Commercial Corridor Revitalization Strategy

Overview

On October 16, 2001, the City Council directed Planning staff to proceed with preparing an overlay zone for commercial corridors. The intent was to establish an overlay zone that can be applied to multiple commercial corridors to address revitalization without having to establish a Special Planning District (SPD) for every corridor. Staff has since revised its approach for commercial corridor revitalization in order to achieve more immediate and inclusive benefits for the City's corridors. Instead of pursuing an overlay zone which would help only some corridors, staff is proposing amendments to the City's Limited Commercial (C-1) and General Commercial (C-2) zones, which upon adoption, will immediately help most all of the City's commercial corridors. Development of a commercial corridor design principles document and subsequent commercial design checklist is also a part of the revitalization strategy.

Goals for the revised strategy remain the same and include: promoting mixed use development in neighborhood commercial revitalization areas through new construction, reuse, and rehabilitation; ensuring quality projects within revitalization areas to enhance the vitality of commercial corridors; promoting reinvestment in commercial corridors through project approval streamlining and flexible development standards; encouraging intensification of land uses in areas appropriate for higher densities, and promoting development consistent with districts identified in related urban design plans.

Project Components

  1. Zoning Code Amendments. Most of the City's commercially zoned property is located along neighborhood commercial corridors. By amending the Zoning Code to affect commercial development in the C-1 and C-2 zones citywide, neighborhood commercial corridors can immediately benefit from regulations and incentives that will provide tools to revitalize these corridors. The amendments will include special permit requirements for certain uses including auto sales (new and used), storage, repair and rental; tire shops; RV sales (Commercial); RV Storage; equipment rental and service stations. Also included in the amendments are incentives for mixed use and residential development, reduced parking standards, flexible setback requirements, fencing provisions, and additional development standards. The amendments are intended to affect the base zoning only. Regulations specific to Special Planning Districts, Overlay zones, or Planned Unit Developments shall continue to take precedence over the base zoning, where applicable and appropriate.
  2. Commercial Corridor Design Principles. The design principles for commercial development will provide guidelines for which business owners and commercial developers to use in designing projects, and by staff and decision makers to determine commercial design conditions, where applicable. Any non-residential project requiring discretionary entitlement(s) in the C-1 and C-2 zones, including expansions and major modifications, will be subject to consistency with the Commercial Corridor Design Principles document.
  3. Commercial Corridor Users Guide. The Commercial Corridor Users Guide is an informational tool that will be provided to developers, designers and the community early in the development process. The users guide provides basic how-to& and process information for development within the City's commercial corridors. It is a supplement to the Neighborhood Commercial Corridor Design Principles document and will outline the challenges and design recommendations for projects developing within the City's commercial corridors.

Project Information