HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 1 - Staff Report MPA15-0009CHULA VISTA.
PLANNING
COMMISSION
Item
Meeting Date: 7113116
ITEM TITLE: Public Hearing: MPA15 -0009 Consideration of amendments to the
Eastern Urban Center (EUC) Sectional Planning Area (SPA) Plan and
associated regulatory documents to relocate the el ementary school site to
the Mixed Use Civic /Office Core District (District 5), delete a segment of
Montage Avenue, adopt revised parking standards and to give the Director
of Development Services authority to approve future Millenia street
deletions, and future changes to the Millenia Parking Management Plan,
including the parking standards.
SUBMITTED BY: Patricia Ferman, Landscape Architect/Project Manager
REVIEWED BY: Kelly Broughton, Director of Development Services
INTRODUCTION
The Millenia project (formerly known as the Eastern Urban Center) includes approximately 207
acres of land owned by SLF IV/Millenia, LLC ( "Applicant "). Millenia is located along the SR
125 tollway -between Birch Road and the future Hunte Parkway/Main Street extension
(Attachment 1), and is approved for approximately 3.5 million square feet of non - residential
uses, and 2,983 multi- family housing units.
The approved EUC SPA Plan (SPA) and Form Based Code (FBC) currently propose the primary
location of the Elementary School site to be within the South - Central residential neighborhood
(District 9). The Applicant filed an application to amend the approved SPA and FBC to move
the school site to Tentative Map (TM) Lot 16 in the Mixed Use Civic /Office Core District
(District 5). The School District has expressed a preference for the elementary school to be
located in District 5 instead of District 9 due to its more central location and improved
accessibility.
Staff is also seeking clarification of the Director of Development Services' authority to approve,
at an administrative level, street deletions in the Millenia plan and to approve the Millenia
Parking Management Plan. Both of these issues are discussed in more detail in the staff report.
As proposed, the Project will require amendments to the EUC SPA Plan, and FBC.
MPA15 -0009
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Page No. 2
The Director of Development Services has reviewed the proposed project for compliance with
the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the project was
covered in previously adopted Final Second Tier Environmental Impact Report, EIR 07 -01. The
Director of Development Services has determined that only minor technical changes or additions
to this document are necessary and that none of the conditions described in Section 15162 and
15164 of the State CEQA Guidelines calling for the preparation of a subsequent document have
occurred; therefore, the Director of Development Services has prepared an addendum to the
Final Second Tier Environmental Impact Report, EIR 07 -01 (Attachment 2).
i u_ Y 1-30 14W130
That the Planning Commission conduct the Public Hearing and consider:
1) A Resolution to consider an Addendum to the Final Second Tier Environmental Impact
Report, EIR 07 -01 (IS- I5- 0003); and
2) An Ordinance to amend the SPA Plan and the Form Based Code to:
a. Relocate the elementary school site from the South Central Neighborhood District
(District 9) to TM Lot 16 in the Mixed Use Civic /Office Core District (District 5);
and
b. Delete a segment of Montage Avenue (between Strata Street and Avant Street)
and give the Director of Development Services authority to approve future
Millenia street deletions; and
c. Adopt revised parking standards for Millenia and to give the Director of
Development Services authority to approve the Parking Management Plan and
future changes to the Millenia Parking Management Plan including the non-
residential parking standards.
DISCUSSION
SPA Plan and Form used Code
The adopted SPA Plan, approved on September 15, 2009, establishes the vision for Millenia, and
defines the land use character and mix, design criteria, transportation system, and public
infrastructure requirements for the project. The SPA Plan proposes a flexible regulatory
framework that provides for a variety of possible land use scenarios for each district and is
intended to allow the project to respond to market cycles. The FBC incorporates both the PC
District Regulations and the Village Design Plan and is based on the concept that the relationship
between buildings and the public realm is more important than distinctions in land -use types.
Millenia is divided into 10 Community Districts, and the SPA contains a Table of Requirements
for each District that identifies the dominant land use, number of dwelling units, non - residential
i17�VElIIIQ
Page No. 3
square footage permitted (office and retail), building setbacks, and other requirements and
limitations.
The following table identifies the General Plan, Land Use Designation and Existing Land Use
for the proposed School site and adjacent properties.
Existing General Plan, SPA Plan Land Use Designations and Existing land uses
General Plan SPA Plan Land Use Designation Existin Land Use
Proposed School Site EUC Mixed -Use Civic /Office Core Vacant; graded site
(District 5)
North EUC Mixed -Use Civic /Office Core Vacant; graded site
(District 5)
South EUC Central Southern Neighborhood Vacant; graded site
(District 9)
East EUC Main Street District Vacant; graded site
(District 6)
West EUC Business District Vacant; graded site
(District 4)
Relocation of the Millenia School Site
The Public Facilities Section of the SPA Plan states that the projected 2,983 residential dwelling
units will generate approximately 624 elementary students at foil build -out according to the
Chula Vista Elementary School District ( CVESD).
The SPA plan approved by the City in September of 2009 included two potential school sites: A
preferred site in the Central Southern Neighborhood District (District 9) and an alternative site in
the Southwestern Neighborhood District (District 10). In September 2012, the CVESD provided
formal confirmation that the alternative site in District 10 was no longer needed; therefore, in
March 2013 a SPA plan amendment included the elimination of the alternative school site
(Resolution 2013 -038 and ordinance 3257).
Since then, the School District and the Applicant have discussed a concept for a potential joint -
use elementary school and YMCA facility. The Applicant and the CVESD concluded that one of
the challenges to locating a potential joint -use facility was the size of the school site in TM Lot
26 in District 9, which is approximately 6.5 acres of usable area. The discussions then focused
on an alternative site which could accommodate a potential joint -use facility with the YMCA or
a similar compatible use. Negotiations on the joint =use facility are ongoing and may or may not
be realized.
The Applicant is proposing to move the site for the elementary school from its current location in
District 9 to TM lot 16 (8.5 acres in size) in the Mixed -Use Civic /Office Core District (District 5)
(Please see Attachment 4, EUC SPA Plan Amendment).
MPA15 -0009 Page No. 4
Per the SPA Plan, Section 02.03.001, District 5 is intended to be the heart of Millenia and to
function "as the symbolic and ceremonial focus of community government and culture ". It has a
target density of 200 residential units, 900,000 square feet of non - residential uses, a Public
Library, a Fire Station, a CPF site, and a 1.62 -acre park (see Attachment 4, Site Utilization Plan,
pages 5 and 6 of 31). The City has received a Design Review application from Chesnut
Properties for TM Lot 7 which forms the northern half of District 5. That application proposes
approximately 318,000 square feet of Class A office space along with a four -story parking
structure. Discussions are ongoing regarding the siting of the Millenia library in one of the
proposed buildings.
The CVESD has submitted the attached letter dated April 21, 2016 formally supporting TM Lot
16 as the site for the Millenia elementary school due to its "more central location and improved
accessibility" (Attachment 3). The applicant is in agreement with this position and if approved,
the proposed SPA plan would delete any reference to TM Lot 26 as a potential school site.
a. Proposed School Site Land Use
The proposed school site is an 8.5 -acre parcel located in the southern portion of District 5
and is of sufficient size to accommodate a potential joint use facility. This District already
contains a requirement for a CPF site to be developed within it.
While not within a residential district, the proposed school site is both immediately adjacent
to other residential districts and is centrally located within Millenia. This site will have direct
access to a 1.62 -acre planned park P -2, the Regional Trail, an extensive sidewalk and bicycle
network, and is also in close proximity to the planned City library, which provides added
land use synergies.
The parcel within District 5 contains a building height designation of MH3 which requires
that a minimum average height of three stories be maintained. The CVESD has indicated
that the maximum height of the school will be two stories. It should be noted, however, that
the Regulating Plan for Minimum Average Building Heights (Attachment 4, Exhibit 1II -49,
pages 24 and 25 of 31) indicates that the potential school site location is not subject to height
averaging calculations.
The Millenia plan provides a range of land uses for each District, and contemplates that the
range of residential and non - residential land uses in each District are flexible. The Site
Utilization Plan provides Low (minimum), High (maximum). and Target densities within
each District. While the target amount is the anticipated density at the time of SPA approval,
any value between the low and high amounts is consistent with the SPA Plan. Per Section
04.05.000 of the EUC FBC, residential and non - residential uses not meeting the target
intensity could be reallocated as an intensity transfer to another District.
Considered cumulatively, the Target non - residential square footage in each District
corresponds to the total 3.5 million non - residential square feet approved for the Millenia .
project. The gap between the Target and High densities reflect the capacity for each District
to absorb non - residential square footage displaced from another District via intensity transfer.
MPA15 -0009
Page No. 5
The non- residential transfer absorption capacity varies by District, ranging from 50,000
square feet (District 10) to 368,000 square feet (District 4).
If relocation of the .school site is approved, the current school site in District 9 would revert
to its underlying residential land use, as designated on the Site Utilization Plan. No
additional residential units are being proposed at this time and there is sufficient capacity to
absorb the displaced non - residential uses in other Districts. Prior to build out of District 5, an
administrative intensity transfer of these units to another District must be conducted in
accordance with the provisions contained in Section 04.05.000 of the FBC.
While final land uses are not known for TM lot 16 in District 5, if the School District does
move forward with construction of the Millenia school, it would displace other non-
residential uses planned for that District. No intensity transfer has been proposed at this
time; however, there is sufficient capacity in the other Districts to absorb the non - residential
uses that will be displaced from District 5.
To evaluate the potential fiscal impacts associated with a pure displacement scenario (no
intensity transfer to another District), the Applicant prepared a fiscal study to analyze the
possible loss of 450,000 square feet of office uses in the Civic District. That study compares
the City's costs associated with the office use with anticipated revenues to generate a net
fiscal impact to the City. Please refer to the Ongoing Fiscal Section of this report for an
analysis of the fiscal impacts.
b. Proposed School Site Circulation
The proposed school site will be bound on three sides by roads, including the four -lane
Millenia Avenue (Street A) to the west, Montage Avenue to the east and Strata Street to the
south. The site is bordered on the north by the future Civic Park (P -2) and the planned City
Library site on Lot 7. While no site plan has been provided to indicate the layout of the
school site, with streets at pad level on three sides, there is the potential to provide for access
and circulation patterns in and around the elementary school. Signalized access to the school
site will be provided via a planned traffic signal on Millenia Avenue between Optima Street
and Strata Street.
The City's Transportation Engineer has reviewed the previous traffic studies prepared for the
EUC and concluded that traffic impacts of providing a school site in District 5 would be
minimal to none. While there may be temporary heavy traffic during morning and afternoon
peak hours, there will be enough capacity on the roadways and intersections to handle these
temporary peaks. Further, because the Millenia community is laid out in a grid pattern of
smaller unclassified streets that provide a number of ways to get to any destination within the
site, the City's Transportation Engineer has indicated that Millenia Avenue will not create a
substandard level of service as a result of the alternative school site location.
Street Deletion Authority
Section 04.06.000 of the Millenia FBC includes specific Subdivision Standards and Procedures
that allow new streets to be added by Final Map with the approval of the "Director of Planning
MPA15 -0009 Page No. 6
and Building (now Director of Development. Services) and the City Engineer ", regardless of
whether those streets were shown on the original Tentative Map. The intent of the proposed
amendment is to add clarifying language to allow streets to also be deleted with approval of a
Final Map with the Director of Development Services and the City Engineer's approval
(Attachment 4, page 31 of 31). Any request would need to be supported by a technical study
evaluating the impact of the deletion on the Millenia circulation system, surrounding arterials
and adjacent properties.
a. Montage Avenue Segment Deletion
In addition to the proposed amendment discussed above, the Applicant is proposing to delete
Montage Avenue between Strata Street and Avant Street. In 2014, the City Council approved
the SPA Plan and related entitlements for the Otay Land Company's Village Nine project.
Those entitlements eliminated the southerly extension of Montage Avenue from the future
Hunte Parkway/Main Street extension across the Otay Land Company property. This action
had the impact of rendering this segment of Montage Avenue on the Millenia site
unnecessary. A technical study dated August 13, 2013 was prepared by Darnell and
Associates and showed that the deletion of the street segment would not adversely impact
either the circulation or levels of service (LOS) in the project. That study was reviewed and
approved by City Staff.
The deletion of the segment of Montage Avenue south of Strata Street, which would be
deleted by the Director of Development Services if the proposed amendment is approved,
will not impact pedestrian or other alternative modes of circulation as sufficient sidewalks
and bike accessibility is provided to the lots adjacent to the deleted street segments via
Millenia Avenue, Orion Avenue and Strata Street. The removal of this segment will also not
impact any planned transit routes or facilities.
Parking Management Plan
The Parking Standards Section 03.15.003 of the EUC FBC requires that projects within Millenia
comply with the parking rates outlined in Table III -A of said section until such time as the
revised parking rates are adopted as part of a Parking Management Plan (PMP). The FBC did
not specify an approval authority for the adoption of the PMP. The proposed SPA amendment
intends to clarify the approval authority for the PMP, as well as, to adopt revised parking rates
from the proposed PMP which will replace those currently shown in Table III -A of the EUC
FBC (Attachment 4, pages 27, 28, and 29 of 31).
The PMP, prepared by Linscott, Law & Greenspan (LLG), is currently under City review and is
now nearing completion. The PMP's purpose is to provide a mechanism to manage . the parking
allocation for Millenia and to implement the provisions of the SPA Plan with an overall goal of
managing the parking demand and supply within the non - residential areas of the project. The
PMP would not apply to private residential development lots in the project, with the exception of
on- street parking on the residential streets. The management of the residential lots, and any
specific residential permit parking program implemented within those private lots, would be
under the sole purview of each individual Homeowner's Association (HOA). Shared parking
MPA15 -0009
Page No. 7
will not be a requirement for any residential development, although the option to enter into a
private agreement to share parking is open via a private agreement between the sharing parties.
a. Parking District
Per Section 03.15.010 of the EUC FBC, a Parking District shall be formed and a
management entity established in order to actively implement and update a parking
management plan. The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and
Establishment of Easements of Millenia (Community Declaration) recorded December 18,
2013 as document number 2013- 0727255 states that the Community Association will form a
Parking District Council (PDC) to implement the Parking Management Plan which shall be
prepared by the Master Developer and shall be updated on a bi- annual .basis in accordance
with the requirements of Community Entitlements and the provisions of Article 4 of the
Community Declaration. The PDC may also include representatives of the City.
The PMP will be implemented by either the Master Developer, during the initial build -out of
the project in accordance with the Community Declaration, or the PDC. Duties include the
requirement to conduct an inventory and occupancy study every two years to determine the
number of available spaces in the Parking District during peak periods and to evaluate their
shared parking effectiveness. The study shall be used to update the PMP, including the
development of new parking rates for projects within the District. The new rates would
apply to all development projects in the district during the following two -year period.
b. Parking Rates
The revised parking rates in the PMP differ from those described in Table III -A of the SPA
in that they represent more appropriate ratios for the current market conditions as primarily
reflected in the base rates found in the ULI's Shared Parking (2"d Edition) and ITE's Parking
Generation (4`h Edition). The revised parking rates will be incorporated as Appendix B in
the Parking Management Plan. These rates will be used until a future parking survey is
conducted and updated parking rates adopted every two years._ For projects requesting
parking lower than the amount required by the PMP or parking greater than the .amount
required by the PMP by more than 10 %, a parking study is required as part of their Design
Review application.
The proposed amendment would give the Director of Development Services authority to approve
the initial Parking Management Plan and future changes to the Plan. The amendment would also
allow future revisions to non - residential parking rates based on results of the required periodic
parking surveys, and allow them to be inserted administratively into the EUC SPA FBC
document.
DECISION MAKER C®IOT1HLICTS:
Staff has reviewed the property holdings of the Planning Commission and has found no property
holdings within 500 feet of the boundaries of the property which is the subject to this action.
Staff is not independently aware, nor has staff been informed by any Planning Commission
MPA15 -0009 Page No. 8
member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision -maker conflict of interest in
this matter.
CURRENT YEAR FISCAL:
All application fees and processing costs are borne by the Applicant, resulting in no net impact to
the General Fund or the Development Services Fund.
ONGOING FISCAL:
The Millenia Fiscal Impact Analysis, which is included as Attachment 5, indicates that the
analysis is based on a previous development program evaluated in connection with a fiscal
analysis for the EUC SPA Plan which envisioned the delivery of the 450,000 gross square feet of
office space near the end of the project's 20 -year absorption period. The Analysis further .
indicates that fiscal impacts referenced in the Analysis at an illustrative year 5 and year 10 would
be realized by the City approximately 20 years in the future. The Analysis concludes that for a
mid -rent scenario ($2.70 per square feet) the net negative fiscal impact to the City of removing
450,000 square feet of office from the Civic/Office District would average $29,000 (2015 .
dollars) on an annual basis. The loss of office space would also result in a loss of approximately
1,900 jobs at buildout of the project. This analysis assumes that there is no transfer of this
capacity to other Districts within the project (worst -case scenario).
The study estimates that at project . buildout, the removal of the office component under
consideration would result in the loss of less than one percent (0.5) of the total net City revenues
generated by the Millenia project. On a gross revenue basis, this represents an annual loss of
approximately $732,000 in year 10 of the buildout scenario. The lost revenues are largely offset
by annual expenditure savings projected to total $703,000, resulting in the above described net
annual fiscal impact of $29,000. The estimated fiscal impact does not include any offset
associated with the residential that will be constructed in the previously designated school site, as
no increase of the total residential units.for the project is proposed.
The net negative fiscal impact associated with this action reduces the revenues available to
finance City services. Furthermore, the City. will absorb the estimated gross. revenue loss in
perpetuity unless an equivalent land use is restored within the Millenia project that compensates
for the removal of 450,000 square feet of office space as proposed. The current action neither
requires nor precludes the transfer of the planned 450,000 square feet of office space elsewhere .
in the Millenia project. Prior to build out of District 5, an administrative intensity transfer to
another District must be conducted in accordance with the provisions contained in Section
04.05.000 of the FBC. There is sufficient capacity in the other Districts to accommodate the
required transfer, and should such a transfer occur in the future, it would potentially offset the
negative fiscal impact associated with this action.
While other Millenia Districts have sufficient .capacity to absorb the transfer of 450,000 square
feet of non - residential from District 5, the practicality of said absorption should be considered.
Projects approved to date, or in process for approval, are consistently failing to meet the non-
residential square footage targets. While these reduced densities are allowed under the plan, they
may negatively impact the fiscal performance of the project.
MPA15 -0009 Page Igo. 9
Pursuant to Section 4.5 (Operating Deficit) of the Millenia Development Agreement, the Master
Developer will cover the City's net operating deficit during the initial years of the project
(excluding fire services), up to a cumulative maximum of $500,000. The amount of the deficit is
to be determined via a fiscal study to be prepared by the City at the Master Developer's cost. Per
the Development Agreement, the first fiscal analysis "shall be conducted following the end of
the fiscal year which is two (2) years following the first occupancy within the Property, and
annually thereafter at the end of each fiscal year." The first Millenia certificate of occupancy
was issued to Fairfield Residential, on October 23, 2015. Based upon this date, the first fiscal
analysis shall be conducted after June 30, 2018.
When the operating deficit fiscal analysis is conducted, the Master Developer will be required to
provide a plan demonstrating the project's ability to meet the total target non - residential square
footage, including intensity transfers between Districts.
Attachments
1. Locator Map
2. Addendum to Second Tier Final Environmental Impact Report EIR 07 -01 (IS -15 -0003)
3. Letter from the Chula Vista Elementary School District Dated April 21,- 2016
4. EUC SPA Plan 2nd Amendment
5. Fiscal Impact Study Dated May 27, 2016
6. Planning Commission SPA Resolution MPA15 -0009
7. Draft City Council SPA Plan Resolution
8. Draft City Council Ordinance
Prepared by:
Patricia Ferman, Project Manager; Jeff Steichen, Associate Planner; and Tiffany Allen,
Assistant Director of Development Services Department