Report Prepared by: Julie Nelson, Associate Planner, Planning Department
Title
SUBJECT: Public Hearing - General Plan Amendment #14-04, Revision #2 to the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan, and Site Utilization Plan Revision #4 to Planned Development (P-D) #46 for an approximately 6 acre portion of a 10.42 acre parcel located at the southeast corner of Pacific Drive and Horizons Avenue
REPORT IN BRIEF
Request for City Council approval to change the General Plan, Specific Plan, and Site Utilization Plan designations for a portion of a parcel located at the southeast corner of Pacific Drive and Horizons Avenue to allow the future construction of an apartment complex.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion:
A. Approving Resolution 2015-29, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, approving a Mitigated Negative Declaration for General Plan Amendment #14-04, Revision #2 to the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan, and Site Utilization Plan Revision #4 to Planned Development (P-D) #46 and approving General Plan Amendment #14-04 and Revision #2 to the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan changing the land use designation from Low Density Residential (LD) to Village Residential (VR) for an approximately 6 acre portion of an approximately 10.42 acre parcel located at the southeast corner of Pacific Drive and Horizons Avenue;
B. Introducing Ordinance 2445, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, approving Site Utilization Plan Revision #4 to Planned Development (P-D) #46 changing the land use designation from Low Density Residential (LD) to Village Residential (VR) for an approximately 6 acre portion of an approximately 10.42 acre parcel generally located at the southeast corner of Pacific Drive and Horizons Avenue; and,
C. Approving the Developer Agreement and Authorizing the City Manager to execute the necessary documents.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve, as recommended by the Planning Commission and staff; or,
2. Approve subject to modifications as conditioned by the City Council; or,
3. Deny; or,
4. Refer back to staff for reconsideration of specific items (specific items to be addressed in the motion); or,
5. Continue to a future meeting (date and time to be specified in the motion).
AUTHORITY
Title 19 of the Merced Municipal Code outlines environmental review procedures and California Government Code Section 65358(a) grants authority to amend all or part of an adopted General Plan. Merced Municipal Code Section 20.42.080 grants the City Council authority to approve revisions to a Planned Development.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Not applicable.
DISCUSSION
The applicant is requesting changes to the land use designations for a portion of a 10.42-acre parcel located at the southeast corner of Pacific Drive and Horizons Avenue within Planned Development (P-D) #46 (Attachment 1). If approved, the applicant is proposing to construct an apartment complex on an approximately 5.9-acre portion of the parcel (Attachment 2). The parcel has a variety of land use designations according to the City’s General Plan Land Use Diagram (Attachment 3). Approximately 4 acres of the parcel have a General Plan designation of Village Residential (VR), approximately 6.2 acres have a Low Density Residential (LD) designation, and approximately 0.22 acres have an Open Space/Parks designation. The Fahrens Creek Specific Plan and Site Utilization Plan for Planned Development #46 identify approximately 3.66 acres of the site as Village Residential and the remaining area as Low-Density Residential (Attachment 4). The proposed apartment complex would be marketed to students attending UC Merced, but could also be rented to the general public. The table below describes the existing land use designation and the requested changes.
Requested Changes
|
Plan |
Area |
Existing Designation |
Proposed Designation |
|
General Plan |
6.2 acres (+/-) |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
Village Residential (VR) |
|
Fahrens Creek Specific Plan |
6.76 acres (+/-) |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
Village Residential (VR) |
|
Site Utilization Plan for Planned Development (PD) #46 |
6.76 acres (+/-) |
Low Density Residential (LD) |
Village Residential (VR) |
If the General Plan Amendment Specific Plan Revision, and Site Utilization Plan Revision are approved, the developer would apply for a Conditional Use Permit to approve the construction of the apartment complex. Because a portion of the site is located within a floodway (details provided below), the applicant is considering two options for construction. Option #1 would include a 136-unit apartment complex, the required parking, an office/lounge building, and a swimming pool (Attachment 2). With this option, the apartment complex would have a total of 17 buildings with 8 units each (4 units downstairs and 4 units upstairs). Covered parking would be provided for all units. In this option, a portion of the parking area would be in the floodway. This would be allowed with proper documentation (details provided below).
Option #2 reduces the number of units to 104 with a total of 13 buildings (Attachment 5). The parking, office/lounge building, and pool would remain. This option moves all structures and parking out of the floodway. The applicant would determine prior to submitting a Conditional Use Permit application which option they prefer.
The project site is located within close proximity to property designated for commercial development (Attachment 1) and is across the street from the Compass Pointe Apartments which should be under construction within the next few months. The Compass Pointe Apartments are required to install a bus stop along their property frontage on Horizons Drive. This bus stop could also be utilized by this proposed development.
Traffic/Circulation
The act of changing the land use designations as requested would not affect the traffic or circulation in the area. However, staff did an analysis for the 136-unit apartment project to provide an idea of how traffic might be affected. A comparison of the project to the maximum density allowed under the current land use designations revealed that the project would generate less traffic than the maximum density currently allowed. More information on the trip generation is provided on Page 7 of the Planning Commission Staff Report at Attachment 13.
The level of service (LOS) for the major roads in the area (R Street, Yosemite Avenue, and North Highway 59) was also reviewed. Although R Street is expected to drop below the acceptable LOS of D or better at General Plan Buildout, it would not be due to this project. North Highway 59 currently operates at an LOS F, but this project would not generate enough traffic to cause a significant increase in the traffic on North Highway 59.
Floodway
Approximately 4.5 acres of the site have been designated as a “floodway” on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) making it undevelopable for structures (Attachment 6). Therefore, the project area only encompasses approximately 5.9 acres. A small portion of the parking area with site plan Option #1 would encroach into the floodway. This could be allowed if proper documentation is provided and approved per Merced Municipal Code Section 17.48.190 (Attachment 7).
Deletion of Condition #18 of Planning Commission Resolution #2675
This property was part of an annexation that consisted of 273.6 acres. At the time of annexation, the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan and the establishment of Planned Development (P-D) #46 were also approved. One of the conditions placed on development at that time included Condition #18 of Planning Commission Resolution #2675 as follows (Attachment 8):
18) No approvals will be adopted or permits issued by the City of Merced, for actual construction on the portion of the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan depicted on Attachment 3* and Exhibit 1*, as further described as that portion outlined by heavy dashed line, until authorization has been received from, or a waiver acceptable to the City has been granted by, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) regarding flood control measures to be taken to comply with that portion of the Merced Streams Group Project located within the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan. If the Corps does not authorize construction in that portion of the property, or grant a satisfactory waiver by December 31, 2005, the applicant may request review of this condition by the City Planning Commission to determine whether, at that time, an extension of this condition is necessary or advisable (*Attachment 3 to City Manager Administrative Report on Fahrens Creek Specific Plan Adoption, dated December 10, 2001; and Planning Commission/City Council Exhibit 1: Fahrens Creek Specific Plan).
Currently there is no approved plan, alignment, or concept for a flood channel, and channelization is not considered to be feasible at this time. Therefore, staff is recommending that the previously approved Condition #18 from Planning Commission Resolution #2675 be deleted.
Land Use/Density Issues
The project site currently has three land use designations: Village Residential, Low Density Residential, and Open Space/Park. The proposal is a request to change the site (excluding the area designated as Open Space/Park - approximately 0.22 acres) to Village Residential. If approved, 10.2 acres would be available to develop multi-family residential units. The proposed 136-unit apartment complex would equal a density of 13 units per acre. The applicant is requesting a Village Residential (VR) land use designation which allows 7 to 30 units per acre for a minimum average of 10 dwelling units per acre.
Currently, approximately 6.2 acres of the site is designated for Low Density Residential (LD). This land use designation would allow 2 to 6 dwelling units per acre. As such, under the current LD designation, a maximum of 37 units would be allowed on this portion of the site.
Approximately 4 acres of the site are already designated for Village Residential. Based on the maximum density allowed (30 units/acre), 120 units could be allowed on this 4-acre portion of the site.
Based on the above information, the maximum density for the site could be 157 units. The proposed project would construct 136 units which is within the density allowed for Village Residential (VR).
It should also be noted that because of the awkward shape of this parcel, “a reverse L,” it would be difficult to develop the site with a traditional single-family development. Its proximity to future commercial development also makes it desirable for multi-family development. For these reasons, staff is recommending approval of the change in land use.
Environmental Clearance
The Planning staff has conducted an environmental review (Initial Study #14-26) of the project in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and a Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (i.e., no significant effects in this case because of the mitigation measures and/or modifications described in Initial Study #14-26) is being recommended (Attachment 9).
Planning Commission Action
On May 20, 2015, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing and considered this request. Prior to the meeting, two letters were received in opposition to the request (Attachments 10 and 11). During the public hearing, one person spoke in favor of the project. No one spoke in opposition. The Planning Commission voted 5-0-2 (1 absence and 1 vacancy) to recommend that the City Council approve General Plan Amendment #14-04, Revision #2 to the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan, and Site Utilization Plan Revision #4 to Planned Development (P-D) #46 subject to the conditions in Planning Commission Resolution #3050 (Attachment 12). A copy of the Planning Commission Staff Report may be found at Attachment 13 and an excerpt from the Planning Commission minutes may be found at Attachment 14.
Recommendation
The Planning Commission and staff recommend approval of General Plan Amendment #14-04 and Revision #2 to the Fahrens Creek Specific Plan in accordance with the Draft Resolution found at Attachment 15 and approval of the Site Utilization Plan Revision #4 to Planned Development (P-D) #46 by introducing the Ordinance at Attachment 16. It is also recommended the City Manager be authorized to execute the Developer Agreement found at Attachment 17.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
If approved, this project would be required to annex into the Community Facilities District 2003-2 (Services) which would help fund police and fire services and maintenance of public infrastructure and landscaping (Condition #9 of Planning Commission Resolution #3050). No appropriation of funds is needed.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Location Map
2. Site Plan - Option #1
3. General Plan Land Use Diagram
4. Fahrens Creek Specific Plan/Site Utilization Plan Map
5. Site Plan - Option #2
6. Flood Map
7. Merced Municipal Code Section 17.48.190
8. Planning Commission Resolution #2675 (with proposed amendment)
9. Initial Study #14-26
10. Letter from Keith Tetangco
11. Letter from Joan Porter
12. Planning Commission Resolution #3050
13. Planning Commission Staff Report #15-05 - 3rd Addendum
14. Planning Commission Minutes Excerpt
15. Draft City Council Resolution
16. Draft Ordinance
17. Developer Agreement