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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission Minutes 2007/12/18 MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Lee Conference Room 430 F Street Chula Vista, California CALL TO ORDER: ROLL CALL / MOTIONS TO EXCUSE: Members Present: Member(s> Absent: Tripp, Felber, Moctezuma, Vinson, Bensoussan, Spethman Clayton MSC (Spethman/Felber> (6-0) to excuse Cmr. Clayton. Motion carried. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Read into the record by Chair Tripp ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: 1. Public Hearing: PCZ 07-03 and PCC 07-24; Consideration of Zone Change and Conditional Use Permit for a High Tech High State Chartered Public High School and Elementary/Middle School. The 10-acre project site is located at southeast corner of the extension of Discovery Falls Drive and Hunte Parkway. High Tech High Learning, applicant. Background: Harold Phelps reported that HTH Learning proposes a S50-student high school and 700-student elementary/middle school including an Environmental Learning Center on a 10-acre portion of the University Park project site, located at the southeast corner of Hunte Parkway and Discovery Falls Drive. A lease agreement with HTH Learning was approved by the City Council in January 2007 to develop the high school on the 10-acre City owned site. Mr. Phelps indicated that in order to allow for development to occur on university lands in advance of the university plan, a zone change from Planned Community (PC) to Public Quasi Public (PQ) is needed. The zone change will be consistent with the General Plan and will not preclude or pre-empt the creation of a University Sectional Planning Area. The campus will be built in two phases, the first phase will be a 64,000 sf building footprint for the high school and environmental research center. The parking and classrooms for phase I can accommodate up to 550 high school students. Phase" involves the development of another 70,000 sf building area for 700 elementary and middle school age students. Planning Commission Minutes - 2 - December 18, 2007 Key issues in the analysis of the CUP are that vehicular access and on-site circulation be established by the approval of the Site Plan and developed per the approved Traffic Study Report. Also, required parking is being provided based on a maximum capacity of 550 high school students and 700 elementary/middle school students. The hours of operation for the two schools will be staggered and any ancillary activities must occur after established school hours. The campus buildings will be designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. All buildings will include energy-saving materials and mechanical systems. The Design Review Committee conducted a preliminary review of the design. Since there is currently no theme established for this area absent the University SPA Plan, both the DRC and staff directed the HTH architecture team to try to pick up on the overall Otay Ranch themes that have already been established in the area. Staff Recommendation: That the Planning Commission adopt Resolution PCC 07-24 recommending that the City Council 1.) adopt a resolution adopting the Mitigated Negative Declaration IS 07-14 and associated Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; 2.) adopt the ordinance amending the zoning map and approving a Zone Change for 10-acre project site from Planned Community to Public Quasi-Public and adopt a resolution approving CUP PCC 07-24 in accordance with the findings and subject to the conditions contained therein. Commission Comments: Cmr. Spethman made comments on environmental issues, drainage and grading and asked for clarification on what constitutes ancillary uses. Cmr. Spethman also noted that both institutions (the university and HTH) will have an emphasis on environmental research. That being said, with respect to the architecture and design, he indicated that the university and HTH site will be situated in pristine land in a beautiful natural setting. He would strongly urge the architect and design team to take this opportunity to make a striking architectural statement blending in with the natural environment and designing a state-of-the-art LEED certified institution. Cmr. Moctezuma strongly concurs with Cmr. Spethman's comments regarding the architectural statement, and noted that although the project meets and/or exceeds the parking requirements, should the need arise for overflow parking, it would need to be accommodated by street parking in Village 11; she cautioned staff to be mindful of this to clearly delineate a safe pedestrian route to the campus. Cmr. Bensoussan noted that the staff report indicated that the applicant will strive to acquire the highest LEED certification and wondered whether this was just a lofty statement or is there any way that it could be incorporated as a requirement in the conditions of approval. Cmr. Bensoussan also stated that she vehemently disagrees with the DRC's recommendation that the architecture follow the theme that the Otay Ranch High School and other new schools in the area have used. Planning Commission Minutes - 3 - December 18, 2007 Christopher Gerber, applicant, noted that their normal hours of operation are from 8:30 to 4:00 and students are on staggered schedules, however they do have a 6 to 6 program where students are able to be dropped off or picked up between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. depending on their needs. They are also on a traditional year track schedule with summers off. Mr. Gerber also explained that they contract with a firm whose sole responsibility is to manage the entire process of LEED registration and certification. Cmr. Vinson asked if the school "cherry-picks" their students and what their criteria is for picking student enrollment. Colleen Green, Director of HTH stated that their enrollment is based on a regional zip code lottery utilizing the US Census Data for school age children; a certain percentage of children do come from other jurisdictions. The lottery is computerized and the school doesn't even see applications nor are academic standings taken into account. Based on a San Diego Countywide economic indicator, the only data that is used takes into account families who qualify for free or reduced lunch status, which constitutes approximately 40 percent of their enrollment. Public Hearing Opened and Closed. Commission Discussion: Cmr. Felber stated he is supportive of the project, but has reservation about adequate parking needs and would like to see the applicant and staff go back and revisit where they could come up with additional parking. MSC (Vinson/Bensoussan) (6-0-0-1) that the Planning Commission adopt Resolution PCC 07-24 recommending that the City Council 1.) adopt a resolution adopting the Mitigated Negative Declaration IS 07-14 and associated Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; 2.) adopt the ordinance amending the zoning map and approving a Zone Change for 10-acre project site from Planned Community to Public Quasi- Public and adopt a resolution approving CUP PCC 07-24 in accordance with the findings and subject to the conditions contained therein with the following additional directives: · that the applicant and staff revisit adding additional overflow parking, and · that the applicant strive to obtain the highest level of LEED certification. Motion carried. Adjournment at 6:00 p.m. to a Regular Planning Commission meeting on January 9, 2008. Submitted by Diana Vargas Secretary to the Planning Commission