(A) Except as provided in subsections
(B),
(C) and
(D) of this section, the urban boundary of the City as depicted in the general plan's parcel specific land use diagram shall not be changed until December 31, 2035, and then only as part of a general plan update process.
(B) At any time the Council may act by general plan amendment to change
the urban boundary as follows:
(1) To adjust the boundary to include or exclude ten acres or less for
the purpose of aligning the boundary with property lines as they existed
on the date the ordinance codified in this chapter was approved by
the voters;
(2) To adjust the boundary for the purpose of protecting open space or
a natural resource;
(3) To add lands to be permanently maintained as public parks or open
space, to protect natural resources, or for sewage treatment or disposal
uses;
(4) To add lands for the purpose of providing sewer or water to eliminate
health hazards existing in improvements constructed prior to the date
the ordinance codified in this chapter was approved by the voters;
provided that no land designated as community separator or with agricultural
land use categories LEA, LIA or DA by the Sonoma County general plan
shall be included within the urban boundary under subsections (B)(1),
(2), (3) and (4).
(C) As part of a general plan update process, by the affirmative vote
of at least two-thirds of the total membership of the Council, the
Council may act by general plan amendment to change the urban boundary
to replace land inside the urban boundary established in the 2009
general plan update which has been designated for a particular land
use and is subsequently determined to be unsuitable for that land
use due to unforeseeable environmental constraints, and only upon
the Council making all of the following findings:
(1) That the evidence of unsuitability is provided by a public agency
other than the City of Santa Rosa or by court decision;
(2) That the Council has determined that there is insufficient remaining
land designated within the then current urban boundary to meet the
demand, within the following five-year period, for the particular
land use designation and that it is infeasible to redesignate land
within the urban boundary to meet the demand for that land use;
(3) That the projected population and commercial/industrial land development
estimates in the 2009 general plan update or subsequent general plan
have been met or exceeded by the population and commercial/industrial
land development existing at the time the Council considers a general
plan amendment;
(4) That the adjustment to the urban boundary does not include land designated
as community separator in the Sonoma County general plan;
(5) That the adjustment to the urban boundary does not include land designated
with the agricultural land use categories LEA, LIA, or DA by the Sonoma
County general plan.
(D) By affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the total membership
of the Council, the Council may act by general plan amendment to change
the urban boundary to provide an overriding public benefit to Santa
Rosa that cannot feasibly be accommodated within the existing urban
boundary, in order to provide a unique educational, cultural or economic
opportunity for the City. This provision shall not apply to residential
or retail commercial projects. During each 20-year period, adjustments
allowed by this subsection may not exceed a total of one percent (approximately
280 acres) of the area within the 1996 general plan update urban boundary.
The change in the urban boundary allowed by this subsection shall
be made only upon all of the following findings:
(1) That the proposed land use cannot feasibly be accommodated within
the existing urban boundary;
(2) That land designated as community separator in the Sonoma County
general plan is not included within the proposed urban boundary amendment;
(3) That land designated as agricultural land use category LEA, LIA,
or DA in the County general plan is not included within the proposed
urban boundary amendment.
(Ord. 2872 § 3, 1990; Ord. 3296 § 3, 1996; Ord. 3961 § 3, 2010)