Hillside Management Zone Ordinance Update

Hillside Management Zone Ordinance Update

NOTE: NOD Withdrawn per lead on 6-16-09; NOD will be posted at a later date. The Hillside Management Zone Ordinance Update is a revision and clarification of the existing Hillside Management Zone Ordinance, which includes an amendment to the City of Sierra Madre Zoning Map and amendments to the Municipal Code text. The HMZ Ordinance Update proposes to improve development standards relative to fire hazards, open space, aesthetics, grading limits, height limits, and to protect the natural habitat within the hillside area. This update also includes a Fire Prevention Plan that includes regulations on vegetation, roofing, eaves, exterior wall surfaces, overhangs, sprinkler systems, and fuel modification/brush control in order to reduce the potential for wildland fires. The HMZ Update also would allow only one dwelling unit per lot (and one second unity, per Municipal Code Chapter 17.22), thus increasing the amount of open space within the hillside area, improving the aesthetics of the hillside area by increasing lot sizes and increasing height restrictions on buildings so as not to impede on the view; and protect the natural habitat by implementing a suitability analysis that requires a census of biological resources located onsite. The requirement of landscaping and fencing plans also regulates the amount of space to be left in its natural state so as to not disturb natural habitats. The Ordinance would change the minimum lot size from 15,000 sf to two acres; extend the coverage of the hillside area to all areas of the City with significant slopes, including the area of the City north of Carter Avenue and Mira Monte Avenue; re-classify a number of ridgelines as prominent ridgelines; and change the zone from an overlay zone to a stand-alone zone. The HMZ Update would also reorganize information contained in the previous Ordinance.

Sierra Madre

Los Angeles