Pacifica Planning Commission recommends rezoning program, removes Sanchez Art Center site from immediate rezoning

The Pacifica Planning Commission voted unanimously on July 7 to recommend that the City Council certify the final Environmental Impact Report and adopt a citywide rezoning program and objective development standards intended to implement the citys recently updated housing element and meet the regions housing need allocation (RHNA). The recommendation, moved by Vice Chair Berman and seconded by Commissioner Ferguson, forwards the amended general-plan text, zoning ordinance changes and updated maps to council, and explicitly removes Site 23 (the Sanchez Art Center campus) from the immediate rezoning program while keeping it in the housing-element site inventory.

City staff told the commission the changes are intended to secure certification by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and to provide the regulatory framework needed to meet the citys RHNA obligations. Staff explained the housing element was revised earlier this year and that HCD had said certification would follow once the rezoning program is completed. Staff also said the rezoning package includes new land-use definitions, minimum floor-area-ratios for certain mixed-use districts, revised height measurements for sloped sites, updated rules for rooftop projections and elevator enclosures, and changes to residential and nonresidential parking standards.

Why the commission removed Site 23

Planning staff described two options for Site 23, a city-owned campus that houses the Sanchez Art Center, the Mildred Owen Concert Hall, Rotary Plaza and adjacent recreational fields and dog park. Staff said the site could accommodate about 130 lower-income units under one rezoning scenario but that HCD told staff the city could remove the site from the immediate rezoning program and still obtain housing-element certification if the city retains adequate buffer capacity elsewhere. The commission, after hearing multiple public comments urging preservation of the arts campus and additional site-specific study, polled and reached consensus to remove Site 23 from the rezoning program and to leave it in the housing-element site inventory for possible future rezoning and a standalone fit study.

Public input and community concerns

Members of the public urged the commission to preserve the Sanchez campus and to delay rezoning until a site-specific study is complete. "The polygon overlay seems to be a pretty confusing thing," said Cabot Shealy, a long-time Pacifica property owner, expressing concern that parcel-level polygons had been drawn by assumption. Cindy Abbott, speaking for neighbors and community groups, urged the commission to choose the option that postpones rezoning of the Sanchez campus and noted that the campus includes the Mildred Owen Concert Hall, Rotary Plaza, the Sanchez fields and the dog park.

Commissionersed technical edits and next steps

During a long, item-by-item review, commissioners directed staff to correct mapping and legend inconsistencies, to restore or clarify several definition and mixed-use text passages, and to add clearer diagrams explaining how building height will be measured on sloped lots. The commission also instructed staff to confirm parcel-level zoning and to provide the section-level maps (parcel zoom-ins) for council review. The agenda and packet contained a number of typos and color/legend mismatches the commission asked staff and the consultant to correct before the package is forwarded to council.

Formal action and what happens next

The Planning Commission adopted two resolutions recommending that City Council: (1) certify the rezoning program EIR and adopt the required CEQA findings, statement of overriding considerations and mitigation monitoring and reporting program; and (2) approve the general-plan text amendments, the zoning-ordinance changes (new and revised articles), and the updated land-use and zoning maps as amended by the commission on July 7. The motion to forward the package to council, including the removal of Site 23 from the immediate rezoning program, passed unanimously (7-0). The motion was made by Vice Chair Berman and seconded by Commissioner Ferguson.

City staff said they expect to return the package to City Council in August and will provide corrected maps and a redlined ordinance that reflect the commissions changes. Staff noted that if HCD or other legal requirements mandate the insertion of additional language (for example, to clarify ministerial eligibility criteria consistent with state law), city council may consider those revisions; staff told the commission they will summarize any HCD feedback in the staff report to council.

Why it matters

The rezoning program is the implementation step needed for HCD certification of Pacificas housing element; certification matters because it helps the city avoid statutory remedies available to developers and unlocks the citys path toward meeting RHNA targets. The commissions removal of Site 23 pauses an immediate rezoning of a high-profile, city-owned cultural and park campus while keeping the site available in the housing-element inventory for future consideration and further study.

The full staff report, the draft and final EIR, and the revised maps will be posted with City Council materials before the August council hearing.