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Businesses unhappy with General Plan zoning changes
Some industrial areas rezoned commercial
By Erin Mayes
Business owners in industrial areas of Campbell are not pleased with the city's proposed zoning changes for adoption in the General Plan that staff have been developing for the last two years.
The owners' main concern is that some industrial areas are being re-zoned as commercial and residential areas.
Sharon Fierro, the community development director for the city of Campbell, emphasized at an Oct. 23 Planning Commission meeting that just because the zoning will change in some areas does not mean industrial businesses must pack up and move out.
Referring to an owner who intends to keep his business in one of the industrial areas, Fierro said, "There is no limitation on how long he can operate there."
The Catch-22, however, is that expansions are not allowed once the zoning has been changed, and if the building is up to 75 percent destroyed, the owners have two years to rebuild or else forfeit the property. If the property is completely destroyed, industrial use will no longer be permitted for that property.
The planning commission adopted several resolutions that call for zoning changes. The next step, which will finalize the changes, is for the city council to adopt the same resolutions at their Nov. 6 meeting.
Fierro described the General Plan as setting a "vision for growth and development in the city."
State law requires cities to adopt general plans and to update them periodically. Campbell last amended its plan in 1993.
Members of the city council, planning commission, civic improvement commission, parks and recreation commission and historic preservation board have staffed the General Plan Task Force since May 1998 and are responsible for developing policies that will be in the General Plan.
The city hired LSA Associates, an environmental consultant, in February to prepare a study on potential traffic impacts and an Environmental Impact Report for the update.
The report will study potential environmental impacts of changes in city policies on land-use, transportation and other issues citywide.
The state also requires all Northern California cities and counties to adopt housing elements for the General Plan updates by Dec. 31, 2001. The planning commission plans to review staff's recommended housing element at a special meeting on Nov. 5, and the city council will decide whether to adopt it at its Nov. 6 meeting.
But of all of the elements that will eventually be included in the General Plan, the proposed zoning changes have irked the most people.
The owner of a Gilman Avenue property asked planning commissioners what the zoning for his area would be, and Fierro answered that it was changing from industrial to allow only office and residential use. She explained that staff members recommended eliminating industrial use because of the street's proximity to planned light rail stations.
The owner would not have to convert his property to commercial or residential use unless he experienced the aforementioned circumstances or his property remained vacant for a year or more, at which point he would be required to lease it out as office space. He was concerned about this prospect, given the downturn in the economy and the fact that there is not enough parking space surrounding his property to accommodate office use. That means he would have to rent out only part of the property and lose income on the rest.
"That's our only income, and you're doing that to everybody in that area," he said. "I just think you should have listened to us. I don't think you listened to anybody."
Commissioner Elizabeth Gibbons, who was on the General Plan Task Force, said the zoning change in the Gilman Avenue area had been discussed at length and a solution had not been reached easily.
Answering a question from Commissioner Joe Hernandez, Fierro said that approximately 60 parcels would be affected by the zoning changes.
A woman who, with her husband, owns three properties located on Dillon and Gilman avenues, said the industrial area of the city has been instrumental to the city's development. The couple's businesses have been in Campbell for 45 years.
"I just feel sad that you could throw away industrial businesses like that," the woman told commissioners.
Gibbons asked the woman if she understood that the zoning change does not mean the businesses must leave the area and that she's not being forced out.
"I feel that we are being forced out in the sense that you would have young families with young children across the street [from industrial businesses]," the woman answered. "Sooner or later, somebody's got to go. By changing the zoning, you're telling us who's got to go."
Another Gilman Avenue property owner invited commissioners to visit the street and tell them how families could live in that area without getting hurt.
And yet another Gilman Avenue property owner told commissioners, "You mentioned in your report there's going to be a conflict--I think there's going to be a great conflict. Putting kids in the mix is ridiculous."
Before the commission voted to adopt all of the resolutions, a couple of commissioners tried to put things in perspective.
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Campbell, California
