Agenda - Planning Commission - 10/06/2016

Home

� I � I Zoning Bulletin August 25, 2016 Volume 10 Issue 16 "necessary to the public welfare." The City cited the public's "desire for transparency and . . . participation" in evaluating a proposed creniatorium use. The City also cited health concerns re- lated to emissions from crematoria and public-health problems such as asthma. However, the court found that citing concerns about what impacts the crematorium "might" have on the public was not enough to justify the impairment of Stewart's vested right. A vested right could be impaired or revoked only if the use autho- rized (here, the crematorium) constituted "a menace to the public health and safety or a public nuisance," said the court. Here,noted the court, the evidence actually suggested that Stewart's cremato- rium would not pose a danger to the public health. The public agency that regulates the stationary sources of air pollution in the county (the Bay Area Air Quality Management District) had performed a risk assessment on the proposed crematorium and had approved its construction. The public's desire for transpar- ency and participation, and the concerns about possible health is- sues, did not constitute"actual evidence"of an effect on the public health or any other sufficiently serious impact on the public welfare necessary to impair a vested right, concluded the court. I, See also: Davidson v. County of San Diego, 49 Cal. App. 4th 639, 646, 56 Cal. Rptr. 2d 617(4th Dist. 1996). c t `I { Zoning News from .Around the Nation k i MARYLAND The Montgomery County Council is considering legislation that "would legalize the use of Airbnb in Montgomery County, but L 4 prevent homeowners from converting their properties into full- time rentable spaces." Currently,the county zoning code prohibits tenancy of less than a month in all residential zones. The proposed r zoning text amendment would"revise the county's standards for a bed and breakfast by eliminating minimum lot-size requirements, limiting the number of people allowed to five unrelated people or one family of any size and requiring the property must be the pri- mary residence of the Airbnb user."A companion bill would also "set up the licensing process for bed and breakfast establishments, f' assigning responsibilities for Airbnb licensing to the county's Health and Human Services department." 0 2016 Thomson Reuters 11 I r I% I I: