This chapter shall be known as the City of Colton Zoning Ordinance, hereafter referred to as the "Zoning Code or Code".

(Ord. No. O-05-13, § 2(Exh. A(1)), 10-10-2013)

This Zoning Code is the primary tool for implementing the goals, objectives, and policies of the Colton General Plan, pursuant to the mandated provisions of the State Planning and Zoning Law (Government Code Section 65000 et seq.), California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code 21000 et seq.), and other applicable State and local requirements.

(Ord. No. O-05-13, § 2(Exh. A(1)), 10-10-2013)

It is the purpose and intent of the City Council that this Title promote the following purposes:

A.

General.

1.

To preserve and enhance the present qualities and advantages that exist in the City;

2.

To promote the public health, safety, general welfare and preserve and enhance the aesthetic quality of the City by providing regulations to ensure an appropriate mix of land uses in an orderly manner;

3.

To encourage the most appropriate use of land, water and natural resources consistent with the public interest;

4.

To overcome present problems and effectively manage future challenges that may result from the use and development of land and property;

5.

To protect human, environmental, social, natural and economic resources;

6.

To ensure that required on-site and off-site dedications and public improvements are properly installed or guaranteed; and

B.

City and Region.

1.

To ensure that development patterns should not blur or eradicate the edges of the city. Infill development within existing urban centers should conserve environmental resources, promote economic investment, and enhance social fabric, while reclaiming marginal and abandoned areas;

2.

To prevent the impacts of both overcrowding of land and undue concentrations of population as well as the negative effects of leapfrogging sprawl and underutilization of land and property;

3.

To restore downtown and existing urban centers and reconfigure conventional development into a City of real neighborhoods and diverse districts, to conserve natural environments, and preserve our built legacy; and

4.

To support the physical organization of the region by a framework of transportation alternatives. Transit, pedestrian, and bicycle systems should maximize access and mobility throughout the region while reducing dependence upon the automobile.

C.

Neighborhoods, District and Corridor.

1.

To improve economic health and harmonious evolution of neighborhoods, districts and corridors through the use of graphic urban design codes that serve as predictable guides for change;

2.

To develop transit corridors, when properly planned and coordinated, to help or organize the regional structure and revitalize urban centers. In contrast, highway corridors should not displace investment from existing centers;

3.

To plan for appropriate building densities and land uses within walking distance of transit stops, permitting public transit to become a viable alternative to the automobile;

4.

To concentrate civic, institutional, and commercial activity to be embedded in neighborhoods and districts, not isolated in remote, single-use complexes. Schools should be sized and located to enable children to walk or bicycle to them; and

5.

To organize a range of parks, from tot-lots and village greens to soccer fields/ball fields and community gardens should be distributed within neighborhoods. Conservation areas and open lands should be used to define and connect different neighborhoods and districts.

D.

Block, Street and Building.

1.

To place civic buildings and public gathering places on important sites to reinforce community identity and the culture of democracy. They deserve distinctive form because their role is different from that of other buildings and places that constitute the fabric of the city;

2.

To ensure safety and security are considered as they are important in revitalizing of rural, urban, and special districts of the City. The design of streets and buildings should reinforce safe environments, but not at the expense of accessibility and openness;

3.

To place all buildings so that they provide their inhabitants with a clear sense of location, weather and time. Natural methods of heating and cooling can be more resource-efficient than mechanical systems;

4.

To adequately accommodate the automobile. It should do so in ways that respect the pedestrian and the form of public space; and

5.

To place streets and squares to be designed in a safe, comfortable, and interesting manner to the pedestrian. Properly configured, they encourage walking and enable neighbors to know each other and protect their surroundings.

E.

Implementation of the Colton General Plan. To coordinate and ensure the execution of the City's General Plan through effective implementation of development review requirements, adequate facility and services review and other goals, policies or programs contained in the General Plan. All development within the unincorporated area of the City's Sphere of Influence, should be consistent with the Colton General Plan. All development in the incorporated area of the City shall be consistent with the General Plan.

F.

Comprehensive, Consistent and Equitable Regulations. To establish a system of fair, comprehensive, consistent and equitable regulations, standards and procedures for the review and approval of all proposed development, divisions, and mapping of land within the City in a manner consistent with State law.

G.

Efficiently and Effectively Managed Procedures. To promote fair procedures that are efficient and effective in terms of time and expense and that appropriate process is followed in the review and approval of applications made under this Title;

To be effective and responsive in terms of the allocation of authority and delegation of powers and duties among ministerial, appointed and elected officials; and

To foster a positive customer service attitude and to respect the rights of all applicants and affected citizens.

H.

Environmental Review. The City of Colton will conduct an environmental review of each project submitted for City approval in accordance with the City's adopted guidelines for implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Depending on the nature and scope of the proposed project, an exemption, a negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report may need to be completed. Negative declarations, mitigated negative declarations and environmental impact reports shall be prepared based on CEQA, implementing guidelines and City of Colton environmental guidelines.

(Ord. No. O-05-13, § 2(Exh. A(1)), 10-10-2013)

The adoption of this Title is consistent and compatible with and furthers the goals, policies, objectives and programs of the General Plan. It is the intent of the City Council that all regulatory decisions made pursuant to this Title be consistent with the General Plan.

For purposes of this Section, "consistency with the General Plan" means not only consistency with the Plan's land use and density designations, but also consistency with all elements, policies and programs of the General Plan, including those that promote compatibility of uses and densities, and orderly development consistent with available resources.

(Ord. No. O-05-13, § 2(Exh. A(1)), 10-10-2013)

The establishment of zoning districts is intended to be one of the means of implementing the City's General Plan and any amendments thereto, as such implementation is permitted and required by State Law. The General Plan serves as a guideline and framework for the zoning and regulatory provisions of this Title. With respect to the Land Use and Housing Elements of the General Plan, there are goals, objectives and provisions for use categories and density ranges, but also for the achievement of other planning objectives such as appropriate mixing and buffering of uses to ensure overall compatibility.

(Ord. No. O-05-13, § 2(Exh. A(1)), 10-10-2013)

This chapter shall apply to all property within the incorporated limits of the City.

(Ord. No. O-05-13, § 2(Exh. A(1)), 10-10-2013)