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Ordinance 995 ",~-""...;"~~^","'~',",',;l:~:~:~."""~~,_,"",,&,,,,,~ : ,:L .:rl.!ilJiWllilOlt'a 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: - 1 - 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 - 2 - 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 - 3 - ORDINANCE NO. 995 ,~",;"";~<-"""","""";,,,,,,,,_~~~'~.C;'C"'_ 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 - 4 - 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: ~ Mayor ATTES:r: ciJLtfl4~?;J ;;;-~ . City Cle'rk . - 5 - 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 ~I ~ ,U2~,('7mt) ~ ~/h?7lL~- ity Clerk of the ity of Gilroy September , 191.1-. (S ea 1)