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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm min 1990/11/14 . . . - ""--'. , Tape: 316 Side: 1 MINUTES OF A REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 14, 1990 Council Chambers Public Services Buildinq ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Grasser Horton, Commissioners Carson, Cartmill, Casillas, and Fuller COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioners Decker and Tugenberg, notification with STAFF PRESENT: Assistant Planning Director Lee, Environmental Review Coordinator Doug Reid, Associate Planner Barbara Reid, Contract Planner Lettieri, City Traffic Engineer Rosenberg, Assistant City Attorney Rudolf PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - SILENT PRAYER The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by Chair Grasser Horton and was followed by a moment of silent prayer. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Chair Grasser Horton reviewed the composition of the Planning Commission, its responsibilities and the format of the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Meeting of October 10, 1990. MSUC (Carson/Fuller) 5-0 (Commissioners Decker and Tugenberg absent) to approve the minutes of October 10, 1990. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - None ITEM 1: CONSIDERATION OF FINAL SUPPLEMENTAL EIR-89-10, RANCHO DEL REY SPA III Associate Planner Reid stated this was a 405-acre project, the third phase of the Rancho del Rey Specific Plan located east of I-80S, south of East "H" Street, and north of Telegraph Canyon Road. Ms. Reid gave an overview of the project. She noted that an additional traffic analysis had been incorporated into the Eastern Territories Transportation Plan. Ms. Reid then reviewed the answers to comments which had been received during the review of the Draft EIR. Planninq Commission -2- November 14. 1990 Associate Planner Reid stated the staff recommendation was to certify that the Final EIR had been prepared in compliance with CEQA, the State CEQA guidelines and the environmental review procedures of the City of Chula Vista. Commissioner Fuller asked which method of traffic mitigation would be used, and when. Associate Planner Reid answered that decision would be made at the tentative map stage. MSUC (Carson/Fuller) 5-0 (Commissioners Decker and Tugenberg absent) to certify that the Final EIR had been prepared in compl iance with CEQA, the State CEQA guidel ines and the environmental review procedures of the City of Chula Vista. Contract Planner Lettieri requested that the next two items be combined. ITEM 2. PUBLIC HEARING: GPA-91-2, CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE CIRCULATION ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN TO REDESIGNATE A PORTION OF EAST "J" STREET A CLASS III COLLECTOR - City Initiated ITEM 3: PUBLIC HEARING: PCM-90-6, CONSIDERATION OF RANCHO DEL REV SPA III PLAN, PUBLIC FACILITIES FINANCING PLAN, AND PC REGULATIONS - Rancho del Rey Partnership Contract Pl anner Lett i eri, us i ng overhead project i on, showed the 1 ocat i on of the project, the land use pattern and grading, and the areas designated for public facilities. Mr. Lettieri reviewed the general development plan depicting the various land uses, including single-family, multi-family, specialty housing, a 26-acre junior high school site, a 10.8-acre neighborhood park site, a 2-acre community facility site, and 148 acres of open space. He then gave an overview of the site utilization plan and gave square footage of the lots and the pads. He stated the open space system in SPA III included over 148 acres consisting mostly of canyon and sloped area covered with coastal sage scrub. Contract Planner Lettieri noted that the Specific Plan allowed density transfer to be considered without a Specific Plan amendment; however, because of the increase in the park site and the movement of some of the residential units, staff felt it was important to bring that forth to the Commission for cons iderat i on. He proceeded to show the changes whi ch had been proposed, noting the reduction of fill slopes, a publ ic trail/sewer access road which had been placed along the canyon rim and canyon slope, grading, and reworking the area around the water tank to reduce the distance between the top of the water tank knoll and the graded area for development. Mr. Lettieri showed the proposed road across Rice Canyon, the existing and proposed opening of East "J" Street, existing and proposed Telegraph Canyon Road, and a representation of the grading near the high school site. He noted that East "J" Street would not be connected to Buena Vista because of the potential grading impacts and traffic and sight distance considerations. .. . Planninq Commission -3- November 14, 1990 He then discussed the Public Facilities Phasing Plan, highlighting the parks and recreation facility, schools, and water facilities. Regarding the monitoring program, Mr. Lettieri stated the SPA III will be required to submit updated development summaries forecast and development data, dealing with traffic counts and building permit information to the City. Contract Pl anner LeU i eri read the fo 11 owi ng cond i t i on of approval into the record: "Prior to approval of the tentative map or grading plan, whichever occurs first, the applicant shall provide proof of a contract with a consultant to monitor the mitigation as set forth in the Mitigation Monitoring Program approved herewith." He also requested that the following changes be made: Amend #58 in Phase 6 of the Public Facilities Financing Plan to include improvements on East "J" Street from Paseo Ranchero to just east of River Ash Road to permit full connection of East "J" Street to the west. . Clarification that the condition requiring that the Community Purpose Facility applies to Rancho del Rey's SPAs I, II, and III -- that it would apply to those three SPAs, not to the entire El Rancho del Rey project which included Terra Nova. Commissioner Carson asked that the second sentence of Rancho del Rey SPA I II Pl an be revi sed as follows: within the City shall be provided." Condition #15 of the " . . . an alternate site Commissioner Carson asked for clarification on the density transfer regarding the number of units in the dens i ty categori es. She quest i oned the totals of the different transfers and where the figures came from. The total was 174 instead of 171 residential units. She said she was happy with the senior housing and more single-family homes, but was not pleased with the jump of 44 additional homes in the area of specialty housing. Commissioner Carson asked whether the proposed density could be changed when the design guidel ines and the specific plan came before the Commission. Mr. Lettieri answered in the affirmative and noted that condition no. 9 dealt with the spec i a lty hous i ng area and prec i se plan requ i rement, and condit i on no. 5 stated that modifications could be made by staff, the Planning Commission or City Counc i 1 duri ng the tentat i ve map process. Mr. LeU i eri noted there was not a spec i fi c statement regard i ng dens ity but a statement regard i ng total number of units within the specialty housing and townhouse areas would be subject to the precise plan, and approval of the SPA plan did not dictate that those would be the unit totals. This being the time and place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. . Plannina Commission -4- November 14. 1990 Peter Watry, 81 Second Avenue, Chula Vista 92010, speaking on behalf of CROSSROADS, said the density was too high. He also spoke of the extent of manufactured slopes which had been discussed at the last Commission meeting. He felt McMillin had redesigned the project as well as possible to reduce the amount of manufactured slope. He asked that the new design be part of the condition of the tentative map. Wade Richardson, 101 East "J" Street, Chula Vista 92010 spoke of the traffic on East "J" Street, the excess i ve speeds, and the 1 ack of control by signal lights. He said that if the project went through, he would do all he could to have signal lights installed every four blocks to control traffic. Chair Grasser Horton asked for the City Traffic Engineer's comment. Traffic Engineer Hal Rosenberg stated that as the development was occupied, the traffic problems would be looked at along "J" Street and, based on the traffic conditions, the appropriate actions would be taken to preserve the safety and the integrity of the roadway. In answer to Cha i r Grasser Horton's query, Mr. Rosenberg stated there was currently a problem because of short-cutting through the neighborhood. Even though staff was terminating "J" Street in order to curb through traffic to major streets, there would be some traffic on "J" Street from the project. Commissioner Casillas also noted the excessive speeds on "J" Street, especially in front of the school, and thought it was a police problem. Craig Fukuyama, 2727 Hoover Avenue, National City, representing the Rancho del Rey Partnership, spoke to the density issue and concurred that the density was not guaranteed but there was a need to have a target density. He reiterated the fact that density had been reduced during the design review and the specific plan process of previous phases of the project. He noted the project was in conformance with the Speci fi c Pl an and the City's General Pl an, the interim policies identified in the City's Growth Management Plan and the Draft Transportat i on Phas i ng Pl an. Mr. Fukuyama stated that agreements had been reached with City departments regarding parks, road improvements, development timing, environmental issues, density and overall project design. He also sa i d they had negot i ated agreements with the Sweetwater School Di stri ct for the placement, timing and construction of the site for the junior high school as well as the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding biological impacts. He went on to list some of the benefits of the project. Mr. Fukuyama stated the Partnershi p had no object ions to the condi t ions as recommended in the staff report and the conditions added as a matter of record. He requested approval of the SPA Plan, the Public Facilities Financing Plan, and the PC Regulations as submitted. Chair Grasser Horton asked if in the specialty housing there would be affordable housing offered to the seniors. Mr. Fukuyama answered in the affirmative. He stated there was a requirement for 23 low-income housing units in SPA III. He felt the retirement area is the area being considered for the low-income housing units. . Planninq Commission -5- November 14, 1990 Chair Grasser Horton asked Mr. Fukuyama for examples of passive recreational areas to be provided. Mr. Fukuyama answered that a strong component would be a recreation center or community meeting room, aquatics, swimming pool, tennis courts, and non-active-recreation-type facilities such as the internal/ external regional trail system. Commi ss i oner Cartmi 11 commented that he understood the sen i or hous i ng woul d pay less of a share in the Mello-Roos District. Would there be an increase in taxes on the rest of the residents of Chula Vista? Mr. Fukuyama answered that the Mello-Roos program was based on generation of students and the amount of revenue generated to build schools is based on the number of students generated from a project. A senior project would not generate students and would, therefore, pay a fee equivalent to commercial and industrial businesses which would be at the lowest amount of fee collection. No one else wishing to speak, the public hearing was closed. . Commissioner Fuller stated that she was very pleased with the changes that had taken place in the project since the EIR had been first reviewed. She compl imented the developer, staff and CROSSROADS who had taken the time to offer ideas and help bring about the changes which had occurred. MSUC (Fuller/Casillas) 5-0 (Commissioners Decker and Tugenberg absent) that based upon the fi ndi ngs attached to the report that the Commi ss i on recommend that the City Council approve a General Plan Amendment for the elimination of the East "J" Street and Buena Vista Way connection and associated redesignation of East "J" Street east of Paseo Ranchero from a Class II Collector to a Class III Collector in the Circulation Element. Contract Planner Lettieri requested that Condition #5 be amended and read into the minutes as follows: "5. Approval of the SPA does not approve the total number of units, the final lot configurations and street design shown within the SPA Plan." Chair Grasser Horton clarified that this condition was to be added in the next motion. Assistant Attorney Rudolf noted that only one of the two conditions mentioned earl ier in the meeting would be added as a new condition #18, the condition regarding the mitigation monitoring program. Condition #58 in the Public Facilities Financing Plan was to be revised, as well as Condition #15 of the SPA III Plan. MSUC (Carson/Casillas) 5-0 (Commissioners Decker and Tugenberg absent) to: I. Recommend that the City Council adopt a Specific Plan Amendment for the transfer of densities, redesignation of a portion of East "J" Street, addition of a 10.8 acre park and conversion of a 2 acre park to a community facility; and . Plannina Commission -6- November 14. 1990 2. Based upon the fi ndi ngs attached to the staff report, recommend that the City Council approve the Rancho del Rey Sectional Planning Area (SPA) III Plan subject to conditions of approval listed in the report, in addition to those mentioned earlier in the meeting, the Public Facilities Financing Plan and the PC Development Regulations; and 3. Direct staff to continue the review of the Preliminary Design Guidelines, and resubmit to the Commi ss i on for cons iderat i on in conjunct i on with the Tentative Subdivision Map(s) for the Rancho del Rey SPA III Plan. ITEM 4: CONSIDERATION OF CEQA FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS, EIR-89-10, Rancho del Rey SPA III Associate Planner Barbara Reid stated that staff recommended adoption of the CEQA Findings and the Statement of Overriding Considerations. MSUC (Cas ill as/Cartmi 11) 5-0 (Commi ss i oners Decker and Tugenberg absent) to adopt a resolution recommending the adoption of the CEQA Findings and the Statement of Overriding Considerations for EIR-89-10, Rancho del Rey SPA III, with a correction in the number of residential units from 171 to 174. ITEM 5: CONSIDERATION OF MITIGATION MONITORING PROGRAM FOR EIR-89-10, Rancho del Rey SPA I II Associate Planner Barbara Reid stated that staff recommended adoption of the resolution recommending adoption of the Mitigation Monitoring Program for EIR-89-10 Rancho del Rey SPA III. MSUC (Cartmill/Carson) 5-0 (Commissioners Decker and Tugenberg absent) to adopt a resolution recommending the adoption of the Mitigation Monitoring Program for EIR-89-10, Rancho del Rey SPA III. COMMISSION COMMENTS Commi ss i oner Full er commented that the s imul at ions on gradi ng were extremely helpful in assessing the total plan. The combination of field trips to see the project first-hand, and then to have the computer simulations was extremely helpful. She suggested that they be used on all projects if possible. Commissioner Carson stated that she concurred with Commissioner Fuller's prior comments as well as the comment regarding the computer simulations. She commended the developer, and stated she knew they had heard her comments regarding density. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Ass i stant Planni ng Di rector Lee asked that the November 28, 1990, meet i ng be cancelled since the meeting had been reserved for the Zoning Consistency Study which was not ready to be brought forward. The next meeting would be December 12. . . . , PlanninQ Commission Cha i r Grasser Horton to the School Board. wished him good luck. -7- November 14. 1990 congratulated Commissioner Jim Cartmill on his election The Commission had appreciated his service, and she ADJOURNMENT AT 8:40 p.m. to the Regular Business Meeting of December 12, 1990 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. WPC 8725P " i I 1.1" '", ,/ '! ,'j 'Nanc~ Ripley, Secretary Planning Commission