ITEM 8-D
Council Mtg: June 29, 1993
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Text Amendment 92-009 to Establish Use Allowances and
Development Standards for Outdoor Newstands in
Commercial Districts
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council adopt Text Amendment
(TA) 92-009 to allow and establish development standards for
outdoor newsstands in various commercial districts throughout the
City, and to establish the creation of a Use Permit procedure.
On April 7, 1993, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 on a motion
to recommend approval of the proposed newsstand Text Amendment by
the City Council.
BACKGROUND
Project Description
The newsstand Text Amendment was initiated at the request of the
City Council. The Use Permit portion of this Text Amendment has
been part of other Text Amendments in the past and has been
reviewed by both the Planning Commission and the City Council.
The proposed newsstand Text Amendment would allow outdoor
newsstands "by right" in the C3 (Downtown Commercial) and C3C
(Downtown Commercial Overlay) Districts and with a Use Permit in
the RVC (Residential Visitor Commercial), BCD (Broadway
Commercial), C2 (Neighborhood Commercial), C4 (Highway
Commercial), C6 (Broadway Commercial), and CM (Main Street
Commercial) Districts. The proposed Text Amendment would further
provide minimum standards for outdoor newsstands and amend
Section 9.04.10.02.340, "Permitted Outdoor Uses," to include
newsstands.
The proposed Use Permit amendment would establish a Zoning
Administrator public hearing review process for certain kinds of
development, such as newsstands in certain zones.
Planning Commission Action and Discussion
At the April 7, 1993 public hearing of the Planning Commission,
the five Commissioners present voted to recommend City Council
approval of the proposed Text Amendment. In their discussion of
the proposal, the Planning Commission expressed concern that the
proposed requirement that no outdoor newsstand may be within
1,000 feet of another newsstand was excessive. The 1,000-foot
standard was taken from existing Zoning Ordinance standards for
the spacing of adult entertainment uses. A spacing requirement
appears appropriate to limit possible effects on traffic and
sidewalk congestion and to control possible adverse aesthetic
impacts of numerous newstands in an area. Given the concern that
the 1,000-foot limit may be excessive, staff has revised the
standards to require that no newsstand may be within 500' of
another newsstand.
CEQA Status
The proposed Text Amendment is categorically exempt from the
provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant
to class 5(10) of the City of Santa Monica Guidelines for the
Implementation of CEQA.
ANALYSIS
Existing Code Requirements
The existing Zoning Ordinance does not permit outdoor newsstands.
Section 9.04.10.02.340, "Permitted Outdoor Uses," reads as
follows:
The following uses, if identified as a permitted use in
the district, shall be permitted outside of an enclosed
building provided they are entirely on private property:
(a) Drive-in and drive-through restaurants.
(b) Patio tables, chairs, umbrellas, and similar outdoor
accessories used in connection with a restaurant.
(c) Vending machines, including weighing scales, when
accessory to a business conducted within a building.
(d) Border materials, flower pots, trellises, and the
like, provided they are accessory to a retail plant
nursery and do not exceed 15% of the inventory of the
nursery business.
(e) Automobile dealership display and storage lots.
(f) Outdoor vending or display when otherwise permitted
by this code.
Because outdoor newsstands are neither called out in Section
9.04.10.02.340 nor mentioned within the "permitted uses" sections
of any of the City's zoning districts, outdoor newsstands are not
a permitted use. Furthermore, Section 9.04.10.02.340 specifies
that outdoor uses are permitted on private property only, whereas
it is contemplated that outdoor newsstands would be permitted on
both private and public property if certain minimum standards
could be met.
The existing Zoning Ordinance has no procedure for a Use Permit
process. The most comparable existing procedure is that for
Variances, which requires a public hearing before the Zoning
Administrator and a public notice of the hearing in a local
newspaper and notification of all tenants and property owners
within a 300-foot radius of the subject parcel. For a Variance
(or a Use Permit, as proposed), the Zoning Administrator's
decision may be appealed to the Planning Commission.
Proposed Newsstand Amendment
The proposed amendment would accomplish three primary goals.
First, it would establish newsstands as a permitted outdoor use
under Section 9.04.10.02.340. Secondly, it would establish
outdoor newsstands as under either the "Permitted" or "Uses
subject to a use permit" sections in various commercial districts
throughout the City. Finally, it would establish specific
development standards required for outdoor newsstands.
Staff recommends the following amendment to Section
9.04.10.02.340, "Permitted Outdoor Uses" (bold indicates new
text):
The following uses, if identified as a permitted use in
the district, shall be permitted outside of an enclosed
building provided they are entirely on private property or
on public property when otherwise permitted by this code:
(a) Drive-in and drive-through restaurants.
(b) Patio tables, chairs, umbrellas, and similar outdoor
accessories used in connection with a restaurant.
(c) Vending machines, including weighing scales, when
accessory to a business conducted within a building.
(d) Border materials, flower pots, trellises, and the
like, provided they are accessory to a retail plant nurs-
ery and do not exceed 15% of the inventory of the nursery
business.
(e) Automobile dealership display and storage lots.
(f) Outdoor vending or display when otherwise permitted
by this code.
(g) Outdoor newsstands when otherwise permitted by this
code.
Staff further recommends that outdoor newsstands be permitted by
right (requiring Administrative Approval only) in the C3 and C3C
Districts, as these zoning designations are located in the
pedestrian-oriented, transit-served, high density downtown area
in which outdoor newsstand uses are most appropriate. In the
BCD, RVC, C2, C4, C6, and CM Districts staff recommends that
outdoor newsstands be permitted with a Use Permit. (Attachment
A.)
As a general retail type of use, the parking requirement for
outdoor newsstands would be 1 space per 300 square feet, as
called out in Section 9.04.10.08.040 of the Zoning Ordinance.
Therefore, no Text Amendment relating to newsstands would be
necessary to the parking section of the Zoning Ordinance. Since
the maximum outdoor newsstand would not exceed 2' X 50' with the
proposed standards, the parking required would be zero spaces
based on the following calculation:
DIMENSION AREA STANDARD NO. SPACES REQUIRED
2' X 50' = 100 s.f. 1:300 = .34 (less than .5, round
down to zero spaces)
In all commercial districts where they would be permitted
(including C3 and C3C Districts), outdoor newsstands would be
required to comply with the following development standards:
9.XX.XX.XXX Outdoor Newsstands.
The purpose of this Section is to ensure that outdoor
newsstands located in any permitted commercial district
shall not adversely impact surrounding uses and shall be
developed in a manner which enhances and protects the
integrity of the District. The following special conditions
shall apply to outdoor newsstands:
(a) Property Development Standards. The outdoor
newsstand shall comply with all property development
standards of the commercial district in which it is located.
(b) Maximum Size. No outdoor newsstand shall exceed 2'
in depth, 50' in length, 8' in height, or 100 square feet in
total floor area.
(c) Minimum Distance from Other Outdoor Newsstands. No
outdoor newsstand shall be located closer than 500 feet to
the nearest other outdoor newsstand.
(d) Outdoor Newsstands on Public Rights-of-Way. Prior to
submittal of an application for an outdoor newsstand, the
applicant must obtain preliminary approval from the
Department of General Services and the City Parking and
Traffic Engineer to ensure that public safety and pedestrian
and vehicular traffic concerns are adequately addressed.
Fees shall be assessed for the use of public property. A
minimum 8' pedestrian path must be maintained between the
the outdoor newsstand and the curb or any other
pedestrian-obstructing object. If the outdoor newsstand
abuts the wall of a private parcel, the operator must have
the permission of the the owner of the private parcel to
operate an outdoor newsstand in that location.
(e) Maintenance and Design. Outdoor newsstands shall be
maintained at all times in a clean, neat and attractive
condition and in good repair; shall be constructed of a
permanent material to the satisfaction of the Building and
Safety Division; and shall be of a design approved by the
Architectural Review Board based on the guidelines contained
in Chapter 9.32 of the Municipal Code.
(f) Advertising. No outdoor newsstand shall be used for
advertising signs or publicity purposes other than that
dealing with the display, sale or purchase of newspapers or
periodicals, as approved by the Architectural Review Board
and as governed by Chapter 9.52 (Sign Code) of the Municipal
Code.
(g) Placement. No outdoor newsstand shall be placed
within three feet of any display window of any building
abutting the street or in such manner as to impede or
interfere with the reasonable use of such window for display
purposes, unless such a window is on the indoor portion of a
newsstand facility.
(h) Use. No outdoor newsstand shall be utilized for the
sale, nor for the display for sale, of any article or item
other than newspapers, magazines, periodicals and other
similar newsprint publications.
The proposed development standards are intended to enhance the
benefits of outdoor newsstands while limiting the negative
impacts. In formulating these standards, planning staff reviewed
the standards for outdoor newsstands in the City of Los Angeles
(Attachment B) and worked with staff from other City of Santa
Monica divisions.
Proposed Use Permit Procedure
The Use Permit process existed under the former Zoning Ordinance.
This process would be identical to that of Variances under the
present code: notice to neighbors and property owners within a
300-foot radius, a hearing before the Zoning Administrator, and
possible appeal to the Planning Commission. The Use Permit
process is intended to relieve the workload of the Planning
Commission by allowing minor use permits to be approved by the
Zoning Administrator; this process also reduces processing time
and costs for applicants (a CUP costs $1630; a Use Permit would
currently cost $600, and mailing label preparation costs would
also be lower). In later text amendments, staff intends to
propose that some uses presently subject to a Performance
Standards Permit or CUP be instead subject to the Use Permit.
General Plan Conformance
The proposed Text Amendment is consistent with citywide Objective
3.3 of the Land Use and Circulation Element of the General Plan
(LUCE), which states that the City shall "enhance the pedestrian
scale and character of streets and public spaces" with policies
that "maximize provision of pedestrian amenities at the ground
floor street frontage, such as frequent entrances and windows,
awnings, arcades, and paseos" (Policy 3.3.1) and policies which
"allow kiosks and vendors where appropriate by permit" (Policy
3.3.5).
With the exception of the C5 (Special Office) District, the Land
Use and Circulation Element emphasizes pedestrian amenities in
all commercial districts, including "commercial corridors" such
as the C4 District. The proposed text amendment is consistent
with these goals.
Specific Plan Conformance
The proposal to allow newsstands by right in the C3C District is
not in conflict with the Third Street Mall Specific Plan. The
Specific Plan does not call out newsstands as a permitted or
prohibited use. Therefore, the standard allowing newsstands in
the C3C District would prevail.
Conclusion
The proposed Text Amendment will allow a use which will enhance
the pedestrian character of the City and which is in conformance
with the General Plan. The Use Permit procedure will create an
added measure of flexibility to the code, ultimately decreasing
the number of cases reviewed by the Planning Commission and the
number of appeals reviewed by the City Council. Therefore, staff
recommends that the City Council approve TA 92-009.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
Because this proposal is not site-specific, no radius map,
signage or mailing notification is required. A legal notice was
published in the Outlook (Attachment C) and staff has notified
the Neighborhood Support Center of the proposed Text Amendment.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommendation presented in this report does not have any
budget or fiscal impact.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the City Council approve Text
Amendment 92-009 based on the following findings:
FINDINGS:
1. The proposed Text Amendment is consistent in principal
with the goals, objectives, policies, land uses, and
programs specified in the adopted General Plan, in that it
is consistent with Land Use and Circulation Element
Objective 3.3, which states that the City should enhance
pedestrian character and scale of public spaces and
Policies 3.3.1 and 3.3.5 which state that the City should
maximize ground-floor pedestrian amenities and allow
kiosks and vendors by permit where appropriate, and in
that the Use Permit procedure would allow a review process
which is similar but more inclusive than the Variance
review process already in the Zoning Ordinance.
2. The public health, safety, and general welfare requires
the adoption of the proposed amendment, in that the
amendment allows expanded opportunities to enhance the
pedestrian scale and character of public spaces in Santa
Monica, and in that the proposed Use Permit procedure
would reduce the case load of the Planning Commission and
the City Council while providing applicants with a
procedure that is both less time-consuming and less
expensive than the Conditional Use Permit process.
Prepared by: Paul Berlant, Director, Land Use and
Transportation Management Department
D. Kenyon Webster, Planning Manager
Drummond Buckley, Associate Planner
Planning Division
Land Use and Transportation Management Department
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Ordinance Implementing proposed Text Amendment
B. City of Los Angeles Standards Governing Newsstands
C. Public Notice
D. Planning Commission Staff Report
E. Planning Commission Statement of Official Action