Resolution No. 2023-016RESOLUTION NO. 2023-16
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VERNON,
ADOPTING WESTSIDE AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY OF VERNON
GENERAL PLAN AND CERTIFYING THE FINAL PROGRAM
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT STATE CLEARINGHOUSE (SCH)
NO. 2022040458
SECTION 1. Recitals.
A. The City of Vernon (City) is a chartered municipal corporation of the State of
California.
B. On December 3, 2007, the City Council of the City of Vernon adopted Resolution
No. 9484, as amended by Resolution Nos. 9869, 2013-32 and 2015-15, adopting a
General Plan for the City of Vernon.
C. The City is proposing to adopt an amended City of Vernon General Plan (Plan),
pursuant to Government Code Section 65358.
D. The City Council of the City of Vernon held a public hearing during its regularly
scheduled City Council meeting on July 18, 2023, to consider the proposed Plan.
E. The City Council of the City of Vernon has not created a separate planning
commission and performs all of the functions of a planning commission as authorized by
Government Code Sections 65100 and 65861.
F. The City Clerk gave the required notice for said hearing for the purpose of
considering the adoption of the amended Plan at which public hearing the amended Plan
was displayed, discussed and explained.
G. Pursuant to Government Code Sections 65352.3 and 65352.4 and Public
Resources Code Section 21080.3.1, the City of Vernon mailed public notice to all
California Native American tribes listed by the Native American Heritage Commission and
evaluated potential impacts to tribal cultural resources during environmental review.
H. The City Council of the City of Vernon desires to adopt amendments to the Plan.
I. The amended General Plan is included in the agenda report for this resolution for
the City Council of the City of Vernon as part of a public meeting held July 18, 2023.
J. Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (California Public
Resources Section 21000 et seq.) and CEQA Guidelines (California Code Regulations
Title 14, Section 15000 et seq.), the City of Vernon is the Lead Agency Responsible for
preparing the Final Program Environmental Impact Report for the Westside Amendments
Resolution No. 2023-16
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to the General Plan and for the Westside Amendments to Title 17 of the Vernon Municipal
Code (collectively Westside Amendments).
K. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is a public document used by governmental
agencies to analyze the significant environmental impacts of a project. CEQA Guidelines
Section 15168 specifies that a Program EIR (PEIR) can be prepared on a series of actions
that can be characterized as one part project related either geographically, as logical parts
in the chain of contemplated actions, in connection with issuance of rules, regulations,
plans, or other general criteria to govern the conduct of a continuing program, or as
individual activities carried out under the same authorizing statutory or regulatory
authority and having generally similar environmental effects which can be mitigated in
similar ways.
L. The PEIR for the Westside amendments is a programmatic document that
provides a city-wide assessment of the potential significant environmental effects of
implementing the projects, programs and policies included in the Westside Amendments.
M. The City Council of the City of Vernon has determined that the PEIR is appropriate
to assess the environmental impacts of the Westside Amendments.
N. The PEIR describes feasible, mitigation measures necessary to avoid or
substantially lessen significant impacts from projects contemplated to occur as a result of
the Westside Amendments.
O. The City issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of the Draft PEIR for the Westside
Amendments on April 20, 2022, and circulated the NOP for a period of 30 days pursuant
to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15082 (a), 15103, and 15375.
P. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 65080 (b) et, seq., the City publicly noticed
and held a scoping meeting via video conferencing on May 4, 2022, for the purpose of
inviting comments on the scope and content of the environmental information to be
addressed in the PEIR.
Q. On March 30, 2023, the City initiated a forty-five (45) day public review and
comment period by issuing a Notice of Availability of the Draft PEIR to interested parties
and others.
R. During the 45-day public review and comment period, the City noticed and hosted
a public workshop on April 27, 2023 via video conferencing.
S. The 45-day public review and comment period ended on May 24, 2023.
T. Two written comment letters on the Draft PEIR were received by the City.
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U. The City evaluated written comments and provided written response to each
comment, which are included in the Final PEIR.
V. When making findings pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15091(a)(1), the City
must adopt a mitigation monitoring program to ensure compliance with the mitigation
measures identified in the PEIR which avoid or substantially lessen significant effects,
and which are fully enforceable through permit conditions, agreements or other measures
as required by CEQA Guidelines Section 15091(d).
W. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15089(a), the City, as the Lead Agency,
must prepare and certify a Final PEIR before approving the Westside Amendments.
X. The Final PEIR is included in the agenda report for this resolution for the City
Council of the City of Vernon as part of a public meeting held July 18, 2023.
Y. The City Council of the City of Vernon has had the opportunity to review the Final
PEIR as well as the staff report related to the Final PEIR, and consideration of the
certification of the Final EIR was made by the City Council of the City of Vernon as part
of a public meeting held July 18, 2023.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
VERNON AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 2. The City Council of the City of Vernon finds and determines that the
above recitals are true and correct.
SECTION 3. The City Council of the City of Vernon finds the Final PEIR for the
Westside Amendments has been completed in compliance with CEQA, and hereby
adopts the Mitigation Measures contained in the Final PEIR, and certifies the Final PEIR
for the Westside Amendments.
SECTION 4. The City Council of the City of Vernon, pursuant to Chapter 3, Title 7
of the Government Code of the State of California, does hereby approve and adopt
amendments to the City of Vernon General Plan, including amendments to the Land Use
Element covering the principles, objectives and standards which will be used to guide
future development in the City of Vernon as more fully described in the Amended General
Plan, a copy of which is being presented to the City Council concurrently with this
Resolution, and the City Council hereby orders the plan to be received and filed by the
City Clerk. The Plan Submitted herewith is incorporated herein by this reference as
though fully set forth at length, along with any amendments thereto which have been
approved at the public hearing.
SECTION 5. The City Council of the City of Vernon does hereby find and
determine that the public interest, convenience and necessity require that the Plan be
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adopted as amended as a covering the objectives, principles and standards used as
guidelines to develop the City as specific in Article 5 of the Government Code of the State
of California, Section 65300, et seq.
SECTION 6. The City Council of the City of Vernon intends that this Resolution
supersede any previous General Plan or element which has been adopted.
SECTION 7. The City Clerk shall certify the passage and adoption of this resolution and
enter it into the book of original resolutions.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED July 18, 2023.
________________________
CRYSTAL LARIOS, Mayor
ATTEST:
LISA POPE, City Clerk
(seal)
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
ZAYNAH N. MOUSSA, City Attorney
I CERTIFY THAT RESOLUTION NO. 2023-16 was passed and adopted by the City
Council of the City of Vernon at the Regular Meeting on July 18, 2023, by the following
vote:
AYES: 4 Council Members: Lopez, Rivera, Merlo, Larios
NOES: 0
ABSENT: 1 Council Member: Ybarra
ABSTAIN: 0
________________________________
LISA POPE, City Clerk
(seal)
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City Council Agenda Report
Meeting Date:July 18, 2023
From:Daniel S. Wall, P.E., Director of Public Works
Department:Public Works
Submitted by:Daniel S. Wall, P.E., Director of Public Works
Subject
Amendments to the Municipal Code and General Plan to allow Mixed Use
Recommendation
A. Find that the proposed action is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
review because it is general policy and procedure-making activity that is unrelated to any specific
project, which must undergo separate CEQA review, and that will not result in direct physical
changes or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical changes in the environment, and therefore
does not constitute a “project” as defined by CEQA Guidelines Section 15378. In compliance
with CEQA Guidelines (California. Code Regulations., Title 14, Section 15000 et seq.), the City
of Vernon prepared the Final Program Environmental Impact Report for the Westside
Amendments to the General Plan and for the Westside Amendments to Title 17 of the Vernon
Municipal Code.
B. Adopt Resolution No. 2023-16 adopting Westside Amendments to the City of Vernon General
Plan and certifying the Final Program Environmental Impact Report State Clearinghouse (SCH)
No. 2022040458;
C. Introduce and conduct first reading of Ordinance No. 1293 adding and amending various
chapters in Title 17 – Zoning of the Vernon Municipal Code to allow Mixed Use Industrial Zoning
along Santa Fe Avenue; and
D. Direct staff to schedule second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 1293 for the August 1,
2023 Regular City Council meeting.
Background
At its October 6, 2020 meeting, the Vernon City Council approved an agreement with The Arroyo
Group (TAG) to prepare the Westside Mixed-Use Specific Plan and Program Environmental
Impact Report (PEIR). The intent was to allow and encourage a concentrated area within the
Westside of Vernon (Westside) to transition into an active place of mixed uses (residential,
live/work, production retail, and restaurant/entertainment) while strengthening the majority of the
Westside as a highly competitive area of clean industrial production. During the past two and a
half years, TAG performed baseline studies, drafted an update to the Housing Element, analyzed
transportation enhancements, conducted one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders, identified
and studied catalytic site development, conducted a PEIR Scoping meeting and held seven
Stakeholder Committee Meetings. On November 11, 2022, the Stakeholder Committee
expressed support for changing the City’s zoning code to allow for mixed-use development in
select areas concentrated along Santa Fe Avenue and Pacific Boulevard; however, the
Committee was not in support of adopting a Specific Plan.
Staff has utilized the feedback gathered from its community outreach to draft amendments to
Title 17 of the Vernon Municipal Code (VMC) that are aligned with the City’s Housing Element
Update and that incorporate mixed uses in select areas of the City. Resolution No. 2023-16
amends the introduction to the General Plan and the Land Use Element of the General Plan to
provide consistency with the proposed changes to the City’s zoning code, while Ordinance No.
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1293 makes those proposed changes to Title 17 (Zoning Code) of the VMC creating four zoning
districts (shown on the attached Zoning Map), allowing for mixed-use development as well as
providing design standards and guidelines for mixed-use development.
The majority of the properties in the districts being rezoned are small lots with older obsolete
buildings. The lot size makes many of these properties unsuitable for modern industrial
development. The proposed changes to the code will provide property owners with flexibility in
redeveloping their property by providing new uses, shown in the following tables, that are in
addition to the industrial uses currently allowed.
Residential and Office Uses
Zoning District
Land Use MU-CC MU-S MU-N MU-PH
Primarily Residential Uses
Single-Family Dwelling By Right Prohibited Prohibited Prohibited
Multi-Family Dwelling By Right By Right By Right Prohibited
Hotel Encouraged Encouraged Prohibited Prohibited
Live/Work By Right By Right By Right Prohibited
Residential Care Facilities By Right By Right By Right Prohibited
Trailer Park Prohibited Prohibited Prohibited Prohibited
Emergency Shelter Prohibited Prohibited By Right By Right
Primarily Office Uses
Office Manufacturing By Right Encouraged Encouraged Encouraged
Media Production Studios By Right By Right By Right Encouraged
Offices By Right By Right By Right By Right
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Retail, Industrial, and Institutional Uses
Zoning District
Land Use MU-CC MU-S MU-N MU-PH
Primarily Retail Uses
Goods Sales By Right By Right By Right Accessory/
Conditional
Production Retail Encouraged Encouraged Encouraged By Right
Restaurant Encouraged Encouraged Encouraged By Right
Market Encouraged Encouraged By Right Prohibited
Art Galleries Encouraged Encouraged Encouraged Encouraged
Nightlife Conditional Conditional Conditional Prohibited
Personal Services By Right By Right By Right By Right
Big Box Retail Conditional Conditional Conditional Conditional
Drive-Through Retail Conditional Conditional Conditional Conditional
Adult or Sexually Oriented
Businesses
Prohibited Prohibited Prohibited Prohibited
Fitness and Recreation By Right By Right By Right By Right
Primarily Production/Industrial Uses
Artisan Industrial Encouraged Encouraged Encouraged By Right
Light Industrial By Right By Right By Right By Right
Primarily Civic/Institutional Uses
Community Facilities By Right By Right By Right By Right
Trade School By Right By Right By Right By Right
Religious Use By Right By Right By Right By Right
These changes will allow some form of residential use in each of the four districts. Other changes
to Title 17 include creating design standards for new non-industrial and non-warehouse
developments in the four mixed-use zones. These design standards include open space
requirements, first floor minimum transparency requirements for projects fronting Santa Fe
Avenue, and height limitations. These development standards are being suggested to preserve
the heritage industrial appearance of many older buildings that exist within these districts. In
addition, reuse and new use projects will be incentivized through the Zoning Code with reduced
parking requirements, increased allowable densities and increased allowable heights, to
preserve important architectural elements of these older buildings or that include encouraged
uses.
While the proposed changes to Title 17 and the General Plan are not in and of themselves a
project under CEQA (as they are only administrative actions), a PEIR was completed to provide
the City Council with information on the potential impacts of projects that are thought to arise
from the proposed zoning changes. In compliance with CEQA Guidelines, the City of Vernon has
taken steps to maximize opportunities for the public to participate in the environmental process.
A Notice of Preparation (NOP) was circulated on April 20, 2022 via mail to interested parties and
surrounding cities and via the City’s social media platforms, as well as being posted to the City’s
website and to www.ReimagineVernon.com, to solicit comments and inform the public of the
proposed changes. The proposed changes were described, potential environmental effects
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associated with implementation were identified, and agencies and the public were invited to
review and comment on the NOP. The NOP review and comment period closed on May 20, 2022.
At the time of preparation of this PEIR, the City received one written comment regarding the
scope and content of the PEIR from the California Department of Transportation. The draft PEIR
was made available for Public Review and comment from April 14, 2023, through May 14, 2023.
A community meeting on the Draft EIR was held on Thursday, April 27, 2023. A notice of the
availability of the draft PEIR was sent to interested parties and surrounding cities via mail and
posted on the City’s social media platforms, as well as being posted on the City‘s website and
www.ReimagineVernon.com.
The only potentially significant unavoidable environmental impacts identified in the PEIR are
those that may occur during any construction project such as noise, vibration, dust, etc. All other
impacts are either less than significant or will be made less than significant through the
implementation of mitigation measures described in the PEIR.
This nearly three-year-long effort has involved significant public participation through several
avenues including the Stakeholder Advisory Committee composed of a diverse group of
residents, business owners, property owners and other interested parties, including several
members of the Vernon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The Stakeholder Advisory
Committee conducted multiple meetings during the development of the Westside project, a
process that saw a conceptual vision evolve into a formal General Plan and Land Use Element,
and identification of suitable areas in the City for mixed-use projects. The minutes from these
meetings and all other related documents have been published on the Westside dedicated
website, www.ReimagineVernon.com, as they have become available. The Westside website
provides an option to subscribe to email updates on the project’s process and sends invitations
that announce participation opportunities. Links to this website are published on the City of
Vernon website. In addition to more formal methods of communication at City Council and City
Commission meetings, staff routinely shared information about the Westside project with
businesses, property owners, and developers that were engaged through the course of regular
business.
These proposed amendments to the Municipal Code and the General Plan were presented to
the Vernon Housing Commission (VHC) at its special meeting held on July 12, 2023. The VHC
recommended that the Council adopt the amendments allowing Mixed Use Industrial Zoning in
the four districts.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report.
Attachments
1. Resolution No. 2023-16
2. Vernon General Plan with Amendments
3. Final PEIR – Vernon Westside Zone Change and GP Amendment
4. Ordinance No. 1293
5. Zoning Code Title 17 amendments and additions
6. Amended Zoning Map
7. Notice of Public Hearing – Proof of Publication