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<br />9A' <br /> <br />The local economy is thriving in the Bay Area where an additional 1,100,000 people are <br />expected to locate between 2000 and 2020. Clearly, in this regional setting the competition <br />for land will intensify and the public policy decisions will define communities in a more <br />important way than in earlier times. <br /> <br />Staff recommends that the Council consider its options at this time. The options <br />recommended are temporary measures, which can be changed later if desired. The <br />temporary measures are intended to: preserve the City's long-term land use options by <br />discouraging a one-sided mix of land uses; bolster retail on the first floor in the CBR zone; <br />preserve neighborhood commercial districts for neighborhood serving uses and limit the <br />development of offices in certain areas. The measures include a new Interim Urgency <br />Ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance to apply new definitions, uses, landscape/design <br />standards, height, setback, and size modifications, improved parking standards and zoning <br />map amendments. The Zoning Ordinance will be referred to the Planning Commission for a <br />public hearing, and returned to the Council. During the General Plan update, the City may <br />decide to further modify these measures. <br /> <br />Issues <br />The following recommendations related to the Zoning Ordinance address; definitions, uses <br />and development standards in specific zoning districts, the parking requirements, landscape <br />requirements, and changes to the zoning map. <br /> <br />1. Definitions <br />New and amended definitions are needed to implement the land use regulations such as <br />floor area ratio, and to identify various offices types which are appropriate in specific <br />zoning districts and which require a use permit to enable the City to set conditions to <br />promote land use compatibility. Changes to definitions are of three basic types discussed <br />below: <br /> <br />A. Dimensional <br />Many communities apply a Floor Area Ratio (FAR)1 in addition to regulations for <br />height, setbacks, coverage etc. A FAR, illustrated in Attachment 2, is the ratio of a <br />building to the lot. For example, a 10,000 s.f. lot with a 40,000 s.f. building is a 400% <br />(4) FAR. A 10,000 s.f. lot with a 4,000 s.f. building is a 40% (.4) FAR. (Parking <br />structures are excluded from the FAR calculation.) Other dimensional changes <br />include the additional language to describe lot area, lot, and lot size. <br /> <br />B. Office Definitions <br />Several new and amended definitions for various types of office are proposed. These <br />are meant to add clarity, remove any inconsistencies and refine definitions to reflect <br />the variety of business that are considered office. Definitions are amended for <br />administrative, service and professional office. Definitions are added for general <br />business office, bank, financial service, and medical office. New definitions are also <br />added to help clarify the intent for office to be located on the second floor with limited <br />office on the ground floor in some zoning districts. <br /> <br />'Floor area ratio is the gross square footage of a building divided by the net square footage of a parcel. Floor area is calculated by adding <br />the square footage on every floor of a building and is measured from the exterior of a building's walls. Floor area ratio is expressed as a <br />percentage in this staff report and more fully described in Attachment 2, <br />2 <br />