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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1974/04/23 Item 14AGENDA ITEM N0. [ 14 ] CHULA VISTA CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF: April 23, 1974 ITEM TITLE: Resolution -Approving precise plan submitted by Dixieline Lumber Company for development of 3.12 acres at the northwest corner of Bay Boulevard and G Street in the I-P zone in Bayfront Area INITIATED BY: Director of Planning A, BACKGROUND On April 10, 1974 the Planning Commission by a vote of 5-l approved the precise plan submitted by Dixieline Lumber Company for the development of 3.12 acres located on the northwest corner of Bay Boulevard and G Street in the I-P zone and within Subarea "E" of the adopted Bayfront Plan. B. ANALYSIS 1. Bayfront Plan. The boundaries of Subarea "E" of the Bayfront Plan extend from "F" to "G" Streets and from I-5 to the Bay (see Exhibit "A"). The plan calls for two uses in this area. One is an industrial park development site primarily east of Tidelands Avenue to the freeway, and the other use is fora public park located adjacent to the water- front. The adopted development standards set forth for Subarea "E" are written more specifically for the industrial park area. Briefly, these standards are: a. Build~irig height is limited to two stories in the industrial area and one story in the park area. b. Parking areas should be used as spatial buffer zones and, if possible, located in the center of the project so they are screened from the surround- ing roads. c. Buildings shall maintain an 80' setback on Tidelands Avenue and "F" Street. d. Heavily landscaped areas should be located along the southern edge of (continued on supplemental pa e ATTACHED: Resolution [X] Ordinance [ ] Agreement ~ Plat [ ] See EXHIBITS [X] No. 1-2a,b,c,d,f and 3 Financial Statement: Commission-Board Recommendation: The Planning Commission by a 5-1 vote recommended that the Council approve the precise plan in accordance with Resolution PCM-74-6 Department Head Recommendation: Concur, with the exception that the freestanding sign should be limited to a 6' high, 25 sq. ft. ground sign. It is further recommended that the City Counc i 1 request the Planning Commission to consider new development standards (including signs) that would be more in keeping with industrial needs for the area lying between "F" and "G" Streets and Bay Boulevard and the railroad right of way. City Manager Recommendation: This proposal is one of the reasons that we have on the Redevelopment Agency agenda the adoption of a meeting schedule for adopting the Bayfront Development Plan. ~C~a~7 AGENDA ITEM N0. 14 Supplemental page No. 2 the subarea and along the SDG&E easement and railroad right of way. e. Directory signs may be located at the major entrance ways to the industrial park and smaller directional signs within the development. Wall signs are limited to 10 sq. ft. maximum. It should be noted that the industrial area designated for Subarea "E" was originally proposed for Administrative and Business Offices, however, the Commission recommended that it be changed to I-P (Industrial subject to a precise plan) and the plan was adopted by the City Council as recommended by the Planning Commission. At the time of the hearing, Dixieline Lumber Co. had expressed their intention to develop the property at the northwest corner of Bay Boulevard and "G" Street. Also at that time, the Council lifted the moratorium then in effect to permit the development of a vacant parcel located at 328 Bay Boulevard. be an enameled steel structure, utilizing a relatively flat pitched roof. The exterior colors of all buildings are earth tones. ~~:~s, 2. Precise Plan. y~~,3-~i~~y The applicant proposes to construct a combination retail, office and lumber storage building containing a total floor area of 53,280 sq. ft. and a storage shed with an area of 4,550 sq. ft. The main building will have 9,600 sq. ft. of floor area devoted to retail sales and 1800 sq. ft. for office space. The lumber storage area will utilize 41,880 sq. ft. of the building. 3. Parking. Based on the floor area devoted to each use, the applicant is required to provide 65 parking spaces on the site (see enclosed plot plan). The applicant has provided for 82 parking spaces of which 57 spaces are located adjacent to the retail sales area and next to Bay Boulevard. The remaining 25 spaces are located at the rear of the building and are reserved for employee parking. The lumber storage area is designed to facilitate vehicular access so customers may pick up lumber. There is vehicular circulation provided around the entire main building. The Bay Front Plan calls for parking to be located in the center of development contemplated between "F" Street and "G" Street adjacent to Bay Boulevard; however, this proposal is impractical since the parcels are developing individually rather than collectively. The intent of the provision is met by ample screening of the parking area by use of landscaping. 4. Existing Overhead Facilities The subject property has existing overhead utility lines extending adjacent to and through the site. The City Code requires that all lines within the existing boundaries of the property, together with facilities located within the adjacent right of way (exceeding 600' in length), shall be placed underground. Transmission lines of 60,000 volts or more are exempt. Sufficient information is not available at this time to determine which lines will require undergrounding and which will be exempt; this issue will be resolved between staff, the applicant, and SDG&E. 5. Landscaping. The landscaping proposed adjacent to "G" Street and Bay Boulevard conforms to the requirements of the Bay Front Plan, however, the applicant has indicated only a 7' wide landscape strip adjacent to the San Diego & Arizona rail line on the westerly property line, which is not adequate to provide the type of land- scaping screen required in the Bay Front Plan. The building sets back 60' from the west property line so there is sufficient room to permit an increase in the width of landscaping to 10' without affecting internal circulation around the building. 6. Architecture. The entrance to the main building consists of a single story (16' high) structure with wood siding (see enclosed elevations). This portion of the main building has a flat roof with a raised area that resembles a mansard roof. The area devoted to lumber storage is enclosed in a 28' high, 43,000 sq. ft. structure, attached to the retail entry. Although it, too, is a single story structure, it is approximately 16' higher than the retail sales building adjacent to Bay Boulevard. The building area devoted to lumber storage will AGENDA ITEM N0. 14 Supplemental page No. 3 7. Signs. Development criteria adopted in the Bayfront Plan provides for flush mounted signs totaling 10 sq. ft. for each business (located no higher than 10 feet on the building) and entrance signs for industrial parks totaling 80 sq. ft. The applicant has requested signs on the building totaling approximately 170 sq. ft. in area and a freestanding sign, 20 ft. high, containing 75 sq. ft. in area. The request thus represents a significant increase in the permitted sign area. Certain modifications of the sign standards can be justified on the basis of previous Council action, such as the lifting of the moratorium on an adjacent site prior to adoption of the Bayfront Plan to provide for development of the property. This action reduced the probability of the consolidation of the various parcels along Bay Boulevard between "F" and "G" Streets in order to create an industrial park setting. It is now reasonable to assume that the properties will be individ- ually developed, creating a need fora different sign program. A reasonable modification would provide for signs located on each individual business to give proper identification on an individual basis rather than in an industrial park atmosphere. The signs approved by the Planning Commission represent a substantial departure from the adopted Bayfront standards as indicated below: Bayfront Standards Allow Planning Comm. approval a. Wall Signs 10 sq. ft. 100 sq. ft. b. Freestanding Sign None 75 sq. ft., 20' high The Planning staff report recommended approval of a 100 sq. ft. wall sign and a 25 sq. ft., 6 ft. high, ground sign, due to the proposed combined retail and industrial activity contemplated by Dixieline. It is felt by staff that such a sign program strikes a reasonable compromise between the sign program recommended by the consultant and the desires of the uses which may locate in this area. The Planning Commission cited the~need for a freestanding sign to identify the project from the freeway and recommended approval of the 20' tall freestanding sign containing 75 sq. ft. of area. With an additional 7 parcels located on Bay Boulevard between the Dixieline site and "F" Street, staff's concern is that other requests for freestanding signs will most certainly follow. It is the staff's position that the building itself has adequate exposure with the frontage along Bay Boulevard to negate the need fora freestanding sign. The basic intent of the sign standards established for the Bayfront was to provide subdued identification along the various street frontages rather than to develop a program of freeway oriented signs. R~~-$ 7