinance does not specifically address its applicability in situations where a new residential zone encroaches into commercial zoning.

Development Standards and Design Compatibility Issues

Under the current requirements of the Burbank Municipal Code, a mixed use project can not be constructed without approval of a discretionary permit (either conditional use permit or planned development) that goes through a public hearing process. Through these processes, the approving body (either the Planning Board or the City Council) has the ability to evaluate the project design and place conditions of approval to insure that residential and commercial uses within a project are compatible. Thus, impacts relating to noise, light, and pollution can be addressed through the planned development and conditional use permit processes through the establishment of conditions of approval that are designed to protect residential uses from the impacts of adjacent commercial uses.

As a result of the recommendations of the Affordable Housing Blue Ribbon Committee and the City Council, staff is currently looking at the establishment of mixed use zoning districts within the City. Should these zones ultimately be adopted, development standards would be established to insure that the uses were compatible. For example, the new zones might include development standards relating to the location of delivery areas and the types of deliveries that could be conducted.  

CONCLUSION:

Should the Council wish to place this matter on a future agenda for further discussion, staff will provide a detailed report addressing the issues related to the compatibility of commercial and residential uses within a mixed use project. Based upon this analysis, staff will make the appropriate recommendation to the City Council on how to proceed with this topic.

RECOMMENDATION:

If the Council wishes to agendize this matter for further discussion, staff recommends that the Council direct staff to prepare a report outlining the issues related to the compatibility of commercial and residential uses within a mixed use project and schedule this item for the earliest possible date given the time that will be necessary to compile the necessary data and prepare a comprehensive report.

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