HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-12-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - CITY LACO VALLEYWIDE GP PHASE2 (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
DATE: December 11, 2001
City Manager Approval --
Item to be presented by: isa Hardv
SUBJECT: JOINT CITY -COUNTY VALLEYWIDE GENERAL PLAN — PHASE 2
VISION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
DEPARTMENT: Planning and Building Services
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council approve the Vision and Guiding Principles and direct staff to prepare, for Council's
consideration, a scope of work and budget for the next project phase to develop the Valleywide
General Plan.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita, together with Los Angeles County, has launched a multi-year project
to develop a new Valleywide General Plan that will guide future planning and decision making
for the entire Santa Clarita Valley over the next 20 years. This plan will encompass the City
of Santa Clarita as well as surrounding unincorporated properties, extending north to Castaic,
west to the Ventura County boundary, and east to Agua Dulce. This project, entitled One
Valley One Vision, was initiated in January 2001 with a comprehensive community outreach
program focused on visioning'. A number of `visioning' exercises were conducted to determine
the community's vision for the Santa Clarita Valley and to identify the issues of greatest
concern to Valley residents.
Community outreach efforts included: interviews with over 100 representatives from Valley
agencies, residents, businesses and special interest groups; development of a community facts
brochure titled Santa Clarita Valley Snapshot; distribution of a community survey that
generated 1,975 responses; student activities at local Valley schools; design of a project web
site; four public workshops at various locations throughout the Valley with approximately 150
participants; and direct mailings, newspaper and cable advertisements. Community input
received from these outreach efforts were used to develop a draft Vision and Guiding Principles.
The Vision and Guiding Principles are statements that identify the City and County's approach
to managing growth and planning for the future of the Valley. The principles focus on growth
management, environmental resources, land use, housing, infrastructure, schools, public
services and the local economy.
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On October 25, 2001, the public outreach and input phase of One Valley One Vision reached
a milestone with an innovative community participation event called the Valley Congress. Over
75 persons representing each distinct Valley community and various agencies and special
interest groups participated in the Valley Congress to discuss and provide input on the Vision
and Guiding Principles that will serve as the foundation of the Valleywide General Plan. With
that input, the Vision and Guiding Principles have been refined and in November, staff
presented the document to the City's Parks and Recreation Commission and Planning
Commission. The Vision and Guiding Principles presented to the City Council at tonight's
meeting is the revised draft that incorporates the public input provided at the Valley Congress,
as well as input from the Parks and Recreation Commission and Planning Commission. The
Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission acted on the Vision and Guiding Principles
on November 28, 2001. The Council's approval of these principles will enable the City/County
project team to move on to the next step in this project, developing General Plan policies that
will protect and enhance the future quality of life in the Valley.
Approval of the Vision and Guiding Principles marks the conclusion of Phase II of the One
Valley One Vision project. Phase III involves the preparation of the Valleywide General Plan.
Prior to initiating Phase III, a new scope of work, budget and schedule will need to be developed
and a new consultant contract awarded by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the approval of the Vision and Guiding Principles.
Phase III of the One Valley One Vision project, the preparation of the Valleywide General Plan,
is projected to cost several hundred thousand dollars to be shared with Los Angeles County.
The scope of work and budget for this next phase will require Council's approval and allocation
of additional monies as needed to complete the project. This will be brought to Council at a
later date.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
1. Do not approve the Vision and Guiding Principles.
2. Other actions as determined by Council.
ATTACHMENTS
Vision and Guiding Principles
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SANTA CLARITA VALLEYWIDE GENERAL PLAN
ONE VALLEY ONE VISION
VISION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The following Vision and Guiding Principles have been formulated to serve as
the framework for the preparation of a unified General Plan for the Santa
Clarita Valley by the City of Santa Clarita and County of Los Angeles. They
have been written in consideration of the extensive public input received
during the One Valley, One Vision process through surveys, stakeholder
interviews, children's and youth activities, Visioning Workshops, and the Valley
Congress. Previous drafts of the Guiding Principles have been modified to
reflect the majority opinion and suggestions of the October 25, 2001 Valley
Congress participants. Additional changes have been made in language to
simplify language and improve the technical accuracy of the document.
The Vision and Guiding Principles will be submitted to the Los Angeles County
Regional Planning Commission, the City of Santa Clarita Planning Commission,
and the Santa Clarita City Council for concurrence. Once approved, these shall
constitute the consensus City -County direction for the preparation of the
Valleywide General Plan.
VISION
Our vision for Santa Clarita Valley over the next two decades is of a young but
maturing network of communities, balancing rural and suburban
neighborhoods, with areas that offer urban lifestyles. The Valley is a mosaic of
family-oriented communities, each with individual identities, yet unified by a
common environmental setting, a vibrant economy, a rich history, and a high
quality of life. The Valley provides residents varied housing opportunities and
offers economic development strategies that result in a dynamic economy and
appropriate job -housing balance.
The Valley upholds the importance of partnerships in working together to
address community issues and needs. Our communities embrace the cultural
and ethnic diversity of residents and are enriched by the contribution of new
customs and traditions. Santa Clarita Valley balances environmental
protection of its abundant open space, ridgelines, hillsides, rivers, and
woodland resources with an expanding economic base that offers its residents
a broad range of quality employment opportunities. The Valley is a region
with excellent public schools and public services, all of which support a high
quality of life.
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan bA - N
Vision and Guiding Principles `
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Development in the Santa Clarita Valley shall be consistent with these guiding
principles as agreed upon by the City of Santa Clarita and the County of Los
Angeles. The principles will be carried out with the application of common
standards for land use development, infrastructure and resource management,
as appropriate or applicable. The principles implement the vision for the Santa
Clarita Valley, which is intended to sustain and enhance environmental
resources, economic vitality, and the social well being of its residents.
Management of Growth
1. Growth in the Santa Clarita Valley shall account for the visions and
objectives for each community and must be consistent with principles, as
subsequently defined in this document, for the protection of the Valley's
significant environmental resources. It must also be based on the
availability of or ability to provide adequate infrastructure, schools, and
public services, and must be carefully planned to benefit the community's
economy, lifestyles and needs.
2. Growth shall occur within and on the periphery of previously developed
areas, rather than as "leapfrog" development or in areas of critical
environmental habitat or natural hazards, and taking into consideration
accessibility to infrastructure and public services.
3. Development shall be prioritized in areas for infill and redevelopment
sites within currently developed areas consistent with community
character objectives and those for which the City and County have
approved entitlements. Commitments for new development outside of
these areas shall be made in accordance with the other principles defined
in this document.
4. Higher density development, including multi -family housing and mixed use
projects that integrate housing with commercial uses, shall be targeted in
areas adjacent to existing and planned transit corridors, stations and key
activity centers, such as the Valencia Town Center and portions of
Newhall and Soledad Canyon Road.
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan
Vision and Guiding Principles
Environmental Resources
5. The natural buffer area surrounding the entire Valley, which includes the
Angeles National Forest, Santa Susanna San Gabriel, Sierra Pelona, and Del
Sur mountains, shall be preserved as a regional recreational, ecological,
and aesthetic resource.
6. The Santa Clara River corridor and its major tributaries shall be preserved
as open space to accommodate storm water flows and protect critical
plant and animal species (riparian vegetation, fish, etc.).
a. Uses and improvements within the corridor shall be limited to those
that benefit the community's use of the river in its natural state.
b. Development on properties adjacent to, but outside of the defined
primary river corridor, shall be:
• located and designed to protect the river's water quality, plants,
and animal habitats , controlling the type and density of uses,
drainage runoff (water treatment), and other relevant elements;
and
• designed to maximize the full range of river amenities, including
views and recreational access, while minimizing adverse impacts to
the River.
7. The Santa Clarita Valley's prominent ridgelines shall be preserved and
hillside development shall be limited to protect their valuable aesthetic
and visual qualities intrinsic to the Valley landscape.
8. Development shall be located and designed to minimize the impact on the
Valley topography, emphasizing the use of grading techniques for
development pads that mimic the natural topography in lieu of repetitive
flat pads to the extent feasible and consistent with a community's open
space objectives.
9. Development shall be located and designed to protect oak, sycamore, and
other significant indigenous woodlands.
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan
Vision and Guiding Principles
10. Biological resources in the designated Significant Ecological Areas (SEAs)
shall be protected through the siting and design of development to
account for and be highly compatible with their resources. Specific
development standards shall be identified to control the types of land use,
density, building location and size, roadways and other infrastructure,
landscape, drainage, and other elements to assure the protection of the
critical and important plant and animal habitats of each SEA. In general,
the principle shall be to minimize the intrusion and impacts of
development in these areas with sufficient setbacks, or buffers, to
adequately protect the resources.
11. New development shall be designed to improve energy efficiency,
reducing energy and natural resource consumption by such techniques as
the use of solar generators, recycling of treated wastewater, capture of
storm runoff on-site, and use of recycled materials in building
construction, native and drought -tolerant landscape, and energy and
water efficient appliances and systems.
Land Uses
12. The Santa Clarita Valley shall contain a diversity of land uses that support
the needs of current and future residents including housing, schools,
libraries, parks, retail, business and industry, civic institutions, medical
and social services, cultural, entertainment, open spaces, and comparable
uses.
13. The type and density of land uses in the Santa Clarita Valley shall be
varied to reflect the special characteristics, life styles, and opportunities
that differentiate its communities. A choice of urban, suburban, and rural
environments will be provided.
14. Valley communities shall contain a mix of uses that support the basic
needs of residents -- places to live, shop, recreate, meet/socialize, and
enjoy the environmental setting - that are appropriate and consistent with
their community character. Regionally oriented uses that serve residents
of the entire Valley or export goods and services may be concentrated in
key business centers rather than uniformly dispersed throughout the
Valley communities.
15. Development in the Valley shall be guided by a common set of land use
designations and standards for comparable uses in comparable locations.
These standards, however, may be varied to reflect the unique intentions
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan
Vision and Guiding Principles
for the quality and character of the distinct communities that comprise
the Valley.
Residential Neighborhoods
16. The Valley shall contain a mix of housing types that meet the diverse
needs of residents, and offer choices for the Valley's population and
lifestyles (ages, education, income, etc.) that are appropriate and
consistent with their community character. This shall include a
combination of single- and multi -family, owner occupied and rental units
within each community, and mixed-use (i.e., integrated housing with
commercial or office uses) development in key activity centers.
17. The Valley is committed to providing affordable work force housing to
meet the needs of individuals employed in the Santa Clarita Valley.
18. Multi -family housing developments shall contain adequate recreational
and open space amenities on-site and be designed to ensure a high quality
living environment. Their architectural treatment and building massing
shall complement the characteristics of surrounding single-family
residential neighborhoods.
19. Neighborhood scale development shall be encouraged by promoting mixed
density of housing units consistent with community character objectives
and limiting the number and acreage of multi -family units that can be
developed in any single location.
20. Housing developments located in the more urbanized communities of the
Valley shall be designed to create a sense of neighborhood by:
a. promoting walkabihty and containing places that serve as centers of
activity and identity (schools, multi-purpose facilities, parks,
convenience services, neighborhood commercial centers, etc.);
b. containing a mix of housing types, densities, and parcel sizes, avoiding
large areas and an over -concentration of homogeneous density units;
c. minimizing the dependence on, prominence, and area dedicated to the
automobile;
d. featuring architectural design treatments along all frontages of new
housing to promote continuity of architectural scale and rhythm and
avoid "blank walls"; and
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan
Vision and Guiding Principles
e. including pedestrian linkages, landscaped parkways and green
corridors, and separated trails (pedestrian, bicycle or equestrian)
where appropriate and feasible.
Vital Economy
21. Commercial and retail uses will be expanded and new centers developed
to meet the needs of the Valley's residents, as supportable by the market,
minimize the need to travel outside of the Valley, complement (and do
not adversely compete with) existing uses, and contribute to a balanced
Valley economy.
22. New "clean" industries and businesses that provide job opportunities for
local residents and enhance the economy shall be encouraged within and
adjacent to existing and planned business centers/parks, and adjacent to
transportation corridors.
23. Older commercial areas and corridors that are economically and/or
physically obsolete or deteriorated, such as portions of Castaic, Val Verde,
Newhall, Lyons Avenue, Sierra Highway, San Fernando Road, and Soledad
Canyon Road, shall be redeveloped for commercial, mixed use, residential
or other appropriate uses that complement and serve adjoining land uses
and can be adequately supported by the market. Where appropriate,
redeveloped uses and buildings shall reflect the area's important
architectural and cultural history.
Mobility
24. A unified and well-maintained network of highways, streets, truck routes,
bikeways, and pedestrian paths will provide access among Valley
communities and to regional centers outside of the Valley.
25. Santa Clarita Valley's streets and highways shall be developed and
maintained according to common standards for right-of-way, paving and
other improvements, landscape, signage, lighting, and curb cuts for "like"
street categories. These standards shall take into consideration of
objectives for the character of the Valley's communities consistent with
public health and safety.
26. A continuous bikeway network shall provide circulation within each
community, connect the various Santa Clarita Valley communities, and
provide access to surrounding open spaces.
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan
Vision and Guiding Principles
27. An integrated transit system shall serve the Valley (rail, bus, shuttle,
other) offering convenient alternatives to the automobile, minimizing
congestion and providing access to regional transportation systems, such
as Metrolink.
Infrastructure
28. The location and timing of development shall be coordinated with the
provision of adequate water, wastewater treatment, storm drainage,
telecommunications, energy, roads and other infrastructure.
29. Public infrastructure shall be improved, maintained and expanded as
needed to meet the needs of projected population and employment
growth and contribute to the Valley's quality of life.
30. Common standards for providing utility infrastructure (flood control
channels, energy transmission, telecommunications, and so on) shall be
developed and applied throughout the Valley, in consideration of the
character of each community.
Schools and Public Services
31. The City and County shall work in partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley
school districts and the State of California to ensure the development of
adequate facilities and programs to serve the needs and achieve a high
level of academic excellence for local students.
32. While the City and County do not have direct authority over the
development of public schools, they shall continue to coordinate with the
school districts on issues of mutual interest such as transportation
services, shared facilities, and long range planning for Valley schools.
33. Public services (police, fire, health care, youth, seniors, homeless, and
other) shall be expanded to support community needs and population
growth.
November 9, 2001
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Santa Clarita Valleywide General Plan �/
Vision and Guiding Principles �®':
Recreation
34. The City and County shall recognize that trails are an important
recreational asset that, when integrated with transportation systems,
contribute to mobility throughout the Santa Clarita Valley.
35. A continuous and unified hiking and equestrian trail network for a variety
of users and developed according to common standards shall connect and
unify Santa Clarita Valley communities and be interconnected with the
regional and statewide system (e.g., Pacific Crest Trail).
36. New parklands will be developed throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, with
priority on locations that are not now adequately served. These shall
encompass a diversity of park types and functions, including passive and
active areas, in consideration of the recreational needs of the residents to
be served.
a. Common park standards shall be developed and applied throughout the
Valley, consistent with community character objectives.
b. A range of parkland types, sizes and uses shall be provided to
accommodate recreational and leisure activities.
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