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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-02-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - CUP APPEAL NV1 MIXED USE DEV (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approval Item to be presented by: PUBLIC HEARING Vincent P. Bertoni DATE: February 11, 2002 SUBJECT: AN APPEAL OF A PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVAL OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE SP -COM (SPECIFIC PLAN COMMERCIAL) ZONE. DEPARTMENT: Planning and Building Services RECOMMENDED ACTION Conduct a public hearing, direct staff to initiate the vacation process of a portion of Baywood Lane, and adopt a resolution approving a revised project. BACKGROUND On April 2, 2002, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing regarding Master Case 01-176. At that meeting, the Planning Commission continued this item until May 21, 2002 to allow staff time gather additional information and to facilitate a meeting Back Bay residents and the applicant, Newhall Land and Farm. The Back Bay residents abut the project site on the south and west. On May 21, 2002, the Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for a mixed- use development within the SP -COM (Specific Plan Commercial) zone. The project included the construction of 212 attached residential units, 17,600 square feet of ground floor commercial retail and a four story parking structure. The applicant was also requesting an adjustment to the parking requirements for the residential portion of the project, which would result in a 5% reduction in the number of parking spaces required for multi -family development. The adjustment also included an 18% reduction in the lockable storage space requirement for each residential unit. On June 5, 2002, members of the Back Bay residential community (adjacent to the site) filed an appeal of the Planning Commission decision with the City Clerk. Since that time, the applicant and Back Bay residents have conducted a series of meetings and negotiations regarding the project. Based on the content of those meetings, the applicant began to discuss a revised project with staff. SO Agenda Item : f o On January 30, 2003, the applicant informed staff that an agreement in principal had been reached with the residents of Back Bay on a revised project. The applicant is still requesting approval of a conditional use permit to allow for a mixed-use development within the SP -COM (Specific Plan Commercial) zone. The project includes the construction of 188 attached residential units and 11,000 square feet of retail commercial. Additionally, the applicant is proposing to utilize a shared parking agreement for the project. Besides a reduction in units and change in product type, the revised project includes the vacation of a portion of Baywood Lane and the implementation of other traffic calming measures within the Back Bay neighborhood. The revised project also eliminates the proposed parking structure. Water features and other design amenities have been added to the Baywood Lane edge. Finally, the applicant has agreed to a two-story height limitation on those buildings/units facing Baywood Lane. ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS On December 18, 1997, an Environmental Impact Report prepared for the North Valencia Specific Plan was certified by the City Council. The Environmental Impact Report studied the effects of developing a 110,000 square feet commercial retail project. Staff has determined that the effects of the applicant's proposed project would be less than the project studied in the previously mentioned Environmental Impact Report. Pursuant to Section 15164 of the California Environmental Quality Act, an addendum to the previously certified EIR was prepared. The addendum as been attached to the North Valencia EIR. State or local law requires no additional circulation of the addendum. ANALYSIS The project site is 8.81 -acres located on the southwest corner of Newhall Ranch Road and McBean Parkway. The proposed project site is relatively flat in nature and is currently vacant. Property to the north of the site, across Newhall Ranch Road, is presently vacant. However, grading is currently taking place to prepare the site for a park as part of the approved North Valencia II Specific Plan. The properties located west of the project site, across Baywood Lane, are developed with single-family residential and vacant land that is the future site of Oak Park. South of the project site, also across Baywood Lane, is a combination of single- family residential and attached multi -family residential dwellings. East of the project site, across McBean Parkway, is developed with a combination of single and multi -family residential units. The applicant is proposing to develop the entire 8.81 -acre site with 188 apartments, a 3,000 square foot clubhouse/leasing office and roughly 11,000 square feet of retail commercial space. Of the 188 apartments, 98 (52%) will be one bedroom units, 75 (40%) will be two bedroom, and, 23 (8%) will be studio units. The maximum height of all structures would be 50 feet tall including a 3 -story apartment building. The Lago de Valencia planning area allows a maximum height of 50 feet for attached residential structures. The project proposes three access points: one from Newhall Ranch Road, one from McBean Parkway and one from Baywood Lane. The Baywood Lane entrance would be the access ^ point allowing left turns from the project site. All other necessary services and utilities are available and would be extended by the applicant to serve the project. Parking: Per the North Valencia Specific Plan, a total of 439 residential parking spaces are required for the project (94 guest spaces and 345 resident spaces). Of the required parking, only the guest spaces are permitted to be uncovered. The commercial portion of the project requires an additional 50 parking spaces (32 for commercial and 18 for restaurants) for a total of 489 for the project. The applicant is providing 448 parking spaces, which is 41 spaces short of the amount required by the Specific Plan. According to the site plan, 100 parking spaces will be provided in garages, 190 parking spaces will be covered on grade with the remaining 158 parking spaces open on grade. According to the North Valencia Specific Plan, on -street parking may count toward fulfilling visitor parking requirements. Additionally, visitor parking must be located within 250 feet of all multi -family residential uses. The residents of Back Bay expressed concerns about the project encouraging parking along Baywood Lane and the surrounding neighborhood. As a result, the applicant is not utilizing on street parking to meet this requirement. Additionally, the applicant has agreed to support the appellants request to the City to establish parking restrictions along Baywood Lane consisting of no parking on the east side of the street and restricted parking (no parking from 11:OOp.m. to 5:OOa.m.) on the west side of Baywood Lane. However, the applicant is proposing a shared parking agreement. By sharing parking spaces between the residential and commercial components, the applicant believes the parking spaces proposed with the project will be adequate. Typically, the peak hours of operation for commercial and residential projects are different. Therefore, shared parking agreements of this nature are feasible. The use of a shared parking arrangement is not unique to this project. The concept of shared parking has been utilized for other mixed-use projects in Santa Clarita including the Hanover Apartments adjacent to the Spectrum Club and the Town Center Mall. While these projects are larger in scale, the assumption that a mixed-use development will encourage multi -functional trips remains the same. Because commercial and residential developments have different peak usage times, parking can successfully be shared. Storage Requirement: One of the requirements of the North Valencia Specific Plan and the Unified Development Code is for the inclusion of 250 cubic feet of lockable storage space per unit located in the garage area. The Planning Commission approved an 18% reduction in the lockable storage space requirement for each residential unit. However, the revised site plan provides 250 cubic feet of lockable storage space for each unit on-site. Therefore, an adjustment is no longer necessary for the storage requirement. Traffic Calming: The residents of Back Bay expressed concern with the potential for people to take short cuts through their neighborhood as well as the rate of speed traveled. The Planning Commission directed staff to review the feasibility of including traffic calming measures on Channel Lane and Baywood Lane. In an effort to address this issue, staff requested the applicant conduct traffic counts to determine the amount of cut -through traffic and the rate of speed traveled on Channel Lane and Baywood Lane. According to the study prepared by Austin -Foust Associates, Inc., some cut -through traffic was identified utilizing Baywood Lane and Channel Lane. However, the amount was quite low. Approximately 93 percent of the traffic on Channel Lane was determined to be local (lived within the immediate area) with three to four vehicles per hour (vph) of cut -through traffic. On Baywood Lane south of Newhall Ranch Road, the volume of cut -through traffic was also measured at four vehicle trips per hour. When cut -through traffic is identified as a problem, reducing cut -through traffic to seven percent is typically an acceptable level. The applicant's proposed development will increase the total amount of vehicle traffic on Baywood Lane and Channel Lane. But forecast indicates that the future volume (including the proposed development) will remain well below the environmental capacity of a residential street. Based on the study performed by Austin -Foust Associates, Inc., the amount of cut -through traffic utilizing the subject streets is too low to be considered significant or able to mitigate. The amount of cut -through traffic observed would not be effected by any of the traditional methods available for deterring cut -through traffic. Additionally, the study prepared by Austin -Foust Associates Inc., found vehicle speeds to be well within the limits deemed acceptable and do not require further reduction. In general, the existing amount of cut - through traffic and vehicle speeds observed in the Back Bay portion of the community would be considered a successful outcome of a mitigation program for any neighborhood experiencing significant cut -through and speeding traffic. However, the applicant and the residents of Back Bay have reached an agreement on the inclusion of traffic calming measures on Baywood Lane, Channel Lane and Victoria Lane. Based on the plan staff reviewed, some of the measures include, but are not limited too, constructing chokers on Channel Lane and changing Baywood Lane into a cul-de-sac. In order to cul-de-sac Baywood Lane, City Council must direct staff to begin the public street vacation process. Based upon the agreement between the applicant and Back Bay residents, the vacated portion of Baywood Lane would be utilized to enlarge Oak Park. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS 1. Other direction as determined by the City Council. FISCAL IMPACT No fiscal impacts are anticipated with this proposal. Resolution Site Plan Draft Letter of Agreement Staff Report to Planning Commission from April 2, 2002 (Reading file) Staff Report to Planning Commission from May 21, 2002 (Reading file) Planning Commission Resolution P02-15 (Reading file) Addendum to the EIR (Reading file) VPB:KP:lep S:\pbs\current\!2001\01-176\01-176 agenda report City of Santa Clarita Notice of Public Hearing PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: A Public Hearing will be held before the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita to consider an appeal of a Planning Commission approval of a conditional use permit for a mixed-use development within the SP -COM (Specific Plan Commercial) zone. The project includes the construction of 212 attached residential units and 17,600 square feet of ground floor commercial retail. The applicant is also requesting an adjustment to the parking requirements for the residential portion of the project, which would result in a 5% reduction in the number of parking spaces required for multi -family development. The adjustment also includes an 18% reduction in the lockable storage space requirement for each residential unit. The hearing will be held by the Santa Clarita City Council in the City Hall Council Chambers, 23920 Valencia Boulevard, 1st floor, on the 11th day of February, 2003, at or after 6:00 p.m. Proponents, opponents, and any interested persons may appear and be heard on this matter at that time. Further information may be obtained by contacting the Planning Division, Kelvin Parker, (661) 255-4330, Planning and Building Services, 23920 Valencia Boulevard, Santa Clarita, CA, 91355. If you wish to challenge this action in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to City Council, at, or prior to, the public hearing. Dated: January 17, 2003 Sharon L. Dawson, CMC City Clerk Publish Date: January 21, 2003