Chapter 17.78
GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS
Sections:
17.78.020 Limit on number of amendments permitted each year.
17.78.030 Vote required for certain general plan amendments.
17.78.035 General plan amendments and specific plan adoptions or changes.
17.78.040 City council action.
17.78.090 Separate public hearings – Limitation on resubmission after denial.
17.78.010 Purpose and intent.
This chapter establishes the procedures for initiating and considering amendments to the Solana Beach general plan, or any element thereof, and implements Section 4.3 of the introduction to the Solana Beach general plan which limits the number of general plan amendments permitted each year. The procedures established by this chapter supplement the procedures and requirements for general plan amendments established by Article 6 of Title 7, Division 1, Chapter 3 of the State Government Code, commencing with Section 65350. (Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.020 Limit on number of amendments permitted each year.
Each general plan element may be amended no more than twice per year, except for amendments necessary to comply with state or federal law, or to implement or obtain certification of a local coastal plan, and except for amendments specified in Government Code Section 65358, subsections (c) and (d). For the purposes of this section, a variety of separate changes, deletions, additions or modifications to a general plan element text or maps made by a single resolution shall be deemed to constitute a single amendment. The city council may consider the separate changes, deletions, additions or modifications individually or in any combination, and may separately approve, approve with amendments or deny for inclusion in the resolution of amendment each such change, deletion, addition or modification. When appropriate, the provisions of the resolution affecting separate parcels or elements shall be made severable in order to permit separate legal review or referendum of certain amendments without affecting the remainder of the amendments, if any. (Ord. 216 § 1, 1996; Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.030 Vote required for certain general plan amendments.
A. Notwithstanding anything in Section 65356 of the Government Code to the contrary, any amendment to, or repeal and readoption of, the land use element (including the land use map) shall be subject to SBMC 17.78.035.
B. Notwithstanding anything in Section 65356 of the Government Code to the contrary, any amendment to, or repeal and readoption of, any other element requiring an amendment to the land use element in order to maintain internal consistency between the various elements of the general plan shall be subject to SBMC 17.78.035. (Ord. 276 § 1 , 2002; Ord. 228 § 1, 1997; Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.035 General plan amendments and specific plan adoptions or changes.
A. No general plan amendment, including specific plan adoptions or changes, shall be adopted which would:
1. Change, alter or increase the general plan residential land use categories; or
2. Change any land use designation to any other, except changes to land already designated residential that clearly result in a reduction in intensity or density of said land use designated as residential;
unless and until such action is approved by a majority of voters in the city.
B. This provision shall not apply to amendments which are necessary to comply with state or federal law or which are necessary to implement or obtain certification of the local coastal program. (Ord. 276 § 1 , 2002)
17.78.040 City council action.
A. City council action approving, conditionally approving or denying a proposed general plan amendment shall be taken by resolution. Such resolutions shall be effective 30 days following their adoption.
B. Where applicable, the entire project package, including all necessary legislative and adjudicative actions, will come to the city council as a package. The city council should consider the general plan amendment as a threshold issue. If the city council does not want to change the general plan, it can deny the general plan amendment and deny the rest of the permit applications as inconsistent with the general plan.
If the city council is in favor of changing the general plan as proposed, it can vote to approve the change and put the general plan amendment on the ballot. The city council may then move on to the remaining permit requests. Any approval or conditional approval would be contingent upon a vote of the citizens approving a change to the general plan. No action would be taken by the city council after the public vote. (Ord. 276 § 1 , 2002; Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.050 Initiation.
Amendments to the Solana Beach general plan, or any element thereof, may be initiated in the following manner:
A. Amendments to the land use designation for property, or to other aspects of the general plan affecting the use or development of property, may be initiated by the owner of the property or by the owner’s authorized agent by the filing of an application for a general plan amendment (GPA) as prescribed in this chapter. If the application is filed with respect to more than one parcel of property, then the owners of each parcel, or their agents, must join in the application. If a parcel has more than one owner, then all of the owners, or their agents, must join in the application.
B. Any registered voter of the city, other than an owner or an owner’s agent eligible to initiate a general plan amendment pursuant to subsection A, may petition the city council to initiate a general plan amendment. After a public hearing, 10 days’ prior notice of which is given by first class mail to the owner or owners of the property directly affected by the amendment (if any) as shown on the latest assessment roll and by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the city, the city council may grant or deny the petition. If the petition is granted, the city council may either authorize the petitioner to file an application in the manner specified in SBMC 17.78.060 for owner-initiated amendments at the petitioner’s expense, or may direct the city manager to initiate the amendment at city expense. Petitions for initiation of a general plan amendment shall be filed with the department of community development within the time limit specified by SBMC 17.78.070.
C. The city manager, or the manager’s designee, with or without prior direction from the city council, and without the necessity for an application or a petition, may propose a general plan amendment at any time. An amendment initiation by the manager or the manager’s designee may be combined with amendments initiated by property owners or by petition. Nothing in this section shall preclude the proposal of a general plan amendment directly by the voters through an initiative. (Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.060 Application.
When required or authorized pursuant to SBMC 17.78.020, applications for general plan amendments shall be filed in compliance with the requirements of this section.
A. Applications shall be filed with the department of community development on a form prescribed by the director.
B. In addition to the information required by the application form, the director may require the applicant to submit additional information as the director deems necessary for the complete review and analysis of the proposed amendment. If additional information is required, the application shall not be declared or deemed complete until the additional information is provided.
C. The application shall be accompanied by complete information as required by the director pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act and SBMC Title 18 or as deemed necessary by the director to allow the director to prepare an initial study, unless the director determines that the proposal is accepted for environmental review or qualifies for an exemption.
D. The application shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount established by city council resolution. Notwithstanding Government Code Section 66016, the city council may require applicants for general plan amendments to deposit with the department an amount equal to the estimated cost of preparing the amendment, including without limitation the cost of applicable environmental review or analysis by special consultants. The application shall not be complete and shall not be processed until the fee or deposit is paid. If the actual cost of processing the application is more than the fee or the deposit, an additional fee or deposit may be required.
E. An application for a general plan amendment may be filed and processed concurrently with an application for a specific plan, zone change, tentative subdivision or parcel map or any other permit (except a permit to grade or build) required for development. If the director determines that a specific plan, zone change, tentative subdivision or parcel map or other permit (except a permit to grade or build) is required for the development of property which is the subject of a general plan amendment, the director may require the concurrent filing and processing of the applications. (Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.070 Time limitation.
In each calendar year, general plan amendments, if any, subject to the twice-a-year limitation cycle of SBMC 17.78.020 shall be scheduled for the public hearing in March and September. The city manager, or his designee, may establish, by written policy, application requirements, deadlines for the submission of applications, and other policies for the processing and review of applications consistent with state statute and this chapter. (Ord. 216 § 2, 1996; Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.080 Public hearing.
Notice of public hearings required by this chapter shall be given as prescribed by SBMC 17.72.030 (Public Hearing and Notice Requirements), unless otherwise provided in this chapter or authorized by state statute. (Ord. 207 § 1, 1995)
17.78.090 Separate public hearings – Limitation on resubmission after denial.
A. The director may schedule public hearings on amendments affecting different parcels at different times during the year upon completion of the appropriate environmental review. If, after the public hearing, the city council determines to deny the proposed amendment, it may do so at that time. The decision to deny the proposed amendment shall be final at that time. If the city council determines to approve the proposed amendment, it may indicate its preliminary approval, but the decision shall not be final until adoption of a resolution at one of the twice-a-year general plan amendment meetings.
B. If a proposed general plan amendment is denied, it may not be reconsidered until the following calendar year after the filing of the appropriate application and payment of fees. (Ord. 216 § 3, 1996)