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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 1998-2734ORDINANCE NO. 2734 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AMENDMENT NO. 5 FOR THE BAYFRONT REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Chula Vista (the "City Council") adopted Ordinance No. 1541 on July 16, 1974, approving and establishing the Redevelopment Plan for the Bayfront Redevelopment Project ("Project"), and the City Council has since amended said Redevelopment Plan on July 17, 1979 by Ordinance No. 1872, on April 22, 1986 by Ordinance No. 2146, on January 4, 1994 by Ordinance No. 2585, and on November 8, 1994 by Ordinance No. 2608 (as heretofore amended, the "Existing Redevelopment Plan"); and WHEREAS, the Existing Redevelopment Plan includes provisions pertaining to such items as land use, the potential acquisition of property, and the use of tax increment financing in relation to that certain area designated in the Existing Redevelopment Plan as the "Project Area" (which shall be referred to herein as the "Original Area"); and WHEREAS, the City Council proposes to adopt Amendment Number 5 to the Bayfront Redevelopment Project in the form submitted herewith, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The Plan Amendment applies both to the Original Area and the Added Area (which are collectively referred to below as the "Amended Project Area"). The Existing Redevelopment Plan as amended by the Plan Amendment shall constitute the "Amended Redevelopment Plan"; and WHEREAS, the Chula Vista Redevelopment Agency (the "Agency") is a duly constituted redevelopment agency under the laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, on April 21, 1998 the Redevelopment Agency and City Council, among other things (1) directed staff to transmit the draft Plan Amendment to the Planning Commission for its recommendation and report, (2) directed staff to transmit the draft Plan Amendment and Preliminary Report thereon to the affected taxing agencies, and (3) set a June 9, 1998 as the date for a joint public hearing before the Agency and the City Council to consider the proposed plan amendment; and WHEREAS, the City Council has received the proposed Plan Amendment from the Agency, together with the Agency's Report to the City Council (the "Report to Council") required pursuant to Section 33352 of the Community Redevelopment Law, California Health and Safety Code Sections 33000, et seq, (the "Community Redevelopment Law"), which includes the reasons for the proposed Plan Amendment and the selection of the territory proposed to be added to the Original Area (which area proposed to be added constitutes the "Added Area"), a description of the physical and economic conditions existing in the Added Area, an explanation of why the elimination of blight and the redevelopment of the Added Area cannot reasonably be expected to be accomplished by private enterprise acting alone or by the use of financing alternatives other than tax increment financing, the proposed method of financing the redevelopment of the Added Area, the reasons for the amendment of the Existing Redevelopment Plan as applicable to the Original Area, a plan for the relocation of families and persons who may be temporarily or permanently displaced from housing facilities in the Added Area, an analysis of the Preliminary Plan, the report and recommendations of the Planning Commission of the City of Chula Vista (the "City") as to the conformity of the Amended Redevelopment Plan with the City's General Plan, an environmental impact report on the Amended Redevelopment Plan (the "Final EIR"), the report of the county fiscal officer and the Agency's analysis thereof, a Neighborhood Impact Report describing the impact of the Amended Redevelopment Plan upon the residents of the Added Area and the surrounding areas, and a summary of consultations with taxing agencies; and Ordinance 2734 Page 2 WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Chula Vista ("Planning Commission"), after a duly noticed public hearing held on May 27, 1998, recommended the approval of the Plan Amendment; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has submitted to the City Council its report and recommendations concerning the Amended Redevelopment Plan recommending its approval and certifying that the Amended Redevelopment Plan conforms to the General Plan for the City; and WHEREAS, the City Council and the Agency held a joint public hearing on June 9, 1998 on the adoption of the Amended Redevelopment Plan; and WHEREAS, notice of said hearing was duly and regularly published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City, once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date of said hearing, and a copy of said notice and an affidavit of publication are on file with the City Clerk and the Agency; and WHEREAS, copies of the notice of joint public hearing were mailed by first-class mail to the last known assessee of each parcel of land in the Amended Project Area at his or her last known address as shown on the last equalized assessment roll of the County of San Diego; and WHEREAS, copies of the notice of the joint public hearing were mailed by first-class mail to all residents and businesses in the Amended Project Area at least thirty (30) days prior to the hearing; and WHEREAS, copies of the notice of the joint public hearing were mailed by certified mail with return receipt requested to the governing body of each taxing agency which receives taxes from property in the Amended Project Area; and WHEREAS, the Agency and the City have each independently found and determined that, for certain significant effects identified by the Final EIR, mitigation measures and a Mitigation Monitoring Plan therefor have been required in, or incorporated into, the Amended Redevelopment Plan which avoid or substantially lessen such effects to a level of insignificance; and WHEREAS, the Agency and City have each independently found and determined that potential mitigation measures or project alternatives not incorporated into the Amended Redevelopment Plan (including the "No Project" alternative) were rejected as infeasible based upon specific environmental, economic, legal, social, technological or other considerations as set forth in the Final EIR; and WHEREAS, the Agency, as the lead agency, and the City, as a responsible agency, have certified the adequacy of the Final EIR submitted pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21151 and Section 33352 of the Community Redevelopment Law; and WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the report and recommendation of the Planning Commission, the Report to Council, the Amended Redevelopment Plan and its economic feasibility, and the Final EIR, has provided an opportunity for all persons to be heard, and has received and considered all evidence and testimony presented for or against any and all aspects of the Amended Redevelopment Plan and has made written findings in response to each written objection of an affected property owner and taxing entity filed with the City Clerk before the hour set for such joint public hearing, NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Ordinance 2734 Page 3 Section 1. The purposes and objectives of the City Council with the Plan Amendment with respect to the Amended Project Area are to accomplish the following: Encourage the redevelopment of the Amended Project Area subject to and consistent with the City's General Plan and, as applicable, the San Diego Unified Port District's Port Master Plan, as amended, and/or specific development plans as may be adopted from time to time through the cooperation of private enterprise and public agencies. Mitigate and prevent the spread of physical and economic conditions that have contributed to the lack of proper utilization of the Added Area and the Original Area, including Port District tidelands in Chula Vista which are underutilized relative to other tidelands in National City, San Diego, and Coronado, and stimulate investment of the private sector in the full development of the Amended Project Area. Continue a comprehensive redevelopment program to mitigate and prevent the spread of ongoing physical and economic conditions that have contributed to the lack of proper utilization of the Original Area, which conditions were documented in the original Redevelopment Plan adopted in 1974 and which continue to characterize and burden the Existing Project Area, in order to facilitate viable development activities. Provide public infrastructure improvements to address existing circulation, parking, and freeway access deficiencies, including street alignment problems, substandard vehicular and pedestrian circulation, and insufficient off-street parking within the Amended Project Area, which improvements are sensitive to the unique environmental qualities of the Amended Project Area. Provide for public facility projects to address the shortage of civic, recreational, cultural and other community facilities serving the Amended Project Area, and to encourage tourism through the development of high quality hotels, motels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Provide funds to assist in land acquisition or construction of on- and off-site infrastructure improvements, and to provide assistance over the life of the Amended Redevelopment Plan to facilitate the rehabilitation of these structures, thus enabling the redevelopment of substandard properties in a manner consistent with the General Plan. Provide for the enhancement and renovation of businesses within the Amended Project Area to promote their economic viability, and encourage the cooperation and participation of property owners, business persons, public agencies and community organizations in the revitalization of the Amended Project Area. Expand the resource of developable land by making underutilized land available for redevelopment, and by renovating and restoring sites characterized by deficiencies including soils conditions and drainage conditions which render private development infeasible or impractical. Increase, improve and preserve the community's supply of affordable housing for very low, low, and moderate income households and satisfy the housing needs and desires of various age and income groups of the community. Create physical buffers to ameliorate the adverse effects of changing land uses, discourage spot zoning and piecemeal planning, and achieve an environment Ordinance 2734 Page 4 reflecting a high level of concern for architectural, landscaping, and urban design standards appropriate to the objectives of the Amended Redevelopment Plan. Establish a new 12-year time period to commence eminent domain activities for the Amended Project Area within the Original Area (but not the Added Area), to enable the Agency to continue to effectively implement projects involving land assembly through all means, including eminent domain as a last resort. Extend the time frame to incur debt from July 1999 to January 2004, pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law, to ensure the Agency's ability to incur debt necessary to initiate new redevelopment projects or programs in the Amended Project Area. Extend the effectiveness of the Redevelopment Plan, as amended by the Plan Amendment, from July 1999 to July 2014, pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law, to enable the Agency to continue an active redevelopment program an additional fifteen years. Extend the time period for Agency collection of tax increment revenue from 2011 to July 2024, to continue to allow a means of financing public improvements and redevelopment activities throughout the term of the Amended Redevelopment Plan. Section 2. The City Council hereby finds and determines, based on the evidence in the record, including, but not limited to, the Report to Council and all documents referenced therein, and evidence and testimony received at the joint public hearing on the adoption of the Amended Redevelopment Plan that: The Added Area is a blighted area, the redevelopment of which is necessary to effectuate the public purposes declared in the Community Redevelopment Law. This finding is based on the following conditions which characterize the Added Area: The Added Area is predominantly urbanized, as evidenced by the fact that 84,5% of the land area is either currently developed or is an integral part of an urban area in that it is surrounded by developed parcels on three or more sides. The presence or suspected presence of hazardous materials within the soil and groundwater, which have impaired property values and hindered development and utilization of the land within the Added Area, as evidenced by the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Chula Vista Business Park Expansion and Port Master Plan Amendment (September 1997, KEA Environmental), a "Cleanup and Abatement Order" (CA098- 08) issued by the State Water Resources Control Board to B.F. Goodrich, and interviews with City of Chula Vista Community Development and San Diego Unified Port District (SDUPD) officials. Excessive vacant lots and underutilization of real property compared with similarly situated tideland property in the area, more specifically a 60% vacancy rate within the Added Area. 4. The existence of incompatible land uses, particularly the presence of older, heavy and light industrial land uses dominating the Added Area, Ordinance 2734 Page 5 which has led to a lack of interest by the private development community in investing in the Added Area. The lack of adequate circulation, which is constrained by poor east-west vehicular access that prohibits convenient local and regional access to retail, recreational, and industrial uses in the Added Area. Low land values and lease rates compared to other properties within the vicinity of the Added Area, specifically an average lease rate as much as 50% below the market rate in comparable locations, due to the physical and economic conditions present in the Added Area, which render the Added Area economically unattractive for private development or rehabilitation. Such conditions are so prevalent and substantial in the Added Area that they are causing and will increasingly cause a reduction and lack of proper utilization of the Added Area to such an extent that it constitutes a serious physical and economic burden on the community which cannot reasonably be expected to be reversed or alleviated by private enterprise or governmental action, or both, without redevelopment, thus requiring redevelopment in the interest of the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the City and the State. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact that governmental action available to the City without redevelopment would be insufficient to cause any significant correction of the blighting conditions, and that the nature and costs of the public improvements and facilities and other actions required to correct the blighting conditions are beyond the capacity of the City and cannot be undertaken or borne by private enterprise acting alone or in concert with available governmental action. Significant blight remains in the Original Area, and this blight cannot be eliminated without the establishment of additional debt and the utilization of additional tax increment revenues. The Amended Redevelopment Plan will redevelop the Amended Project Area in conformity with the Community Redevelopment Law and in the interests of the public peace, health, safety and welfare. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact that the purposes of the Community Redevelopment Law would be attained through the implementation of the Amended Redevelopment Plan; by the elimination of the physical and economic blighting conditions which exist in the Added Area and conditions of blight, as earlier identified, which persist in the Original Area; by the replanning, redesign and/or redevelopment of areas which are stagnant or improperly utilized, and which could not be accomplished by private enterprise or governmental action, or both, without redevelopmerit; by protecting and promoting sound development and redevelopment of the Amended Project Area and the general welfare of the citizens of the City by remedying such injurious conditions through the employment of all appropriate means. The adoption and carrying out of the Amended Redevelopment Plan is economically sound and feasible. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact that under the Amended Redevelopment Plan the Agency will be authorized to seek and utilize a variety of potential financing resources, including property tax increment, interest income, Agency bonds, loans from private institutions, proceeds from the sale or lease of property, financial assistance from the City, County, State of California, Federal Government or any other public agency, or any other legally available source; that the nature and timing of redevelopment Ordinance 2734 Page 6 assistance will depend on the amount and availability of such financing resources, including tax increment, generated by new investment in the Amended Project Area; and that the financing plan included within the Report to Council demonstrates that sufficient financial resources will be available to carry out the Amended Redevelopment Plan. The Amended Redevelopment Plan is consistent with the General Plan of the City, including, but not limited to, the housing element of the General Plan, which substantially complies with the requirements of Article 10.6 (commencing with Section 65580) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code. This finding is based upon the text of the Amended Redevelopment Plan as well as the report of the Planning Commission that the Amended Redevelopmerit Plan conforms to the General Plan. The carrying out of the Amended Redevelopment Plan will promote the public peace, health, safety and welfare of the community and will effectuate the purposes and policies of the Community Redevelopment Law. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact that redevelopment will benefit the Amended Project Area by correcting conditions of blight and by coordinating public and private actions to stimulate development and improve the economic and physical conditions of the Amended Project Area. The condemnation of real property, as provided for in the Amended Redevelopment Plan as to the Original Area (but not for the Added Area), is necessary to the execution of the Amended Redevelopment Plan and adequate provisions have been made for payment for property to be acquired as provided by law. The Agency has adopted a feasible method and plan for the relocation of families and persons who might be displaced temporarily or permanently from housing facilities in the Amended Project Area. The Agency also has a feasible method and plan for its relocation of businesses. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact that the Agency has adopted a method of relocation for the Amended Project Area which sets forth a plan for relocation of families and persons who may potentially be displaced by Agency projects, and upon the fact that the Amended Redevelopment Plan provides for relocation assistance according to law, and the fact that such assistance, including relocation payments, constitutes a feasible method for relocation. There are, or shall be provided, within the Amended Project Area or within other areas not generally less desirable in regard to public utilities and public and commercial facilities and at rents or prices within the financial means of the families and persons who might be displaced from the Amended Project Area, decent, safe and sanitary dwellings equal in number to the number of and available to such displaced families and persons and reasonably accessible to their places of employment. Evidence supporting this finding includes the information contained in the Report to Council that if families or persons were to be displaced there are sufficient existing dwellings which would be available to persons displaced by the implementation of the Amended Redevelopment Plan. Families and persons shall not be displaced prior to the adoption of a relocation plan pursuant to Sections 33411 and 33411.1 of the Community Redevelopment Law, and dwelling units housing persons and families of low or moderate income shall not be removed or destroyed prior to the adoption of a replacement housing plan. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact Ordinance 2734 Page 7 that the Amended Redevelopment Plan requires the Agency to adopt such a plan prior to any such displacement. All noncontiguous areas of the Added Area are either blighted or necessary for effective redevelopment and are not included for the purpose of obtaining the allocation of taxes from the area pursuant to Section 33670 of the Community Redevelopment Law without other substantial justification for their inclusion. This finding is based upon the information set forth in the Report to Council and other evidence in the record. Inclusion of any lands, buildings, or improvements which are not detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare is necessary for the effective redevelopment of the entire area of which they are a part, and any such area is not included solely for the purpose of obtaining the allocation of tax increment revenues from such area pursuant to Section 33670 of the Community Redevelopment Law without other substantial justification for its inclusion. Evidence supporting this finding includes the fact that all properties within the Added Area boundaries were included because they were underutilized because of blighting influences, or were affected by the existence of blighting influences, or were necessary either to accomplish the objectives and benefits of the Amended Redevelopment Plan or because of the need to impose uniform requirements on the Added Area as a whole. Such properties will share in the benefits of the Amended Redevelopment Plan. The elimination of blight and the redevelopment of the Amended Project Area could not reasonably be expected to be accomplished by private enterprise acting alone without the aid and assistance of the Agency. Evidence supporting this finding includes the existence of blighting influences as set forth in the Report to Council, and the inability and/or unwillingness of individual owners and developers to economically remove these blighting influences without substantial public assistance. The Added Area is a predominantly urbanized area. Evidence supporting this finding includes the information set forth in the Report to Council and the Preliminary Report for the Amended Redevelopment Plan, which demonstrates that not less than eighty percent (80%) of the land in the Added Area: 1. Has been or is developed for urban uses; or Is characterized by the existence of subdivided lots of irregular form and shape and inadequate size for proper usefulness and development that are in multiple ownership; or Is an integral part of one or more areas developed for urban uses which are surrounded or substantially surrounded by parcels which have been developed for urban uses. The time limitation on the allocation of dollars to the Agency as contained in the Amended Redevelopment Plan is reasonably related to the proposed projects to be implemented in the Amended Project Area and to the ability of the Agency to eliminate blight within the Amended Project Area. This finding is based upon the fact that the time limitation contained in the Amended Redevelopment Plan is consistent with Section 33333.6 of the Community Redevelopment Law and is further consistent with the number of dollars to be allocated to the Agency, the anticipated costs of the public improvement projects proposed to be undertaken by the Agency pursuant to the Amended Ordinance 2734 Page 8 Redevelopment Plan, and the anticipated time for the Agency to undertake such projects. Section 3. The City Council is satisfied that permanent housing facilities will be available within three years from the time residential occupants of the Amended Project Area, if any, are displaced, and that pending the development of such facilities, there will be available to any such displaced residential occupants temporary housing facilities at rents comparable to those in the City at the time of their displacement. Evidence supporting this finding includes the City Council's finding that no persons or families of low and moderate income shall be displaced from residences unless and until there is a suitable housing unit available and ready for occupancy by such displaced persons or families at rents comparable to those at the time of their displacement. Such housing units shall be suitable to the needs of such displaced persons or families and must be decent, safe, sanitary and otherwise standard dwellings. Section 4. All written objections to the Amended Redevelopment Plan filed with the City Clerk before the hour set for hearing and all written and oral objections presented to the City Council at the hearing have been considered by the City Council. All written objections received from property owners and affected taxing agencies have been considered by the City Council and have been responded to in writing. Any and all such objections are hereby overruled. Section 5. The Final EIR for the Amended Redevelopment Plan, a copy of which is on file in the office of the Agency and in the office of the City Clerk, having been duly reviewed and considered, is hereby incorporated into this Ordinance by reference and made a part hereof. All activities undertaken by the Agency and/or the City pursuant to or in implementation of the Amended Redevelopment Plan shall be undertaken in accordance with the mitigation measures and Mitigation Monitoring Plan set forth in the Final EIR, and the Agency shall undertake such additional environmental review or assessment as necessary at the time of the proposed implementation of such activities. Section 6. That certain Plan Amendment for the Bayfront Redevelopment Project, the map contained therein, and such other reports as are incorporated therein by reference, a copy of which is on file in the office of the Agency and the office of the City Clerk, having been duly reviewed and considered is hereby incorporated into the Existing Redevelopment Plan, and is also incorporated by reference and made a part of this Ordinance. The Amended Redevelopment Plan is approved and adopted as the official redevelopment plan for the Amended Project Area. Section 7. In order to implement and facilitate the effectuation of the Amended Redevelopment Plan hereby approved, this City Council hereby: (a) pledges its cooperation in helping to carry out the Amended Redevelopment Plan, (b) requests the various officials, departments, boards, and agencies of the City having administrative responsibilities in the Amended Project Area likewise to cooperate to such end and to exercise their respective functions and powers in a manner consistent with redevelopment of the Amended Project Area, (c) stands ready to consider and take appropriate action upon proposals and measures designed to effectuate the Amended Redevelopment Plan, and (d) declares its intention to undertake and complete any proceeding, including the expenditure of moneys, necessary to be carried out by the City under the provisions of the Amended Redevelopment Plan. Section 8. The City Clerk is hereby directed to send a certified copy of this Ordinance to the Agency, whereupon the Agency is vested with the responsibility for carrying out the Amended Redevelopmerit Plan. Section 9. The City Clerk is hereby directed to record with the County Recorder of San Diego County a description of the land within the Added Area and a statement that Ordinance 2734 Page 9 proceedings for the redevelopment of the Added Area have been instituted under the Community Redevelopment Law. Section 10. The Building Department of the City is hereby directed for a period of two (2) years after the effective date of this Ordinance to advise all applicants for building permits within the Added Area that the site for which a building permit is sought for the construction of buildings or for other improvements is within a redevelopment project area. Section 11. The City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit a copy of the description and statement recorded by the City Clerk pursuant to Section 9 of this Ordinance, a copy of this Ordinance, and a map or plat indicating the boundaries of the Added Area, to the Auditor-Controller and Assessor of the County of San Diego, to the governing body of each of the taxing agencies which receives taxes from property in the Added Area, and to the State Board of Equalization, within thirty (30) days following the adoption of the Amended Redevelopment Plan. Section 12. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to certify to the passage of this Ordinance and to cause the same or a summary hereof to be published in a newspaper of general circulation which is published and circulated in the City. Section 13. If any part of this Ordinance or the Amended Redevelopment Plan which it approves is held to be invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance or of the Amended Redevelopment Plan, and this City Council hereby declares that it would have passed the remainder of the Ordinance or approved the remainder of the Amended Redevelopment Plan if such invalid portion thereof had been deleted. Section 14. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after passage. Presented by Chris Salomone Community Development Director  by Attorney Ordinance 2734 Page 10 PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista, California, this 23rd day of June, 1998, by the following vote: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: Councilmembers: Councilmembers: Councilmembers: Moot, Padilia, Rindone, Salas, and Horton None None None Shirley Ho~, Mayor ATTEST: i~Beverly A. Authelet, Cit~~ STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO ) ss. CITY OF CHULA VISTA ) I, Beverly A. Authelet, City Clerk of the City of Chula Vista, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2734 had its first reading at a regular meeting held on the 16th day of June, 1998 and its second reading and adoption at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the 23rd day of June, 1998. Executed this 23rd day of June, 1998.