Ordinance 995
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ORDINANCE NO. 995
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF GILROY ADOPTING SECTION
51 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE SO AS TO ESTABLISH
OPEN SPACE ZONING
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Gilroy
has on its own motion studied the advisability of adopting
Section 51 of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Gilroy
so as to establish open space zoning, and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Gilroy
has given due notice of a public hearing upon the proposed
amendment in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance of the City
of Gilroy, has held the hearing, and has made its report to
the Council of the City of Gilroy, in which it recommends that
Section 51 of the Zoning Ordinance be adopted so as to establish
open space zoning, and
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Gilroy has fixed the
4th day of September, 1973, at the hour of 8:00 o'clock p.m. in
the Council Chambers in the City Hall at 7390 Rosanna Street,
Gilroy, California, as the time and place for hearing the said
report and recommendation upon the proposed amendment, and due
notice of the said hearing has been given in accordance with the
said Zoning Ordinance, and a pvblic hearing has now been held
upon the said application, at the time and place fixed in the
said notice, before the Council, and the Council having duly
considered the proposed amendment and the evidence presented,
and has determined that the said Zoning Ordinance should be
amended in accordance with the report of the said Planning Com-
mission.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GILROY DOES
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The Zoning Ordinance of the City of Gilroy
is hereby amended by adopting the following Section 51:
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ORDINANCE NO. 995
SEC. 51 OPEN SPACE DISTRICT, "OS" DISTRICT
The following regulations shall apply to those districts
that are specifically designated as an Open Space Zoning
District. Private property owners must initiate open space
zoning except as stated in Section 51.8 of this ordinance.
51.1 Purpose. The purpose and intent of this district is~
(a) To protect the public health, safety and welfare;
(b) To protect and preserve open space land as a
limited and valued resource;
(c) To permit the reasonable use of open space land,
while at the same time preserving and protecting its inherent open
space characteristics so as to assure its continued availability
for the following: As agriculture land, scenic land, recreation
land, conservation or natural resource land, for the containment
of urban sprawl and the structuring of urban development, and for
the retention of land in its natural or near natural state to
protect life and property in the community from the hazards of
fire, flood, and seismic activity;
(d) To coordinate with and carry out federal, state,
regional, county and city open space plans.
51. 2 Definitions. As used in thissec,!:ion, unless otherwise
apparent from the context, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Conservation or Natural Resource Land": land which
possesses or encompasses natural resources. This includes, but it
not necessarily limited to, streams, watersheds, groundwater re-
charge, soils, wildlife habitat as defined herein, special land
forms, natural vegetation.
(b) "Open Space LandJJ: any parcel or area of land
essentially unimproved or in its natural state, and devoted to
an open space use as defined herein and which is designated in
the Environmental Resources Management Element of the general
plan for an open space use and as defined by California State Law.
(c) JJOpen Space District": any area of land or water in
an OS zoning district and subject to all of the terms and regula-
tions of this section. Uses of land and water include:
(1) Public recreation.
(2) Enjoyment of scenic beauty.
(3) Conservation or use of natural resources.
(4) Production of food or fiber.
(5) Protection of man and his artifacts, buildings
or property because of environmentally hazar-
dous areas.
(6) Containment and structuring of Urban Develop-
ment.
~7) Preservation of historical sites.
(d) 'Recreation Land": any area of land or water
susceptible to recreation uses.
(e) "Scenic Land": any area of land or water with
natural scenerx considered to have beauty.
(f) 'Wildlife Habitat": any area of land or water
valuable or necessary for the preservation or enhancement of
wildlife resources.
51.3 Development approval required. All uses within this
district including those for which a use permit is required shall
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ORDINANCE NO. 995
be subject to approval for any development construction or im-
provements as provided in Section 54 of this zoning ordinance.
51.4 Uses permitted.
(a) Agricultural uses when approved by the Secretary
to the Planning Commission, subject to review by the Planning
Commission:
(1) Animal husbandry.
(2) Crops.
(3) Dairying.
(4) Horticulture, including nurseries.
(5) Livestock farming.
(6) Tree farming.
(7) Viticulture and similar uses not inconsistent
with the intent and purpose of this section.
(b) Botanical conservatories, outdoor nature labora-
tories, and similar facilities.
(c) Native wildlife sanctuaries.
(d) Future public facilities, such as parks and schools.
51.5 Conditional uses. A conditional use permit shall be
first obtained for the following uses, when the applicant can
establish adequate justification that the proposed use will be
consistent and compatible with the intent and purpose of this
section:
(a)
(b)
institutions.
(c) Guest ranches.
(d) Recreational uses including riding
country clubs, golf courses and similar uses.
Communication and utility facilities.
Educational, charitable, research and philanthropic
academies, stables,
51.6 Minimum area and setback requirements. Minimum lot area
and setback requirements will be determined by the Planning Com-
mission for the particular use involved.
51.7 Building height limit. Building height shall not exceed
two (2) stories, or thirty (30) feet.
51.8 Planning commission lowers. The Planning Commission may
initiate open space zoning on y in the following cases:
(a) When the land is publicly owned.
(b) When the land is designated as environmentally
unfit for development. Any land designated environmentally
unfit for development will include:
(1) Earthquake fault areas.
(2) Flood plain areas.
(3) Liquefaction areas.
(4) Watershed or groundwater recharge areas.
(5) High fire hazard areas.
(6) Wildlife preserves and scenic corridors.
(7) Landslide areas.
(8) Similar areas as designated by the Planning
Commission as being environmentally unfit for
development.
Such lands will have the additional designation of "E". If an
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ORDINANCE NO. 995
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area, due to changed circumstances, is no longer environmentally
unfit for development the area may be rezoned, a$, for example,
when proper flood control is built within a flood plain.
51.9 Minimum time period of OS zoning. When Open Space
zoning is requested by a property owner, one of the conditions
of such zoning shall be a minimum specific number of years that
the property is to be zoned as open space. Such minimum time
period shall be determined by the Planning Commission and shall
be consistent with Urban Development Policies and the General
PIa n.
51.10 Special regulations.
(a) Geological soil investigation and report. All
applications to rezone land from those uses indicated in 51.8
(b) (1), (3) and (7) shall be accompanied by a combined in-depth
geologic and soils investigation and report prepared by a regis-
tered geologist certified by the State of California an an engi-
neering geologist and by a licensed civil engineer qualified in
soil mechanics. Such report shall be based on surface, sub-surface,
and laboratory investigations and examinations and such reports
shall fully and clearly present:
(1) All pertinent data, interpretations and evalua-
tions.
(2) The significance of the data, interpretations
and evaluations with respect to the future
geological processes both on and off the site.
(3) Recommendations by the above technical people
for any additional investigations that should
be made. All cost and incurred as a result
of the requirements of this section, including
the cost and expense of an independent review
of the material submitted here under by quali-
fied persons retained by the city, shall be
borne by the applicant.
(b) Landscaping. The existing natural vegetation and
land formations shall remain in a natural state unless modifica-
tion is found to be necessary for a specific use and is approved by
the Secretary of the Planning Commission subject to review.
Reduction or elimination of fire hazards will be required where
heavy concentrations of flammable vegetation occurs. Landscaping
as applied for shall be consistent with the purpose of this s'ec~ion.
(c) Tree removal. Removal of live trees shall be per-
mitted as provided by the Secretary of the Planning Commission
subject to review by the Planning Commission.
(d) Access to remote areas. Roads, tracks, driveways,
trails, or runways for automobiles, trucks, buses, or motorcycles
or other wheeled vehicles shall not be developed except upon
securing approval of the Secretary of the Planning Commission.
No such approval shall be granted except upon finding that the
purpose for which the roads, tracks, driveways, trails or runways
are proposed is essential for the establishment or maintenance of
a use which is expressly permitted herein and that the design and
location of the proposed roads, tracks, driveways, trails, or run-
ways will be compatible with the terrain.
The use of all roads, tracks, driveways, trails, or runways which
are not easements and are existing to the detriment of the environ-
ment at the time of the adoption of this s'ec t ion, and are non-con-
forming or have been established without proper approvals, shall be
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ORDINANCE NO. 995
terminated within one year of OS zoning unless given approval
in accordance with the regulations set forth in this section
(e) Grading. All grading shall be subject to the
provisions of thissec,tion. In those cases where grading
permits are required no grading shall begin until a permit has
been granted and after securing approval of the Secretary of
the Planning Commission.
(f) Soil erosion and land management. No site and
design plan shall be approved unless it includes soil erosion
and sediment control measures in accordance with adopted proce-
dures, technical standards and specification of the Planning
Commission. No approval will be granted unless all needed
erosion control measures have been completed or substantially
provided for in accordance with the said standards and specifi-
cations. The applicant shall bear the final responsibility for
the installation and construction of all required erosion control
measures according to the provisions of said standards and speci-
fications.
Section 2: All ordinances and parts of ordinances in
conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Section 3: This ordinance shall take effect and be in
full force thirty (30) days from and after its passage and
approval.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of September, 1973, by
the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: DeBELL, DUFFIN, HUGHAN, PATE,
SILVA, STOUT and GOODRICH
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: NONE
Approved:
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Mayor
ATTES:r:
ciJLtfl4~?;J ;;;-~
. City Cle'rk .
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ORDINANCE NO. 995
I, SUSANNE E. STEINMETZ, City Clerk of the City of Gilroy, do hereby
certify that the attached Ordinance No. 995 is an original ordinance,
duly adopted by the Council of the City of Gilroy at a regular meeting of
said Council held on the 17th day of
September , 19 z.L.., at whi ch
meeting a quorum was present.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the
offici;1 seal of the City of Gilroy, this 24th day of
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ity Clerk of the ity of Gilroy
September , 191.1-.
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