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Solvang workshop considers 51/49 commercial-residential split to preserve design-review control while allowing upstairs housing
Summary
City planning staff and commissioners discussed amending zoning ordinance 7.7 to limit new structures to 49% residential use while allowing adaptive reuse of existing buildings above ground-floor commercial, a change staff says would preserve Design Review Committee control over village appearance while easing infill housing conversions.
City planning staff and members of the Design Review Committee and Planning Commission met in a February workshop to consider changes to Solvang’s Village Design District that would preserve the committee’s subjective design-review authority for commercial projects while allowing greater flexibility for residential conversions above storefronts.
Planning staff proposed amending zoning ordinance 7.7 so new structures would be limited to a maximum of 49 percent residential gross floor area, while existing buildings converted for adaptive reuse could be allowed to exceed that limit. Rafael, a city planning staff member leading the presentation, said: “If it’s a project that’s 51% commercial, you can use subjective standards. But if it’s a project that’s 51% residential … you cannot.”
The proposal aims to thread a narrow path between state legal requirements that push…
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