HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1994 0216 CC REG ITEM 11GTO:
FROM:
ITEM E I .
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A G E N D A R E P O R T
C I T Y O F M O O R P A R K ►�
The Honorable City Council
Jaime Aguilera, Director of Community Development
Deborah S. Traffenstedt, Senior Planner ::T�j
DATE: February 10, 1994 (CC Meeting of 2- 16 -94)
SUBJECT: CONSIDER DRAFT GROWTH MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE DEVELOPED BY
AD HOC COMMITTEE
Background
On December 9, 1992, the Mayor nominated and the City Council
ratified the appointment of the following public members to a
Measure F /Comprehensive Planning Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee: Ellis
Green, Bob Heitzman, Joyce Thompson, and Dorothy Ventimiglia. In
addition, two Councilmembers (Perez and Wozniak), and two Planning
Commissioners (Brodsky and May) were appointed to the Ad Hoc
Committee.
The Ad Hoc Committee was given direction by City Council to look at
the existing Measure F Ordinance (Attachment 1), make a
recommendation whether that ordinance should be extended beyond its
termination date of December 31, 1995, and to develop a new
ordinance if determined appropriate.
The Ad Hoc Committee met 15 times over the past year and drafted a
new growth management ordinance (Attachment 2), which represents
the unanimous position of the Ad Hoc Committee. It was the Ad Hoc
Committee's opinion that the different growth management
perspectives (including both pro - growth control and anti - growth
control perspectives) were represented on that Committee. In
addition, public input was received from several Moorpark residents
who were in favor of growth management, as well as from the
development industry including the Building Industry Association.
The City Attorney reviewed a preliminary draft ordinance developed
by the Ad Hoc Committee, and the following Discussion section
includes a summary of some of her comments. A copy of the attached
draft ordinance has been forwarded to the City Attorney for
additional review and comment.
Following is a discussion of some of the issues analyzed by the Ad
Hoc Committee in the development of the attached draft ordinance.
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The Honorable City Council
February 10, 1994
Page 2
Discussion
Issues: The more significant issues analyzed by the Ad Hoc
Committee included the following:
1. Is there a continued need for growth management?
The Ad Hoc Committee's opinion was that growth management was
necessary for the reasons outlined in the preamble and
Findings sections of the attached draft ordinance. The City
Attorney has identified that in the event of a challenge to a
growth control ordinance, the City would have to bear the
burden of proof. To shift the burden of proof back to the
plaintiff, the City would have to prove that there is a
reasonable probability that regional housing requirements can
be accommodated for as long as the ordinance is in effect. It
is the opinion of the Ad Hoc Committee that regional housing
requirements can be met through the sunset date of the new
ordinance, based on the yearly allocation of development
allotments and the applicability exemptions (see Section 2 of
draft ordinance). Projects which are proposed to be exempt
from the new growth management ordinance include all dwelling
units reserved for very low income, lower income, or senior
citizen households.
2. Should growth limits be based on public service and
infrastructure standards or limits?
Inadequate information was available to establish or determine
what constituted acceptable levels for all public services or
the adequacy of existing infrastructure. Any study to
determine such information would be costly and would probably
take a considerable amount of time to produce. Such a study
might also be inconclusive, due to the idea that development
fees are required in order to pay for infrastructure. The
City Attorney did identify during her preliminary review of
the draft ordinance that proving that a numerical growth
control ordinance is necessary for the protection of the
public health, safety, or welfare of the population of the
City requires the presentation of evidence in the form of
facts or of opinion relating to fact, and that a recitation of
findings by no means suffices.
3. How many development allotments should be available yearly?
This issue was given close scrutiny by the Ad Hoc Committee
and was discussed at almost every meeting. The final decision
was that 250 allotments should be available yearly through the
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The Honorable City Council
February 10, 1994
Page 3
proposed termination date of the new ordinance (Year 2005).
The justification for the yearly allocation number is attached
as Exhibit A to the draft ordinance.
4. How many yearly development allotments should carry over to a
subsequent year if not allocated; and how long should a
project be able to keep awarded allotments before they expire
if unused?
The Ad Hoc Committee determined that the maximum number of
carryover allotments at any one time should be 500. Similar
to Measure F, the Ad Hoc Committee recommends that after 24
months, the City Council may rescind all or part of the
development allotments originally awarded to the RPD project.
Any allotments rescinded by the City Council would be added to
the pool of development allotments available for allocation,
not to exceed 500 total, as previously discussed.
5. What will happen to non - allocated and unused allotments
available under Measure F?
The City Attorney's opinion regarding non - allocated
development allotments available under Measure F is that those
allotments will automatically expire when Measure F terminates
in December 1995. It is also the opinion of the City Attorney
that Measure F allotments already allocated to specific
projects will expire unless the developer has a "vested right"
for the buildout of a project. A project may be vested if a
property owner has performed substantial work and incurred
substantial liabilities in good faith reliance upon a building
permit issued by the government. A project's allotments may
also be vested if there is an approved development agreement
that guarantees that the project development allotments will
not expire when Measure F terminates.
It was the Ad Hoc Committee's opinion that allotments that
have never been allocated to a specific project should not
carryover to a new ordinance, and based on the information
obtained from the City Attorney that those allotments would
expire upon termination of Measure F, no language was added to
the new ordinance regarding carryover. Section 3 of the draft
ordinance does address the issue of unused allotments. If any
allotments previously awarded to a project are rescinded by
the City Council, those unused allotments shall be added to
the pool of non - allocated development allotments available for
award during any calendar year, subject to a limitation of 500
total non - allocated and rescinded allotments.
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The Honorable City Council
February 10, 1994
Page 4
6. Should a new ordinance be City Council approved or submitted
to the voters for approval?
The Ad Hoc Committee unanimously agreed that the City Council
should adopt a new growth management ordinance. An advantage
of City Council adoption is that it would save money. Also,
the initiative and referendum process is still available to
voters, and regardless of whether of not the ordinance is
adopted by the City Council or by initiative, the City would
be required to defend such ordinance in court.
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65863.6, a numerical
growth control ordinance must contain public health, safety
and welfare "findings" that "justify" reducing the housing
opportunities of the region, unless the ordinance is adopted
by initiative. However, this advantage is essentially negated
by the fact that State Evidence Code Section 669.5 subjects
both initiative and legislative numerical growth control
ordinances to a presumption of impact on the supply of
residential units available in an area, and unless the court
finds that the defendant city has rebutted the presumption,
places the burden on the city to prove that such ordinance is
necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, or
welfare of the population of the city. To shift the burden of
proof back to the plaintiff, the City would have to prove that
there is a reasonable probability that regional housing
requirements can be accommodated for as long as the numerical
growth control ordinance is in effect.
The Ad Hoc Committee did include public health, safety and
welfare findings in the attached draft ordinance, and the
opinion of the Committee was that regional housing needs could
be accommodated based on the proposed exemptions for
affordable, senior and rural (five acre and larger lot size)
housing, General Plan buildout projections, the number of
yearly allotments available, the proposed 2005 termination
date of the ordinance, and the provisions for carryover of
non - allocated allotments under the new ordinance (not to
exceed a maximum of 500 at any time).
7. Should the prior project ranking system be maintained for
determining which projects would receive development
allotments?
It was the Ad Hoc Committee's opinion that the prior point
system was very subjective and that the design of the project
should be determined by the planned development process not
the growth allocation process. Under the attached draft
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The Honorable City Council
February 10, 1994
Page 5
ordinance, projects would be eligible for development
allotments based on the approval date of a residential planned
development (RPD) permit. A list of approved RPD projects
would be established (referred to as the Development Allotment
List), with the RPD Permit that had the oldest approval date
at the beginning of the list and the most recently approved
permit at the bottom. The ranking of a project on that list
could not be changed after passage of the base year in which
the RPD Permit had been approved, unless a project was awarded
bonus points during that same year.
The application and evaluation process for bonus points is
described in Section 6 of the draft ordinance. It was the
intent of the Ad Hoc Committee to make the bonus point system
as objective as possible. Bonus points could be awarded for
infrastructure /amenities to be provided in excess of any RPD
permit requirements. One or more bonus points could also be
awarded if a project includes affordable housing units (the
actual affordable units would be exempt if targeted to lower
and very low income households), as well as for a project
which includes rural development (1 to 4 acre minimum lot
size).
Recommendation
Direct staff to schedule a City Council public hearing for review
of the draft growth management ordinance.
Attachments:
1. Measure F
2. Draft Growth Management Ordinance
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CITY OF MOORPARK
MEASURE F
(Facsimile of Measure F as Amended Not an Official Reproduction)
INITIATIVE ORDINANCE
AN INITIATIVE ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK
THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1
SEC. 10.01 Findings: The people of the City of Moorpark hereby find and declare
as follows:
A. The City of Moorpark has adopted a General Plan and city ordinances
relating to the regulation of residential development.
B. The City of Moorpark is experiencing a period of intense residential
development which is adversely affecting the capacity of the streets
and local freeway system to meet traffic demands, the capacity of
appropriate schools to absorb children, the semi -rural character of
the community, the quality of life prevalent in the City of
Moorpark and its sphere of influence, and the cost to households of
some utilities and municipal services.
C. It is the intent of the People of the City of Moorpark 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
can be properly and effectively staged in a manner which will not
overextend existing f a c i l i t i e s , 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.
Measure F
Page -2-
D. It is the intent of the People of the City of Moorpark to establish
control over the quality, distribution, and rate of growth of the
City in order to:
Preserve the semi -rural character of the community;
Protect the agricultural land and open space of the City;
• Provide a suitable living environment for all citizens of the
City;
• Ensure the adequacy of municipal school, utility, recreation
and park facilities and services;
• Facilitate a balance of housing types and values in the City
that will accommodate the housing needs of all economic
segments including families of low and moderate income, and
older families on 'limited and/or fixed incomes;
• Ensure the balanced development of the City;
• Prevent further significant deterioration in the local air
quality;
• Ensure that the traffic demands do not exceed the capacity of
streets that are in haracter with the City's semi -rural
nature;
• Ensure that the City does not grow in a pattern that places a
severe strain on the local freeway system;
Ensure the adequacy of fire protection; and
Ensure adequate water and sanitary sewer systems.
E. The people of the City of Moorpark have considered the effect of
this ordinance on the housing needs of the region in which it is
situated and have balanced those needs against the public service
needs of its residents and available fiscal and environmental
resources. It is hereby found and determined that this ordinance
will not reduce the housing opportunities of the region and this
ordinance is compatible with the state housing goal and regional
housing needs. It is further found and determined that, to the
extent this ordinance may be determined to reduce the housing
opportunities of the region, the findings contained herein as to the
public health, safety and welfare of the city to be promoted by the
adoption of this ordinance, justify any such reduction in the
housing opportunities of the region.
Measure F
Page -3-
F. It is the purpose of this ordinance to augment the policies of the
City of Moorpark as recorded in the General Plan and City Ordinances
relating to the regulation of residential development; and
G. In order to accomplish the above purposes, 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
following Residential Development Management System for the City of
Moorpark shall be in effect from and after its effective date until
December 31, 1995.
Sec. 10.02 Applicability of the Development Management System. The provisions
of the Residential Development Management System shall apply from the effective
date to all residential development including mobile homes in the City of
Moorpark with the exception of the following:
A. Projects of not more than four residential dwellings, limited to
only one 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. Dwelling units of any low income or senior citizen projects funded
or subsidized pursuant to the provisions of applicable federal state
or local laws or programs.
F. Projects of residential dwellings with a minimum lot size of five
acres per dwelling.
Sec. 10.03 Establishment of Residential Development Evaluation Board. In order
to administer the system set forth herein, and especially to make the valuations
set forth in Section 10.06 below, a Residential Development Evaluation Board
(here after called the Board) is hereby established, consisting of the duly
appointed members of the Planning Commission of the City of Moorpark. The
procedures and by -laws of the Board shall be developed by the Board subject to
the approval of the City Council of Moorpark (hereinafter called the City
Council). The Planning Department of the City of Moorpark shall serve as the
staff of the Board.
Measure F
Page -4-
Sec. 10.04 Establishment of Annual Residential Development Allotments. In
addition to any residential development allotments carried over from previous
years, the number of residential development allotments available for award each
year in the City of Moorpark, except for dwelling units exempted pursuant to the
provisions of Section 10.02 or pursuant to a final court order, shall be as
follows:
A. Calendar year 1986, no allotments for any dwelling units;
B. Calendar years 1987 and 1988. a ! lotments for 250 dwelling units; and
C. Calendar year 1989 and all years thereafter through December 31,
1994, allotments for 270 dwelling units.
Any allotments that are available for award in any calendar year but which are
not awarded in that year for any reason whatsoever shall be carried over to each
ensuing calendar year until awarded and such allotments shall be in addition to
the allotments that are otherwise available per calendar year pursuant to this
section.
The annual allotment shall be continuously applicable to the city's
jurisdictional boundaries and shall not be modified by reason of annexation or
additional territory.
Section 10.05 Development Allotment Application. No building permit for a
residential dwelling unit which is not exempt pursuant to Section 10.02 or
pursuant to a final court order shall be issued unless a residential development
allotment for the unit has been awarded; provided, however, that such building
permits shall not be issued in excess of 500 per calendar year. If any of the
500 building permits which are available for issuance in any calendar year are
not issued in that year, they shall not be carried over to any ensuing calendar
year. At any time prior to obtaining a building permit for a non - exempt
residential dwelling unit, the developer shall apply for a development allotment
as set forth herein. The approval of all tentative subdivision maps shall be
conditioned to comply with the provisions of this Residential Development
Management System.
Sec. 10.06 Development Allocation Evaluation. 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 relations to, or impact upon local
public facilities and services, and shall rate each development by
the assignment of from zero to ten points (zero indicating "very
poor, "ten indicating "excellent ") on each of the following
attributes:
Measure F
Page -5-
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 extensions 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 need
of the proposed development without substantially altering
existing traffic patterns or overloading the existing street
system, and the availability of other public facilities (such
as parks, playgrounds, etc.) to meed the additional demands
for vital public services without extension of services beyond
those provided by the developer.
7. The capacity of Highway 118 and 23 within the city limits to
provide for the traffic needs generated by the proposed
development without substantially altering the level of
service, including Freeway access.
8. Developments which have received Tentative Tract Map approval
from the City of Moorpark prior to the effective date of this
Residential Development Management System shall receive for
each calendar year after 1984 an additional ten points.
B. Quality of Design and Contribution of Public welfare and Amenity.
The Board shall examine each application which has not been
withdrawn by the applicant for failure to meet criteria A, and shall
rate each development by the assignment of from zero to ten points
(zero indicating "very poor, "ten indicating "excellent ") on each of
the following attributes:
Measure F
Page -6-
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 and slope landscaping.
3. 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.
4. The provision of public and /or private usable open space.
5. Contributions to and extensions of existing systems of foot or
bicycle paths, equestrian trails and facilities and /or
greenbelts.
6. The provision of the needed public facilities such as critical
linkages in the major street system, school rooms, functional
parks, or other vital public facilities.
7. 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 cut
and /or filled and impact on ridgeline.
8. Absence of deleteriou,, impact on trees and archeological
sites.
9. The provision of significant water conservation features.
10. The provision of energy generation and conservation features
such as additional insulation, house siteing and design, solar
techniques and other innovative techniques.
11. Absence of deleterious impact on the physical and /or aesthetic
environment.
12. Design and features which contribute significantly to the
economic feasibility of producing housing at the lowest
possible cost given economic and environmental factors, the
public health and safety, and the need to facilitate the
development of housing for persons of low or moderate income.
Measure F
Page -7-
C. After having studied each application in accordance with parts A and
B, 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
to ten in accordance with their finding, the Board shall prepare two
lists, one documenting points awarded from part A and the other from
part B, arranging the developments in each list in order from that
receiving the greatest total number of evaluation points to that
receiving the lowest number. In addition to listing the number of
actual points awarded in each subcategory of both parts, each part
will be totaled and the total shall then be expressed as a
percentage of the maximum number of points awardable. The maximum
number of points awardable shall not include those elements of the
criteria found to be not applicable.
D. Having evaluated each development in accordance with the foregoing
criteria, 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 15 days of
classification of any point assignments made by the Board.
Any applicant may request the Board, at said public hearing,
to re- evaluate the point assignment made on any or all of the
criterion. The primary criteria for the Board to alter their
point assignment on a particular development is demonstration
by the applicant that there exists pertinent information or a
project redesign which the Board was not aware of at the time
of the original evaluation
2. Any applicant who is dissatisfied with the Board's re-
evaluation may submit written notification of such dissent,
which will be furnished to the City Council prior to the
awarding of Development Allotments.
E. Having evaluated each development and clarified all point
assignments to the applicants, the Board shall present their lists
of evaluations, along with the decisions reached on any appeals, to
the City Council for the awarding of Development Allotments.
F. The schedule for the submission and consideration of applications
shall be established by the City Council.
G. The criteria set forth in this section 10.06 are for the purpose of
addressing the findings, intent and purpose of this ordinance as set
forth in section 10.01 and are not to be construed or used for the
purpose of rendering infeasible the development of housing for all
economic segments of the commiinity.
Measure F
Page -8-
Sec. 10.07 Development Allotment Awards.
A. The City Council shall consider, at a public hearing, the
recommendations and rankings of the proposed developments on each of
the above described two lists, along with any action taken by the
Board concerning appealed decisions, and shall compile one list
ranking each of the proposed developments, and shall award
development allotments from that list.
1. Development Program Allotment. The number of dwelling units
for which Development Allotments shall be issued shall not
exceed the allotments established in accordance with Section
10.04 herein.
2. Allocation Limitation. No single developer shall, in any one
year, be issued a development allotment for dwelling units in
excess of a number to he 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
a minimum of 49 percentage points under Section 10.06,
subparagraph A, herein, or a minimum of 70 percentage points
under Section 10.06, subparagraph B.
If in a given year the highest ranking development does not at
least meet both of the minimum point requirements, the City
Council shall make no Development Allotment for that year.
B. The City Council shall make the annual Development Allotments at a
time to be selected by the City Council.
C. An application may be amended upon submittal of an additional
application made in the same manner as the original application. In
addition, the application for an amendment shall set forth the
reasons for requesting the amendment.
The City Council shall review such an amendment application in
the same manner as an original application and may grant the
amendment as requested. modify the amendment, or deny the
amendment.
2. An amendment or modification may be granted only if the City
Council after reviewing the proposed development in relation
to the criteria set forth in Section 10.06 subparagraphs A and
B shall find that the modified development has earned as many
or more evaluation points than the original development for
which the Development Allotment was issued.
Measure F
Page -9-
D. Should a developer fail to initiate construction within twenty -four
months after award of the Development Allotment, the City Council
after a hearing may by majority vote, rescind all or part of the
Development Allotment.
Sec. 10.08 Additional Regulations. Should the arrangement of projects as
provided in Section 10.07 subparagraph A produce the situation in which two
projects have equal evaluation point scores, but only one project can be
permitted with the quota, the City Council may offer those applicants a pro rata
share of the number of units available with the quota, or may dispose of such a
tie in any other manner deemed equitable by the City Council.
Sec. 10.09 Judicial Review. Any legal action to challenge any decision or denial
of the Board or any other governmental body performing a function under this
ordinance must be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within thirty days
immediately following the action challenged.
Sec. 10.00 Modification. The City Council may, after a public hearing, by a
four -fifth vote, change any part of this Residential Development Management
System by amendment, providing the amendment is consistent with the intent of
this ordinance.
SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application
thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction the validity of the remainder of this ordinance and the application
of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected
thereby.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Residential Development Management system shall
be considered as adopted upon the date that. the vote is certified by the City
Clerk, and shall go into effect immediately thereafter.
DRAFT
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING
A GROWTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
WHEREAS, Initiative Ordinance Measure F was adopted by the
voters of the City of Moorpark in November 1986, and established a
Residential Development Management System; and
WHEREAS, Initiative Ordinance Measure F includes a provision
for termination as of December 31, 1995; and
WHEREAS, Initiative Ordinance Measure F was adopted in
response to a period of intense residential development in the City
of Moorpark which adversely affected the capacity of the streets
and local freeway system to meet traffic demands, the capacity of
appropriate schools to absorb children, the suburban -rural
character of the community, the quality of life prevalent in the
City and its sphere of influence, and the cost to households of
some utilities and municipal services; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council to achieve a
steady, rather than a fluctuating, overly rapid, rate of
residential growth each year, thereby minimizing the avoidable
costs of short - sighted facility expansion; and
WHEREAS, managed residential growth will ensure that the
services provided by City, School, Utility and /or service agencies
operating in the city can be properly and effectively staged in a
manner which will not overextend existing facilities, as well as
ensure that deficient services can be brought up to required and
necessary standards; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of Moorpark to establish
control over the quality, distribution, rate, and economic level of
residential growth in the city on a year -to -year basis in order to:
• Preserve the suburban -rural character of the
community;
• Protect the agricultural land and open space of the
City;
• Provide a suitable living environment for all
citizens of the City;
• Ensure the adequacy of municipal, school, utility,
recreation and park facilities and services;
• Attain a balanced City growth pattern which
includes a full mix of land uses;
Ordinance No.
Page 2
• Provide a variety of housing types and
opportunities for all economic segments of the
community;
• Prevent further significant deterioration in the
local air quality;
• Ensure that the traffic demands do not exceed the
capacity of streets, highways, and freeways;
• Maintain consistency with adopted Ventura County
population forecasts for the Moorpark growth and
non - growth areas; and
WHEREAS, the City of Moorpark has considered the effect of
this ordinance on the housing needs of the region in which it is
situated and has balanced those needs against the public service
needs of its residents and available fiscal and environmental
resources. It is hereby found and determined that this ordinance
will not reduce the housing opportunities of the region and this
ordinance is compatible with the state housing goal and regional
housing needs. It is further found and determined that, to the
extent this ordinance may be determined to reduce the housing
opportunities of the region, the findings contained herein as to
the public health, safety and welfare of the city to be promoted by
the adoption of this ordinance, justify any such reduction in the
housing opportunities of the region; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance is consistent with the goals and
policies of the City of Moorpark General Plan and City Ordinances
relating to the regulation of residential development;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK,
CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. FINDINGS
The following findings justify the adoption of this ordinance
by the City of Moorpark in order to protect the public health,
safety and welfare:
A. Growth management is consistent with goal, policy and
implementation language in the City's General Plan, which
address the need for balanced community growth patterns;
maintaining suburban rural community character; and
preservation of important, natural features, agricultural
areas, and visually prominent hillside areas.
Ordinance No.
Page 3
B. Growth management is consistent with the Ventura County
Air Quality Management Plan. The rate of population
growth is an integral assumption in the forecast of
future air pollutant emissions in the County. The County
of Ventura is currently a "non- attainment area" for ozone
based on the state and federal ozone standards.
C. Growth management is consistent with the 1978 Ventura
County 208 Water Quality Management Plan and the July
1993 Draft Ventura County Water Management Plan. Long-
term water availability is of concern for Ventura County.
The proper management of water as a limited resource is
vital to meet the current and future demands of urban,
industrial, agricultural, and other water uses.
Currently countywide water demand is greater than locally
available water. This condition has resulted in the
overdraft of groundwater resources and increasing
dependence on imported water supplies. State imported
supplies depend on snowpack and rainfall. During the
recent drought, state water purveyors mandated use
cutbacks, making state water a somewhat unreliable
source. Local surface water supplies also suffer during
a drought and cannot supply water at volumes previously
supplied. These conditions point to the fact that even
several water sources cannot be relied upon to meet
countywide water demands during a drought. Current
conditions illustrate the need for growth management to
continue planning efforts to ensure an adequate and
reliable water supply in the short term, long term, and
during drought conditions.
D. Growth management is necessary to ensure the adequacy of
school facilities and services. Current state law
restrictions on the maximum amount of money that projects
can be conditioned to pay for schools does not ensure
that adequate school facilities and services will be
available when needed. Growth management allows a school
district to more accurately plan facilities and services
to meet projected needs.
E. Growth management is necessary to ensure that roadway and
transit facilities in the City and region are adequate to
accommodate demand without significant impacts to levels
of service. Currently several intersections in the City
are operating at inadequate levels of service based on
the City General Plan and Ventura County Congestion
Management Plan standards. Growth management will allow
the City and the region to more accurately plan
transportation facility improvements to meet the demand
without significant impacts based on adopted standards.
Ordinance No.
Page 4
F. Growth management is necessary to ensure that adequate
landfill capacity is available for the region.
Inadequate landfill capacity is available in Ventura
County to meet the projected solid waste disposal needs
of County residents and businesses.
G. Growth management is necessary to ensure that adequate
library services are available. Library services in the
City are currently provided by Ventura County, and the
current property tax funding is inadequate to meet the
needs of the City's existing residents.
H. Growth management will not impact the City's ability to
provide its fair share of regional housing based on the
exemptions as described in Section 2 of this ordinance,
and the number of development allotments available yearly
as described in Section 3 of this ordinance.
I. The City's projected population for General Plan buildout
(40,856) and an estimate of 3.39 persons's per household
through the year 2010 have been used as the determining
factors in this growth management ordinance as documented
in Exhibit A.
SECTION 2. APPLICABILITY
The provisions of the Growth Management System shall apply
from the effective date to all residential development including
mobilehomes in the City of Moorpark with the exception of the
following exempt residential development:
A. Projects of not more than four residential dwellings,
limited to only one 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,
conversion of apartments to condominiums, or conversion
of mobilehome parks to condominiums, so long as no
additional dwelling units are created.
E. Dwelling units reserved for very low income, lower
income, or senior citizen households pursuant to an
affordable housing or development agreement.
F. Projects of residential dwellings with a minimum lot size
of five acres per dwelling.
G. Second dwellings as defined in the City of Moorpark
Zoning Ordinance.
Ordinance No.
Page 5
SECTION 3. YEARLY ALLOTMENTS
The number of new residential development allotments available
for award each year in the City of Moorpark, except for dwelling
units exempted pursuant to the provisions of Section 2, shall be
two hundred and fifty (250).
If all or a portion of the two hundred and fifty (250)
allotments that are available for award in any calendar year, are
not awarded in that year, those non - allocated allotments shall be
carried over to each ensuing calendar year, subject to a limitation
that the maximum number of carryover allotments shall not exceed a
total of five hundred (500) at any time. Such carryover allotments
shall be in addition to the allotments that are otherwise available
per calendar year pursuant to the preceding paragraph.
If any allotments previously awarded to a project are
rescinded by the City Council, pursuant to Section 9, those unused
allotments shall be added to the pool of non - allocated development
allotments available for award during any calendar year, subject to
a limitation that the maximum number of rescinded allotments plus
non - allocated carryover allotments, described in the preceding
paragraph, shall not exceed a total of five hundred (500) at any
time.
The number of annual development allotments shall be
continuously applicable to the city's jurisdictional boundaries and
shall not be modified by reason of annexation or additional
territory.
SECTION 4. DEVELOPMENT ALLOTMENT LIST
The Department shall keep a list of approved residential
planned development (RPD) permit numbers in chronological order
based on date of permit approval. This list shall be known as the
Development Allotment List, and shall begin with the RPD Permit
that has the oldest approval date and end with the most recently
approved RPD Permit, unless otherwise positioned due to the use of
bonus points as provided for in Section 6.
A. The Development Allotment List shall contain the following
information:
1.
The
project
RPD permit number.
2.
The
total number of project dwelling units requiring
development
allotments.
3.
The
number
of allotments awarded for each RPD project.
4.
The
date of
RPD Permit approval.
Ordinance No.
Page 6
B. The ranking of a project on the Development Allotment List
shall not be changed after passage of the base year in which
the RPD Permit had been approved.
C. If a residential project is awarded bonus points during the
base year of RPD Permit approval, pursuant to the process
described in Section 6, the List shall be updated within two
working days of the decision to award the bonus points, and
the updated list shall be published in a weekly newspaper of
general circulation, as defined in Section 6008 of the
Government Code, for the City of Moorpark.
SECTION 5. DEVELOPMENT ALLOTMENT AWARD PROCESS
The owner or project developer (hereafter called applicant) of
a property, for which a RPD Permit has been approved and included
on the Development Allotment List, shall be eligible to apply to
the Department for one development allotment for each non - exempt
dwelling unit in the approved RPD project.
A. Each applicant for development allotment(s) shall apply on a
form provided by the Department.
B. A completed application for development allotment(s) must be
filed with the Department no later than the last working day
of each calendar year. Any application deemed incomplete by
the Department will not be considered as accepted for filing.
C. Allotments for the previous year, pursuant to Section 3, shall
be awarded each calendar year no later than the last working
day of March.
D. Allotments shall be awarded for a RPD project based on its
position on the Development Allotment List.
E. The City Council shall consider at a noticed public hearing
the rankings of the proposed developments on the Development
Allotment List, along with any action taken by the Planning
Commission concerning the award of bonus points pursuant to
Section 61 and shall award development allotments from that
List. Notice of the hearing shall be provided consistent with
Section 6008 of the Government Code. After closing the public
hearing, the City Council shall award all allotments for which
it has received application, not to exceed the maximum number
of allotments available as established in Section 3 herein.
F. If the first RPD project on the Development Allotment List
does not utilize all of the allotments available, then the
next project on the List will be eligible for award of
allotments. This process shall continue until there are no
allotments available or until there are no more RPD projects
on the List, whichever comes first.
Ordinance No.
Page 7
G. If the property owner or developer of a RPD project fails to
submit an application for development allotments, no
allotments shall be awarded that project.
H. If a RPD project, for whatever reason, is not awarded
development allotments, or is awarded only a portion of the
allotments required to develop the project, that project shall
maintain its position on the Development Allotment List until
all required allotments have been received.
I. No single applicant may be awarded more than 50 percent (50 %)
of all allotments available during a single allotment year.
SECTION 6. BONUS POINTS
Any RPD project which is on the Development Allotment List may
have its position on the List improved if bonus points are
obtained. Bonus points will be awarded in recognition of a
project's contribution to the achievement of the goals of the
Growth Management Ordinance.
As provided for below, the owner or developer of a property
for which a RPD Permit has been approved may submit an application
to the Department for bonus points at any time prior to the last
working day of December of the calendar (base) year that RPD Permit
approval is received. As identified in Section 5, RPD projects
approved during the same calendar year will initially be ranked on
the Development Allotment List, in chronological order, based on
the date of approval of the RPD Permit. If a RPD project receives
a bonus point, it will increase its ranking on the Development
Allotment List for the base year of RPD Permit approval. The RPD
project with the most bonus points will be placed at the beginning
of the List; other RPD projects with lesser points shall follow in
descending order of points. If one or more projects receive equal
bonus points, those projects would be ranked in chronological
order, based on the date of RPD Permit approval.
The application and evaluation process for bonus points shall
be as follows:
A. Applicants for bonus points shall apply on a form provided by
the Department. A complete application and a processing fee
must be submitted to the Department no later than the last
working day of December of the base year that the RPD Permit
was approved by the city. In order for an application to be
deemed complete by the Department, it must include all
components required to allow a determination of eligibility
for bonus points as described in subsection C of this Section.
The processing fee to be submitted with the application shall
be established by resolution of the City Council.
Ordinance No.
Page 8
B. A noticed public hearing, shall be held by the Planning
Commission on the second Monday of January for the purpose of
evaluating applications for bonus points and finalizing a
recommendation to the City Council. Notice of the hearing
shall be provided consistent with Section 6008 of the
Government Code. The Planning Commission shall make its
recommendation decision no later than 15 days from the date of
the public hearing.
C. The following criteria shall be used by the Planning
Commission to evaluate applications for bonus points and
develop a recommendation to the City Council for bonus point
award.
1. One (1) point shall be awarded for every one percent (1%)
of value of the infrastructure/ amenity to be provided,
which was not required as a condition of the RPD Permit
approval. Said percent shall be calculated as a percent
of the appraised value of the project (at the time of RPD
Permit approval), and the appraised value of the
contribution.
a. The "infrastructure /amenity" shall be defined as a
list of projects which is compiled by the City
Council on a yearly basis and which is considered
to be important to the attainment of the goals of
the Growth Management Ordinance. This list is to
be known as the Growth Management Goal Attainment
(GMGA) list, and shall be established by resolution
of the City Council. The GMGA list shall be in
order of priority.
b. The applicant may either build the infrastructure/
amenity or may contribute monetarily to the GMGA
fund. All contributions made to the GMGA fund may
only be used to capitalize projects on the GMGA
list.
C. The appraised value of the project and any
"infrastructure /amenity" shall be based on an
appraisal report. The appraisal report must be
completed by the deadline for application submittal
pursuant to subsection A, above. The applicant
shall bear the cost of preparation of said
appraisal report. Appraisals shall be conducted by
a qualified appraiser, selected by the city,
pursuant to the following process:
d. The City shall maintain a list of qualified
appraisers, and shall make said list available to
applicants.
Ordinance No.
Page 9
e. The applicant shall request in writing that the
Department obtain informal bids from three
appraisers, selected by the applicant, from the
City's list of qualified appraisers.
f. The City shall then request informal bids from the
three appraisers relative to the value of the
applicant's project and any "infrastructure /
amenity" to be provided.
g. The lowest bidder shall be awarded the task of
preparing the required appraisals of the project
and the proposed improvement as listed on the GMGA
list. One of the other bidders may be awarded the
appraisal contract if the City and the applicant
mutually consent to do so.
h. The applicant shall deposit with the City, an
amount equal to the appraisal bid plus the City's
contract administration charge, as established by
City Council resolution.
i. The product of the appraiser's work shall be given
to the applicant for his inclusion with the
application for bonus point(s).
2. One (1) point shall be awarded if the project is
considered to be an "in- fill" development. An in -fill
development is defined as a RPD project which is
surrounded on three sides by existing development and
does not require the extension of water, sewer, electric,
utilities or street infrastructure to the site.
3. One or more points shall be awarded if affordable rental
or for - purchase dwelling units are provided within a RPD
project consistent with the following criteria:
a. One (1) point shall be awarded if a minimum of 5
percent (5 %) of the total RPD project dwelling
units, in excess of any inclusionary zoning
requirement, is made affordable to either very low
or lower income households pursuant to an
affordable housing agreement.
b. Two (2) points shall be awarded if a minimum of 10
percent (10 %) of the total RPD project dwelling
units, in excess of any inclusionary zoning
requirement, are made affordable to either very low
or lower income households pursuant to an
affordable housing agreement.
Ordinance No.
Page 10
C. One (1) point shall be awarded if a minimum of 15
percent (15 %) of the total RPD project dwelling
units, in excess of any inclusionary zoning
requirement, is made affordable to median or
moderate income households pursuant to an
affordable housing agreement.
d. One (1) additional point shall be awarded if a
minimum of 5 percent (5 %) of the total RPD project
dwelling units are made affordable to moderate
income households, in addition to the provision of
very low or lower income units pursuant to either
subsection a. or b., above.
5. One or more points shall be awarded if a minimum of 25
percent of the RPD Permit area includes rural
development, with the lot size requirements and point
allocation to be as follows:
a.
1.0
acre minimum lot size =
one (1) point
b.
2.0
acre minimum lot size =
two (2) points
C.
3.0
acre minimum lot size
= three (3) points
d.
4.0
acre minimum lot size =
four (4) points
e. If a minimum of 25 percent of the RPD Permit area
includes mixed rural lot sizes of one to four
acres, the Planning Commission shall make a
recommendation to the City Council for award of
bonus points for the project; however, the total
number of bonus points for a mixed rural lot size
development shall not exceed three (3).
6. One (1) bonus point shall be awarded if the overall
density of the RPD Permit project site is reduced 10
percent below the maximum density allowed by the General
Plan. One (1) additional point may be awarded by the
City Council if the density of the RPD Permit project
site is reduced by more than 10 percent below the maximum
density allowed by the General Plan.
D. Having evaluated each development in accordance with the
foregoing criteria, the Planning Commission shall make a
determination of bonus point assignment and recommended
revisions to the Development Allotment List, and the
Department shall then publish in a newspaper of general
circulation for the City of Moorpark, the Planning
Commission's preliminary bonus point assignment and revised
Development Allotment List based on that assignment.
Ordinance No.
Page 11
E. Any applicant who is dissatisfied with the Planning
Commission's preliminary bonus point assignment may submit
written notification of such dissent within fifteen (15) days
following the publication of the revised Development Allotment
List. Such written appeal notification will be furnished to
the City Council prior to the awarding of bonus points.
F. Following publication of the preliminary bonus point
assignment, the Community Development Department shall
schedule a City Council public hearing for the final award of
bonus points, and shall provide the council with the Planning
Commission's recommendations for preliminary bonus point
assignments and revised Development Allotment List, as well as
any written appeal notification received from applicants.
G. The City Council shall hold a noticed public hearing on the
second Wednesday of February, prior to making a final
determination of the award of bonus points and revision of the
Development Allotment List. Notice of the hearing shall be
provided consistent with Section 6008 of the Government Code.
The City Council shall make a decision as to the final award
of bonus points no later than 15 days from the date of the
public hearing.
SECTION 7. BUILDING PERMITS
No building permit for a non - exempt residential dwelling unit
shall be issued unless a residential development allotment for the
unit has been awarded; provided, however, that such building
permits shall not be issued in excess of five hundred ( 500 ) per
calendar year. If any of the five hundred (500) building permits
which are available for issuance in any calendar year are not
issued in that year, they shall not be carried over to the ensuing
calendar year.
SECTION 8. GRADING PERMITS
No grading permit for a project containing non - exempt
residential dwelling units shall be issued unless there has been an
award of development allotments for the project. When the award is
for less than the entire project, grading beyond the immediate area
of the lots for which the applicant proposes to utilize the
development allotments may be allowed in accordance with the
following:
A. The applicant executes, in a form approved by the City
Attorney, a waiver of any claim of a vested right to be exempt
from the Growth Management System as a result of grading
beyond the area for which the development allotments have been
awarded and an acknowledgment that the applicant assumes any
risks that may result from commencement of grading prior to
the award of allotments for the entire project; and
Ordinance No.
Page 12
The applicant has been awarded development allotments for at
least 15 percent (15 %) of the number of non - exempt residential
dwelling units in a project consisting of not more than one
hundred and seventy -five (175) lots, in which event the
grading may be carried out for the entire project; or
B. The applicant has been awarded development allotments for at
least 15 percent (15 %) of the number of non - exempt residential
units in the first phase of a project consisting of more than
one hundred and seventy -five (175) lots, in which event the
grading shall be carried out in phases. The phases shall be
delineated by the applicant on the tentative tract map. No
phase shall consist of more than one hundred and seventy -five
(175) lots. Grading of the first phase may commence once 15
percent (15 %) of the necessary allotments for that phase have
been awarded. Grading of the second phase and each phase
thereafter may commence once 75 percent (75 %) of the necessary
allotments for the preceding phase have been awarded.
C. The City Council may approve or conditionally approve grading
in a manner not otherwise provided for in this subsection upon
a finding that strict compliance with the provisions of
paragraph A or B would work a substantial economic or
engineering hardship on the project.
D. All graded areas shall be treated with landscaping, as deemed
appropriate by the Director of Community Development, to
prevent erosion and to reduce visual impacts of the grading.
A landscaping plan shall be approved by the Director prior to
issuance of a grading permit.
SECTION 9. FAILURE TO INAUGURATE
Should a developer fail to initiate construction within
twenty -four months after award of the development allotments, the
City Council after a public hearing may, by majority vote, rescind
all or part of the development allotments originally awarded to the
RPD project in question. Further, for a one -year period following
the decision of the City Council to rescind development allotments,
no application for new development allotments shall be accepted for
the project which had its allotments rescinded.
Any allotments rescinded by the City Council, pursuant to the
preceding paragraph, may be added to the pool of development
allotments available for allocation during any calendar year,
subject to the restrictions specified in Section 3 of this
ordinance.
SECTION 10. TERMINATION OF ORDINANCE
This ordinance shall remain in effect only until December 31,
2005, and as of that date shall expire, unless earlier repealed,
amended, or extended by the City Council.
Ordinance No.
Page 13
SECTION 11. AMENDMENT OF ORDINANCE
Any amendment of this ordinance shall require a public hearing.
SECTION 12. SEVERABILITY
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, part or
portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of
this Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have
adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence,
clause, phrase, part or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact
that any one or more section, subsections, sentences, clauses,
phrases, parts or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 13. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after
its passage and adoption.
SECTION 14. CERTIFICATION AND PUBLICATION
The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of
this ordinance; shall enter the same in the book of original
ordinances of said city; shall make a minute of the passage and
adoption thereof in the records of the proceedings of the City
Council at which the same is passed and adopted; and shall, within
fifteen (15) days after the passage and adoption thereof, cause the
same to be published once in the Moorpark News - Mirror, a weekly
newspaper of general circulation, as defined in Section 6008 of the
Government Code, for the City of Moorpark, and which is hereby
designated for that purpose.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this
1993.
ATTEST:
Lillian E. Hare
City Clerk
day of
Mayor of the City of Moorpark, California
Ordinance No.
Page 14
EXHIBIT A
CONTROLLED GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLAN
The maximum density based on City General Plan buildout of 14,911
dwelling units; plus an additional 147 dwelling units as requested
in a currently filed application for an amendment to the Carlsberg
Specific Plan; minus 8,280 existing dwelling units as of 1 -1 -94;
minus 948 dwelling units which represent an estimate of the number
of allotments that are expected to be made available under existing
Measure F and vested prior to expiration of that ordinance; minus
an estimate of 1,132 dwelling units that will be exempt from any
growth management ordinance based on a prior court decision and
rural land use designation requiring 5 acre or larger lot size;
minus an estimate that 939.60 dwelling units (20 percent) will be
exempt because they will be "affordable ", "senior ", or other exempt
units as defined in Section 2 of draft ordinance; and based on the
City's General Plan buildout year of 2010, the number of dwelling
units required over a 15 -year period is then calculated:
Maximum Density of City General Plan = 14,911 du's (1992
Land Use Element)
14,911 du's + 147 Carlsberg Specific Plan du's (552 -405)
= 15,058 du's
15,058 du's - 8,280 du's (total du's in City as of 1 -1-
94) = 6,778 du's not yet constructed
6,778 du's - 948 du's (Measure F allotments already
allocated or expected to be allocated by 1995) = 5,830
du's
5,830 du's - 1,132 du's (estimate of units exempt from
new ordinance based on prior court decision and rural
land use designation requiring 5 acre or larger lot size)
= 4,698 du's
4,698 x 20% (percentage of all other new dwelling units
expected to be exempt because they will be "affordable ",
"senior ", or other exempt units as defined in Section 2
of ordinance) = 939.60 exempt units
4,698 du's - 939.60 du's = 3,758.40 du's requiring
allotments
3,758.40 du's / 15 years (1996 through 2010) = 250.56
du's required per year through 2010
Round to 250 yearly allotments