Vernon City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 17
53 INCENTIVES FOR PRESERVATION, CREATIVE USES, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
§ 17.53.010 Legacy structure preservation-Purpose.
A.
Purpose. The Westside of Vernon's legacy commercial and industrial buildings are important assets which not only represent important adaptive reuse opportunities in themselves, but give character and identity to the area as a whole. As such, the retention of these legacy buildings as new development occurs is highly encouraged. The incentives in this chapter are intended to offer property owners who elect to preserve legacy buildings with additional development capacity and flexibility in order to mitigate any economic impacts occasioned by the preservation of a building.
C.
Incentives. A property owner who elects to retain character-defining features of a legacy structure shall be eligible to obtain development standard incentives as described in Table 17.53.030(A) and the entirety of this chapter.
An application for any of these incentives shall demonstrate that the applicant will preserve or enhance character-defining features of the building. The determination of incentives made available through the preservation of character-defining features shall be made through the Design Review process, as described in Chapter 17.86. The entire building need not be preserved.
D.
Non-Historic Significance. It should be noted that the "legacy structure" classification described here is not the same as a determination of historic significance as defined by State law. At the time of adoption, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a historic resources study prior to demolition of any structure that is over 45 years old.
(Ord. 1293 § 13, 2023)
§ 17.53.020 Encouraged uses-Purpose and criteria.
A.
Purpose. The City of Vernon seeks to incentivize projects which combine multiple "encouraged" uses to foment innovation through the creative collision of different users and diversify the long-term fiscal position of the City.
(Ord. 1293 § 13, 2023)
§ 17.53.030 Available legacy structure preservation and encouraged use incentives.
A.
Preservation and Encouraged Use Incentives. The Preservation and Encouraged Use Incentives table (Table 17.53.030(A)) lists potential relaxations/incentives to development standards given in Chapters 17.23, 17.24, 17.25, and 17.26 that apply to a project which meets the criteria of Section 17.53.010(B) and 17.53.020(A). Figures 17.53.030(B), 17.53.030(C) and 17.53.030(D) illustrate an example application of height and active use frontage incentives, as well as affordable housing incentives per Section 17.53.050.
B.
Determination. Through the Design Review process given in Chapter 17.86, the Public Works Director will determine which incentives are appropriate to be granted in relationship to the extent of preservation of legacy structures and/or inclusion of encouraged uses.
Table 17.53.030(A) Preservation and Encouraged Use Incentives | |
|---|---|
Development Standard | Incentive Available? |
Use Limitations | |
Minimum, Nonresidential Square Footage per Residential Unit | No |
Percentage of Total Residential Units that Must Be Live/Work | No |
Primary Street Ground Floor Active Use Requirement1 • The ground floor active use requirement may be decreased by 20%. | Yes |
Height | |
Maximum, first 50 feet of frontage | Yes |
Maximum, other • Maximum heights may be exceeded, as long as the average height (in stories and feet) of all structures on the property does not exceed the general height limit of the zone.2 | Yes |
Setbacks | |
Minimum and maximum setback requirements • Setback requirements shall not be applied to preserved buildings. However, new freestanding buildings constructed on the same site as preserved buildings shall comply with these requirements.3 | Yes |
Streetwall & Frontage | |
Building Streetwall at Setback, minimum4 | No |
Transparency, minimum • Transparency requirements shall not be applied to preserved buildings. However, all existing openings designed for windows or doorways should be preserved as transparent openings. Also, new freestanding buildings constructed on the same site as preserved buildings shall comply with transparency requirements. | Yes |
Open Space | |
Open Space, per unit, minimum | Yes |
Common Open Space, minimum | Yes |
Ground / Podium Level Open Space, percent of lot, minimum • All open space requirements may be met through usable community space designed for recreational or social purposes, whether located on the interior or exterior of a building. | Yes |
Notes: | |
|---|---|
1 | The ground floor active use requirement may be eliminated entirely through a request for an exception. |
2 | This assumes that a lower legacy building is preserved to a significant extent, including its primary street façade, causing a lower average height. |
3 | Setbacks for preserved structures may be less than the minimum setback or more than the maximum setback. |
4 | This calculation shall apply to the frontage of the building, whether or not it meets current setback requirements. |
 Figure 17.53.030(B) Height and Active Use Requirement Example: Base Standards |
 Figure 17.53.030(C) Height and Active Use Requirement Example: Standards Including Legacy Structure Preservation Incentives |
 Figure 17.53.030(D) Height and Active Use Requirement Example: Standards Including Legacy Structure Preservation Incentives and Affordable Housing Density Bonus |
(Ord. 1293 § 13, 2023)
§ 17.53.040 Parking incentives for adaptive reuse projects.
A.
Available Incentives. The following incentives are available to legacy structure preservation projects only through the Design Review process:
1.
On-street parking stalls along Santa Fe Avenue or Pacific Boulevard (streets where it does not exist today) that are located less than a five-minute walk (one-quarter mile) from the main entrance to the development may be counted toward nonresidential parking requirements.
2.
Tandem parking is permitted, subject to approval of management conditions by the Public Works Director.
(Ord. 1293 § 13, 2023)
§ 17.53.050 Affordable housing incentives.
Density bonuses, waivers and concessions are available to developers who provide on-site affordable housing or donate land for the purposes of housing per Chapter 17.92. Within mixed-use district areas which do not explicitly calculate the permitted density, applicants may calculate the "density bonus" granted by Chapter 17.92 in one of two ways:
A.
Any project which is at least 50% residential by gross floor area may increase the height limit as of right, in Table 17.53.060(A):
Table 17.53.060(A) Height Density Bonus | ||
|---|---|---|
Maximum Height, first 50 feet of frontage | Maximum Height, other | |
5% VLI, 10% LI or 20% MI1 | None | +1 story / 12 feet |
12% VLI, 20% LI or 35% MI1 | +2 stories / 24 feet | |
Notes: | |
|---|---|
1 | VLI = Very Low Income, LI = Low Income, MI = Moderate Income as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50079.5. |
B.
The applicant may submit a density study to establish the base density upon which the bonus shall be applied. A density study is a set of schematic plans that include a building massing, building section and floor plans that complies with all relevant zoning and building code standards. Residential unit size and mix and nonresidential uses on site shall be the same as in the proposed project.
(Ord. 1293 § 13, 2023)