Atascadero's rewrite of its zoning rules is down to its last scheduled step. The City Council was scheduled to take a final vote Tuesday night, Nov. 10, on second reading of the ordinances that repeal and replace Title 9 of the municipal code and adopt a new zoning map (via City of Atascadero).
The result wasn't available when this story was written Tuesday evening, ahead of the 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall. If the council adopts the ordinances, the city says the new code and map take effect Dec. 10, 30 days after second reading. Check the city's project page or meeting minutes to confirm the outcome.
The rewrite has been in the works since 2024 and follows the city's 2045 General Plan, which the council adopted in September. That plan swaps the old land use designations for what the city calls "Placetypes." Each Placetype sets the density, intensity and general character for an area, and the zoning code is meant to fill in the details, with new zoning districts that line up with those Placetypes.
The city lists three goals: make the code consistent with the new Placetypes, make it easier to use and simplify the review process for applications. The state CEQA filing for the project puts it a little more broadly. Along with reorganizing Title 9 and adding the new districts, the update codifies existing city policies and revises how the code is administered and how entitlements are processed.
According to A-Town Daily News, the package would also add lot line adjustment standards to the subdivisions chapter and bring zoning into line with the city's housing element. The city budgeted $150,000 for the work, including $127,833 for consultant services, with the rest going to put the new code online, the paper reported.
The council's path to Tuesday ran through a final study session Sept. 8, a Planning Commission recommendation to adopt on Oct. 6 and the council's introduction of the enacting ordinance Oct. 27. The environmental review covered the General Plan and the zoning code together. The city's notice of determination, filed with the state in September, says an environmental impact report was prepared. It found significant effects on air quality, greenhouse gases and transportation, and the city adopted a statement of overriding considerations.
The draft zoning code and draft map are posted on the city's project page. The city warns the code is a large file. For anyone who builds or remodels in town, those are the documents to check, since the map shows which new district a given parcel lands in and the code sets what can be built there and how it gets approved.
The housing element, adopted in 2020 and good through 2028, isn't being rewritten as part of this project, according to the state filing.
Why it matters for Contractors
If the council adopts it, Atascadero's zoning rules change for everyone on Dec. 10. Lots you know well may have new district names and possibly new standards, and some approvals may move through a different process than before.
For small builders and remodelers with jobs in the pipeline, the practical step is to pull up your parcels on the new map and ask the planning division which code applies to an application filed before or after Dec. 10. Lot line adjustment work also gets its own standards in the subdivisions chapter, so anyone planning a lot reconfiguration should read that section before filing.