§ 17.61.055. Hotel Conversion Permits

A.

Purpose. Hotel Conversion Permits are intended to allow for the conversion of existing hotels and motels with 80 or less guest rooms to various types of affordable housing while providing for the review of the configuration, design, location, and potential impacts of the proposed use in order to evaluate the compatibility of the proposed conversion with surrounding uses, and the suitability of a residential use to the site.

B.

Applicability. A Hotel Conversion Permit is required in order to authorize affordable multi-family housing, affordable single room occupancy housing, permanent supportive housing, and/or transitional housing as being allowable in any zoning district in which an existing hotel or motel is located.

C.

Application requirements. An application for a Hotel Conversion Permit shall be filed in compliance with Chapter 17.60 (Application Filing and Processing) in the same manner as a Conditional Use Permit. The application shall be accompanied by the information identified in the Department handout for Hotel Conversion Permit applications, including a comprehensive Management Plan, which shall include, at a minimum, detailed information on property management policies and operations, rental procedures and rates, maintenance plans, residency and guest rules and procedures, security procedures, staffing needs, and job descriptions. The applicant shall be responsible for providing the evidence in support of the findings required by Subsection F. (Findings and decision) below.

D.

Review authority. Hotel Conversion Permits shall be reviewed by the Hearing Officer and may be granted in compliance with the following:

1.

The Hearing Officer may grant a Hotel Conversion Permit for affordable multi-family housing, affordable single room occupancy housing, transitional housing, and/or permanent supportive housing; or

2.

Defer action and refer the application directly to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

E.

Project review, notice, and hearing.  

1.

Each application shall be analyzed by the Zoning Administrator to ensure the application is consistent with the purpose and intent of this Section. The Zoning Administrator shall submit a staff report and recommendation to the Hearing Officer for consideration on a Hotel Conversion Permit.

2.

The applicable review authority shall conduct a public hearing on an application for a Hotel Conversion Permit before the approval or disapproval of the permit.

3.

Notice of the public hearing shall be provided, and the hearing shall be conducted in compliance with Chapter 17.76 (Public Hearings).

4.

The applicable review authority shall render a decision on the application within 10 days following the final public hearing on the application.

F.

Findings and decision. Following a public hearing, the applicable review authority may approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove an application for a Hotel Conversion Permit. The review authority may approve a Hotel Conversion Permit only after first finding that:

1.

The hotel or motel proposed for conversion was legally constructed and is currently a legal or legally nonconforming use;

2.

One hundred percent of the proposed converted residential units will be rented or sold at rates affordable to persons and families of low or moderate income (as defined in Health and Safety Code Section 50093), and will consist of either Supportive Housing, Transitional Housing, Single-Room Occupancy, multi-family housing, or a combination thereof;

3.

The establishment, maintenance, or operation of the use would not, under the circumstances of the particular case, be detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of persons residing or working in the neighborhood of the proposed use;

4.

The use, as described and conditionally approved, would not be detrimental or injurious to property and improvements in the neighborhood or to the general welfare of the City; and

5.

The design, location, operating characteristics, and size of the proposed use, including any proposed increase in floor area, room/unit count, or height would be compatible with the existing land uses in the vicinity in terms of aesthetic values, character, scale, and view protection.

G.

Conditions of approval. In approving a Hotel Conversion Permit, the applicable review authority may impose conditions (e.g., buffers, hours of operation, landscaping and maintenance, lighting, off-site improvements, parking, performance guarantees, property maintenance, signs, surfacing, time limits, traffic circulation, security, support services, etc.) deemed reasonable and necessary to ensure that the approval would be in compliance with the findings required by Subsection F. (Findings and decision), above, and to preserve the public health, safety, and general welfare.

H.

Post approval procedures. The procedures relating to appeals, changes, expiration, performance guarantees, and revocation that are identified in Article 7 (Zoning Code Administration), and those identified in Chapter 17.64 (Permit Implementation, Time Limits, and Extensions) shall apply following the decision on a Hotel Conversion Permit application.

(Ord. No. 7333, § 3 (Exh. 2), 10-15-2018)