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Home My WebLink About1996-01-09 - AGENDA REPORTS - TESORO DEL VALLE IMPACT RPT (2)AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approval Item to be presented by: Ken Pulskamp NEW BUSINESS DATE: January 9, 1996 SUBJECT: CITY COMMENTS ON THE TESORO DEL VALLE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT DEPARTMENT: Community Development The Draft EBR for the Tesoro Del Valle project is available for public review. The public hearing will be held before the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission on January 24, 1996. The project is a request for approximately 3,000 residential units on 1,795 acres in San Francisquito Canyon just north of the City on San Francisquito Road near the terminus of Copper Hill Drive on a site known locally as Clougherty Ranch. The proposed development includes single and multi -family housing, a five acre commercial site, two elementary schools, 40 acres of active parks, a fire station and a swimming and tennis club. Entitlements requested include the following: ■ General Plan Amendment to allow for approximately 2,000 more residential units than are currently allowed. ■ Zone Change from A-2 heavy agricultural to urban zoning ■ Oak Tree Permit to remove up to 30 oak tree ■ Vesting Tentative Tract Map 51644 to allow 3,000 units ■ Conditional Use Permit for development in hillside areas and within a SEA. The City has concerns with the following project issues: ■ General Plan Amendment to triple the density for the site. ■ Circulation impacts upon the City and lack of adequate mitigation to address them. ■ Other environmental impacts- Grading, Drainage, Biota, Inadequate public services. ■ Unbalanced project design which lacks adequate commercial uses. Direct staff to transmit a response on the DEIR to the Department of Regional Planning which details the City's concerns with the project and provide testimony to the County to oppose the General Plan amendment when appropriate. ATTACHMENT Letter to the County Department of Regional Planning I MapAgenda Item. tsoroarl.lhs � 1 City of Santa Clarita 23920 Valencia Blvd. Phone Suite 300 (805) 259-2489 Santa Clarita Fax California 91355-2196 (805)259-8125 January 3, 1996 Mr. Frank Meneses Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning Impact Analysis Section 320 West Temple Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Re: Tesoro Del Valle County of Los Angeles Project #92074 Dear Mr. Meneses: The submitted October 1995 Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Tesoro Del Valle project prepared by Michael Brandman Associates has been reviewed by the City of Santa Clarita. The project is generally located west of San Francisquito Canyon Road and north of the future extension of Copper Hill Drive in the unincorporated area of the County of Los Angeles and northwest of the City of Santa Clarita. The site is known locally as the Clougherty Ranch. The project consists of 3,000 dwelling units, a 5 -acre commercial site, two schools, and a racquet club in three phases. The project also includes a General Plan amendment and zone change to allow for urban uses, an oak tree permit and a conditional use permit to allow development in a hillside area and SEA. The City has the following concerns and comments with this proposed project: General Plan Consistency/Land Use Impacts The proposed General Plan amendment would allow an additional 2,000 units than are already allowed under the existing General Plan's land use designations of Non -urban 1, Hillside Management and Watershed/Significant Ecological Area (SEA). The zone changes proposed would bring the zoning of the property into conformance with the requested amendment to the General Plan. The City's General Plan land use designations are similar to the existing County's General Plan designations for this project site. The City of Santa Clarita General Plan land use designation for the property is Residential Estate (RE), with a density range of 0.0 to 0.5 dwelling units per acre with a Significant Ecological Area (SEA) overlay. The average density for this project is 1.7 dwelling units per acre and exceeds that prescribed under the RE land use designation. The City has land use policies which discourage the removal of the County's Hillside Management and SEA overlay designations. Therefore, the proposed project is inconsistent with the City's General Plan land use designations for the property and also inconsistent with the City's land use policies regarding development on hillsides and within SEAs. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER Mr. Frank Meneses January 3, 1996 Page 2 The Non -urban 1 designation was placed on the site in recognition of the rural character of this area and its physical developmental constraints including steep hillsides and the San Francisquito Creek SEA. The canyon terrain in the northern Santa Clarita Valley limits the areas in which new roadways and infrastructure could be feasibly constructed. The planned major and secondary roadways in the San Francisquito area were planned based on the non -urban densities of the existing General Plan. They were not foreseen to accommodate the increased traffic demands associated with the proposed tripling of the General Plan density such as that proposed with this General Plan amendment. The canyon terrain limits the areas in which new roadways and infrastructure that could accommodate the proposed additional growth could be feasibly constructed. The proposed project does not provide adequate commercial uses to serve the development. Given the distance from existing commercial services, the proposed 5 -acre commercial site will be inadequate to meet the demands of residents for local, neighborhood -serving commercial uses. Additional commercial should be included in this project to help reduce the number of required vehicle trips into the City for necessary services and to provide a better balance of land uses for this project. Geology/Grading Impacts The proposed grading of 23.3 million cubic yards will result in significant changes to the existing landform. The grading which includes manufactured slopes as high as 140 feet will create substantial visual impacts. This proposed change to the existing hillside topography is not consistent with the intent of the Hillside Management General Plan designation which seeks to minimize hillside development impacts by lowering densities and encouraging clustering in these areas. The sprawling design of this project is not consistent with these goals.. Traffic Impacts The study indicates this project would generate approximately 27,000 trips per day with peak hour of 2,150, and 2,750 trips in a.m. and p.m. peak, respectively by the year 2000. This project is proposed in three phases, and to be completed by the years 1996, 1995, and 2000. Phase I Phase I, which is anticipated to be completed by the year 1996, will occur west of the San Francisquito Creek and will consist of 649 single-family units, 232 multi -family units, and a racquet club. This Phase is anticipated to generate approximately 8,600 trips per day and 610 and 830 in a.m. and p.m. peak, respectively. Mr. Frank Meneses January 3, 1996 Page 3 Phase II Phase II, which will be completed by the year 1998, will occur west of the San Francisquito Creek and north of Copper Hill Drive and will consist of an additional 756 single-family units, an additional 229 multi -family units and an elementary school. Phases I and II are anticipated to generate approximately 17,400 trips per day with 1,350 and 1,800 trips per a.m. and p.m. peak, respectively. Phase III Phase III, which will be completed by the year 2000, will occur both east and west of the San Francisquito Creek and will consist of an additional 622 single-family units, 541 apartment units, and an additional elementary school. Again, all three Phases are anticipated to generate approximately 27,000 trips per day with 2,150 and 2,750 trips during the a.m. and p.m. peak, respectively. As it is referred to in the Draft EIR, the proposed project would have significant impacts on most of the City and County roadways in the area. The Draft EIR also indicates that the intersections of Seco Canyon Road/Decoro Drive, Bouquet Canyon Road/Seco Canyon Road, Bouquet Canyon Road/Newhall Ranch Road, Magic Mountain Parkway/McBean Parkway, Magic Mountain Parkway/Interstate 5 southbound on/off ramps, Bouquet Canyon Road/Soledad Canyon Road and McBean Parkway/Valencia Boulevard would be significantly impacted but cannot be mitigated within the existing right-of-way. The project should investigate the possibility of acquiring additional right-of-way necessary to mitigate the project's impacts, or propose other alternatives including large reductions in the proposed number of units. The project DEIR and conditions should also investigate a financial plan and monitoring program to ensure that all mitigation measures necessary to achieve acceptable levels of service at all locations shall be in place at the appropriate time prior to occupancy. Air Quality Impacts Impacts to air quality will be significant. Consideration should be given to implementing measures to reduce the number of vehicle trips generated, including reducing the proposed density to that allowable under the existing General Plan. Park Impacts The proposed project provides only 15 acres of park land that meets County standards. The County has identified that 25 to 34 acres of parks are required. Mr. Frank Meneses January 3, 1996 Page 4 Since park demands are not proposed to be met on-site, additional demands will be placed on City parks close to this development. The project should be modified to accommodate required park lands on the project site. Presently the project site is popular with hikers and equestrian users. The proposed project does include equestrian trails. Consideration should be given to providing a public access trailhead and coordination between trail development on this project and planned trails along San Francisquito Creek Visual Impacts The proposed grading and construction will affect the rural views along San Francisquito Canyon. The project site is traversed and surrounded by significant ridgelines. Four primary and two secondary ridgelines as identified on the City s Ridgeline Map are on the subject property. The project includes grading and development along ridgelines on the property that does not appear to be consistent with the County's Hillside Management guidelines and will increase project visibility. Considering that the surrounding area is primarily undeveloped and in a natural state, the visual impacts of this project will pose a significant change in the visual quality of the area. No development should be allowed on the ridgelines to help mitigate visual impacts. The City opposes the General Plan amendment and the resulting increases in density in the San Francisquito Canyon area. Urban development is not in keeping with the character of planned uses in the area and is inconsistent with the City's General Plan. That isolated canyon area is not physically suited for development at the urban densities proposed. Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this proposed project and Draft EIR. Please forward any additional information on this project to Laura Stotler, Associate Planner, who can be reached at 805-255-4357. . Ken Pulskamp Assistant City KP:&IR:LHS:lep tra ffiicVesorolt.lhs cc: Anthony J. Nisich, City Engineer Bahman Janka, City Traffic Engineer Rabie Rahmani, Associate Traffic Engineer Laura Stotler, Associate Planner I -, 1 =� ' I t s� 1 COUNTY - a r OF Project Location LOS ♦ l Caslaic Rood _ °+Y �/. Moonfoin •� Legend pw6 •�,. Conditioned Improvement by Tentatively Approved Tract �q ® Anticiparcd lmpmwmcnt by Pending Truer T� CITY OF a Improvement Under Considaation as District Project ® Existing 4 Lane Roadway i District Boundary • — City of Sana Clarita Boundary SANTA CIARITA Existing Roadway Proposed Roadv y Nor to Scalc Rood 69 0 Midnd Bmdman Associura TESORO DEL VALLE LOCATION MAP 1627UOI