Atascadero planners release draft EIR and preview streamlined commercial, innovation and industrial zoning

Atascadero's planning staff told the commission May 5 that a draft environmental impact report for the general plan and zoning-code update is out for public review for 45 days, through June 6, and that the city has published physical copies at the library and the public counter and posted materials online.

Phil, the city's community development representative, presented the zoning changes the city is proposing: condense multiple existing commercial zones into a single primary commercial district, keep a separate commercial-service district for service uses, introduce a Commercial Innovation ("innovation flex") district intended for maker spaces, light manufacturing, research-and-design and adaptable storefronts, and leave the industrial district where it is today to accommodate higher-intensity uses near the railroad and Highway 41. Staff emphasized the update aims to modernize uses, reduce redundant review steps and encourage a mix of commercial and employment uses along El Camino Real and near Highway 101.

Why it matters: staff said the regulation updates are designed to make properties more leasable and to target heavier retail toward downtown and established commercial nodes, while allowing flexible production and design spaces elsewhere. The proposal includes measurable standards — a 35-foot height limit with roughly 16-foot minimum first-floor ceiling heights to support mix-and-match commercial or industrial uses; a 2-acre minimum lot size applying to the creation of new lots (it does not change existing parcels); requirements for storefront glazing and approachable street frontage; and limits on outdoor storage, which generally would require discretionary review.

Staff urged residents and stakeholders to review the draft EIR and the land-use tables attached to the staff report. Phil said the city prepared an extensive environmental analysis and an addendum to an earlier EIR for the Del Rio/Walmart property area, and that capacity on the Del Rio overpass will be monitored as development advances. He also invited the public to "Coffee with a Planner" events and one-on-one meetings to review plans.

What to watch next: staff expects to return with additional zoning pieces and the full package in July and August, with adoption anticipated later in the year. The draft EIR comment period closes June 6; residents who want to influence the details should submit comments during that window.

"We've tried to simplify and clarify," Phil said, summarizing the update's goals. "We're looking at adapting to the future and making it easier to get economic development in our community."