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HomeMy WebLinkAboutrda min 1998/05/19 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE REDE~qELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA Tuesday, May 19, 1998 Council Chambers 8:00 p.m. Public Services Building CALL TO ORDER 1. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: Agency Members: Moot, Padilla, Rindone, Salas, and Chair Horton ABSENT: Agency Members: None ALSO PRESENT: Executive Director, David D. Rowlands; Legal Counsel, John M. Kaheny; City Clerk, Beverly A. Authelet; and Deputy City Clerk, Charline V. Long CONSENT CALENDAR (Items pulled: none) CONSENT CALENDAR OFFERED BY CHAIR HORTON, headings read, texts waived, passed and approved unanimously 5-0. 2. RESOLUTION 1582: ADOPTING NEGATIVE DECLARATION IS-91-04 AND ADDENDUM IS-98-19 AND APPROVING OWNER PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT WITH MR. HAUL FONTES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDUSTRIAL BUILDING AT 3855 MAIN STREET LOCATED WITHIN THE SOUTHWEST REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA--The proposed 3,050 sq. ft. industrial building will be used for the warehousing and wholesaling of electrical equipment and supplies. The project also includes the removal of a house foundation, construction of a small parking lot, a trash enclosure, and landscape areas. Resolution approved unanimously 5-0. (Community Development Director) * * * END OF CONSENT CALENDA~ * * ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND RELATED RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 3. pUBLIC HEARING: TO CONSIDER A SPECIAL LAND USE PERMIT TO ALLOW EDUCATIONAL AND COUNSELING SERVICES TO CLIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS AT 314 P;%RKWAY-- Episcopal community Services submitted a Land Use Permit application to establish the South Bay Recovery Center at 314 Parkway. The Center is planned to provide educational and counseling services to clients who have substance abuse problems. The project is located within the Town Centre I Redevelopment Project Area and has been reviewed by the Town Centre Project Area Committee and the Downtown Business Association. The project is exempt from environmental review. The public hearing was continued to June 9, 1998. (Community Development Director) This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was declared open. · Roslyn Chasan, 13633 Paseo de la Huerta, Poway, CA 92064, spoke in opposition to this type of community service being offered in her neighborhood. Mrs. Chasan and her husband own rental property at 357 to 369 Third Avenue, across the street from Memorial Park. They received notice and were concerned with the type of clientele that would be moving into and using this type of facility. The notice did not address the kind of facility, the training of its personnel, the average time available to the users of this facility, the church's RDA Minutes May 19, 1998 Page 2 agenda, or the location of facilities available on church property. She also felt that some parks and beaches have become havens for alcoholics and drug addicts so that people who live in the neighborhood, pay taxes, have young children, cannot use these facilities without concern. She leased property to small businesses who may not renew their leases due to the crime already in the neighborhood as well as the threat of more undesirables moving into the neighborhood. MSUC (Horton/Rindone) that the public hearing be continued until June 9, 1998. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: TO CONSIDER GRANTING A SPEC I~_L USE PEP24I T FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAN DIEGO CODq~TY SOUTH BAY HEALTH & HUM3%N SERVICES AGENCY FANILY RESOURCE CENTER AT 675 OXFORD STREET LOCATED WITHIN THE SOUTHWEST REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA--The property owner plans to construct a two-story, 74,000 sq. ft. office building. The building will accommodate several County agencies which are currently located at the Jerome's building on Third Avenue between Palomar and Quintard and the Urquhart building on Third Avenue north of Palomar. Resolution was approved unanimously 5-0. (Community Development Director) _RESOLUTION 1583 APPROVING A SPECI~L USE pERMIT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAN DIEGO COU~A~rY SO%~r~ BAY HEALTH & HID~AN SERVICES AGENCY FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER AT 675 OXFORD STREET LOCATED WITHIN THE SOUTHWEST REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA Chris Salomone, Director of Community Development, stated this project would consolidate the Career Center, the Work Program (WERC), and the WESC Program with the Welfare-to-Work Reform into a single center. Consolidating those services into a family resources center can be a model for the region. Miguel Tapia, Community Development Specialist, stated the Agency's action tonight involves the approval of the Special Use Permit for the establishment of the County's Family Resource Center at the building to be built at the West end of Oxford Street. The design plans for the development of the building and the proposed pedestrian linkage will be brought to Council for consideration sometime in July. Approval of the Special Use Permit tonight will allow the developer and County staff to go forward with the proposal and lease agreement to the County Board of Supervisors. Staff recommends approval of the resolution with conditions listed therein. The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed Special Use Permit at their last meeting on May 13, and the Commission recommended approval of the Special Use Permit subject to the conditions l£sted on the resolution with the additional condition that the applicant obtain adequate access to the trolley and bus lines specified by the City Engineer. Cliff Swanson, City Engineer, stated the question of access to the site has been looked at by our staff. Staff estimates 1,500 recipients will visit the site on a daily basis based on information provided by the developer. It is estimated that 40% or nearly 600 service recipients will arrive by foot and presumably the majority of them will come in by either bus or trolley at the Palomar Trolley Station where the bus also stops. As indicated on the map, the strip of land for street access can be a right-turn-in and right-turn-out which will relieve congestion. With the trolley center on the right side of Palomar Street, we have a significant concern that people will not go to the intersection but will take the short cut and cut directly across Palomar Street. The ideal solution that we have looked at is to put in a pedestrian overpass in the vicinity that would channel people going to and from the center directly across without having to detour across the railroad tracks, which MTD8 has concerns with, or mid-block crossing that we have concerns with. We have estimated that the overpass could cost between $300,00 and $400,000. Mr. Salomone stated that the pedestrian bridge has come up since the Planning Commission action. The Planning Commission did include a condition on the project that a connection be made to the satisfaction of the City Engineer. RDA Minutes May 19, 1998 Page 3 Obviously, it is a significant cost item, to this project. Staff feels that the project is a very worthy project, and we support that an access be created for the Palomar Trolley Center. However, the project is on a fast track, and the County is anxious to begin construct£on with this developer. Staff proposes that best efforts be made to achieve this connection to the sat£sfaction of MTDB, SDG&E (who has power lines going over the site), and in a fiscally responsible way that protects the citizens. Chair Horton questioned that when the proposal first came forward, it was her understanding that there was going to be a child care component within close proximity. There was no mention of how we would accommodate this component. Mr. Salomone responded that when this first came forward, we were trying to get a child care center. We are currently still trying to get a child care center. We have a letter of interest from the Boys & Girls Club to help bring a facility like that into reality. We have also contacted the YMCA who has experience in operating these types of facilities. It is not shown in the current project because it is not a component yet. The developer has created a site where a child care center can be accommodated, but the issues of that facility being funded for short- or long-term child care have not yet been worked out. Men~ber Salas stated that a bridge over Palomar Street is important to the success of this and our ability to build this project without impacting the co~ununity. She has been working with some of the business owners in the Palomar Commerce Center and staff in regards to the traffic problem on Palomar. Customers are having a lot of difficulty getting into that shopping center as it is w£thout any new pedestrian crossing going through. She couldn't support an intersection going in on the East side of Industrial, because it would impact those business owners even more in terms of the ability of traffic to get in and out of the Palomar Commerce Center. With all our best efforts, we need to look at the alternat£ve of the bridge going over there unless we can f£nd some way to remedy that problem they are experiencing. Mr. Swanson stated the proposal of putting a two-way driveway with right-in and right-out would alleviate a lot of traffic. The driveway envisioned to allow traffic to come out and make a right turn at that location will greatly assist in reducing people making that undesirable cut through, vehicular traffic would be changed and assisted, and pedestrians would be provided a much shorter route to the Center. The proposal £ncludes a two-way driveway for vehicles and that would be shared by a sidewalk. The proposal for a pedestrian overpass by putting a driveway in for vehicles would allow the traffic to come out and make a right turn eliminating congestion in that particular shopping center and would also help reduce potential traffic volume going through the signalized intersections at Oxford and Broadway and at Palomar and Broadway. Member Rindone stated this project has gone a long way in consolidating the San Diego County South Bay Health and Human Services Agency resources into a singular location. He was supportive of that. He was not sure that the pedestrian overpass was essential. The question before us tonight is the Special Use Permit and to proceed in looking at that design. It will eliminate a lot of problems on Third Avenue with the various non-conforming uses of facilities for health services delivered there. He had one question. Nothing had been mentioned on the "L" shape by Harborside Elementary School access from Naples. Is that still envisioned? Mr. Tapia responded, no. It is not part of this proposal. The applicant is not considering having an access through to Naples Street. Some of the concerns are that there is a school very near. This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. Addressing the Agency was: RDA Minutes May 19, 1998 Page 4 · Bennet Greenwald, 1420 Kettner Boulevard, San Diego, representing Palomar Station LLC, the owner of the property, and the developer of the project. The South Bay Solutions has been working with the Elementary School District in providing what they call family resource centers in the elementary schools. This includes child care, and a panacea of other social services with providers working out of the school site itself. The principal at Harborside Elementary School would like to be a participant of this program, and we have talked to him and to the Elementary School District about providing some land next to the existing elementary school for a child care center. Our problem is the money. We are looking at a collaborative effort between the Elementary School District, the land owner, and South Bay Solutions who are all looking for the money to provide a facility on that site. On the West side of Harborside, there is a very narrow driveway that goes between the property line and the edge of the school. Teachers park at a 45 degree angle in that driveway and back out on to Naples Street to get turned around. We think that by providing this land, we can alleviate that situation. It would use the existing driveway of Harborside's school, but there would not be a through access to Oxford Street; we think that's an invitation to a problem. We've got a potentially dangerous situation there, and we want to keep that street as narrow and as restricted to movemeet as possible to protect the school. We, along with staff, consider the pedestrian link very important. MTDB owns the land, and they have been using it as a railroad tie storage yard. The City asked them not to do that, and they responded that they would continue to store their ties there. In talking with a member of MTDB staff about this, they were unresponsive. Unfortunately, we have that bureaucracy to contend with, and they have their own ideas about the use of this property. If you condition this project with the requirement for us to make improvements on that property, they would not be able to deliver, and therefore he could not accept that condition. If you condition this project and force us to wait until we have a deal worked out with MTD8, he felt they would lose the project. He stated he would do everything within h~s power to make sure that the pedestrian access is appropriate and the automobLle access is as it was described. Member Moot asked, wouldn't it be in MTDB's financial best interest to provide that access? Wouldn't it increase ridership and use at the trolley stop? · Mr. Greenwald replied absolutely, but in talking with the MTDB staff member, he indicated there would not be a net increase in ridership, and they would not want to make a financial contribution to this improvement. Member Rindone stated, as a MTDB Board Member, that has not been reviewed with the policy makers at MTDB to date. There will be a lot of £ssues to be addressed. Member Salas stated she was concerned wLth the safety of the citizens crossing that street because of the tremendous amount of traffic. There being no one else indicating a desire to address the Agency, the public hearing was closed. RESOLUTION 1563 OFFERED BY MEMBER RINDONE, heading read, text waived. Mr. Salomone stated that the Planning Commission conditioned the project on obtaining adequate access to the trolley and bus lines with the approval of the City Engineer. He suggested some alternate wordLng be added for Council's consideration that the applicant shall first exercise its best efforts to obtain and improve access across the MTDB right-of-way in a location approved by staff. City staff agrees to cooperate w£th applicant in negotiations with MTD8 to achieve this result. If this result can not be achieved after good faith effort on reasonable terms and in a timely manner, subject to the City Engineer's approval, applicant can pursue an alternate access mechanism. The reason we're proposing this is the unknown of approving a project that wants to start very quickly and get underway that could g_ener~e the ridership numbers we have RDA Minutes May 19, 1998 Page 5 discussed tonight. We don't want Council to be in a situation where you have conditioned it on a very expensive facility and you can't reconsider that a later date. Member Rindone stated he would like to get the applicant's response. · Mr. Greenwald responded that it was acceptable to them. Member Rindone, the maker of the Resolution, so amended the resolution to include the language by staff. VOTE ON MOTION: Approved 5-0. Chair Horton restated her concern about the child care component, and approved the collaborative effort proposal by Mr. Greenwald. She also felt the County should be a participant as we will be serving not just Chula Vista residents, but residents from all over the South Bay area and beyond. ADJOURNM~NT The meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, BEVERLY A. AUTHELET, CMC/AAE, City Clerk By: Charline Long, Deputy City Clerk