HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/09/26 Item 8
COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No.: h
Meeting Date: 9/26/06
ITEM TITLE:
Update Report on Otay Ranch Eastern Urban Center Sectional Planning
Area (SPA) Plan
SUBMITTED BY: Director of Planning and BUildin+-
r:
REVIEWED BY: Interim City Manager d.l (4/5ths Vote: Yes
No~
RECOMMENDATION: That Council Accept the Report
BOARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: N/A
DISCUSSION:
This agenda statement will provide background for staff's September 26 briefIng on the Otay
Ranch Eastern Urban Center (EUC). The purpose of the briefmg is twofold:
· To provide the City Council with an overview of the objectives for EUC envisioned in
the City's planning documents; and,
· to provide an overview of the transportation systems which are planned to serve the
EVC.
This update and future discussions are timely due to the submittal of entitlement applications
by the McMillin Companies for most of the EVC site. Staff received an initial preliminary
submittal on the project in April. A complete project application - inciu ding such elements as
a Parks Master Plan and a form based code for the Planned Community District regulations -
is anticipated to be completed in October. Because of the significance of the EVC to the
overall development of the Otay Ranch, staff and the applicant are proposing a series of
updates or workshops to brief the City Council. It is staff's intention to identify issues and
policy areas that have and will rise where staff may need general direction. The updates will
also provide a forum public comment on this important project.
The EUC is the heart of the Otay Ranch with an increased density and intensity of
development, higher than other areas in the Otay Ranch. The EUC will focus on pedestrian
design and transit services, inciuding local and regional transportation facilities. The
September 26 briefIng will focus on coordination with SANDAG and the Bus Rapid Transit
(BRT) system through the EVC.
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Page 2, Item No.: 8
Meeting Date: 9/26/06
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Background
The Eastern Urban Center was first envisioned in the 1989 General Plan. It is identified as
one of the regional centers in the updated Chula Vista General Plan (the others being the
Bayfront and Downtown/Chula Vista Center). Within the Otay Ranch, the EUC will serve as
the center of development in eastern Chula Vista, providing high-density housing, office
development and retail opportunities in an urban setting. By its strategic location at SR -125
and the regional transit route connecting the EUC to downtown San Diego and the
U.S.lMexico border, it provides a significant opportunity for Chula Vista to be a strong
economic force in the region.
On October 28, 1993, the Chula Vista City Council and the County of San Diego Board of
Supervisors adopted the Otay Ranch General Development Plan/Subregional Plan (GDP/SRP).
Fundamental to the adoption of the Otay Ranch GDP were guiding principles that set the
foundation for development of the Otay Ranch. One set of guiding principles focuses on the
EUC and states the intent "to create an urban center that will provide a unique functional and
symbolic center for Otay Ranch". To implement this, the Otay Ranch General Development
Plan proposes land use, character, and design policies that guide the development as follows:
. Residential: From 2-story townhomes up to high-rise apartments and condominiums,
15 stories maximum,
. Commercial: Compact, vertical, regional mall (this may be incrementally developed
due to market conditions), adjacent specialty shopping at base of office buildings,
business hotels,
. Office 1 Business Park: Regional office buildings with 15 story height limit
. Full range of public uses including transit, city library and arts facility, local parks and
urban greenbelt, fIre station, and potential elementary school.
The proposed project will involve approximately 210 acres of the EUC that is controlled by a
single landowner (McMillin Land Development). The SPA plan will evaluate the remaining
acreage of the EUC at a level sufficient to ensure that it can be developed in accordance with
the Otay Ranch GDP policies. All of the land uses mentioned above are to be integrated and
pedestrian in design supported by a well-designed and implemented transportation system.
DECISION-MAKER CONFLICTS:
Staff has reviewed the property holdings of the City Council and has found no such holdings
within 500' of the property which is the subject of this action.
FISCAL IMPACT: NIA
H:\PLANNlNG\sconD\EUC COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT(REVlSED 9-21).DOC
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