Chapter 11.08
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
Sections:
11.08.010 Findings and determination.
11.08.020 Development review area established.
11.08.030 Residential Development Review Board – Creation – Membership.
11.08.040 Residential Development Review Board – Meetings.
11.08.050 Residential Development Review Board – Staff.
11.08.070 Development proposal – Consideration by Board.
11.08.080 Development proposal – Preliminary rating.
11.08.090 Development proposal – Hearing.
11.08.100 Criteria used to rate projects.
11.08.110 Development proposal – Basis for determination.
11.08.120 Construction time limit following approval.
11.08.130 Approval quota determination and allocation of units.
11.08.150 Project approval mandatory when under unit quota.
11.08.160 Judicial review of Board decision or procedure.
11.08.010 Findings and determination.
The City Council finds and determines:
A. The County of Marin has adopted a comprehensive general plan which is a highly sophisticated approach to resolution of the extraordinary complexities of suburban growth. The City has also adopted a comprehensive general plan designed to provide for orderly growth within its boundaries. Coordinated and cooperative efforts by the County and its cities are required in order to implement the growth objectives of their respective general plans.
B. Unregulated, capricious development has in the past caused, and unless controlled in the future will cause, severe and irremediable injury to the City, to Marin County and their environment in that:
1. It has resulted in a severe shortage of housing for citizens of low and moderate income and sorely limited the economic heterogeneity of the population;
2. It has wastefully compelled construction of public facilities on a crisis basis;
3. It has sorely overtaxed municipal service districts resulting in numerous water and sewerage moratoriums;
4. It has occasioned costs to the taxpayers far in excess of tax gains;
5. It has engendered public skepticism concerning the ability of local governments to protect Marin’s environment adequately.
C. Standard zoning regulations alone cannot provide the delicate types of development review procedures which will ensure a high level of environmental protection, construction of low and moderate cost housing, sequential orderly development and other goals set forth in the Sausalito General Plan and Countywide general plan.
D. There exist within Marin logical and readily identifiable planning areas, which include both incorporated and unincorporated areas, but which must be precisely regulated by joint action of the County and the affected cities to ensure coordinated compliance with their respective general plans.
E. At the present time in Marin, there are numerous inadequate water and sewerage systems, serious overcrowding on public transit facilities, extensive highway congestion, severe flooding and seismic hazards of indeterminate scope, all of which sorely limit the ability of the County and cities to accommodate unpaced burgeoning growth.
F. The County, numerous cities, and special districts are diligently endeavoring to alleviate the serious problems set forth in subsection (B)(3) of this section, and will be able to resolve them only, when essential, if growth can be properly and effectively staged in a manner which will not overextend existing community facilities and allow some respite to bring deficient services up to necessary standards.
G. It would be highly detrimental to the welfare of Marin County and its environs to exclude, intentionally or inadvertently, minority, poor or aged citizens from the general populace of Marin County. The only effective means to prevent such exclusion is the provision of ample low and moderate income housing. Significant Federal subsidies are presently unavailable and traditional zoning has been ineffective in this regard. Although Marin is actively engaged in numerous efforts to encourage and compel construction of low and moderate cost housing, only through development review, one of the principal purposes of which is achievement of this objective, is there any likelihood of securing such housing.
H. The public welfare requires the establishment of Residential Development Review Boards to accomplish the following:
1. Provide significant incentives which will encourage developers to include low and moderate income housing in their undertakings;
2. Prevent premature development in the absence of necessary utilities and municipal services;
3. Ensure that development will not exceed the environmental holding capacity of the specific land and the County generally;
4. Coordinate City and County planning and land regulation in a manner consistent with the Countywide plan and local City general plans;
5. Facilitate and implement the realization of general plan goals which cannot be accomplished by zoning alone, principally in connection with low and moderate cost housing;
6. Direct growth in a manner which will ensure a proper relationship to community needs and capabilities;
7. Encourage and facilitate development proposals which accomplish the objectives of the Countywide general plan and the respective City general plans. [Ord. 897 § 1, 1976.]
11.08.020 Development review area established.
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 22.96 of the Marin County Code, the Marin County Board of Supervisors has, by resolution, declared its intention to establish a residential development review area encompassing a portion of southern Marin County, consisting of the cities of Belvedere, Mill Valley, Sausalito and Tiburon, and environs, and the unincorporated communities of Marin City, Strawberry and Homestead Valley. The Sausalito Planning Commission has conducted public hearings on such proposal and has recommended to the Sausalito City Council that the City of Sausalito cooperate in the creation of such residential development review area by the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter.
Pursuant to such action of the Marin County Board of Supervisors and the recommendation of the Sausalito Planning Commission, the entire incorporated area of the City is hereby designated as a residential development review area which shall be subject to the restrictions of this chapter, contingent upon like action by the Marin County Board of Supervisors and the City Council of each of the cities mentioned above. The City shall enter into a joint powers agreement with the County of Marin and the other affected cities, providing for the administration of these provisions within the total residential development review area. [Ord. 897 § 2, 1976.]
11.08.030 Residential Development Review Board – Creation – Membership.
A Residential Development Review Board shall be created for the residential development review area. The Review Board shall be constituted in the manner set forth in the joint powers agreement authorized by SMC 11.08.020; provided, that the terms of members thereof shall not exceed one year. [Ord. 897 § 4, 1976.]
11.08.040 Residential Development Review Board – Meetings.
The board shall meet three times each year, at four-month intervals, upon such dates as may be specified in the joint powers agreement. [Ord. 897 § 5, 1976.]
11.08.050 Residential Development Review Board – Staff.
The planning staffs of the County and cities shall serve as the staff of the Board and shall provide necessary services in accordance with the joint powers agreement between the parties. In the discharge of its duties under this chapter, the staff shall consult with all involved utility districts on a regular basis. [Ord. 897 § 7, 1976.]
11.08.060 Residential Development Review Board – Approval of building permits for residential construction.
Except for a single-family residence on a lot legally in existence before the effective date of the reestablishment of a residential development review area, or for projects of up to 10 units as specified in the joint powers agreement which are within infilling areas designated in the agreement by the County in unincorporated areas, or by the City of jurisdiction in incorporated areas and which are consistent with adopted local plans and the zoning ordinances, no building permit shall be issued after the effective date of the joint powers agreement referred to in this section for any residential construction, including mobile homes, within such area, unless the construction has been approved by the Residential Development Review Board. [Ord. 897 § 3, 1976.]
11.08.070 Development proposal – Consideration by Board.
The board shall consider any residential development proposal which has been finally approved by the County or City of jurisdiction at the next Board meeting following approval, provided approval was at least three weeks prior to the meeting, unless the applicant requests a delay. Such a request shall be filed at least three weeks prior to the scheduled date upon which the Review Board will meet. Proposals not approved by the Review Board shall be reconsidered at the next meeting of the Review Board, unless the applicant requests a delay, up to a maximum of two times for automatic reconsideration of each proposal. [Ord. 897 § 6, 1976.]
11.08.080 Development proposal – Preliminary rating.
All proposals shall be preliminarily rated by the Review Board’s staff in accordance with the criteria set forth in SMC 11.08.010. The developer shall be furnished with a copy of the rating and any supporting data at the time the project receives final approval. [Ord. 897 § 8, 1976.]
11.08.090 Development proposal – Hearing.
A. The Review Board shall conduct a separate hearing on each proposal for which approval is requested. The sole issue at the hearing shall be the rating of the project. The Board shall have no authority to disapprove or remand an application.
B. All hearings shall be public. The developer and all interested persons shall be entitled to appear, testify and present evidence.
C. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board shall render a decision rating the project on the basis of each criterion set forth in SMC 11.08.100. [Ord. 897 § 9, 1976.]
11.08.100 Criteria used to rate projects.
The following criteria shall be used to rate projects:
|
|
Maximum Points |
Total |
Allocated Points |
|---|---|---|---|
|
I. Provisions for low and moderate income housing |
|
30 |
|
|
II. Environmental quality |
|
30 |
|
|
III. Facilities |
|
40 |
|
|
Grand Total: |
100 |
|
|
These criteria shall be calculated strictly in accordance with the amplification of criteria contained in the joint powers agreement.
If the project involves the division of land only, it shall be rated solely in accordance with criteria for environmental impacts and utilities and public services. For the purposes of comparing such projects with actual development proposals, the raw score shall be multiplied by a factor which would make possible a total score of 100 for the final rating. [Ord. 897 § 10, 1976.]
11.08.110 Development proposal – Basis for determination.
When all rating hearings are completed, the Review Board shall determine, solely on the basis of numerical ratings and the number of units to be allowed in accordance with SMC 11.08.130, which projects are eligible for approval. [Ord. 897 § 11, 1976.]
11.08.120 Construction time limit following approval.
Except in cases involving phased development or bare land, construction of each structure must actually commence within two years following issuance of an approval by the Review Board, otherwise the approval shall be null and void. [Ord. 897 § 12, 1976.]
11.08.130 Approval quota determination and allocation of units.
A. Each year, the Board of Supervisors and City Councils (or their delegate members, subject to ratification by each body) shall meet in joint session on a date specified in accordance with procedures contained in the joint powers agreement to determine the number of residential units which can be approved during the subsequent year.
B. These determinations shall be based upon:
1. The Countywide and applicable local general plans;
2. The number of units approved and constructed in prior years;
3. Availability of utilities and public services;
4. The goals, purposes and objectives contained in SMC 11.08.100;
5. The current availability of low and moderate cost housing.
C. Representatives of all utility districts and companies located within the review area shall be invited to the meeting and may participate in the deliberations in all respects except voting.
D. The allocation of units for each four-month period shall be specified at the time the annual number is set. If the number of approved units falls below the four-month allocation for one session, the difference shall be carried over to the next four-month allocation, until the final session of the year. [Ord. 897 § 13, 1976.]
11.08.140 Staged projects.
If a developer so requests, the project may be considered in segments. If the segments are interdependent, the Review Board may approve the entire plan subject to the requirement that a limited number of units will be constructed each year. Amendments to staged projects shall be processed as new applications; provided, that if an amendment is not approved by the Review Board, the originally approved plan shall remain valid, unless local time limits are exceeded. [Ord. 897 § 14, 1976.]
11.08.150 Project approval mandatory when under unit quota.
If the number of units in projects pending for action by the Board is less than the number of units to be allowed pursuant to SMC 11.08.130, the Board shall issue approvals for all of such units. [Ord. 897 § 15, 1976.]
11.08.160 Judicial review of board decision or procedure.
Any legal action to challenge any decision, procedure, approval or denial of the Residential Development Review Board must be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within 30 days after the action challenged. [Ord. 897 § 16, 1976.]