Mill Valley fine-tunes commercial code to cut red tape

Mill Valley is revising its commercial code to encourage new businesses while protecting nearby residential neighborhoods.

The City Council spent nearly two hours on Monday discussing a dozen key tenets of the goals and rules that will determine what kinds of businesses can operate in the four commercial zones and how the permit process can be streamlined.

“We’ve offered a new administrative use permit process in lieu of a conditional use for certain use types,” said Planning Director Patrick Kelly, noting the biggest prospective change. “There’d still be a (public) notice, and there would be an opportunity for a neighbor to appeal.”

Currently, a conditional use permit costs businesses $8,000 and takes upwards of three months to process because it involves Planning Commission review. In recent months, that panel, in consultation with Kelly’s department and several council members, has proposed numerous revisions to update and streamline the commercial code.

Among the more nuanced topics discussed Monday were what business types and square footage thresholds would no longer require a conditional use permit; whether food trucks should be allowed in the downtown core; whether the code should bar formula retail; and whether commercial properties that border residences should face a higher level of regulatory scrutiny.

“We are basically walking a tightrope here between trying to put things into empty (retail) spaces and having empty spaces,” said Councilmember Urban Carmel. “That’s the difficulty here. We’re trying to make it flexible, but that flexibility brings in what you don’t necessarily want.”

One example of that tension is food trucks. Some council members said it is not fair to restaurants that are paying rent to allow food trucks to park outside their premises. On the other hand, perhaps allowing one truck in the downtown — and perhaps two or more to congregate in outlying commercial areas — was a fair compromise, and it could allow for the trucks to participate in special events.

That guidance was among a dozen recommendations that will be developed by the planning staff and brought back before the Planning Commission, which will further refine the code update. Commission chair Kevin Skiles, who attended the council meeting and weighed in on several matters, said he expects the code update process to be finished by next spring.

Carmel listed a dozen areas where he asked council members for consensus or further direction to explore.

Every council member supported creating the administrative use permits. With few exceptions, new retail and eateries in premises under 3,000 square feet would qualify for the administrative permits. Wholesale businesses would be exempt from the conditional use permit.

The planning office will return to the commission with options for food trucks, Kelly said. Drive-thru businesses, which can be fast food or banks, for example, would be allowed in outlying areas but not the downtown. Business hours of operation would be expanded from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. All businesses, no matter what kind of use permit was required, would have to comply with the city’s “good neighbor policy” for noise and related issues.

Converting ground floor shops into office spaces also requires more nuance, said Mayor Stephen Burke, because they could undermine the vibrancy of commercial areas, especially downtown. In this instance, the code rewrite should give the planning director authority to bring that proposal to the Planning Commission, council members said. Similarly, any consolidation of small shops into a larger office should go before the commission.

Indoor recreation businesses should also fall under the administrative review, council members said.

The city should have no explicit bans on formula retail, which can be food, clothiers or banks, said Skiles and Paula Reynolds, strategic director for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce. Reynolds said several stores that became national chains started in Mill Valley.

City Manager Todd Cusimano agreed, saying the downtown was not in danger of becoming a mall. The council agreed there should be “no statement” in the code update.

Councilmember Katherine Jones was concerned commercial properties next to residences should not face heightened review standards.

“I don’t mind a CUP for restaurants greater than 5,000 square feet,” she said, referring to conditional use permits. “It’s the adjacent to a residential zoning that is the poison pill for all cafes that concerns me.”

The council agreed that the code’s other requirements, including its “good neighbor” standards, would suffice in that instance.