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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-11-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - GATED CMTY PLANNING (2)AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approva Item to be presented by: Ken Pulskamp NEW BUSINESS DATE: November 14, 1995 SUBJECT: GATED COMMUNITIES: PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION FOR POLICY DEPARTMENT: Community Development BACKGROUND At the regular Council meeting on June 27, 1995, the City Council received and discussed a report regarding establishing policy on gated communities. Council subsequently directed staff to research and to report back to the Planning Commission and Council about the effects of gated communities on other municipalities, and particularly whether any other municipality in California had adopted policies specific to gated communities. Staff contacted other municipalities, reviewed recent planning literature, and reported to the Planning Commission at their regular meeting on October 17, 1995. The Commission deliberated the report (attached), and also correspondence from the Valencia Company (in the Council reading file), and have the following recommendations for Council. All new applications for gates in the City must be submitted for Planning Commission review and approval. • Amend the General Plan Land Use and Circulation Elements to include specific language regulating the establishment of gates and gated neighborhoods. The Commission arrived at these recommendations after discussing the nature of gated communities that now exist in the City, particularly those gates which have been noted to impede circulation, and in light of the recent legal decision on Whitley Heights v. City of Los Angeles. The latter decision of the Los Angeles Superior Court stipulated that public streets may not be vacated and blocked in order to serve a single population. Because of this decision, a city is effectively prohibited from permitting a private gate to block a public street. With respect to private streets, the Commission expressed concern that any future gate policy address the potential for removing potential through routes. For example, if a neighborhood or new subdivision proposing a gated street network might block a potential alignment for N Agenda Item a future cross-town route, that possibility should be evaluated prior to approval of the private street network and gate. The Valencia Company suggested that gated communities can be appropriate with the following conditions: • The subdivision is conceived, designed, and engineered from the beginning as a gated neighborhood. • All internal streets and drives are privately maintained, and no area -wide public thoroughfares are restricted. • Adequate stacking distances, turnaround areas, and public safety elements are designed into the neighborhood (adequate parking, street widths, etc.) • Easy access for police, fire, city inspectors, and other health and safety-related inspections is provided for the life of the project. • Maintenance of streets, gate equipment, walls and landscaping is provided by a homeowners' association and/or other appropriate entity. No public resources should be allocated for maintaining private property, • No existing public streets or access to adjacent neighborhoods should be impacted by gating a new neighborhood. Staff is now returning to the City Council at this time as previously directed. Staff believes that these criteria, added to existing policy statements in the Land Use and Circulation Elements of the General Plan, provide the foundation for new policy specifically addressing gates to be incorporated into the Plan should Council direct staff to proceed with a General Plan amendment. In the meantime, to give the Planning Commission authority to conduct publichearings for review of gate requests, Council may adopt policy by minute action to require applications for gated communities/neighborhoods to be submitted to the Planning Commission for approval. RECOMMENDATION Receive ',report regarding gated community policy, adopt interim policy to require all applications for gating to be reviewed by the Planning Commission, and provide staff with direction to prepare a General Plan Amendment amending the Land Use and Circulation Elements to incorporate policy statements for the establishment of gates/gated communities. ATTACHMENTS Staff report dated 10/3/95, "Gated Communities: Policy Background and Options" Letter dated 9/28/95, from Rich Knowland, Valencia Company Miscellaneous background articles on gated communities in Reading bile in City Clerk's Office S:\CD\COUNCIL\G SRI II4.CMK 1116195 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA STAFF REPORT POLICIES FOR GATED COMMUNITIES DATE: October 3, 1995 �— TO: e n wnsley and Me of the Planning Commission FROM n p r of Community Development CASE PLANNER: Christine Kudua, Assistant Planner II SUBJECT: GATED COMMUNITIES: POLICY BACKGROUND AND OPTIONS BACKGROUND At their regular meeting of June 27, 1995, the City Council received a preliminary staff report regarding establishing policy on gated communities (attached). This report raised numerous questions regarding traffic, circulation, safety, access, barrier creation, neighborhood preservation, air quality, and speed limits and enforcement. Particularly in question was whether gates should be permitted on public streets, private streets, both, or restricted only to private streets. Council subsequently directed staff to research and report to both the Council and Planning Commission about the effects of gated communities on municipalities, emergency services, and also any demonstrated effects on circulation, neighborhood safety, marketability, and appearance. This direction followed similar direction given by the Planning Commission at its June 20, 1995, meeting. The purpose of the research was to explore policy approaches of other jurisdictions to gated communities or neighborhoods, and to offer options for Santa Clarita decision makers when gates are proposed. Staff used the CITYLINK information -sharing network to contact other municipalities in California, the League of Cities library, and recent articles in the planning literature to discover what policies, ordinances, or regulations have been adopted elsewhere. Cities responding to or referred by the CPPYLINK inquiry were Laguna Niguel, Monterey, Murrieta, Santee, Pebble Beach, Canyon Lake, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and Indian Wells. Valencia Company staff also provided assistance in obtaining market research about real estate values of homes in gate -guarded communities. A list of source material is attached. Briefly, no municipalities contacted had policies or ordinances regulating gates, except Laguna Niguel. The City of Montclair experienced significant decrease in crime and increase in community identity with the addition of gates to a multi -family complex on a public alley. Marketing studies indicated that real estate values of homes in gate -guarded communities tended to be higher than similar homes outside the gates. Finally, articles in Planning Magazine and the Urban Land Institute journal offered insights primarily regarding the potential of gated communities to create a "separated society," and cautioned about associated .k. policy implications. The paragraphs which follow discuss each of these issues in greater detail. Options for Santa Clarita are at the end of this report. Gated Community Policies and Ordinances. None of the other cities contacted prohibited gated communities on private streets, provided that all health, safety, and other adopted zoning codes are met, nor did any except Laguna Niguel, have formal written policy regarding them. None expressed negative experiences regarding police, fire, or emergency services. Generally, gates were allowed on existing or proposed private streets, and discouraged on public streets. Also, although Indian Wells does not have a formal policy, its City Council encourages gating of existing communities, provided that citizen support is demonstrated (Grafton). The City of Laguna Niguel adopted its "gate -guarded community" ordinance in 1990, which regulates the establishment of gates in new subdivisions as well as in existing neighborhoods. The ordinance requires any application for a gate -guarded community receive Planning Commission review and Council. approval. The applicant(s) must demonstrate that the gate controls a well-defined neighborhood, and must submit a detailed plan to the Community Development Department, including: a petition demonstrating neighborhood support (minimum of 51% of property owners), fees for processing, specific conformance to design standards (specified in the ordinance) for setbacks, turnarounds, fire department review, access to public facilities (trails, parks, schools, etc.), coordination with utilities and contract services, and a financial plan to establish that the facility will be adequately and permanently maintained. The application process also includes an additional staff survey of the neighborhood, which must result in 75% support. A public hearing and additional study is required if the plan includes vacation of a public street. The ordinance does not restrict gating to private streets, nor does it apparently require vacation of public streets. (City of Laguna Niguel) Circulation and Air Quality. In Santa Clarita, gates have been constructed on both public and private streets, and on through streets as well as on cul-de-sacs or individual developments. Notably, gates on Valley Street, Maple Street, Via Dona Christy and.Rainbow Glen divert otherwise through traffic on public streets to often circuitous alternate routes. Gate -diverted traffic impacts other streets, overburdens them, and increases travel times. If a through street is gated, effectively creating back-to-back cul-de-sacs, it loses its utility as a through travel route. Gates on through routes can force drivers who don't have access to them to lengthen trips because they are required to make a detour from an otherwise logical travel route. The South Coast Air Quality Management District's current strategy for improving air quality emphasizes reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and the number of trips. The longer trip caused by the gate consequently results in greater air quality impacts. Also, maintaining continuous travel speeds contributes to improving air quality; traffic diversions can affect overall travel speeds by increasing the number of turning movements and decelerations, thus negatively affecting air quality. Marketing Studies and Safety. Marketing studies and sales history from adjoining gated and non -gated Orange County subdivisions, with similar housing products in each, indicate S.\CD\CURRE&"^G R91ACMS that there may be a substantial consumer preference for houses behind gates. These preferences translate into higher prices and market values: 1987 data cited in one study showed a $60,000 price difference between a typical 2,500 square foot house in a gated vs. a non -gated neighborhood (Benton, Village of Northwood, p. 3). These and other recent studies also indicate that there is a strong perception that personal safety is enhanced in gated communities. Although crime statistics nationwide show an overall drop in crime, a recent Times/CNN poll found that fear of crime has increased (Shannon). At a 1994 Urban Land Institute seminar, "Planned Communities 2000 and Beyond," it was noted that "easing the fear of crime has become a major factor in the design and marketing of master planned communities" (Reagan, p. 1).. It may be "the strongest rationale for this new form of community" (Blakely, p. 3). Thus many master planned subdivisions often include gated, private streets, operated and maintained by homeowner associations. In Montclair, a multiple -family neighborhood experienced a pronounced drop in crime and an increase in a perception of community "ownership" when gates were installed at the public alley which served all the units. The alley was subsequently vacated and dedicated to property owners. (Fleener, p.' 20). In this situation, gates were part of a considerably larger City -led effort to revitalize this area, including increased policing, Housing Improvement Task Force initiation, and education of property owners in building/landscape maintenance and management. Policy Implications . Separated Societies. Current planning literature cautions that gated communities, whether they are "lifestyle," (golf course, resort, etc.), "elite" enclaves, or form a "security zone," "are themselves a microcosm of America's larger spatial pattern of segmentation and separation by income, race and economic opportunity." (Blakely, p. 1) It is possible that by sanctioning gated communities, cities are contributing to de facto segregation, and encouraging residents to retreat within walled fortresses, separating themselves from the larger community of many cultures and economic levels and needs. Also, proliferation of gated communities could be a sign that a city admits that its services cannot meet the public health and safety needs of its taxpayers. However, staff has not seen evidence of survey data which substantiates the conclusion that individuals living within gated communities actually do retreat from social participation. It is important to note that the articles cited were prepared by academics, and are based on an apparent tendency to categorize individual behavior on the basis of an assumed "group." It is probably reasonable to consider these cautionary statements when reviewing an application for a gated subdivision, but also to consider all available information and local experience as well. Certainly there are opportunities for future research on attitudes and social behavior of individuals and families living behind gates, to further explore whether the physical environment affects an individual's tendency to participate in the community beyond the gate. Neighborhood Preservation. Arguments in favor of gating individual neighborhoods notwithstanding, staff has been provided with no compelling evidence that the imposition of gates improves neighborhood quality and much experiential evidence that neighborhood quality is maintained without gates. Most residents in Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, S:\CD\CURREY^a SR9I&CM% and Newhall live on and take access from public streets. Neighborhood preservation may have more to do with good school systems, active homeowner associations, quality law enforcement, neighborhood watch, crime prevention, traffic enforcement, gang and graffiti prevention, recreation programs, enforceable CC&R's, code enforcement, quality construction, planned neighborhoods, infrastructure maintenance, free-flowing circulation, and healthy businesses. Gates may play a part in the quality of life for a limited number of residents, but it is just as likely that a substantial increase in the number of gates could be detrimental to the City's quality of life. Existing Santa Clarita General Plan Policies. As previously reported to the Planning Commission, Santa Clarita General Plan policies do not specifically address gated communities. The Circulation Element does contain numerous policies regarding maintenance of circulation through the City, and particularly discouraging closure of existing public roadways (attached and marked). However, it also encourages protection of residential neighborhoods from increased through traffic. Gated subdivisions, as well as gating of existing neighborhoods could be found acceptable under these policies, provided that the City circulation network was not impaired, that no through streets of any designation were blocked, and that no gates were approved on public streets. A corollary to this would be to work towards "opening roads that are not open," as described in the recent Organizational Strategic Plan. A recent example of an appropriate gate installation with a street vacation is that of the Canyon Racquet Club Condominiums on Sierra Highway, where the public cul-de-sac serving the project was vacated, accepted by the homeowners' association, and a security gate was installed. Conclusions. Staff strongly believes that no additional gates be permitted on any streets which carry cross-town traffic or connect "residential collector" streets, and that no gates be permitted on any public street. Staff also believes that new subdivisions be carefully reviewed for circulation impacts if gates are proposed. Also, no existing public streets should be considered for vacation of right of way for purposes of gate installation unless they function as a driveway to a single use and have no potential to be extended or serve other properties. (Experience in Santa Clarita has shown that it is easier to prevent a gate from being installed than to remove it afterwards.) Also, project conditions of approval must require .that homeowners' associations assume responsibility, for private driveway maintenance and repair. In the absence of widespread policy-making on the establishment of gate -guarded communities, Santa Clarita has several, options to proceed with establishing policy supporting or discouraging gates: 1. Adopt a resolution regarding gate policy within existing General Plan policies 2. Amend the General Plan Land Use and Circulation Elements to include specific policy statements 3. Adopt a new ordinance and amend the Unified Development Code, 4. Refrain from adopting a specific policy, and continue to use existing General Plan circulation and land use policies to evaluate on a case-by-case basis gating of private streets or individual neighborhoods where streets can be feasibly vacated. SAMCURAMMOMR9MCMx ,Q. Again, in the absence of substantial evidence that gates interfere with social participation, it is reasonable that the City neither encourage nor discourage gated neighborhoods. Current subdivision review practices require review and comment by all utility and emergency service providers. To date, none have commented negatively on proposals to gate new projects or portions of new subdivisions. Staff considers that Options 1 and 4 above, using existing policy in the General Plan, and existing subdivision review procedures, would be feasible to establish a specific policy on gates, and/or to review any new applications for gated communities. 'However, any new policies should include prohibitions against closure of existing routes and a thorough review of those isolated instances where a road serves a single use which warrants vacation of a dead-end road. RECOMMENDATION Receive report, discuss policy options 1-4, and direct staff to report to Council with Planning Commission recommendations for any change in policy or level of review for gated community applications and approvals. SI CDICURRRNTIC=SR918.CMK ft'. References and Source Material (available in Community Development Department, Planning Division) Benton & Associates. Market Research on Gated Communities. Market Research Studv performed for The Valencia Company, 8/19/95. Benton & Associates. "Village of Northwood - Comparison of Resale Values." Market Research Study performed for The Irvine Company, 1987, in Market Research on Gated Communities, Benton & Associates, 1995. Blakely, Edward J. "Fortress Communities; The Walling and Gating of American Suburbs" In Newsletter of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, September 1995. City of Laguna Niguel. Ordinance 90-29, "Regulations Governing Gate -Guarded Neighborhoods." 1990. Dillon, David. "Fortress America." Planning Magazine, American Planning Association, June 1994. Fleener, R. Richard. "Warzone to Neighborhood." Western City Magazine, July 1991. Grafton, Larry. (City of Indian Wells, personal communication, 7/12/95) Reagan, Judith. "Controlling Crime and Providing Security." From Urban Land Institute Seminar, "Master -Planned Communities - 2000 and Beyond," April, 1994, in Market Research on Gated Communities, Benton & Associates, 1995.. Shannon, Elaine. "Safer Streets, Greater Fear." Time Magazine, January 1995, in Market Research on Gated Communities, Benton & Associates, 1995. S:\CD\CUR&&VMG=R9teCN6 •F