Canyon Lake City Zoning Code

   (a)   To provide general criteria for the development of a mixture of commercial and residential land uses;

   (b)   To increase the land area available for residential development and provide alternative types of housing;

   (c)   To encourage medium- and high-density residential development to occur in close proximity to employment and services;

   (d)   To provide appropriate locations for a broad range of live and/or work activities to occur;

   (e)   To encourage a mixture of compatible and synergistic land uses, such as residential with compatible nonresidential uses including office, retail, personal services, public spaces and other community amenities;

   (f)   To strengthen the interaction between residential, commercial and employment uses in order to reduce dependency on automobiles, improve air quality, decrease urban sprawl, facilitate use of transit and encourage conservation of land resources;

   (g)   To revitalize commercial areas by integrating residential uses and compatible nonresidential land uses into the commercial fabric to enhance the vitality of businesses;

   (h)   To foster pedestrian-oriented activity nodes by providing a mix of uses in compact, walkable areas;

   (i)   To allow for a greater variety of land uses and structures, including adaptive reuse of existing structures and flexibility in site planning.

(Ord. 196, passed 3-4-2020)

   The following uses are permitted within the Mixed Use Zone:

   (a)   Mixed Use land use designations have been established in the General Plan to provide development opportunities for integrated and complementary residential and commercial development on the same parcel or a contiguous group of parcels. Singular, stand-alone uses are permitted when they foster an overall mixture of uses in the zone. A wide range of residential and commercial uses are permitted and it is the intent of this zoning category to foster a mixture of product types. Development that includes solely commercial or residential uses is strongly discouraged. However, the Mixed Use zoning category is not the sole means of implementing this General Plan land use category, since the existing Zoning Ordinance currently provides various residential and commercial zoning standards for these locations and properties can be subdivided to provide different land uses on separate parcels within this General Plan category. To utilize the Mixed Use zoning category, a zone change in conjunction with a development plan is required.

   (b)   Several of the General Plan Mixed Use land use locations have a variety of unique physical and design features that are discussed in the following Subsections.

   (c)   Village Overlay.

      (1)   The Village Overlay area is currently undeveloped land within an existing hillside. The General Plan Land Use Element designates this area for Mixed Use Development.

      (2)   Development in the Village Overlay area is already subject to the approval of a Specific Plan, as described in the provisions of Chapter 9.20 of the Canyon Lake Municipal Code. The Municipal Code currently provides detailed residential development requirements for this location. The General Plan Land Use Element also requires the use of a Specific Plan in particular circumstances. Due to the detailed requirements that exist for this particular location and potential administrative conflicts that would arise if the existing development standards are modified, it is unlikely the use of the Mixed Use Zone would be applicable to this location.

   (d)   Towne Center. The Canyon Lake Towne Center is currently a fully developed commercial shopping center. The purpose of utilizing Mixed Use Zone within the shopping center is to: (1) incorporate multifamily residential development within the existing or any future development design of the Center; (2) enhance the Center's commercial viability and attractiveness; and (3) provide upgraded amenities and design features. Mixed Use development in the Towne Center is subject to the Towne Center Specific Plan, as may be amended,and in compliance with the Mixed Use Zone.

      (1)   To implement the 6th Cycle (Housing Element) and achieve compliance with the City's Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), the Towne Center was rezoned to mixed use and the Towne Center Specific Plan (TCSP) was adopted. The TCSP permits owner-occupied and rental multifamily uses by-right for developments in which 20 percent or more of the units are affordable to lower-income households, notwithstanding applications pursuant to density bonus law (Government Code Section 65915), as amended. As such, a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other discretionary review or approval of housing development is not required for new development.

      (2)   Residential development within the Specific Plan must achieve the following criteria:

         (A)   The density requirements for individual housing sites shall be a minimum of 20 units per acre.

         (B)   At least 50 percent of the total floor area of the mixed-use buildings shall be residential.

         (C)   100 percent residential use is permitted.

         (D)   Housing within the mixed-use buildings shall be established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Development Agreement.

   (e)   Additional Mixed Use Locations.

      (1)   The General Plan Mixed Use land use designations established throughout the City are intended to provide development opportunities for a mixture of multifamily residential and commercial development and to incorporate unique design requirements and features that are tailored to the site specific needs of each location.

      (2)   The other potential locations for mixed use currently include an existing church and vacant hillside land. Due to the existence of the church and the site constraints of the vacant parcel exhibited by significant hillside topography, it may not be appropriate to maintain Mixed Use land use designations on these properties. However, in order to properly address and regulate future development in these areas as they currently exist, it may be appropriate to utilize the Specific Plan process to enumerate appropriate development standards for each location, as described in Section 9.30.040.

      (3)   It is acknowledged in the Housing Element and the TCSP that modifications to the existing parcel design and the parcel numbers identified in the Housing Element Sites Inventory, may occur to reflect new building arrangements. As such, multiple existing parcels currently identified within each of the four Site areas listed above could subsequently include 100 percent residential use within a new consolidated parcel.

(Ord. 196, passed 3-4-2020; Am. Ord. 266, passed 12-10-2025)

   (a)   A Specific Plan prepared as part of a Mixed Use zone change application must include the following information:

      (1)   The distribution, location, and extent of the uses of land, including open space, within the area covered by the plan;

      (2)   The proposed distribution, location, and extent and intensity of major components of public and private transportation, sewage, water, drainage, solid waste disposal, energy, and other essential facilities proposed to be located within the area covered by the plan and needed to support the land uses described in the plan;

      (3)   Standards and criteria by which development will proceed, and standards for the conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources, where applicable;

      (4)   A program of implementation measures including regulations, programs, public works projects, and financing measures necessary to carry out paragraphs (1) through (3) above;

      (5)   A statement of the relationship of the specific plan to the General Plan.

      (6)   Prior to the transmittal of the Specific Plan to the City Council, the City Planner may request additional information from the applicant.

   (b)   The Specific Plan shall be adopted as a resolution.

(Ord. 196, passed 3-4-2020)

   The General Plan Land Use Element allows Mixed Use development subject to a Planned Development land use permit. In addition, the Mixed Use land use category also allows a residential density of 24 or more units per acre upon approval of a comprehensive specific plan. Provisions for a Planned Development land use permit do not exist within the Zoning Ordinance. A Planned Development typically includes common areas or facilities for use by residents or businesses. Due to the probability that new Mixed Use development will have common areas and the mixture of residential and commercial uses are best addressed utilizing a Specific Plan format that can create design standards applicable to the unique circumstances of each site, for the purposes of this Section a Planned Development land use permit shall have the same meaning as a Specific Plan or associated conditional use permit, depending upon the types of uses proposed.

(Ord. 196, passed 3-4-2020)