Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-01-24 - AGENDA REPORTS - MC 05-339 GVRANCH (2)Agenda Item: CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT PUBLIC HEARING City Manager Approval: Item to be presented by: Jason Mikaelian DATE: January 24, 2006 SUBJECT: MASTER CASE 05-339, MODIFICATION TO TENTATIVE TRACT MAPS 52414 AND 52414-02 OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY RANCH DEVELOPMENT. REQUEST TO MODIFY TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 52414 FOR THE SINGLE-FAMILY LOTS ALONG JUNIPER SPRINGS DRIVE AND TENTATIVE TRACT MAP 52414-02 TO DEVELOP A PORTION OF THE SCHOOL SITE INTO A PRIVATE PARK. DEPARTMENT: Community Development RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council conduct a public hearing and adopt a resolution approving Master Case 05-339, a modification to Tentative Tract Maps 52414 and 52414-02 with the subsequent conditions of approval (Exhibit A). BACKGROUND The 1,259 -acre Golden Valley Ranch development (Master Case 97-212) was approved by the City of Santa Clarita City Council on January 24, 2002. The project included the following: • 390 -lot single-family subdivision; • 108 -unit senior housing complex; • 618,000 square foot commercial center; • 10 -acre elementary school site; • 3 -acre trailhead park; and • 920 -acre open space area. Approved entitlements included General Plan Amendment 97-003 to change the land use classification from Residential Estate (RE) to Community Commercial (CC) and Residential Suburban (RS), Prezone 97-001 to annex the property and change the zoning from RE to CC and Adopted: L-sa. o -If RS and Tentative Tract Map 52414 to subdivide the property. An Environmental Impact Report with mitigation measures was also reviewed and certified. The map has since been broken into sub -areas including Tentative Tract Map 52414-02 for the school site, 52414 and 52414-06 for single-family areas, 52414-03 and 04 for single-family and graded open space areas, 52414-05 for the senior housing site and 60337 for the commercial center. The entire Golden Valley Ranch development is currently being graded. The first phase of the development is expected to be completed in 2007. On November 1, 2005, the Planning Commission approved Master Case 05-082 for the 20 -acre senior housing complex. Approved entitlements included Tentative Tract Map 52414-05 to subdivide the site for 95 residential ownership units, Conditional Use Permit 05-005 for gating and Adjustment 05-005 to reduce building separation as part of a clustering development. The original Golden Valley Ranch approval permitted up to 108 senior housing units. However, the applicant preferred a detached design, which resulted in a reduction of 13 units to 95 units. The Commission found the detached design integrated better with the rest of the Golden Valley Ranch development and the Fair Oaks Ranch development farther to the north in unincorporated Los Angeles County. In addition, the Commission found the detached design provided additional flexibility to efficiently use the irregularly shaped site and allowed a larger common open space area in the center of the complex. In the summer and fall of 2005, the applicant began working with the Sulphur Springs Elementary School District in developing the 10 -acre school site. The original 1997 submittal for the Golden Valley Ranch development was for over 800 residential units. As part of the project, the developer agreed to construct a new 700 -student school for the Sulphur Springs Elementary School District. However, the approved development had a reduced density of 498 units, with nearly 20 percent of them reserved for the senior housing complex. Subsequently, the School District now has stated it only needs a 7.5 -acre site for a 500 -student elementary school. On November 7, 2005, the applicant submitted a request to modify Tentative Tract Maps 52414 and 52414-02. Both areas are located in the Residential Suburban (RS) zoned portion of the Golden Valley Ranch development. Usually, modifications to a tentative tract map require Planning Commission approval, since they are the primary reviewing body. However, because the Golden Valley Ranch development was approved by the City Council, any modifications require Council approval. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The applicant proposes to modify Tentative Tract Map 52414 for the single-family lots along Juniper Springs Drive in the southeastern portion of the Golden Valley Ranch development. The original approval had a total of 54 lots located along the street, with a minimum lot width of 90 feet. The modification calls to add 13 single-family lots along Juniper Springs Drive, for a total of 67 lots, with a minimum lot of 70 feet. The new lots will replace the 13 units that were not incorporated in the senior housing complex. No changes to the roadways are proposed and no new areas will be graded. Instead, the lots will be incorporated along the existing length of Juniper Springs Drive, reducing the average width and area of the lots. The applicant also proposes to modify Tentative Tract Map 52414-02 to reduce the area of the school site from 10 -acres to 7.5 -acres. The school site will still be located at the southwest comer of Golden Valley Road and Via Princessa. The remaining 2.5 -acres between the school site and single-family residences will be developed as a private park for the Golden Valley Ranch development. The school site and park will share an entrance off of Via Princessa. The conceptual plans for the park shows a small parking lot near Via Princessa and open grass areas and a circular pedestrian trail further to the west. PROJECT ANALYSIS Proposed Modification of Single -Family Lots As discussed, the applicant proposed to modify the single-family lots along Juniper Springs Drive. The original approval had a total of 54 lots located along the street, with a minimum lot width of 90 feet. The modification will add 13 single-family lots, for a total of 67 lots. The 13 new lots will replace the 13 units that were not incorporated in the senior housing complex. Therefore, the overall number of residential units for the entire Golden Valley Ranch development will remain at 498. There will be no changes to the roadway and no new areas will be graded. The Golden Valley Ranch development was designed to have a mixture of housing types including large sized lots, medium sized lots and senior housing. The lots along Juniper Springs Drive were considered the large sized lots of the development with minimum lot widths of 90 feet. The approval also permitted lot widths as low as 40 feet along the cul-de-sac. The modification will reduce the minimum lot width along the main portion of the street from 90 to 70 feet. In addition, the three lots at the western end along the cul-de-sac will have widths of 47 to 53 feet. However, Juniper Springs Drive will still have lots widths considerably greater than other portions of the Golden Valley Ranch development. The majority of the other lots have width ranging from 50 to 60 feet. As discussed, all the lots along Juniper Spring Drive will have a minimum width of 70 feet, and 34 percent of them will have a width of 80 feet or greater. In addition, the minimum net buildable lot area will also be 7,500 square feet or larger, with 22 percent of the lots 9,000 square feet or larger. Again, this is greater than the majority of the other lots of the Golden Valley Ranch development, which have net areas ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 square feet. Staff finds the proposed modifications to the single-family lots are still consistent with the original Golden Valley Ranch development, by providing large sized lots compared to the rest of the development. In addition, no additional grading or roadway construction would be required with the modifications. Instead, the lots will be incorporated along the existing length of Juniper Springs Drive. Finally, the modification will not increase the overall number of units being constructed, as originally approved for the Golden Valley Ranch development. Proposed Private Park As discussed, the applicant also proposes to modify the area of the school site. The proposed modification will reduce the area of the school site from 10 -acres to approximately 7.5 -acres with the remaining 2.5 -acres being developed as a private park. The site is narrow and long with a width of approximately 150 feet and length of 750 feet. The school site and park will share an entrance off of Via Princessa. The conceptual plans for the park shows a small parking lot near Via Princessa and open grass areas and a circular pedestrian trail further to the west. The entire park area will be surrounded by landscaped slopes. The park would be owned and maintained by the Golden Valley Ranch Homeowners Association. Staff finds the proposed private park would provide many benefits to the school and Golden Valley community. First, the park and landscaped slopes would act as buffers between the school and residential uses. Traffic impacts would be minimal since the site will not be developed with major structures or other park improvements and there will be no access off of Golden Valley Road. Also, the park would provide additional open space amenities to residents of the Golden Valley Ranch development. Finally, the park use is supported by the Sulphur Springs School District. As a condition of approval, the specific site plan, parking area and landscaping for the park will be required to go through the City's Development Review process. COMMUNITY RESPONSE Property owners within 1,000 feet of the entire Golden Valley Ranch development area were notified of this application. A notice was published in the Newhall Signal on January 3, 2006 and signs were posted at the terminus of Via Princessa and Golden Valley Road on January 10, 2006. Since the Golden Valley Ranch development is currently under construction, signs were posted at the entrance of the overall development area, rather than the specific locations of the modified areas. As of the date of this staff report, the Planning Division has not received any correspondence regarding the modifications. ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS As part of the original Golden Valley Ranch development, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was approved and certified by the City Council on January 24, 2002 in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). All environmental impacts related to the development were reviewed as part of the original approval, including density, air quality, hydrology, biological resources, noise, aesthetics, population, traffic and circulation, public services and public resources. All mitigation measures from the original EIR would still remain in place and would be required to be implemented. Therefore, no additional environmental review is required. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Other action as determined by the City Council. z 0 P O aU w s'.=u=u m/ea/u1 11-1., e,c"OWO- I No' A