Gerber Road / Southern Pacific Railroad SPA

Sacramento County Zoning Code
Gerber Road / Southern Pacific Railroad Special Planning Area Ordinance

Adopted December 27, 1978
Amended January 3, 1980
78-SPA-21
Adopted by ZMA #3967 (1978 South Sacramento Consistency Rezone)
Amended by 1978-RZ-UP-1029 (Southwoods Unit No. 5)

501-210. INTENT.

It is the intent of the Board of Supervisors in adopting the Special Planning Area Ordinance to:

1. Provide for and to protect the existing and future residential uses.
2. Allow for existing and future commercial and industrial uses at appropriate locations.
3. Recognize the potential for a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial uses and to solidify these locations.
4. Recognize the concern for existing noise sources off site for the subject property and to reduce the potential conflicts that may occur with additional residential uses in the area.
5. Give special attention to the problems that occur with the combining of residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Planning concerns such as: use conflicts, direct or indirect; visual conflicts; vehicular conflicts and access; landscaping; lighting; public services; use orientation, operating hours; and odor generation.

501-211. DEFINITIONS.

Except as provided herein, the definitions in Section 130-01, Article 1, Chapter 25 of Title I of the Sacramento County Zoning Code shall apply.

a. Development plan.

A map and associated documents which show the details of the proposed use, including: low lines, location of buildings, parking areas, common grounds, signs, elevations of proposed structures, existing and proposed physical features including topography, streets, tree cover, vegetation, a schedule for development, a discussion of materials to be used, and any additional information or materials required by the Planning Director.

501-213. PERMITTED USES.

This Special Planning Area shall include a combination of residential, commercial, and light industrial and office park uses. These uses and their placement are necessary to mitigate an existing noise and vibration problem identified by previous Environmental Impact Reports. The noise and vibration source are off site at several locations.

a. Commercial Uses.

[See Section 501-218, (amended, hereto referred to as Section 501-218), Area 1] The area described on Section 501-218 as “commercial” shall authorize the permitted and conditional uses for the LC (Limited Commercial) zone, enumerated on Table II and III, described in Section 225-11, 12, 13, and 14 of the Sacramento County Zoning Code. Further, all uses as regulated by said LC zone shall require development plan approval by the Planning Commission.

b. Industrial Use.

(See Section 501-218, Area 2) The area described on Section 501-218 as “industrial” shall authorize the permitted and conditional uses for the M-1 (Light Industrial) zone, enumerated on Table IV, described in Section 230-11, 12, and 13 of the Sacramento County Zoning Code. Further, all uses as regulated by said M-1 zone shall require development plan approval by the Planning Commission. The purposes behind development plan review is the goal of mitigating the impact of industrial uses upon residential uses.

c. Industrial-Office Park Use.

(See Section 501-218, Area 3) The area described on Section 501-218 as “Industrial-Office Park” shall authorize the permitted and conditional uses for the MP, Industrial-Office Park Land Use Zone, enumerated on Table IV, described in Section 230-11, 12 and 13 of the Sacramento County Zoning Code. Further, all uses as regulated by said MP zone shall require development plan approval by the Planning Commission. The purposes behind development plan review is the goal of mitigating the impact of industrial office park uses upon residential uses.

d. Residential Uses.

(See Section 501-218, Area 4) The area described on Section 501-218 as “residential” shall authorize the permitted and conditional uses for the RD-10 Residential Land Use Zone, enumerated on Table I, described in Section 201-02, 03, and 04 of the Sacramento County Zoning Code, including the use of halfplex dwellings. Further, all uses as regulated by said zone shall require development plan approval by the Planning Commission. The purpose behind plot plan approval is the goal of mitigating the impact of residential uses upon present industrial uses.

501-214. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

a. Development plan.

Approval and adoption of the Special Planning Area Ordinance does not mean full acceptance of the land use proposal. Because of special noise and vibration problems identified by past Environmental Impact Reports (77-SD-172, 173, and 79-SD-017), this site must be carefully evaluated in terms of the proposed relationship of uses, both existing and proposed.

b. Plan Mitigation Measures.

The following are deemed the minimum measures for mitigating potential conflicts of the use between the residential development and on- and off-site industrial and commercial uses.

1. Combination of Commercial/Store Front office space between heavy industrial uses and residential uses.
2. Eight foot masonry wall between residential uses and commercial and industrial areas.
3. Phased development of large warehouse space, some of which must be developed prior to residential uses. These warehouses abutting the railroad tracks are to be 24 feet in height and located as shown on Section 501-218 to provide an effective noise barrier between the large industrial plant to the west and the future residential uses to the east.

501-215. APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY.

The appropriate authority for reviewing requests for development plan approval within this Special Planning Area (See Section 501-218) shall be the Sacramento County Planning Commission. See Section V, Definitions. Each approved development plan may be subject to such conditions as deemed appropriate by granting authority to ensure the goal of mitigation of noise and vibration conflicts within the area.

501-216. DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

1. Development standards for the property shown as Area 1 (Commercial), on Section 501-218, shall be as described by Title II, Chapter 25, Article 5, of the Sacramento County Zoning Code.
2. Development standards for the property shown as Area 2 (Industrial), on Section 501-218, shall be as described by Title II, Chapter 30, Article 3, of the Sacramento County Zoning Code. The development of Area 2 shall be phased as shown on Section 501-218. The northern block of warehouse type structures abutting the railroad tracks are to be at least 24 feet high and shall be located in conformance to Section 501-218 until the Phase I industrial structures are in place. The Phase II portion of Area 2 is to be developed in general conformance to Section 501-218.
3. Development standards for the property shown as Area 3 (Industrial-Office Park) on Section 501-218, shall be as described by Title II, Chapter 30, Article 5 of the Sacramento County Zoning Code.
4. Development standards for the property shown on Area 4 (Residential) on Section 501-218, shall be as described by Title III, Chapter 5, Article 4 (for halfplexes) of the Sacramento County Zoning Code. No residential development is to occur in Area 4 until:
   1. The completion of all structures in Phase I of Area 2.
   2. The approval by the Sacramento County Health Agency of the noise attenuation devices and measures to ensure compliance with the requirements that noise levels do not exceed 45 dB(A) in the interior of residences.
   3. Placement of the indicated (Section 501-218) masonry wall along the western and southern boundary of the residential area.

501-217. FINDINGS.

In adopting this Ordinance, the Board of Supervisors finds:

1. The area included within the Special Planning Area has partially developed with uses that potentially can be incompatible without careful scrutiny of all future development by the appropriate authority.
2. Standard zoning regulations lack the ability to address each proposed use in relationship to the existing neighborhood and could result in conflicts of uses that could be detrimental to the health, safety, or well-being of the neighborhood.
3. The Special Planning Area will be sufficiently large to accomplish the protection of existing uses within the area, and will not constitute the granting of a special privilege, nor deprivation, of property rights.
4. The permitted uses and the development guidelines contained herein provide for reasonable uses of the land and will not result in undue hardship on property owners within the zone.

501-218.