20.430.025 Commercial Zone Function and Location Criteria.
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A. General Criteria. Compact, concentrated commercial areas, or nodes, shall be preferred to diffuse, sprawling , or linear commercial areas. The preservation, improvement, and redevelopment of existing commercial areas shall be preferred to the creation of new business areas or districts. Areas meeting the location criteria for Lower Density designations (i.e. R-6, R-9) are generally not appropriate for conversion to commercial. The encroachment of commercial development into residential areas shall be discouraged, except for Neighborhood Commercial within the criteria defined below for CN.
B. CN (Neighborhood Commercial) Location Criteria. The CN (Neighborhood Commercial) zone designation, as defined in above, is most appropriate in areas that are generally characterized by the following:
1. Lower Density Residential areas surround the subject site;
2. No physical edges (waterways, major arterial streets or freeways, ravines, cliffs, etc) separate the residential areas from the subject site;
3. Access is through residential areas or from collector streets
4. Designated areas typically total less than 2 acres and are not contiguous with other commercial areas.
C. CC (Community Commercial) Location Criteria. The CC (Community Commercial) zone designation, as defined in above, is most appropriate in areas that are generally characterized by the following:
1. Both residential and commercial areas abut the subject site;
2. No physical edges (waterways, major arterial streets or freeways, ravines, cliffs, etc) separate the existing residential or commercial areas from the subject site;
3. The site is located to provide a transition between more intense General Commercial areas and surrounding residential areas; or is located along a major arterial where parcels are generally small or shallow, and are bordered by Lower Density Residential areas.
4. The site is located on streets with good capacity (major collector streets and minor arterials) and good pedestrian and bicycle connections to adjacent residential areas.
5. Areas where the total acres in a Community Commercial cluster or node can be limited to approximately 10 acres, with other zones providing separation between Community Commercial clusters or nodes.
D. CG (General Commercial). The CG (General Commercial) Zone designation, as defined above, is most appropriate in areas designated by an adopted sub-area plan or generally characterized by the following:
1. Existing shopping centers or shopping areas along arterials or major commercial nodes or strips characterized by heavy, nonretail commercial activity, often including a few major employers;
2. Areas readily accessible from a principal arterial with sufficient capacity to support major commercial development and with good to excellent transit service;
3. Areas adjacent to or abutting industrial zones;
4. Areas with physical edges that buffer residential districts, such as changes in residential street or lot layout that orient residential uses away from the commercial site, dense vegetation or landscaping, topographical features (i.e. ravines, cliffs), and other natural buffers.
5. Areas with a predominance of large lots that could physically accommodate a wide range of commercial uses, including large uses.
E. Additional Commercial Criteria.
1. Proposals to expand or create designated commercial areas shall include a current market analysis which identifies the need for the new commercial area/center.
2. Proposals to expand or create designated commercial areas shall include a current land use analysis of commercially designated and zoned land in the market area of the proposed site that includes a discussion of why the amount or character of existing commercial lands are inadequate. (Ord. M-3931 § 15, 12/02/2009; Ord. M-3730, Added, 12/19/2005, Sec 18)