ORDINANCE NO. 22-1068
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 9, CHAPTER 1 OF THE TEMPLE CITY MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH AN EXPEDITED, NON-DISCRETIONARY MULTI-FAMILY (R-2 ZONE) REVIEW PROCESS, AND ASSOCIATED ZONING CODE AMENDMENTS PERTAINING TO OBJECTIVE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
WHEREAS, the City of Temple City (“City”) has adopted a General Plan to ensure a well-planned and safe community; and
WHEREAS, protection of public health, safety, and welfare is fully articulated in the General Plan; and
WHEREAS, State law requires that the Temple City Zoning Code, found in Title 9, Chapter 1 of the Temple City Municipal Code (“TCMC”), conform with the General Plan's goals and policies; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary from time to time to update the zoning ordinance to bring it into conformity with State law and to address public health, safety, and welfare concerns that have arisen since the last update of the Temple City Zoning Code; and
WHEREAS, SB 478 (Housing Opportunity Act), which took effect in January 2022, enables the construction of multi-family units where restrictions on Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and minimum lot size restrict their development; and
WHEREAS, the creation of an expedited, non-discretionary approval process with prototype architectural plans for multi-family projects in the R-2 zone will help to simplify the approval of such projects and help the City achieve its regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) by more quickly approving development plans; and
WHEREAS, the City of Temple City applied for and received grant funding under the California Department of Housing & Community Development’s SB 2 Planning Grant Program to prepare the prototype designs and expedited approval process; and
THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
1. Purpose: The expedited multi-family review process:
a. Provides an optional expedited, non-discretionary, approval process for multi-family development projects in the R-2 zone that utilize the City’s architectural prototypes and design palettes for multi-family projects. Approval under the expedited multi-family review process is considered ministerial and does not involve discretionary (site plan) review.
b. Ensures that development occurs in a manner consistent with the overall goals and objectives of the city's general plan.
c. Ensure that multi-family developments approved under the expedited review are consistent with the standards and regulations contained in the code.
d. Ensure that the proposed architectural design and treatment of construction is consistent with the design guidelines contained in the code.
e. Ensure that the proposed architectural design and treatment of construction is designed to minimize adverse aesthetic and environmental impacts on the site and its surroundings and are compatible with its surroundings.
2. Applicability: Any new multi-family residential development in the R-2 zone, as determined by the director, that utilizes the architectural prototypes and palettes contained in the City’s architectural prototype and palette library, adopted by reference via Resolution No. 22-5639, and as modified from time to time.
3. Application: An application for review under the objective design standards must be filed and reviewed pursuant to section 9-1C-5-B Application.
4. Approval Authority: The director acts on projects submitted under this section. When the project involves a subdivision or other entitlement requiring a public hearing (such as a variance), the planning commission will review the tentative map only.
5. Scope of Review: Prior to commencing the expedited multi-family review process, the director will determine whether the project substantially complies with the architectural prototypes and design palettes, zoning code (except the design criteria and any subjective provisions), and any applicable objective standards in a specific plan. The director will utilize a specially prepared checklist for determining “substantial compliance”. This checklist will be provided to the applicant prior to submittal.
6. Public Hearing: Projects submitted under this section do not require a public hearing, unless the project is submitted with an entitlement requiring Planning Commission or City Council Review, such as a tentative map or density bonus.
7. Notice: Within 1-week of approval, a Notice of Future Construction will be mailed to the adjacent property owners within 100-feet. The notice must include a description of the project and contact information for the City and applicant. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide the City with a radius map, ownership list, one set of mailing labels, and an affidavit certifying the accuracy of the map and ownership list when an application is submitted. Notice for a project involving a subdivision will occur in compliance with section 9-1C-5-E Notice.
8. Post Decision Procedures: Procedures and requirements of 9-1C-5-H Post Decision Procedures will apply to projects submitted under the objective design standards provisions.
* Per Cal. Gov. Code § 65913.11, for projects consisting of 3 to 10 units, lot coverage and FAR restrictions may not prevent multifamily projects from achieving the following floor area ratios: the minimum FAR for projects consisting of 3-7 units is 1.0; the minimum FAR for projects between 8-10 units is 1.25.
SECTION 3: Section 9-1G-22: of the TCMC (R-2 Zone District Residential Development Standards) is amended to add the following footnote:
D. Maximum Floor Area Ratio:
5. No multiple-family residential project may exceed a total floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.50* (see note in Table 9-1G-8 regarding SB 478).
SECTION 4: The City Council declares that, should any provision, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Ordinance or any part thereof, be rendered or declared invalid or unconstitutional by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction or by reason of any preemptive legislation, such decision or action will not affect the validity of the remaining section or portions of the Ordinance or part thereof. The City Council declares that it would have independently adopted the remaining provisions, sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words of this Ordinance irrespective of the fact that any one or more provisions, sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5: The City Council finds that this Ordinance exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15305 of the CEQA Guidelines (Minor Alterations to Land Use Limitations) and Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty is not a project as defined in Section 15378 and it can be seen with certainty that the activity in question will not have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 6: The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and to its approval by the Mayor and shall cause the same to be published according to law.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 19th day of September, 2023.
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William Man, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Peggy Kuo, City Clerk Greg Murphy, City Attorney
I, Peggy Kuo, City Clerk of the City of Temple City, hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 22-1068 was introduced at the regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Temple City held on the 5th day of September 2023, and was duly passed, approved and adopted by said Council at the regular meeting held on September 19th, 2023 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmember – Sternquist, Vizcarra, Chavez, Man
NOES: Councilmember – None
ABSENT: Councilmember – Yu
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Peggy Kuo, City Clerk