ORDINANCE NO. 24-O-2886
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS AMENDING THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION OF EXISTING COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO MIXED USE BUILDINGS AND AN ADDENDUM TO AN ADOPTED NEGATIVE DECLARATION (ND) FOR THE MIXED USE OVERLAY ZONE AMENDMENTS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
At the July 28, 2023 City Council formal meeting, the City Council reviewed the City’s progress implementing the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, and discussed potential changes to the regulations. As part of this discussion, the City Council provided direction to amend the regulations pertaining to residential conversion of existing commercial buildings in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone, in particular a change to the density calculation applicable to residential conversion projects. The proposed change would allow the use of the minimum unit size of 500 square feet to calculate the maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects, rather than the current density calculation that is based on the lot size. This change allows a residential conversion project to maximize the number of dwelling units that can be created within an existing building envelope.
Section 2.
On September 28, 2023, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing to review a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations to amend the residential conversion density calculation, after which it adopted Resolution No. 2039 recommending that the City Council amend the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to adopt the revisions (collectively, the “Amendments”). On January 23, 2024, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing, received public testimony, and thereafter introduced this Ordinance.
Section 3.
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) the City Council considered a Mitigated Negative Declaration (ND) for the creation of the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, including all comments submitted to the City regarding the ND, and found, in its independent judgment and analysis, that there was no substantial evidence that the Mixed Use Overlay Ordinance would have a significant impact on the environment, and adopted the ND. The City of Beverly Hills was the lead agency, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and was responsible for the preparation of the ND and related initial study. The previously adopted ND indicated that the Project would not result in significant impacts to Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Mineral Resources, and Transportation/Traffic. The ND also indicated that the ordinance would result in less than significant impacts related to Air Quality, Cultural Resources, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Public Services, Recreation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and the Mandatory Findings of Significance. The ND found that there was either no impact or less than significant impacts on certain environmental issues related to Aesthetics, Geology and Soils, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Noise, and Population and Housing.
Section 4.
An addendum to the previously adopted ND for a proposed change to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone has been prepared, pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15164. The proposed Amendment to the Mixed Use Overlay Zone regulations, and the related General Plan land use map amendment, will include a clarification regarding the calculation of maximum density allowed for residential conversion projects under the MU Overlay Zone, and a change to the General Plan Land Use map noting this clarification. As discussed in the addendum, since these changes consist of clarifications to existing regulations, the Project will not result in significant impacts to the areas of study in the adopted ND and would not result in a measurable increase in environmental impacts over what was previously analyzed in the adopted ND. There are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken that will require revisions to the adopted ND, and none of the conditions in California Code of Regulations, Title 14, §15162 have occurred. Since the adoption of the ND in 2020, the environmental issue areas of Energy and Wildfire have been added to the CEQA checklist. The addendum analyzed these issue areas and found that no impact would result from the Project, and therefore, no significant effects would result from the additional areas of study. Therefore, the City Council hereby adopts and approves the addendum to the previously adopted ND to make minor technical changes and add information.
Section 5.
The Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan. General Plan Housing Element (HE) Goal 2 – Housing Supply and Diversity encourages housing of all types and adequate supply of housing to meet the existing and future needs of the community. General Plan HE Policy 1.4 – Historic Preservation promotes the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings and historic neighborhoods through land use policies. General Plan HE Policy 2.5 – Adaptive Reuse calls for strategies that support adaptive reuse of existing structures to provide housing opportunities. General Plan HE Policy 2.7 – Environmentally Sustainable Housing promotes the creation of sustainable buildings to reduce carbon emissions. General Plan HE Goal 4 – Reducing Constraints calls for the mitigation of governmental constraints on the maintenance, improvement, and development of housing. General Plan Land Use (LU) Goal 2 – Community Character and Quality promotes a built environment distinguished by a high level of design and sensitivity to the setting. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 2.1 – City Places: Neighborhoods, Districts, and Corridors encourages the maintenance of qualities that distinguish the City’s unique residential and business areas, including aesthetics of the built form and scale of residential neighborhoods. General Plan LU Policy 5.1 - Neighborhood Conservation calls for the maintenance of the uses, densities, character, amenities, and quality of the City’s residential neighborhoods, recognizing their contribution to the City’s identity, economic value, and quality of life. General Plan LU General Plan LU Policy 6.1- Neighborhood Identity calls for the maintenance of characteristics that distinguish the City’s single-family neighborhoods from one another in such terms as topography, lot size, housing scale and form, and public streetscapes. Similarly, General Plan LU Policy 6.2 - Housing Character and Design calls for requiring new, renovated, and additions to housing to be located and designed to maintain the distinguishing characteristics and qualities of the neighborhoods in which they are located, including prevailing lot sizes, building form, scale, massing, relationship to street frontages, architectural design, landscaping, property setbacks, and other comparable elements. Amending sections of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code to promote residential conversion projects will help to provide greater housing opportunities and preserve the character of the community, as such projects may be created within existing structures. The Amendments will also reduce governmental constraints and promote opportunities for adaptive reuse of commercial structures in the Mixed Use Overlay Zone. Further, the Amendments are consistent with the objectives, principles, and standards of the General Plan as set forth above.
Section 6.
The City Council hereby amends section 10-3-1888 of Article 18.7 of Chapter 3 of Title 10 of the Beverly Hills Municipal Code, to read as follows:
“10-3-1888: CONVERSION OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS:
A.
Existing commercial buildings may obtain a development plan review permit to convert to a mixed use building if located in the MU Overlay Zone. Such a project may request relief from the following mixed use standards, if it is not physically feasible to comply with these standards. To determine feasibility, the commission shall evaluate whether the site is physically constrained, with regard to depth and width, whether the existing commercial building does not conform to mixed use standards, and/or whether the existing commercial building would be rendered structurally defective by providing such features.
1.
Parking requirements;
2.
Loading facilities;
3.
Outdoor living space;
4.
Commercial-residential transitional setbacks, if such buildings have legally nonconforming setbacks; and
5.
Height limits, if buildings have legally nonconforming heights.
B. Notwithstanding the density calculation in section 10-3-1881, the maximum density permitted for a mixed use development that is also a conversion project shall be calculated by dividing the existing building floor area, excluding floor area on the ground floor of the existing building, by the minimum allowed unit size of 500 square feet. Existing building floor area shall be determined pursuant to the definition of non-residential and multi-family floor area in section 10-3-100 of this chapter.”
Section 7.
Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or place, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the final decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Ordinance shall be and remain in full force and effect.
Section 8.
Publication. The City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City within fifteen (15) days after its passage in accordance with Section 36933 of the Government Code, shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance, and shall cause this Ordinance and her certification, together with proof of publication, to be entered in the Book of Ordinances of the Council of this City.
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Section 9.
Effective Date. This Ordinance shall go into effect and be in full force and effect at 12:01 a.m. on the thirty-first (31st) day after its passage.
Adopted: February 6, 2024
Effective: March 8, 2024
JULIAN A. GOLD, M.D.
Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills, California
ATTEST:
_________________________(SEAL)
HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
___________________________ _____________________________
LAURENCE S. WIENER NANCY HUNT-COFFEY
City Attorney City Manager
Re-Adopted: March 11, 2024
Effective: April 11, 2024
JULIAN A. GOLD, M.D.
Mayor of the City of Beverly Hills, California
ATTEST:
_________________________(SEAL)
HUMA AHMED
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED AS TO CONTENT:
___________________________ _____________________________
LAURENCE S. WIENER NANCY HUNT-COFFEY
City Attorney City Manager