Fallbrook Community Plan update looms

The County of San Diego's Department of Planning and Development Services (PDS) periodically reviews the county's general plan to correct errors or facilitate updates which reflect new circumstances. On Sept. 18, the county's Planning Commission voted 6-0, with Michael Beck absent, to recommend updates including changes to the Fallbrook Community Plan.

"They're all reasonable changes," said Fallbrook Community Planning Group chair Jim Russell.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors must approve any general plan amendment or rezone, and PDS has targeted a Nov. 18 Board of Supervisors hearing date.

The Board of Supervisors approved an update to the county's general plan in August 2011. The initial general plan update was a multi-year process with much of the analysis occurring on a macro scale, so it was expected that oversights requiring correction would be found and the county supervisors directed county staff to develop a "clean-up" in the form of a general plan amendment every two years.

The update direction also anticipated the need to clarify or revise policies or definitions in the general plan or community plans and to provide a process to handle changes in circumstances including changes in state law or ownership changes from private to public. The updates also accommodate minor community planning group or community sponsor group requests.

The changes to the Fallbrook Community Plan would add a goal policy which seeks to preserve the rural character of major access roads by discouraging general plan amendments for changes to the highest-intensity commercial designators outside the Village area. That policy would also include statements that the areas along Fallbrook's major access roads serve as visual reminders of the town's rural heritage and contribute to the unique nature of Fallbrook's community character.

Although that policy would not prohibit general plan amendments, it would discourage such amendments which propose to change land use designations outside the Village area to the General Commercial (C-1) or Rural Commercial (C-4) designations whose corresponding commercial zoning allow a wide range of commercial uses. That policy would not discourage changes to Office Professional (C-2) or Neighborhood Commercial (C-3) designations.

C36 General Commercial zoning allows general retail sales and services if conducted within buildings, allows outdoor uses with a use permit, and allows residences as secondary uses. C35 General Commercial/Limited Residential zoning generally requires retail uses to be conducted within buildings with residential or outdoor uses allowed by a use permit.

C34 General Commercial-Residential zoning is intended for mixed commercial-residential developments and allows residential and indoor general retail use with outdoor use permitted upon a use permit. C40 Rural Commercial zoning is intended for commercial centers which serve predominantly rural or semi-rural areas with a broad range of goods and services.

C30 Office Professional zoning allows administrative and professional offices and other limited commercial uses. RC Residential Commercial zoning is intended for mixed residential-commercial areas where residential uses predominate and allows limited office and sales activity with a use permit.

A new community beautification and design policy would require special consideration in the development of large parcels, keeping intact the allowable floor area ratio formula but also encouraging non-residential buildings to limit the amount of impervious surfaces on a project site and to use a variety of building sizes and orientations to avoid large buildings which are not compatible with Fallbrook's community character.

The Fallbrook Community Plan would also have a new goal policy which seeks to support businesses which serve agriculture during future zoning considerations. Those policies would apply when considering proposed rezoning for properties with businesses which support agriculture and would encourage the use of those zone classifications which allow most commercial activities to be conducted outside of an enclosure.

The Fallbrook changes also clarify a goal statement to include references to semi-rural and rural areas of the Fallbrook Community Planning Area; the goal statement to perpetuate the existing rural charm and village atmosphere while accommodating growth would state that the village atmosphere would be surrounded by semi-rural and rural lower-density development.

The 14 Fallbrook Community Planning Group members who were present at the planning group's May 15 meeting all voted to support the recommended changes.