Rosemead Zoning Code Update

This Wednesday and Thursday evenings (7/10 and 7/11), from 6 - 8 PM the City of Rosemead will be hosting public outreach sessions for the City's first comprehensive zoning code update in over 50 years. This update affects the entirety of the City's zoning code (RMC Title 17), and will affect everything from what you can build and where you can build it, to what you can do with it when it's there. Everyone in the City will be affected in some way.

Among the things the City is looking at are allowing farmers' markets in certain zones, making it easier to establish certain lower-impact business uses, segregating certain types of uses (such as automotive repair), and updating design standards for both commercial and residential development.

It should be noted that while some of the City's potentially more contentious proposals - such as prohibiting the establishment of *new* chain-link fencing in the public view - may be an aesthetic choice by the City, many of the others - such as allowing certain types of transitional and residential care facilities in residential areas - are a matter of conforming with State law. I do not know if this is included in the documents on the Website, but the Zoning Code Update Subcommittee (Mayor Polly Low, Mayor Pro-Tem Bill Alarcon and Planning Commissioner Nancy Eng) is also considering prohibiting the creation of any new flag lot subdivisions in the City.

This project has been going on intermittently for a little over a year. and is in its final stages. Currently planned to follow this are one or two more subcommittee meetings, a joint Council- Planning Commission meeting, Planning Commission review and approval, and Council review and approval. I am not sure of an exact timeline, but I believe the intent is to complete it by late summer or fall, depending on how many modifications are necessary based on public, commissioner and councilmember input.

The Wednesday meeting is in Council Chambers at City Hall (8838 E. Valley Blvd.) and the Thursday meeting is in the FGT room at Garvey Community Center (9108 E. Garvey Ave.) Both presentations are intended to be the same, so you only need to attend one. More information and full documentation can be found here: http://www.cityofrosemead.org/index.aspx?page=12&recordid=3082