The city of Lompoc is reworking its economic development capacity from the inside out, specifically targeting its outdated zoning ordinances in an effort to drive more business into the city.
On April 21, the City Council unanimously voted to award a $396,899 contract to San Francisco-based consultants Dyett and Bhatia to write new land-use ordinances in Lompoc. The current ordinances haven’t been updated since 1974.
“It needs to be done because there are so many vacant commercial buildings that can’t be utilized,” Councilmember Victor Vega said during the hearing. “It’s a shame. People come in here and look, and their first look at Lompoc, … they see buildings that are underutilized or just vacant; that can’t be a selling point for our town.”
Lompoc Planning Manager Lucille Breeze, as well as other councilmembers, also said they felt the zoning ordinances were too confusing.
Councilmember Dirk Starbuck used the example of having a hot dog cart on the sidewalk, which conforms to Old Town Specific Plan rules but conflicts with other city ordinances.
Breeze said she would be touring the city with the consultants to figure out which specific issues need to be resolved.
“There are a number of sections in our ordinances that are not legal, that we don’t really implement at this point,” Breeze said, adding that because some ordinances are so outdated, the city sometimes issues conditional use permits to businesses.
The consultants are familiar with the Central Coast and recently finished updating ordinances for the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara, Breeze said. Lompoc will be working with the company’s project manager, Martha Miller, who works out of San Luis Obispo.
Updating the ordinances is scheduled to take about two years, although Starbuck asked if it could be finished in 18 months. Breeze responded by saying it’s possible but depends on how long the public process takes. Before the council approves the ordinances, there will be a public review process and a newsletter issued in both English and Spanish.
Breeze said the city intends to make the new ordinances easier to use, with graphics and charts.
“[So] when someone looks at it online, they actually know what uses are permitted and know what they can do rather than being mystified as they are now,” Breeze told the City Council.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 7, 2015.
