The purpose of this Chapter is to provide regulations for the development of areas in the City that, because of their topography, require special consideration to ensure that they are developed in a way that substantially maintains their natural character and environmental and aesthetic values to implement the general plan, and to provide for the safety, health, and welfare of the public by:
(a) Providing guidelines and standards for development in visually sensitive hillside areas to minimize the adverse impacts of grading and to promote the following goals and objectives of the general plan:
(1) Open Space Goal OS-1: Maintain an open space system that conserves remaining natural resources, enhances aesthetic values, and promotes the health, safety and general welfare;
(2) Open Space Policy OSP-2: Cooperate with regional and subregional planning agencies in matters of mutual open space concerns;
(3) Open Space Strategy OSS-6: Require sensitive ecological areas, steep slopes, and special land form features to be preserved as open space;
(b) To preserve and enhance the visual and aesthetic quality of hillsides for the surrounding community;
(c) To encourage the characteristics and qualities that promote a “sense of place” within a hillside setting;
(d) Maintaining an environment consistent with existing vegetation, wildlife, soils, geology, slopes, and drainage patterns, and to preserve natural topography and scenic character, including canyons, creeks, knolls, rock outcrops, and ridgelines whenever feasible;
(e) Encouraging development that is limited to the more gently sloping portions of the site;
(f) Encouraging developments that preserve desirable existing features of land (e.g., natural appearing slopes, significant ridgelines, natural vegetation, viewsheds, topographic features);
(g) Limiting the impact of cut and fill slopes on adjacent developed and undeveloped properties;
(h) Preserving the regional view corridor located along Railroad Canyon Road and the aesthetics of the region which further are preserved by similar ordinances, policies and practices in surrounding cities; and
(i) Preserving the community's existing natural significant ridgelines visible from Canyon Lake.
(Ord. 112, passed 3-4-2009)