Council advances downtown rezone and zoning code updates to encourage mixed‑use redevelopment

The Town Council voted to change land‑use and zoning rules intended to make Paradise’s walkable downtown core easier to redevelop for commercial and mixed‑use purposes.

Community Development staff presented a package that would: change three parcels on Black Olive from “Public/Institutional” to “Central Commercial” in the general plan and rezone them from Community Facilities to Central Business; adopt a revised boundary for a defined walkable downtown core; remove certain uses (auto repair and laundry service) from the core; restrict single‑ and two‑family ground‑floor residential in the walkable core while preserving paths for nonconforming uses; and allow full‑time food trucks and year‑round farmers markets in the downtown. Planning Commission recommended approval of the package after outreach and stakeholder interviews, staff said.

Council discussed a landowner request to exclude one parcel on Almond Street from the walkable‑downtown boundary; staff said the property owner had been noticed and the parcel’s path to any rebuilding would remain a public hearing process regardless of whether it was included. Council opted to keep the parcel in the adopted boundary and to proceed with the ordinance using the proposed map. The council adopted Resolution No. 2025‑09 to concur with the Planning Commission’s CEQA determination for the rezone and introduced the rezoning ordinance (Ordinance No. 643) for final reading.

At a related public hearing on broader downtown zoning amendments the council approved additional code changes by motion and later adopted Ordinance No. 644 following a second reading. Planning staff emphasized that property owners with existing valid use permits or pre‑existing uses may retain protections through the nonconforming‑use or permit process. A member of the public, Vicki Smith, raised concerns about rebuilding an older rental and asked about grandfathering and permit costs; staff said rebuilding paths exist and estimated the administrative fee differential for certain permits at about $80.

Staff said the zoning amendments reflect public input collected through surveys, workshops and stakeholder interviews and are intended to lower regulatory barriers for the types of retail and events respondents said they wanted in downtown. The measures will return to council for final ordinance adoption where required and for implementation details.