Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-04-05 - AGENDA REPORTS - ONE VALLEY ONE VISION (2)CITY OF SANTA CLARITA INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: ;enhe r M an nd Members of the City Council FROM: ulska ty anager DATE: April 5, 2011 SUBJECT: ONE VALLEY ONE VISION (OVOV) PROJECT INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW RECOMMENDED ACTION Receive staff s presentation. Tonight's. Council study session will consist of a staff presentation detailing the OVOV process, summarizing the new general plan for the City and the area plan for the County, providing information on the project's Draft Environmental Impact Report, a description of the Planning Commission action to date and a suggested timeline. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Location The proposed One Valley One Vision (OVOV) General Plan boundary encompasses the entire incorporated City of Santa Clarita and its adopted sphere of influence in the unincorporated Los Angeles County areas in the Santa Clarita Valley, approximately 485 square miles. Request The City has prepared a comprehensive update to its General Plan and an associated Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed Planning Area. Development within the City and County shall be consistent with the OVOV Vision and Guiding Principles, developed by the public during community meetings, and which are intended to sustain and enhance environmental resolrces, economic vitality, and the social well being of its residents. The Draft General Plan sets out a long-range vision and comprehensive policy framework for how the City should grow and develop, provide enhanced public services, and maintain the qualities that define Santa Clarita over the next several decades (except where specific policies target other dates as set forth in the plan documents). OVOV serves as a foundation for making land use decisions based on goals and policies related to land use, transportation, population growth and distribution, open space, resource preservation and utilization, air and water quality, noise impacts, public safety, infrastructure, and other related physical, social, and economic factors. OVOV City Council Study Session - April S, 2011 Page 2 OVOV establishes a clear set of development guidelines for citizens, developers, neighboring jurisdictions and agencies, and provides the community with an opportunity to participate in the planning process. The purpose of this General Plan is to comply with State requirements and to provide the City with a comprehensive, long-range policy guideline for future development. BACKGROUND History Work on OVOV was initiated in 2000 with the formal public kick-off on January 28, 2001, featuring a community pancake breakfast and announcements from City and County leaders expressing a commitment for a shared vision of future development in the Santa Clarita Valley. As both agencies realized their general planning documents were in need of updating, it was mutually agreed upon to pursue a joint land use plan with similar goals, policies and objectives for the entire Valley. OVOV is proposed to completely replace the City's existing General Plan. For the County, if approved by the Board of Supervisors, the County's OVOV will replace the Santa Clarita Valley Area Plan. Since OVOV's inception, the work effort can be broken down into five phases. Phase 1 was the discovery and visioning process with an initial objective to share information and to characterize the Valley community as one consistent whole despite jurisdictional boundaries and planning principles used in the past. This process included data gathering and identification of a preliminary set of planning issues that would be used to begin a dialogue with the community. The SCV Snapshot Brochure was one result of this process, The second step in this phase was to reach out to the community to inform residents about the project and how they could best participate, understand the vision the people have for the Valley 20 years or more into the future and draft and obtain approval on a set of Vision and Guiding Principles to guide development of the General Plan document. In order to do that, outreach to the Valley's Spanish speaking population was accomplished through direct, face-to-face contact by City staff. Many individual meetings and workshop activities were held with the Valley's Hispanic population to identify their issues for inclusion in the guiding principles. Further, in August -September 2000, interviews were scheduled with over 100 Valley stakeholders including appointed and elected officials, developers, and representatives from the Valley's business community, environmental groups, neighborhood, groups, utility service providers, civic organizations, educational institutions, and the media to identify and discuss the strengths and challenges facing the Valley. The final steps to Phase 1 consisted of a community survey, advertising, community visioning workshops and school activities for students. Phase II was the development and distribution of the Vision & Guiding Principles. All public feedback was used to develop a vision statement and a series of 36 guiding principles. These draft principles were presented to the public with photo illustrations to convey how they may be applied. The principles were directly mailed to over 300 persons who had participated in the OVOV process, and posted on the web site for 2 OVOV City Council Study Session - April 5, 2011 Page 3 review and comment. In Summer -Fall 2001, City and County staff attended) nearly 20 public meetings throughout the Valley to personally distribute these guiding principles and promote the Valley Congress held in October 2001. The Congress was held to give community members the opportunity to comment on the Guiding Principles. Delegates were appointed and/or requested to volunteer as participants in the Congress, representing each of the communities that make up the Valley including Agua Dulce, Canyon Country (Sand Canyon), Castaic/Val Verde, Newhall, Saugus, Stevenson Ranch, and Valencia. Representatives from Valley agencies, business, and environmental interests were also invited to participate in the Congress to ensure that a diversity of interests and perspectives were represented. The Vision and Guiding Principles are located in Section N of the Introduction in OVOV and in the project description of the DEIR on page 2.0-8 and they articulate the Valley community's desires for the Santa Clarita Valley's future. The Vision is a statement describing the future that residents imagined for their Valley. The Guiding Principles are statements indicating how decisions will be made regarding the future of the Valley, including where people live, work, shop, play, and learn. The Vision and Guiding Principles create a framework for the General Plan document by stating goals for the future. Phase III involved data collection, growth and economic trend analysis, and mapping of the Valley's physical characteristics and service areas for inclusion in the Technical Background Report (TBR). This phase was important to establish a database of existing Valley features that will be used in Phase IV for the development of the land use map. During Phase III, water specialists, economists, traffic engineers, and land use planners, conducted field reconnaissance, collected data from Valley agencies and service organizations, and analyzed 24 issue areas ranging from geology to education. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to map such information as flood zones, fault lines, land uses, utilities, schools, roadways, parks, environmentally -sensitive areas, and ridgelines. In addition to describing the existing characteristics and conditions of the Planning Area, the TBR also identified future development demands and constraints, where appropriate. The TBR laid the groundwork for policy development on the full range of environmental, land use and public service issues. During the preparation of the document, the public was kept informed through the publication and distribution of the two newsletters and by staff making presentations at 14 public or community meetings. Phase IV was the development of a draft Land Use Map. In order to identify a proposed General Plan land use map, the OVOV staff team made a field visit to virtually every single parcel of land in the Valley. Attendees included traffic engineers, geotechnical engineers, planners, geographical information systems (GIS) staff and consultants. Resources used included, but were not limited to, existing zoning and general plan maps, slope maps, aerial photos, assessor records, existing entitlements and pending project data. Ultimately, all of this was factored in with property characteristics and constraints OVOV City Council Study Session - April 5, 2011 Page 4 such as access, topography, utility corridors, vegetation and watersheds to assist in identifying the recommended land use. Phase V has been the multi-year process of policy development and the drafting and writing of the OVOV General Plan and the DEIR. Four OVOV Themes A Valley of Villages - This is a recognition of the various communities and neighborhoods within the Santa Clarita Valley that wish to maintain their own distinctive character, while at the same time recognizing their place in the "big picture" plan for development within the entire planning area. The term "village" can bring many images to mind. A village is a community in which people know one another, support local businesses, gather together at community events, and share common ideals about their future. The term "village" also implies a community that can sustain itself over many years without being severely impacted by economic setbacks, loss of housing, inadequate parks or public services, and hazards or pollution that threatens its residents. Village residents typically send their children to neighborhood schools, use neighborhood parks, walk along neighborhood streets and trails, and work close to home. More than anything else, a village invokes the concept of quality of life based on a healthy living environment and productive social and civic interaction. Village residents can also be a part of a larger network comprised of neighboring villages, connected by transportation routes and sharing major community facilities that benefit the larger Valley area. Valley Center - One Valley One Vision proposes a "Valley Center" which provides for the following: a) development of shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities that serve the region and do not currently exist; b) captures and retains sales tax dollars to be allocated for community services, parks, trails, and other benefits; and c) a wide range of employment opportunities. Jobs -Housing Balance- Currently, approximately 50% of the workforce commutes to Los Angeles for employment. By increasing non-residential densities and pursuing mixed- use projects, One Valley One Vision will significantly reduce this number by improving the jobs/housing balance for all types of jobs throughout the Valley. Strategies to do this include identifying employment centers throughout the Valley and not just with a concentration along Interstate 5. This will allow residents an opportunity to live closer to their places of employment and enjoy a higher quality of life. Preservation of Open Space/Valley Greenbelt - One Valley One Vision provides for a greenbelt around the Valley with more than 50% of the entire planning area designated as protected open space. As proposed, nearly 147,000 acres of that is National Forest and another 27,000 acres is previously secured permanent open space or designated Open Space areas. The reduction of residential densities in non -urban areas provides for a natural transition between the built environment and protected open space. 11 OVOV City Council Study Session - April 5, 2011 Page 5 Factors Shaping OVOV A number of factors were critical in the shaping and crafting of OVOV. Four are highlighted here: 1. Public participation and the Vision and Guiding Principles as described previously. Additional, extensive outreach activities are noted in the Introduction to the DEIR; 2. State laws titled Assembly Bill 32, Senate Bill 375, and AB 1881 which require municipal organizations to develop sustainable land use plans that will result in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to be at 1990 levels by 2020. OVOV reduces urban sprawl within the Santa Clarita Valley by shifting development potential to areas near transit corridors, transportation facilities, and existing and proposed infrastructure improvements while keeping outlying areas at a lower density, thus preventing urban sprawl and preserving natural open space and a greenbelt. 3. Having a certified Housing Element. The City received a commending and compliance letter for its draft Housing Element from the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) in August 2010. 4. Understanding the State Attorney General's (AG) desire to see cities take measured and meaningful steps to respond to climate change issues and reduce GHG emissions. As a result, City staff met with the AG on two occasions to summarize the extensive work, mitigations and analysis being prepared for OVOV. Further, staff researched other cities that had dealt with the AG on this issue to learn from them as to what can be done to meet the AG's expectations. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS In accordance with California Government Code Section 65302, the General Plan contains the eight elements listed below. For purposes of organizing the City's General Plan more efficiently, the issues of conservation and open space have been combined into a single chapter. Each of the elements contain maps and text setting forth goals, policies, and programs for the long-range physical development within the City's Planning Area. The OVOV planning process reflects the City's and County's unprecedented mutual decision to coordinate land uses and future development with provision of adequate infrastructure, conservation of natural resources, and common objectives for the Valley. Major goals of the OVOV joint planning effort are: to achieve greater cooperation between the City and County; coordinated planning for roadways, infrastructure, and resource management; and enhanced quality of life for all who live and work in the Santa Clarita Valley. • Draft Land Use Element • Draft Circulation Element • Draft Housing Element • Draft Noise Element 5 OVOV City Council Study Session - April 5, 2011 Page 6 • Draft Conservation and Open Space Element • Draft Safety Element • Draft Economic Development Element Land Use Element and Map The Land Use Element is generally considered to be the most representative of and essential to the General Plan because it guides and directs the physical development of the community. This element when combined with the Land Use Map designates the general location of nine land uses: residential, commercial, mixed use, industrial, public/institutional, transportation and communication, open space and recreation, non- urban/agriculture and specific plan. The Land Use Element addresses the permitted density and intensity of the various land use designations as reflected on the _City's General Land Use Map. The following is a brief description of the Land Use Map designations. • Residential: Residential uses include dwelling units developed at various densities and with varying housing types, including single-family detached, single-family attached (condominiums), multiple -family (apartments), mobile home parks, and senior housing. Special residential uses include live -work units and group living facilities. • Commercial: Commercial development includes both retail and offices providing goods and services to the general public, and wholesale and service uses provided to businesses. Commercial uses also include food services, personal services, automobile services, entertainment and hospitality services, and regional commercial uses such as big box retailers and auto malls. • Mixed Use: The mixed use category generally includes commercial retail, office, and service uses intermingled with higher density residential uses, within a master - planned complex designed to ensure that residents are not adversely impacted by commercial traffic or operations, and that businesses benefit from the proximity of customers living nearby. The benefits of mixed-use development include a reduction in vehicle trips by residents to shopping areas, and the proximity of residents to employment -generating uses. • Industrial: The industrial category includes heavy manufacturing, less intensive industrial uses that are typically located in business parks, and research and development complexes. Light industrial activities include warehousing, wholesale trade, and some assembly. Heavy industrial uses include fabrication and assembly of large items, resource extraction, processing of raw or recycled materials, and businesses that use or generate hazardous materials. • Public/Institutional: Government buildings, libraries, schools, hospitals, fire stations, museums, cultural and community centers, and other similar public uses are typical of this category. In addition, private schools, churches, convalescent care and other kmm OVOV City Council Study Session - April S, 2011 Page 7 social care facilities, private meeting and convention facilities, and similar uses are included. Special uses in this category include correctional facilities. The Public/Institutional designation also identifies land which is or will be used for various types of public or quasi -public facilities and utilities owned and operated by public agencies, special districts, or non-profit organizations. Accessory and supportive uses are also included. Privately -owned facilities serving the general public with transportation services, such as helipads, may also be appropriate in this designation. • Transportation and Communication: This category identifies freeways and major arterials, bikeways, railroads, park and ride lots, truck terminals, airports, train stations, multi -modal transit stations, communication facilities, and similar uses. • Open Space: This category includes the Angeles National Forest and land used for agriculture, private and public recreational facilities, and local and regional parks. Golf courses and water bodies are also included. • Non-Urban/Agriculture: Non -urban lands are used for low-density residential uses on large lots, in areas characterized by rural development interspersed with natural open space. Agricultural lands are used for grazing, horticulture, row, field, and tree crops, and limited keeping of livestock, horses, and other large animals. • Specific Plan: The Specific Plan designation indicates those lands in the planning area governed by a Specific Plan. Allowable land uses and intensity of development are those permitted by the Specific Plan. Circulation Element The Circulation Element plans for the continued development of efficient, cost-effective, and comprehensive transportation systems that are consistent with regional plans, local needs, and the Valley's community character. A comprehensive transportation network of streets and highways, multi -use trails, bus transit, commuter rail, and airport facilities provides mobility options to Valley residents and businesses. The Circulation Element contains a map showing major transportation facilities within the Santa Clarita Valley, including streets and highways, rail and public transit routes, stations and terminals, and airport facilities. Housing Element The Housing Element prepared for the City contains policies and programs to ensure that adequate housing is provided to meet the needs of all City residents. These policies and programs address the need for affordable housing, housing for people with special needs, constraints to providing affordable housing, the agency's progress in meeting its housing goals, quantified objectives for provision of housing, a survey or adequate sites for housing, a resource inventory, and identification of at -risk affordable units and methods of preservation. - The City has received a commending and compliance letter from HCD for its draft OVOV Housing Element. 7 OVOV City Council Study Session -April 5, 2011 Page 8 Noise Element The Noise Element contains maps and policies to ensure that residents are not exposed to health risks or nuisances due to noise generated from freeways and high-volume roadways, airports, industrial and recreational uses, special events, and other uses emitting loud sounds. Policies in the Noise Element address sound attenuation measures, such as setbacks, noise barriers, and buffering, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. Conservation and Open Space Element The Conservation and Open Space Element contains maps and policies to ensure preservation of an open space greenbelt around most portions of the Santa Clarita Valley, in addition to preserving water quality, historic and cultural resources, scenic views, and providing recreational facilities to enhance the quality of life for Valley residents. Significant Ecological Areas (SEAS) are ecologically important fragile land and water areas that are valuable as plant and animal communities and are often important to the preservation of threatened or endangered species. SEAs as designated by the County will be presented on a map included in the Conservation and Open Space Element. This element contains a detailed discussion on programs and policies related to climate change and GHG emissions. Safety Element The Safety Element contains maps and policies to ensure that residents are not exposed to health risks due to air pollution, earthquakes, wildland fires, or other environmental hazards, and that adequate provisions are made for crime prevention, law enforcement, and fire protection services. Economic Development Element The Economic Development Element examines the many factors critical to the Santa Clarita Valley's. continued success as one of Southern California's top communities for business development. It addresses key goals related to the economic prosperity of the Santa Clarita Valley. It looks at the area's strengths, the programs and organizations fueling this Valley's economic growth and success, and the opportunities and challenges unique to this Valley. Mixed Use and RHNA The OVOV General Plan for City and County reduces the overall number of residential units at buildout of the Santa Clarita Valley when compared to the projected buildout of the existing general planning documents. While some residential densities are increasing in the City, a greater number of units is decreasing in the more environmentally sensitive areas adjacent to the City. In an effort to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) and the City's Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) obligations, the City must provide the General Plan and zoning necessary to accommodate a minimum of 9,598 units—of which, the City must allocate sufficient land to accommodate 4,052 units at a density of 30 units an acre. Consequently, the OVOV planning effort has designated specific areas in the City to receive increased residential density. This is done in the form of a) creating a Mixed Use category along transit hubs, transit corridors and at outdated OVOV City Council Study Session -April 5, 2011 Page 9 strip commercial centers; and b) the designation for suitable sites that could accommodate a range of income levels. The OVOV General Plan proposes to increase the amount of residential units by 1,930 units over the buildout of the City and Sphere of Influence when compared to the City's existing General Plan. This increase in residential density is abated by the reduction of units and sprawl in rural areas surrounding the City as shown on the Land Use Map and as documented in the County's proposed OVOV Santa Clarita Area Plan. Many of these units are accommodated in the Mixed Use category and are located along urbanized, transit corridors, in transit hub areas and in the higher density commercial core of the City. These units and specifically, the Mixed Use units are not located on the City's periphery in the form of large single family homes that would create impacts to more sensitive environmental habitats and on vacant pristine lands and hillsides. Rather, the increase in residential units, in the more dense environs of the City, helps the City to meet the objectives of SB 375 and to become a model city for Southern California Association of Governments by creating a community that is more walkable, more transit oriented, and with creative opportunities for people to live, work and play in a variety of village environments throughout the planning area. It is also a mechanism for the revitalization of strip malls to better utilize disturbed urbanized lands with immediate access to infrastructure. Furthermore, by locating higher density in transit hub areas and along transit corridors, fewer vehicle trips are made. The Mixed Use concept encourages more walkability to services and commercial opportunities. The Mixed Use placement along transit corridors also encourages the use of both Metrolink and bus service. The OVOV General Plan proposes a dispersion of employment opportunities and hubs throughout the community,, resulting in less vehicle miles traveled and shorter trips to and from employment centers and a corresponding reduction in GHG emissions. Without the designation of the suitable sites and the provision of the Mixed Use designation in core commercial areas, transit corridors and hubs resulting in dispersed employment centers in the Valley, the following is likely to occur: • The length of vehicle trips would be longer; • The number of vehicle trips would increase; • Air quality would worsen; • Impacts to sensitive habitats would be greater; • GHG emissions would increase; and • The City would not meet its RHNA goals nor the objectives of SB 375. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT Separate City and County EIRs • Given that the City and County have slightly different contents in these general planning documents (for example, the City has a Housing Element and an Economic Development Element, while the County does not), and realizing that OVOV represents the City's entire General Plan while OVOV only governs the County's Santa Clarita Valley Area OVOV City Council Study Session - April 5, 2011 Page 10 Plan, it was determined to produce independent, albeit largely similar, DEIRs for each agency to respond to and process. 150 -Day Comment Period For California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process requirements, an extended 150 -day comment period that closed on February 22, 2011, was been allocated for this project, representing twice the length of time as legally required. Given the complexity and size of OVOV and the desire and willingness to facilitate additional public participation, the City felt that a 150 -day comment period would be appropriate. Comparative Evaluation In order to provide a high level of accurate analysis and to identify any and all potential impacts, the DEIR was compiled to compare OVOV to (1) buildout of the City's existing General Plan as well as (2) a comparison of OVOV to the existing conditions "on -the - ground" as they are today. While potentially excessive, this multi-level evaluation provides for a full disclosure of any, impacts and includes the benefit of being able to realize the defining changes proposed in OVOV when compared to today's environment. The City's sphere of influence boundary is included in the DEIR analysis since this area reflects a logical expansion of the City's ultimate boundary and services. ATTACHMENTS Memorandum, January 13, 2011, Five Key Differences S: ICDIADVANCEUOINTGPIPhase 1VICouncil and Commission ReportsW40510 CC Study Session Staff Report. doc /o CITY OF SANTA CLARITA INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor McLean and Members of the City, C uracil FROM: Kenneth R. Pulskamp, City Manager DATE: January 13, 2011 SUBJECT: ONE VALLEY ONE VISION (OVOV)' GENERAL PLAN – FIVE KEY DIFFERENCES This memorandurri is in response to the Council's inquiry seeking additional information on OVOV—specifically regarding key differences"between the City's existing'General Plan and the proposed OVOV Valleywide General Plan. These differences can be highlighted in five main areas: i Mixed Use Zoning Land Use Designations The City's current general plan land use map does not have or reflect mixed uses.. The City's current Unified Development Code, however, does have a Mixed -Use Overlay and Ordinance. OVOV proposes a Mixed Use Iand' use category consistent with the' current overlay standards, but capturing more properties:` Doing this will all the City to create land uses as required by Assembly Bill 32 and Senate Bill 10 resulting"in increased jobs and reduced vehicle trips. • Increase in AlloN)able Commercial Densities In order to create more jobs, stimulate local economies and reduce vehicle trips, OVOV proposes an increase in -commercial densities in three land use zones: Community Commercial, Business Park and Industrial. Discussion on Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas, Climate Action Plan These subject matters are significantly addressed in OVOV as they are currently part of the political and environmental climate for cities and are now required to be analyzed in general plans, The City initiated a Climate Action Plan earlier this month and proposes to complete it within 18 months of OVOV's adoption to demonstrate its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as required by state law: OVOV General Plan Differences January 13, 2011 Page '2 • Environmental Sensitivity Throughout the General Plan OVOV has a stronger commitment to protecting and preserving environmental quality throughout the Santa Clarita Valley by having over 50% of its goals and policies address environmental preservation through green building, low impact development, urban sprawl, increased public transit, walkable communities, water conservation and identification of wildlife corridors. • Joint General Planning Documents with the County As a result of this partnership with the County, the City and the County will have exceedingly similar long-range planning blueprints for the entire Santa Clarita Valley. This is most notable in the areas of land use, allowable densities, street design standards, trail development, hillside/ridgeline protection and preservation of open space If you would like to discuss this further, or any other aspects of OVOV, please contact Director of Community Development Paul Brotzman at 661-255-4365. KRP:JES:ms S:\CD\ADVANCEU0INTGP\Phase IV\Mtg Notes\011311 cc memo.doc cc: Members of the Planning Commission Ken Striplin, Assistant City Manager Paul Brotzman, Director of Community Development Jeff Hogan, Interim Planning Manager Jason Smisko, Senior Planner