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The Board of Commissioners of the City Planning Department shall be known as the City Planning Commission and shall consist of nine members. It shall:
(a) give advice and make recommendations to the Mayor, Council, Director of Planning, municipal departments and agencies with respect to City planning and related activities and legislation;
(c) make reports and recommendations to the Council and to other governmental officers or agencies as may be necessary to implement and secure compliance with the General Plan; and
(d) perform other functions prescribed by the Charter or ordinance.
The Council shall adopt an ordinance creating not less than five separate bodies to be known as Area Planning Commissions. The ordinance shall establish the boundaries of the area to be served by each Area Planning Commission, which shall be drawn so that all areas of the City are served by an Area Planning Commission. Each Area Planning Commission shall consist of five members. Members shall be appointed and removed in the same manner as members of the City Planning Commission, except that residency in the area served by the Area Planning Commission shall be a qualification for appointment. Except as provided in subsection (d), Area Planning Commissions are quasi-judicial agencies.
Each Area Planning Commission, with respect to matters concerning property located in the area served by the Area Planning Commission, shall have and exercise the power to:
(a) hear and determine appeals where it is alleged there is error or abuse of discretion in any order, requirement, decision, interpretation or other determination made by a Zoning Administrator;
(b) hear and make determinations on any matter normally under the jurisdiction of a Zoning Administrator when that matter has been transferred to the jurisdiction of the Area Planning Commission because the Zoning Administrator has failed to act within the time limits prescribed by ordinance;
(c) hear and determine applications for, or appeals related to, conditional use permits and other similar quasi-judicial approvals, in accordance with procedures prescribed by ordinance;
(d) make recommendations with respect to zone changes or similar matters referred to it from the City Planning Commission pursuant to Section 562; and
(e) hear and determine other matters delegated to it by ordinance.
(a) The chief administrative officer of the Department of City Planning shall be known as the Director of Planning and shall be appointed and removed as provided in Section 508. The Director shall be chosen on the basis of administrative and technical qualifications, with special reference to actual experience in and knowledge of accepted practice in the field of City planning.
(b) The Director of Planning or his or her designee shall:
(1) prepare the proposed General Plan of the City and proposed amendments to the General Plan;
(2) prepare all proposed zoning and other land use regulations and requirements, including maps of all proposed districts or zones;
(3) make investigations and act on the design and improvement of all proposed subdivisions of land as the advisory agency under the State Subdivision Map Act; and
(4) have those additional powers and duties provided by ordinance.
The General Plan shall be a comprehensive declaration of goals, objectives, policies and programs for the development of the City and shall include, where applicable, diagrams, maps and text setting forth those and other features.
(a) Purposes. The General Plan shall serve as a guide for:
(1) the physical development of the City;
(2) the development, correlation and coordination of official regulations, controls, programs and services; and
(3) the coordination of planning and administration by all agencies of the City government, other governmental bodies and private organizations and individuals involved in the development of the City.
(b) Content. The General Plan shall include those elements required by state law and any other elements determined to be appropriate by the Council, by resolution, after considering the recommendation of the City Planning Commission.
Procedures pertaining to the preparation, consideration, adoption and amendment of the General Plan, or any of its elements or parts, shall be prescribed by ordinance, subject to the requirements of this section.
(a) Amendment in Whole or in Part. The General Plan may be amended in its entirety, by subject elements or parts of subject elements, or by geographic areas, provided that the part or area involved has significant social, economic or physical identity.
(b) Initiation of Amendments. The Council, the City Planning Commission or the Director of Planning may propose amendments to the General Plan. The Director of Planning shall make a report and recommendation on all proposed amendments. Prior to Council action, the proposed amendment shall be referred to the City Planning Commission for its recommendation and then to the Mayor for his or her recommendation.
(c) Commission and Mayoral Recommendations. The City Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing before making any recommendation on a proposed amendment to the General Plan and shall act within the time specified by ordinance. If the Commission recommends disapproval of an amendment initiated by the Commission, it shall report its decision to the Council and Mayor. After the Commission recommends approval of an amendment initiated by the Commission, or takes action concerning an amendment initiated by the Director or the Council, the Commission shall forward its recommendation to the Mayor. The Mayor shall have 30 days to forward his or her recommendation to the Council regarding the proposed amendment to the General Plan. If either the City Planning Commission or the Mayor does not act within the time specified, the Commission or Mayor shall be deemed to have recommended approval of the proposed amendment.
(d) Council Action. The Council shall conduct a public hearing before taking action on a proposed amendment to the General Plan.
If the Council proposes any modification to the amendment approved by the City Planning Commission, that proposed modification shall be referred to the City Planning Commission and the Mayor for their recommendations. The City Planning Commission and the Mayor shall review any modification made by the Council and shall make their recommendation on the modification to the Council in accordance with subsection (c) above.
If no modifications are proposed by the Council, or after receipt of the Mayor’s and City Planning Commission’s recommendations on any proposed modification, or the expiration of their time to act, the Council shall adopt or reject the proposed amendment by resolution within the time specified by ordinance.
(e) Votes Necessary for Adoption. If both the City Planning Commission and the Mayor recommend approval of a proposed amendment, the Council may adopt the amendment by a majority vote. If either the City Planning Commission or the Mayor recommends the disapproval of a proposed amendment, the Council may adopt the amendment only by a two-thirds vote. If both the City Planning Commission and the Mayor recommend the disapproval of a proposed amendment, the Council may adopt the amendment only by a three-fourths vote. If the Council proposes a modification of an amendment, the recommendations of the Commission and the Mayor on the modification shall affect only that modification.
When approving any matter listed in Section 558, the City Planning Commission and the Council shall make findings showing that the action is in substantial conformance with the purposes, intent and provisions of the General Plan. If the Council does not adopt the City Planning Commission’s findings and recommendations, the Council shall make its own findings.
For the purpose of reviewing or amending the General Plan, the City Planning Commission shall make its recommendations to the Council relative to the division of the entire City into areas and the Council, after considering the recommendations of the City Planning Commission, shall adopt a resolution providing for those General Plan areas. To the extent feasible, general plan areas shall be drawn to keep areas geographically compact, to keep neighborhoods and communities intact, and to utilize natural boundaries and street lines.
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