Following a public hearing, the Seal Beach City Council unanimously introduced a Zone Text Amendment on Monday, July 22.
The council is expected to adopt the zoning amendment at a future council meeting. There is only one meeting scheduled in August.
The amendment fixes errors in the Municipal Code and updates the code to meet state mandates on parking, according to the staff report prepared by Planning Manager Shaun Temple.
AB1308 forbids local governments from increasing minimum parking requirements as a condition for approving changes to single-family homes, according to Temple’s report.
“Generally speaking, due to this legislation, Seal Beach cannot require an additional parking space if a bedroom is added. Exceptions to this rule apply if projects would exceed maximum size limits imposed by zoning regulations, such as those related to height, lot coverage, and floor-to-area ratio,” Temple wrote.
“In the SBMC Section 11.4.20.020 (Parking Reductions), standards for Shared Parking Agreements are provided for sites through a conditional use permit. In 2023, pursuant to Assembly Bill 894 (AB 894), the State enacted Government Code Section 65863.1, which requires local agencies to approve Shared Parking Agreements for new and existing development through an administrative process at the staff level if the agreement meets the State mandated requirements for Shared Parking Agreement documents and development criteria. As a result, staff recommends that the City adopt a Zoning Code amendment to bring the Zoning Code into consistency with Government Code Section 65863.1 with respect to shared parking agreements,” Temple wrote.
The new subsection of the city code would allow shared parking without a conditional use permit, according to Temple’s report.
