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Home My WebLink About1692 - ORDINANCES - 6/28/2006 ORDINANCE NO. 1692 ' AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, PROHIBITING STREET LEVEL OFFICES IN THE HISTORIC VILLAGE CENTER, AND ALLOWING STREET LEVEL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE HISTORIC VILLAGE CENTER SUBJECT TO A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, FOR A PERIOD OF 45 DAYS PENDING THE COMPLETION OF A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF STREET LEVEL OFFICE AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTION USES IN THE HISTORIC VILLAGE CENTER OF THE CITY AND THE ADOPTION OF ANY AND ALL AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY'S ZONING CODE AND RELATED LAND USE REGULATIONS. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. This interim urgency ordinance is adopted pursuant to Section 65858 of the California Government Code and pursuant to the City's authority over matters of local concern as a charter city. SECTION 2. The City of Palm Springs shall not issue or approve any general plan amendment, specific plan, zone change, building permit, conditional use permit, variance, planned development permit, precise plan of design, subdivision map, or other land use entitlement for the construction of, or the conversion of existing uses to, street level office use or financial institution use within that portion of the Central Business District Zone of the City described in Section 92.09.00.13 in the Zoning Ordinance as the Historic Village Center, except as otherwise provided in this interim urgency ordinance. SECTION 3. During the term of this interim urgency ordinance, a financial institution use may be established on the street level within the Historic Village Center subject to a conditional use permit and only subject to the following conditions: A. The total floor area of the proposed financial institution use is not more than 2,500 square feet or 25% of the total floor area of the street level area of the affected building, whichever is the lesser floor area; and B. The Planning Commission, or if appealed, the City Council, makes all of the findings specified in Section 94.02.00 B.6 of the City's Zoning Code. SECTION 4. The provisions of Subsections A.37, C.1.o, and D.11 of Section 92'..09.01 of the City's Zoning Code shall be deemed suspended and no longer in force or effect during the term of this interim urgency ordinance. Office and financial institutions ' shall be permitted on levels of a building that are riot at street level or front a street within the historic village center. Ordinance No. 1692 Page 2 SECTION 5. The City Council hereby finds, determines, and declares that this interim urgency ordinance adopted pursuant to California Government Code Section ' 65858 is necessary because: A. The City's Central Business District (C-B-D) Zone, is intended to be primarily commercial retail in character, with related hotels, multiple-family dwellings, and service, office, cultural and institutional uses in a supporting role. The central business district is intended to be a compact, lively, active, intensively used area catering to pedestrians and pedestrian activities. Planted walkways, covered walks and open plazas that provide for sitting, dining, conversing, gathering and window shopping are permitted and encouraged in the Central Business District Zone. The City's historic village center, which is a sub- area within the central business district, is intended to serve as the center of the downtown with the primary economic activities focusing on specialty retail, restaurants and entertainment. B. The City's current General Plan and the Community Redevelopment Plans encourage street level retail commercial, entertainment, and restaurant uses in the historic village center. It is anticipated that the general plan update, currently in process, will contain polices and programs that will further encourage street level retail commercial, entertainment, and restaurant uses in the historic village center. C. The historic village center experiences turnover among retailers, which is a common feature in any collection of small commercial shops. One result is that vacant tenant ' spaces are part of the life of established downtowns, including the vacancies in highly- visible street front stores. In certain parts of Palm Spring's historic village center, some stores have remained vacant for many months, and landlords are motivated to seek any tenant to fill the space. Recently, office tenants have been introduced into street front retail stores, and the character of the historic village center as a destination for retail shopping and entertainment has been diluted. In order to ensure the viability and vibrancy of a pedestrian friendly retail, entertainment, and restaurant historic village center as provided for in the City's Zoning Ordinance and the City's adopted plans and policies, street level uses should be limited to commercial retail, entertainment, and restaurant uses and general and professional offices and financial institution uses should be discouraged and limited. D. Over the last several months, existing street level retail commercial uses have been converted to general and commercial office uses and the retail commercial uses have been lost. This conversion of street level retail commercial uses to office uses have significantly eroded the vitality and economic health of the historic village center and adversely affected the attractiveness of the historic village center as a pedestrian friendly environment. E. The conversion of street level retail commercial space to office uses presents an immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare in that the City currently has limited supply of street level retail space in the historic village center. The City intends to , study the economic and market impacts of converting street level retail commercial uses to office uses and the construction of street level office uses in the Historic Village Center and Ordinance No. 1692 Page 3 te, propose amendments to the City's municipal code to address these impacts. The City must prohibit the construction of, and the conversion of street level retail commercial uses to, street level office uses while staff completes its land use studies and any related analysis on the impacts of such construction and conversions. SECTION 6. Ten days prior to the expiration of this interim urgency ordinance, and any extension thereof, the City Council shall issue a written report describing the measures which the City has taken to address the conditions which led to the adoption of this ordinance or any extension. SECTION 7. This interim urgency ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council. This interim urgency ordinance shall continue in effect for forty-five (45) days from the date of its adoption and shall thereafter be of no further force and effect unless, after notice pursuant to California Government Code Section 65090 and a public hearing, the City Council extends this interim urgency ordinance for an additional period of time pursuant to California Government Code Section 613858. SECTION 8. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase, in this Ordinance or any part thereof is for any reason, held to be unconstitutional or invalid, or ineffective by any court of competent jurisdiction such decision shall not affect the validity of effectiveness of the remaining portions of this Ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional. ADOPTED this 28th day of June, 2006. MAYOR ATTEST: A1 Clerk CERTIFICATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ) I, James Thompson, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do hereby certify that Ordinance No. 1692 is a full, true, and correct copy, and was adopted at a regular Ordinance No. 1692 Page 4 meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs on June 28, 2006, by the following vote: ' AYES: Councilmember McCulloch, Councilmember Mills, Councilmember Pougnet and Mayor Pro Tern Foat NOES: None ABSENT: Mayor Oden ABSTAIN: None / mes Thompson, City Clerk lr City of Palm Springs, California