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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm Reports/1994/05/11 (8) Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 1 3. PUBLIC HEARING: Consideration of the following applications filed bv Charles Tibbitt for 0.67 unincorporated acres located at the southwest corner of Bonita Road and Lvnwood Drive. ... a. GPA-94-oi.' Amend the General Plan From Office Professional Commercial and Residential to Commercial Visitor. b. PCZ-94-B. Prezone to C-V-P. Commercial Visitor Precise Plan. c. PCC-94-23. Conditional Use Permit to operate a full service carwash, A. BACKGROUND The applicant, Charles Tibbitt, has submitted applications for an amendment to the General Plan, a Prezoning and a Conditional Use Permit for 0.67 unincorporated acres at the southwest comer of Bonita Road and Lynwood Drive. The proposal is to redesignate the site from Office Professional Commercial to Commercial Visitor, prezone the parcel to C-V-P, Commercial Visitor with Precise Plan, and establish a full service carwash. The Precise Plan for the proposed carwash received conditional approval by the Design Review Committee on February 28, 1994. The Environmental Review Coordinator has conducted an Initial Study, IS-94-04, of possible environmental impacts associated with the project. Based on the attached Initial Study and comments thereon, the Environmental Review Coordinator has concluded that there would be no significant environmental effects and, therefore, recommends adoption of the Negative Declaration issued on lS-94-04. B. RECOMMENDATION 1. Based on the initial Study and the Negative Declaration find that this project will have no significant environmental impacts and adopt the Negative Declaration issued on lS-94-04. 2. Adopt the attached Resolution recommending that the City Council take the following actions with regard to the 0.67 acres in question. Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 2 a. Adopt the attached draft City Council Resolution amending the land use designation of the General Plan from Office Commercial To Visitor Commercial. b. Adopt the attached Draft City Council Ordinance Prezoning the property to C-V-P, Commercial Visitor Precise Plan, in accordance with Exhibit A, attached hereto; c. Adopt the attached draft City Council Resolution approving a Conditional Use Permit for a full service carwash. C. DISCUSSION The 0.67 acre site is irregular in shape and is located at the southwest comer of Bonita Road and Lynwood Drive within the unincorporated area of San Diego County. The site is also located within the Sweetwater Community Planning Area. The property, which is the consolidation of the existing 0.25 acre frontage parcel with 0.42 acres from the southerly adjacent residential lot, is presently vacant and relatively level, except for the southerly 30-40 ft which contains a 40 ft. high slope that separates the site from a single family dwelling located adjacent to the south. Adjacent land uses include commercial retail to the north (across Bonita Rd.) commercial office and retail to the east (across Lynwood Drive), residential to the south and I-80S to the west across a flood control channel. The present Sweetwater Community Plan Designations (County General Plan) are as follows: Site Office Professional Commercial Residential Low Density (2 du/ac) Neighborhood Commercial Residential Low Density (2.0 du/ac) Public, Semi Public Impact Sensitive Area East (across Lynwood Dr.) South West North (across Bonita Rd.) (see Exhibit D) Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 3 The present City General Plan designations are as follows: Site Office Professional Commercial Residential (2 du/ ac) Retail Commercial Residential (2 du/ ac) Residential (2 du/ac) Open Space North (across Bonita Rd.) South East(across Lynwood Dr.) West (see Exhibit B) The present zoning (City and County) is as follows: Site C-30, Professional Office (County) R-R-l, Rural Residential (County) C-C, Central Commercial (City) R-R-l, Rural Residential (1 du/ac) County C-32,Convenience Comml.(County) Open Space (County) North(across Bonita Rd.) South East (across Lynwood Dr) West (see Exhibit C) C. PUBLIC INPUT On February 10, 1994, the Planning Department sponsored a public forum to familiarize the residents of the immediate vicinity and the Sweetwater Community Group with the applicant's request, the planning process and public hearing schedule. The issues raised at the public forum primarily concerned the additional traffic and signal delays at the Bonita Road and Lynwood Drive Intersection. The residents pointed out that the County had recently approved a church/school in their neighborhood, and since the Lynwood area is served solely by Lynwood Drive, the proposed project would further contribute to the deterioration of traffic conditions on Bonita Rd. and the traffic signal phasing (delays) at the intersection. In regard to the proposed land use issue (full service carwash) and the project design, the residents in attendance stated that the project was attractive and offered a service presently unavailable in the immediate vicinity (the nearest full service carwash is located at the northeast corner of Broadway and "K" Street). There were no representatives of the Sweetwater Community Planning Group at the public forum, but in a letter received by the Planning Department the Group voiced the same concern as residents regarding an increase in traffic along Bonita Road, and delay Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 4 in the traffic signal phasing at the Bonita Road Lynwood Dr.lPlaza Bonita Rd. intersection. D. ANALYSIS In 1989, the City Council adopted a comprehensive update of the Chula Vista General Plan and, by reference, adopted the Sweetwater Community Plan for all the unincorporated parcels within this Planning area. The Sweetwater Community Plan, which encompasses that unincorporated portion of the San Diego County south of Route 54, east of I-80S, and north of the existing City boundaries ((see Exhibit E), was adopted in 1977 and amended in 1988. The Community Plan shows an Office Professional Commercial designation for the site and contains design guidelines to guide the development of the area and maintain the community character and gateway qualities. The existing commercial uses along both sides of Bonita Road are for, the most part, specialty retail shops and commercial offices. The architecture and site arrangement of the existing commercial developments are diverse and do not form a cohesive urban pattern. In regard to the issue of compatibility, the land use designations found in the "gateway" area surrounding the Bonita Road and I-80S interchange range from Office Professional Commercial to General Commercial, and Central Commercial (see Exhibit B and C). The land use designations on this segment of Bonita Road are diverse and allow for a variety of businesses. However, commercial uses are primarily commercial offices and retail shops. Therefore, redesignating the subject site from Office Professional Commercial to Commercial Visitor appears to fit the already established land use pattern in this area and is consistent with the commercial goals of the Sweetwater Community Plan. The redesignation of 0.42 acres of the southerly adjacent residential property from Residential Low Density (2 du/ac) to Commercial Visitor will result in a more suitable parcel for commercial development and will allow access to and from Lynwood Drive. The lot split will not affect the livability or the amenities of the property in question It is important to mention that recently the City rezoned 2.23 acres of property located at the northwest corner of Bonita Road and Plaza Bonita Road from C- V, Commercial Visitor to C-C, Central Commercial to avoid automobile oriented uses such as service stations, drive-thru restaurants, carwashes and other automobile oriented uses. While this Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 5 contradicts the staff's recommendation for this project, the issues and constraints in the case of the northerly parcel are substantially different. But the principal factor that led the City to restrict automobile related uses for this parcel was the traffic conditions along Plaza Bonita Road, the relatively closeness of the freeway on-ramp to the site and street intersection, and the visibility that this parcel has from almost all angles. On the south side of Bonita Road, the traffic pattern and traffic conditions are different primarily because Lynwood Drive does not have the traffic volume that Plaza Bonita Road has, and the freeway off-ramp does not restrict access to and from Bonita Road. Based on this and the information and conclusions of the traffic report, the City Traffic Engineer concluded that the carwash can operate on the subject site without the frictions that the northerly parcel would have with a similar use. A noise study was also conducted to determine the potential impact from traffic as well as from operational aspects of the proposed land use. The study concluded that the project will increase the existing noise levels by 2db which in the context of the existing 66 db noise level in the area is considered negligible. Nevertheless, the proposed carwash facility will be conditioned to ensure that the outdoor operation do not exceed acceptable noise levels. The existing land uses in this segment of Bonita Road do not generate high traffic activity at the Bonita Road and Lynwood Drive/Plaza Bonita Road intersection is high and has been the concern of both the residents of the area and the Sweetwater Community Group. To address the issue of traffic and signal delays raised by the residents of the area at the public forum and those raised by the Sweetwater Community Group, a traffic report was prepared. The traffic report includes the traffic generated by the recently approved and presently under construction church/school facility and the data provided by the San Diego County Traffic Division The Traffic report reveals that a good portion of the traffic at this intersection is generated by the Plaza Bonita Shopping Center located about 1/2 mile north of the subject site, by the Freeway interchange and Bonita Road which is the main avenue to the Bonita community. Based on the above mentioned traffic report, the City Traffic Engineer has concluded that the traffic generated by the carwash, although substantially higher than office or even retail shops, is spread fairly evenly over the day and, as illustrated in the table below, is not expected to create any significant changes to Bonita Road and Lynwood/ plaza Bonita road intersection and traffic signal delays. Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 6 TABLE 2 SUMMARY OF LEVELS OF SERVICE FOR THE BONITA RD.lPLAZA BONITA /LYNWOOD INTERSECTION CONDITION AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Delay(sec) LOS Delay(sec) LOS Existing 24.0 C 26.6 D Existing + Project 24.1 C 28.6 D LOS = Level of Service (sec) = in seconds The following table also illustrates the traffic generated by three different land uses; an Office, a retail building and the proposed carwash. Land Use Rate Intensity Daily trips Peak Hr Trips/lOoo Trips sq. ft. Carwash 900/site 250 car/day 900 41 Office Dev* 20 12,000 sq.ft 240 31 Retail Dev * * 40 10,000 sq.ft 400 36 The figures show that the traffic generated by the carwash is substantially more than with office development or retail use. However as indicated in the traffic report the trips generated by the carwash will be spread evenly throughout the day and will not impact the traffic peak hour nor the present level of service (LOS) or signal phasing (delays). The project will be conditioned to dedicate a sufficient area fronting Bonita Road to meet requirements for a four-lane major with dual left turns (54' centerline) to meet city street design standards. Regarding the need for a carwash in the vicinity, the nearest full service carwash is located about 1-1/2 miles away from the subject site. Thus, the proposed carwash will provide a convenient service an reduce automobile trips to central Chula Vista, Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 7 To ensure compatibility with area and conformance with the established community character, staff has recommended the following Precise Plan Standards, which we believe would ensure compatibility even if other use occupy the site: 1. Development in this property shall be In conformance with the Sweetwater Community and Design Guidelines. 2. Development in this property shall be limited to a single tenant. 3. Building setbacks shall be as follows: Bonita Road Lynwood Drive Rear (south) Side (west) 20 ft. 20 ft. 25 ft. Oft. 4. Building height shall be limited to 2 1/2 stories or 45 ft. whichever is less. 5. A 20 ft. landscape buffer shall be provided along both street frontages. 6. All Parking shall be screened from view from the public right of way with dense landscaping, landscape mounding, low walls or a combination of any of the above. 7. Driveway along Lynwood Drive Shall be 28 ft wide. 8, Business identification signs shall be limited to low profile monument type signs, wall mounted signs and directional signs as permitted in the underlying zone. 9. A lighting plan addressing security and light spills onto the southerly adjacent residential area shall be submitted as part of the building permit submittal package. 10 Land uses in this site shan not create noise levels exceeding 65db by day and 55db by night. II. Development of this property must agree to not increase water consumption or participate in water conservation or fee offset program the City may have in effect at the time of building permit issuance. Chula Vista Planning Commission Agenda Item for Meeting of May 11, 1994 Page 8 E. CONCLUSION The redesignation from Commercial Office and Residential Low Density, follows the pattern of other parcels along this segment of Bonita Road and is consistent with City Zoning at other freeway intersections. The full service carwash, as conditioned, will provide a convenient service for area residents and because the site improvements are in substantial compliance with the Sweetwater Community Design Guidelines the project will result in a positive contribution to the overall community. The Conditional Use Permit will be condition to restrict outdoor hours of operation to further ensure that potential noise impacts will not adversely affect the southerly adjacent residential neighborhood, The topographical separation (approximately 40 f1.) between the proposed commercial site and the residential neighborhood above, the safeguards established in the form of Precise Standards to address compatibility and potential impacts, and the assessment of the City Traffic Engineer that the project will not adversely impact the existing traffic conditions at the Bonita Rd. and Lynwood Dr.lPlaza Bonita Road intersection, leads staff to recommend approval of the requests in accordance with the findings and subject to the requirements and conditions contained in the attached resolutions and ordinance. (f: \home\planning\luis \gpa-9402. rpt)