The purpose of the C/MU-3 zone is to provide areas for businesses to meet the local neighborhood demand for commercial goods and services. It is intended that the dominant type of commercial activity in the zone will be neighborhood-serving retail and office uses such as markets, professional offices, personal convenience services, restaurants, and hardware stores. Multiple-family residences are also permitted in the C/MU-3 zone.
(Ord. 94-884; Ord. 2012-1130 § 1)
A. 
Specified commercial, residential, light industrial, public and semi-public, green building utilities, and open space and recreation uses allowed in the C/MU-3 zone are listed in Chapter 19.23, including those requiring a conditional use permit, and shall also comply with the following land use regulations:
1. 
For all buildings with frontage along Imperial Beach Boulevard and 13th Street, including those with multiplefamily dwelling units, "active commercial uses" as defined in Chapter 19.04 are required to be provided at a minimum of sixty percent of each building's ground floor lineal footage and have direct pedestrian access from the Imperial Beach Boulevard and 13th Street sidewalks or a plaza. Exceptions would require approval of a conditional use permit.
2. 
Religious assemblies, clubs, fraternal organizations (e.g., Masons, Moose, Elks, and Eagles), service organizations (e.g., Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions Club, and Jaycees), and veterans organizations (e.g., American Legion, VFW, FRA, and Disabled American Veterans) require approval of a conditional use permit and are subject to subsections D, E, F, and G of this section as appropriate.
3. 
Multiple-family residential dwelling units at a maximum density of one unit per every one thousand five hundred gross square feet of lot area; or one dwelling unit for each one thousand two hundred and ten gross square feet of lot area and subject to approval of a conditional use permit that demonstrates compliance with two or more of the following development incentives:
a. 
Project sites that are consolidated to a final size greater than twenty thousand square feet;
b. 
Entire project achieves Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System certification, a comparable green building certification, or can demonstrate the ability to achieve certification;
c. 
Entire project provides a minimum of seventy-five percent "active commercial uses" on the ground floor;
d. 
At least twenty-five percent of proposed residential units must be three-bedroom units;
e. 
Provide an additional one hundred square feet of public open space or plaza space with minimum dimensions of six feet by ten feet;
f. 
Dedicate a minimum of one foot of private property frontage to public use (creates a one-foot front setback dedicated to public use);
g. 
Floors above first floor provide additional stepback five feet beyond required stepback.
4. 
Kiosks are not to exceed twenty square feet in area each, shall be located on public plazas or private leaseholds, and shall not exceed ten locations in the C/MU-3 zone.
B. 
Site plan review by the City Council will be required if any of the following applies for proposed uses located in the C/MU-3 zone:
1. 
All proposed developments involving new construction;
2. 
Any addition, construction, remodeling, or alteration of existing buildings resulting in an increase of ten percent or greater of the gross floor area of a commercial structure or in an individual commercial space within the structure or within a commercial shopping center;
3. 
Any proposed commercial use or structure requiring the approval of a conditional use permit;
4. 
Any development including residential dwelling; and
5. 
Public parking lots.
C. 
Site plan review by the community development director (administrative approval) will be required if any of the following applies for proposed uses located in the C/MU-3 zone:
1. 
Any addition, construction, or alteration of existing buildings resulting in a one-time increase of less than ten percent of the gross floor area of a commercial structure or in an individual commercial space within the structure or within a commercial shopping center. Multiple additions of the originally approved gross floor area of a commercial building shall require site plan review by the City Council;
2. 
Exterior façade alterations to existing buildings located on a design review corridor as identified in Section 19.83.020(A)(1); and
3. 
The building site or a portion of the building or site that is proposed to be occupied has been vacant for a period of two years or greater.
D. 
Notice to adjoining property owners of any application for conditional use permit for a religious assembly, club, fraternal organization, service organization, or veteran's organization, under subsection (A)(2) of this section shall be given pursuant to Section 19.86.050 of this code. Additionally, notice of hearing shall be made by mailing a postal card or letter to all the business owners within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the property involved, such business owners and their addresses being established for this purpose by the latest business licenses issued by the City; provided, however, that in the case where the ownership or address has recently changed and such knowledge is available to the Community Development Department, notice shall also be sent in this manner to the current business owners. Such notice shall include the nature of the proposal, a description of the property under consideration, and the time and place of the public hearing. In certain cases where mailed notice of hearing is deemed impractical, notice may be effected by posting upon the subject property and within the area of the subject property a notice bearing the same information as contained in the notice to be mailed. The notice shall be posted at least ten days prior to the date set for the public hearing, and the Community Development Department shall sign an affidavit of posting to be held in the record. No defect or irregularity in the giving of such notice shall invalidate the public hearing.
E. 
The report prepared by staff for the City Council on the conditional use permit application for a religious assembly, club, fraternal organization, service organization, or veteran's organization, under subsection (A)(2) of this section, shall provide a listing of the number of property owners, business owners, and types of businesses located within three hundred feet of the exterior boundaries of the subject property. Prior to the scheduled public hearing, the applicant shall attempt to contact the property owners and business owners located within three hundred feet of the exterior boundary of the subject property to determine how many support and how many oppose the application for the conditional use permit on the subject property. The results of the survey of the property owners and business owners shall be forwarded to City staff for inclusion in the staff report to the City Council.
F. 
Prior to the issuance of a conditional use permit for a religious assembly, club, fraternal organization, service organization, or veteran's organization, under subsection (A)(2) of this section, the applicant must demonstrate and the City Council must make a finding that the off-street parking requirements of Chapter 19.48 of this code are met and that sufficient parking exists to accommodate the proposed uses.
G. 
Any conditional use permit issued for a religious assembly, club, fraternal organization, service organization, or veteran's organization, under subsection (A)(2) of this section shall, at a minimum, specifically address the following:
1. 
Proposed uses or activities;
2. 
Hours of operations, uses, and activities;
3. 
The days of the week and times for meetings or gatherings and the number of people attending those meetings or gatherings;
4. 
The number, time, and days of the week of any proposed musical activities, performances, or entertainment;
5. 
The number, time, and days of the week of activities involving infants, pre-teens, teens, or young adults;
6. 
The dates, times, and number of persons in attendance for any special meetings, events, or gatherings not included in the normal hours of operation, that are directly related to the operation, uses, and activities of the facility, or are attended by the principal membership of the facility;
7. 
The dates, times, and number of persons in attendance for any special meetings, events, or gatherings not included in the normal hours of operation, if any, that are not directly related to the operation, uses, and activities of the facility, nor are attended by the principal membership of the facility; and
8. 
No child care services by persons unrelated to the parent or child, child day care center, or educational institution shall be operated on the premises unless specifically provided for under the conditional use permit issued for the facility. Nothing in subsections D, E, F, or G of this section shall supersede or preempt the issuance criteria for a conditional use permit as set forth in Chapter 19.82 of this code.
(Ord. 94-884; Ord. 2001-960 §§ 14—18; Ord. 2001-971 §§ 8, 9; Ord. 2001-972 §§ 1, 2; Ord. 2001-973 §§ 11, 13, 14; Ord. 2002-983 §§ 25, 26; Ord. 2002-986 §§ 7, 8; Ord. 2012-1130 § 1; Ord. 2017-1161 § 1)
Yard requirements for the C/MU-3 zone are as follows:
A. 
Front Yard and Side Street. Zero feet; up to forty percent of the project frontage may be set back up to an additional five feet.
B. 
Side Yard. There shall be a minimum side yard of five feet.
C. 
Rear Yard. There shall be a minimum rear yard of ten feet.
D. 
The open space and landscaping requirements as stated in Chapter 19.50 of this code shall be met.
(Ord. 94-884; Ord. 2012-1130 § 1)
For property with a side or rear yard abutting a residential zone, the second-floor stepback shall be a minimum of five feet from the abutting residential property line and the third-floor stepback shall be a minimum of ten feet from the abutting residential property line.
(Ord. 2012-1130 § 1)
The minimum lot size for any new lot created in the C/MU-3 zone shall be three thousand square feet. (For related provisions concerning small lots, see Chapter 19.42.)
(Ord. 94-884; Ord. 2012-1130 § 1)
Every new lot created in the C/MU-3 zone shall have a minimum width along a street of thirty feet. (For related provisions concerning small lots, see Chapter 19.42.)
(Ord. 94-884; Ord. 2012-1130 § 1)
No building in the C/MU-3 zone shall exceed three stories and thirty feet in height, whichever is less; or three stories or thirty-five feet in height and subject to approval of a conditional use permit that demonstrates compliance with two or more of the development incentives listed in Section 19.28.020(A)(3). All commercial spaces on the ground floor shall have a minimum fifteen-foot floor-to-ceiling height; and single-story commercial buildings shall have a minimum building height of twenty feet.
(Ord. 94-884; Ord. 2012-1130 § 1)