Residents Overcharged by City, Commercial Zoning Changes at Wednesday City Council Meeting

Proposed changes to the city's zoning ordinances and general plan and their potential environmental impact will be reviewed at Wednesday's City Council meeting.

In 2007, the city contracted the company AECOM to study and review IB's commercial zoning and general use.

Community workshops were held in fall 2010 to receive public input and in December 2010 council authorized a contract with AECOM to prepare final changes to zoning ordinances and the city's general plan.

AECOM will review amendments to the city's zoning and general plan for council at the Dec. 7 meeting.

The proposed changes will maintain four stories and 40 feet height limits on Palm Avenue and three stories and 30 feet on Seacoast Drive. Buildings may be allowed three stories high on 13th Street.

Zoning and general use govern everything from the number of required parking spaces to to the distance a property must be from the street to what type of businesses can operate and where. 

Changes would occur in commercial areas on and near Palm Avenue, Imperial Beach Boulevard, Seacoast Drive and 13th Street.

The changes would change density and building height standards and would for the first time set standards for first story minimum active commercial use in the city's three zones.

Development incentives will allow buildings up to 36 dwelling units an acre and up to 35 feet of height on 13th Street and the east side of Seacoast Drive if the property meets two of the following requirements:

- lot consolidation to create properties larger than 20,000 square feet

- LEED green buildings

- at 25 percent of residential units are three bedrooms

- increase active commercial use

- public right of way dedication

- increase first floor stepback

- increase open space, plaza space

A draft environment impact may be released in January 2012. After a 45-day public comment period and council approval, the zoning ordinance changes must then be approved by the California Coastal Commission. 

The city wants to approve zoning amendments by mid 2012 and want to work with commission staff to have coastal program changes appear in front of the commission by October 2012.

This is agenda item 6.3.

Before the public meeting begins, conferences with legal counsel and negotiations with Sudberry Properties will continue to finalize a development and disposition agreement between the developer and the Imperial Beach Redevelopment Agency to build a shopping mall on Palm Avenue.

watershed coordinator Oscar Romo will present a binational perspective of the Tijuana River Watershed and efforts to deal with the Tijuana River and its sediment, trash and sewage on both sides of the border.

This is agenda item 1.2.

Council will also vote to authorize the city's acting Public Works director to sign an analysis of dry weather season urban runoff monitoring. The dry season is defined as May 1 through Sept. 30.

This is agenda item 6.2.

City Manager Gary Brown will ask for the City Council's consent to changes to August 2011 water and sewage fees. After the city began to do its own math on the bill, property owners across Imperial Beach were over or undercharged.

Customers who were undercharged $50 or less will have collection of the remaining amount due for the month. Collection of fees from local residents who owe more than $50 could result in the recovery of $194,000. 

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This is agenda item 2.4.

Local street and road improvements and contracts are also on the agenda to be approved in agenda items 2.5 and 6.1.

Council will also receive an update on a project to place 10 historical cements along walkways trailing through Veterans Park and through the Boys & Girls Club of South County - Imperial Beach.

To see the list of 10 proposed historic events and map of the history walk, check this story's photos.

This is agenda item 6.6.