AgdaPkt 2005-11-14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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$-/0 Staff Report To: Planning Commission Subject: Stormwater Amendments October 4, 2005 Page 2 of 6 Standards. The C.3 provisions required initial compliance measures to be implemented by July 1, 2004, with subsequently more stringent requirements implemented by February 15, 2005, now extended until early 2006. .. On October 15, 2004, the City submitted to,the Regional Water Quality Control Board a worksheet of potential program and ordinan'ce actions to implement the C.3. provisions of the STOPPP permit. The extensive list of p'rogram and ordinance changes was prepared by staff from Planning, Engineering and Construction, Redevelopment, and Community Development Services Administration, with input from other departments as needed. Many of the programs that relate to engineering criteria and procedures have been implemented administratively. In March of 2005, the City retained Curtis Williams of MHA Environmental Consultants to assist staff to implement those measures that require revisions to the Zoning Ordinance. Those modifications are the subject of this agenda item. DISCUSSION: The proposed ordinance amendments are included as Attachment A to the staff report. Attachment B provides a summary of the changes from the existing regulations. Attachment C includes diagrams to further outline some of the concepts of the ordinance. Attachment D is a redlined version of the ordinance to delineate specifIc changes from existing language. The three key areas of the ordinance that relate to stormwater control, as further outlined in Attachments E, F and G, include 1) Landscape/Open Space/Permeable Areas, 2) Parking Rates and Parking Design, and 3) Creek Setbacks and Buffers. Landscape/Open Space/Pervious (Permeable) Areas One of the primary measures prescribed to reduce stormwater pollution is to maximize landscaping, open space and pervious areas to allow for greater infiltration of runoff into the soil. This approach minimizes both the rate and volume of stormwater runoff, and provides an opportunity for the runoff to be treated by vegetative uptake and soil filtration. The draft ordinance modifies zoning criteria in several ways to better achieye this goal: . A minimum pervious area is prescribed for each zoning district to assure some areas for infiltration (see Table 1 attached to the ordinance). Exceptions are provided for downtown areas, for parking garages, and for areas with high concentrations of hydrocarbons, such as gas stations and auto repair facilities, though other engineering approaches may then be required for treatment. . Pervious areas may include seyeral types of paving materials, such as grasscrete, gravel or permeable asphalt, with the degree of permeability to be