§ 22.98.060. San Luis Obispo Sub-area Standards.

All development and new land uses in the San Luis Obispo Sub-area, as shown on Figure 98-0, shall comply with the following standards where applicable.

A.

Undergrounding - Conditional Use Permit projects. All projects requiring Conditional Use Permit approval shall provide for utilities being placed underground unless the Commission determines either that the proposed development will be of low intensity or in an isolated location; or that supporting overhead utilities will not be visible from public roads; or that overriding operational, economic or site conditions of the project warrant waiver of this requirement.

B.

Planning Impact Areas. The following standards apply to land within the planning impact areas of the cities of San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, and the community of Los Osos. The planning impact area for the City of San Luis Obispo includes the entire San Luis Obispo Sub-area of the San Luis Obispo Planning Area and the San Luis Obispo Sub-area of the South County Planning Area as shown on the Official Maps. The planning impact areas for the City of Pismo Beach, and the community of Los Osos are shown in Figure 98-11. Please refer to the areawide standards in Chapter 7 of the Estero Area Plan to see the remainder of the planning impact area for Los Osos.

Figure 98-12: Referral areas for Los Osos and the City of Pismo Beach

1.

Application referral - Cities of San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. Applications for discretionary land use permits, land divisions, or General Plan amendments shall be referred by the County to the City of San Luis Obispo and (if in its planning impact area) to the City of Pismo for review and comment. The County shall consider requiring improvements and/or offers of dedication from projects where there is an appropriate and feasible connection between the proposed development and the improvement, subject to the following:

a.

Required improvements and/or dedications may include, but are not limited to, future streets in compliance with a city's General Plan, sewer lateral extensions from project septic systems (or other sewage disposal systems) to facilitate connection to a sewer system after annexation by a city or other public agency that will provide a community sewage disposal system, water system extensions, drainage improvements or other necessary public improvements.

b.

Street improvements and offers of dedication shall be made to either City or County standards, depending upon the scale and location of the proposed development.

2.

Application referral - Los Osos. Applications for discretionary land use permits, land divisions, or general plan amendments within the planning impact area for Los Osos shall be referred by the County to the Los Osos Community Advisory Council or its successor for review and comment.

C.

Open space preservation. The following standards apply to land where important physical, biological, visual or historic resources are identified both on-site and on adjacent properties, to offer incentives and encourage such measures as cluster land divisions that will leave such resources in permanent open space. As mentioned in Chapter 4 of the San Luis Obispo Area Plan, other incentives include agricultural preserves and transfer of development credits.

1.

Cluster land division incentive. Cluster divisions of land may utilize an open space parcel area that is smaller than otherwise required by Chapter 22.22 where an important biological habitat, riparian creek corridor, scenic view or historic place is identified and protected through the application's review process on a case-by-case basis. The size of the open space area may be determined by a biological, visual or other applicable analysis of the area in question. The open space parcel shall be sufficient in size to preserve the resource.

2.

Lot Line Adjustments. In instances where land that is intended for development includes more than one legal lot, the lot lines may be adjusted to concentrate development in suitable areas and leave other areas undeveloped and subject to open space or conservation easements.

D.

Production agricultural areas. New development shall be designed to minimize the loss of existing and potential production agricultural areas by the placement of buildings and new parcels outside the most agriculturally capable areas. For the purposes of this standard, production agricultural areas consist of prime soils (Class I and II irrigated soils according to the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service) and other areas capable of agricultural production which primarily consist of Class III and IV soils, but may also include productive areas with Class VI soils.

[Amended 2004, Ord. 3047; 2014, Ord. 3256; 2018, Ord. 3369]