HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm min 1983/11/09 MINUTES OF A REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING
OF THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF
CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA
7:00 p.m. Council Chambers
Wednesday, November 9, 1983 Public Services Buildinq
ROLL CALL
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairman O'Neill, Commissioners Cannon,
Green, Guiles, Johnson, Pressutti, and Shipe
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: Director of Planning Gray, Director of
Community Development Desrochers, City
Attorney Harron, Environmental Review
Coordinator Reid, Senior Civil Engineer
Daoust, Principal Community Development
Specialist Kassman, Secretary Ruth Smith
ALSO PRESENT: Marshall B. Krupp, President, Community
Systems Associates, Inc.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, SILENT PRAYER
The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by Chairman O'Neill and was
followed by a moment of silent prayer.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
None
1. PUBLIC HEARING: PUBLIC HEARING TO TAKE PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON THE
ADEQUACY OF THE DRAFT EIR FOR THE PROPOSED OTAY VALLEY
ROAD REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Director of Community Development Desrochers stated that the purpose of the
Redevelopment Plan is to facilitate the acquisition of capital through tax
increments to develop Otay Valley Road more expeditiously. The Redevelopment
Plan is a legal document used as a tool to enable development of an area to
desired standards. The draft EIR is a general document written to accompany
and complement the legal document. It is purposefully non-specific as the
actual private sector participation is not yet known and it is intended to
provide the City and developers with guidelines for future use. Neither the
draft EIR nor the Redevelopment Plan consider changes in land use. Land use
changes come about through General Plan amendments for both the City and
County areas. Director Desrochers added that there will be two public
hearings by the Planning Commission for this draft EIR plus public hearings
before the Redevelopment Agency, the Council and the State Clearinghouse in
order to receive public input. He then introduced the consultant, Mr.
Marshall Krupp.
Planning Commission - 2 - November 9, 1983
Marshall Krupp, President, Community Systems Associates, Inc., informed the
Commission that the Redevelopment Plan attempts to enable Chula Vista to
attain its fair share of industrial development by inducing developers to
prefer this area to others by providing certain incentives. The Redevelopment
project area amounts to approximately 771 acres located adjacent to Otay
Valley Road on the east side of 1-805. The northern portion is in the City of
Chula Vista, but the southern part is in the County of San Diego.
Mr. Krupp explained this is a process plan, an authority for the future, and
the specificity of the EIR gives decision makers' information which enables
them to intelligently evaluate the impacts of the project. The law, he said,
provides for a more general type of EIR for such things as General Plans and
Redevelopment in comparison to more detailed EIRs that are normally done on
specific projects. The Redevelopment Plan is not proposing anything different
from the General Plans of Chula Vista or the County. The land uses have
already been authorized in past public hearings. He added that efforts to
establish compatibility between the north and south sides of the road will
involve the public hearing process, EIR analysis and the General Plan process
to determine those uses.
Mr. Krupp outlined the financial aspects involved in the Redevelopment Plan
stating that one of the recommendations is a combination assessment district
financing a tax increment program wherein property owners agree to a debt
service of $6 million. The tax increment share would then equate to about 20
percent which is considered an adequate subsidy to make property economically
viable from a development standpoint.
This being the time and the place as advertised the public hearing was opened.
Henry Kohler, 1547-222 Sonara Drive, Chula Vista 92011, expressed concern that
after all the money is spent, the area will still remain blighted, and that
the image of Chula Vista will not be improved. He advocated developing the
area with an athletic park and sports activities that will attract tourists.
Brenda Maldonado, 281 B. Rancho Drive, Chula Vista 92011, stated that
development of the area as proposed will bring air pollution from vehicular
traffic, construction equipment, and industries themselves. She pointed out
that an air sample analysis was not mentioned and expressed concern over the
cumulative factors of said air pollution not having been dealt within the
EIR. She questioned the effect of increased levels of lead, hydrocarbons and
other pollutants on the residents and asked that the EIR address the limits
that must be imposed in terms of specific industries which would be compatible
with the environmental health of the residents.
Lawrence F. McKenna, 1347 Mt. View Lane, Chula Vista 92011, representing the
Citizens' Action Network, stated that he had policy concerns over the rapidity
with which the project is being processed; the character of the City would be
altered by heavy industrial development; and although input was solicited, the
draft EIR was prepared in its final bound form four days prior to the end of
the period for public comments resulting in the material prepared by the
Planning Commission - 3 - November 9, 1983
Citizens' Action Network being appended to the EIR rather than integrated.
Mr. McKenna requested that a new EIR be prepared by a more objective party
uninvolved with those performing the market studies for the industrial
development of the area.
Mr. McKenna listed additional concerns over (1) pollution of ground water and
surface waters of the Otay River which empties into the Bay and its wildlife
preserve; (2) toxic waste being imported from out of State by BKK; the
possibilty of another Class 1 toxic dump site in the area; and Chula Vista
becoming the toxic waste capital of the southwest; (3) the floodplain impact
downstream west of 1-805 if the Otay River is channeled; and (4) our capacity
to handle solid waste produced by industrial users locating within the project
area. In summation, Mr. McKenna stated the citizens have a right to a solid
environmental study done by factual determination through air, water and soil
sampling.
Commissioner Green voiced agreement with the concerns listed by Mr. McKenna
and asked for clarification of the present expectations of the Citizens'
Action Network.
Mr. McKenna replied that baseline studies are necessary to measure the
cumulative impact of new industry, and because of the highly congested
residential nature of the contiguous land areas, some specific stringent
limitations on the types of industrial use should be built in to the
Redevelopment Plan.
Dick Kau, 3404 Bonita Road, Chula Vista 92010, representing the Chamber of
Commerce, the landowners, and the Dick Kau Land Company noted that (1) in its
effort to bring economic development into Chula Vista, the Chamber had,
several years ago, identified the Otay Valley Road area as suitable for
industrial development; (2) concern over ground water pollution is unnecessary
because salt water intrusion from the Bay will eliminate irrigation wells on
Otay Valley; (3) farming is becoming a thing of the past because of labor and
water costs, and the response of the landowners to the Redevelopment project
is favorable; (4) his company is involved in development of the land and do
not anticipate any heavy industrial users, also, the P zoning of the land
prevents any undesirable land use. Mr. Kau added that an industry similar to
Hy-Span, using about 150,000 square feet of building on l0 acres, has
expressed an interest in the area.
A. W. Hall, 1675 Point Reyes Court, Chula Vista 92011, resident and Point
Robinhood homeowner, stated that although Hy-Span is good-looking and blends
in nicely with the land, it forms a natural ampitheatre and projects noise to
his home. Therefore, he would like to go on record as saying that Hy-Span is
not so great a project as Mr. Kau cites.
Mr. Krupp addressed some of the expressed concerns and stated that without the
Redevelopment Plan, mitigation factors will not be addressed. As developers
come forward to define their projects and the specific use of the area is
known, the dust, air, and soil pollution problems will be considered.
- Planning Commission - 4 - November 9, 1983
No one else wishing to speak, Chairman O'Neill continued the public hearing to
the meeting of November 30, 1983.
ADJOURNMENT AT 8:40 p.m., to the Regular Business Meeting of November 30,
1983, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Ruth M. Smith, Secretary
WPC 0636P