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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Comm min 1987/06/10 Tape No.: 280 Side 2: 0-1619 MINUTES OF A REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY PLANNING COMMISSION OF CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers Wednesday, June 1O, 1987 Public Services Buildin9 ROLL CALL COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chairman Shipe, Commissioners Cannon, Carson, Fuller, Green and Tugenberg COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Grasser - with notification STAFF PRESENT: Director of Planning Krempl, Principal Planner Lee, Deputy City Attorney Moore, Senior Civil Engineer Daoust, Environmental Review Coordinator Reid, Assistant Planner Schilling, Fire Marshal Gove PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - SILENT PRAYER The pledge of allegiance to the flag was led by Chairman Shipe and was followed by a moment of silent prayer. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Chairman Shipe reviewed the composition of the Planning Commission, its responsibilities and the format of the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MSUC (Fuller/Carson) to approve the minutes of the meeting of May 13, 1987, with the following correction: page 6, paragraph 3, line 5, change the last word to "Cannon" instead of "Green"; and page 12, last sentence, change "May 13" to "June 10, 1987". ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None. Chairman Shipe announced that the order of the items on the agenda would be changed. Item 4 would be considered first because it is a request for continuance, then Item 5 followed by Items l, 2 and 3. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: DRAFT EIR-87-2 - OTAY RIO BUSINESS PARK Taken out of sequence. See page 2. 2. PUBLIC HEARING: DRAFT EIR-87-4 - PLAZA BONITA APARTMENTS Taken out of sequence. See page 6. Planning Commission -2- June 10, 1987 3. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT PCC-87-40M - REOUEST TO CONTINUE AN EXISTING AUIO RECYCLING YARD LOCATED AT 150 CENTER STREET - STANDARD AUTO RECYCLING Taken out of sequence. See page 9. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT PCC-87-39M - REOUEST TO ALLOW CONTINUANCE OF AN RV STORAGE LOT LOCATED AT 1383 BROADWAY - BROADWAY EQUITIES Assistant Planner Schilling noted that the applicant had requested continuance of their major use permit until the meeting of July 22, 1987, and staff concurs as long as the continuance is to a date certain. MSUC {Tugenberg/Fuller) to continue item PCC-87-39M to the meeting of July 22, 1987. 5. PUBLIC HEARING: VARIANCE ZAV-87-28M REQUEST TO REDUCE NUMBER OF REQUIRED PARKING SPACES FOR AN OFFICE BUILDING AND WAREHOUSE LOCATED AT 1650 INDUSTRIAL BOULEVARD RTA INTERNATIONAL Assistant Planner Schilling stated that the applicant for the variance request was requesting a continuance to the meeting of July 8, 1987 and that staff also concurs with the request. MSUC (Tugenberg/Fuller) to continue the variance request ZAV-87-28M to the meeting of July 8, 1987. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: DRAFT EIR-87-2 - OTAY RIO BUSINESS PARK Environmental Review Coordinator Reid stated that the Draft EIR on the project had been issued for public and agency 45-day review period on April 23, 1987. Per the State Clearinghouse this afternoon, letters are being sent from the Department of Fish and Game, Department of Conservation and Department of Water Resources and CALTRANS. The contents of the letters are unknown but they will be included in the Final EIR with the appropriate response or modification to the text of the Final EIR. The Resource Conservation Commission reviewed and recommended that the EIR be certified and that it was prepared in compliance with CEOA. The Commission was furnished, prior to the meeting, with a letter from the City of San Diego received after the packets had been delivered and which would be included in the Final EIR also. Planning Commission -3- June lO, 1987 Coordinator Reid commented that he would like to present some of the very preliminary staff positions regarding the project itself which evolved out of the issues in the EIR, the review of the tentative maps and other requests about the traffic capacities in the vicinity of the project. Otay Valley Road, which is the primary and only access to the project is a two-lane road with a very limited capacity in that vicinity and staff feels that only development of Unit I should be supported at this time. Furthermore, the average daily traffic (ADT) on Otay Valley Road should be monitored and when the ADT reaches a level of 7,500, no more building permits be issued within the subdivision. He pointed out that there are various residential developmen~ on the southern end of the subdivision that gain access to the City of San Diego in areas where there are no existing approved tentative maps. Great concern has been expressed about development in that area because of sensitive habitat and the conflict with the Otay Mesa Community Plan; therefore, staff considers the zoning of that property for residential use to be premature. The recommendation being made is that the public hearing be held and consideration of the Final EIR be scheduled for June 24th which is when the project is scheduled for Commission consideration. He then introduced Christine Keller from Keller Environmental Association to present the findings of the EIR. Christine Keller, Keller Environmental Association, Inc., 964 Fifth Ave., Ste 535, San Diego, stated that subdivision of the 210-acre site is proposed with 79 lots to light industrial development, 49 lots to single-family residential, 1 lot for park and natural riparian open space and 1 lot for open space. Development, subject to City approval of the precise plan would occur at a later stage. The precise plan would detail the mitigation requirements including landscaping, signs, setbacks, etc. Each subsequent developer would comply with the precise plan which the City would check development against. Requested is a General Plan Amendment from Low-Density Residential and Park and Open Space to Research and Limited Industrial and Medium-Density Residential and Open Space. Secondly, a rezone from A-8 (Agriculture) and F-1 (Floodway) to Limited Industrial Precise Plan Residential 1, F-1 (Floodway) and A-8 (Agriculture). Third, approval of a tentative subdivision map. The EIR was initially prepared reviewing 20 different issues and significant impacts were found in the area of geology because of the proposed development from land slides and encroachment into a mineral resource Zone 2; in biological resources in riparian areas; to archeology because surface artifacts were initi'ally identified through site visits; land use due to the rapidly changing land-use pattern and development; and potent-~l impact to water and sewer services, public schools and traffic. The Chillingworth Corporation therefore revised their proposal to mitigate significant impacts; namely, they eliminated development from the land slide area; conducted further sub-surface geotechnical investigations into the quality of the sand and gravel areas in the mineral resource Zone 2 (the investigation indicated the resources were not of a commercial quality); eliminated development from the riparian area (less than 1 acre would now be disturbed); and conducted intensive archeological surveys over the entire Planning Commission -4- June 10, 1987 site. They also negotiated with the City of San Diego, the Otay Municipal Water District regarding provision of water and sewer and divided the project into two phases to mitigate potential traffic problems as well as impact to schools and other public facilities. Since that revised EIR was submitted for public review, several changes have occurred; including dealing with potential problems in widening the road on Otay Valley because of impacts on the sensitive species as well as the City of San Diego's indicated opposition to developments in their jurisdiction (including Robinhood Ridge) until the Brown Field Master Plan is completed and the contours and compatible land uses identified in that area. Herman Basmaciyan, Basmaciyan-Darnell, Inc., Transportation and Traffic Engineering Consultant, noted that the traffic related impacts have been evaluated within two contexts; namely, (1) long-term growth and development in the area (assuming that the planned circulation system growth rate would be in place); and (2) hypothetically superimposing the entire project over the existing traffic levels (assuming the entire project would be superimposed immediately on the existing roadway and traffic). The project generation is anticipated to represent an increase of about 10,000 over the General Plan designation; however, in the context of the planned area circulation system and overall growth and development, there would be no incapacity for operational causes. The key issue would be the impact of the project-generated traffic when added to current traffic on Otay Valley Road. With no improvements made to that road, the total traffic (16,000 ADT) would exceed the carrying capacity of the present road, which in accordance with City standards allows 5,000 vehicles daily at LOS "C". The County, in comparison, estimates LOS "C" to be in the order of 7,100 ADT. Mr. Basmaciyan pointed out that the daily traffic is a function of many things, and that for the prevailing roadway and traffic conditions in the area, a value of 7,000 to 8,000 might be more appropriate. Monitoring traffic on Otay Valley Road is consistent with the findings of the traffic study as to the level of traffic that can be supported without improvement to Otay Valley Road. In reply to questions by Commissioner Tugenberg, Mr. Basmaciyan replied that the traffic from both Phase I and Phase II had been hypothetically superimposed; that most of the traffic from developments on the north side of Otay Lakes Road, as well as the proposed Otay Rio Business Park, are expected to be oriented to and from the west and will not affect the bridge crossing; the added traffic from Otay Mesa developments traversing Heritage Road was not considered because the location of the developments was not yet known. In reply to Commissioner Cannon's query about the 5,000 ADT capacity suggested by the City and the 50 percent increase in capacity proposed during the presentation, Mr. Basmaciyan confirmed that the traffic study indicated the 7,000 level would be more appropriate for the type of roadway and traffic conditions prevailing on Otay Lakes Road and the reasons were contained wi thin the study. Planning Commission -5- June 10, 1987 Commissioner Green referenced the noise problems between Robinhood Point and Hyspan and asked why with the proximity of residential to light industrial in this project was not addressed in the EIR. Director Krempl answered that the houses in Point Robinhood had been in the area prior to Hyspan and the noise regulations put into effect since that time are intended to ameliorate the problems of proximity between residential and industrial. Commissioner Shipe was informed that the traffic mix anticipated would consist of regular passenger vehicles with truck traffic in the order of 3 to 5 percent of the total. Commissioner Cannon requested the Commission be provided with a traffic analysis based on the Chula Vista standard for a road capacity of 5,000. The applicant agreed. Commissioner Tugenberg called the attention of the Planning Commission to the City of San Diego's report which indicated a volume of 56,000 ADT on Otay Valley Road at build-out which exceeds the recommended maximum desirable ADT of 40,000 for a six-lane street. Environmental Coordinator Reid said the Final EIR would address that statement and Mr. Basmaciyan interjected that the City of San Diego's reference in this context is to long-term traffic and not the superimposition of the project alone. Commissioner Cannon retorted that it was necessary to look at the long-term livability of the City, not just project by project and that it was time the two Cities got together and figured out how we were all going to live together. This being the time and the place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. Anthony Ambrose, HCH and Associates, 4877 Viewridge Ave., San Diego, 92123, representing the Chillingworth Corporation, noted that concerns about the traffic were shared; the project had been planned with the idea of being virtually self-contained because of the commercial uses Ibanking, food servicing, recreational facilities) provided. He added that Mr. Gill as well as Mr. Bob McCrary from Chillingworth Corporation were present and available for questioning. Peter Watry, 81 Second Avenue, CV, asked whether the threshold would be the "line on the map" or the actual traffic count. Mr. Reid replied that any issuance of building permits for construction with Unit I would be keyed to an on-going monitoring of the traffic on Otay Valley Road. When that reaches a certain threshold, no more building permits would be issued, even if it were to be Phase 1. Mr. Watry expressed his approval that the actual count, not the estimated count would be used. No one else wishing to speak, the public hearing was closed. MSUC (Cannon/Fuller) to continue this item to the meeting of June 24th for consideration of the Final EIR. Plannin9 Commission -6- June 10, 1987 Commissioner Cannon said he would like to compliment Keller Environmental on the preparation of the EIR. He would like to see, however, from a planning and environmental review standpoint when the roads were going to be built so that the phases could proceed. He would like to see something a little more concrete--10 years, 5 years, or even 3 years from now and at what levels--a four-lane road, a six-lane road. 2. PUBLIC HEARING: DRAFT EIR-87-4 - PLAZA BONITA APARTMENTS Environmental Review Coordinator Reid said the DRAFT EIR was issued on May 5, 1987, had a 30-day review period through the State Clearinghouse because the only commenting agency anticipated was CalTrans. However, the only agency commenting was Park and Water Resources with the basic comments submitted on all EIRs. The Resource Conservation Commission (RCC) reviewed the document and the project also; it was their recommendation that the Commission not certify the EIR because it would be recommending denial of the project and thus a final EIR would not be needed. Their reasons for recommending denial were based on the project density, traffic conditions in the area, the timing of the General Plan Amendment relative to the overall update of the General Plan, the Bonita Road Traffic Corridor Study, the aesthetic impact on the Gateway to the City of Chula Vista and the traffic noise. Staff's recommendation is to hold the public hearing and schedule the Final EIR for consideration on June 24th. Marsha Gross, RBR and Associates, 233 A St., Ste 804, San Diego, 92101, stated the proposed project featured a 96-unit apartment on a 4.6 acre site with on-site parking for 161 vehicles and 24 spaces underneath the buildings. Access would be gained from two driveways off Bonita Road with no access directly from "E" Street. Discretionary actions necessary to implement the project included a General Plan Amendment from Medium to High-Density Residential, a rezone from R-1 (Single-Family Residential) to R-3 (Apartment Residential), a precise plan, a grading permit and a design review. A tentative subdivision map to subdivide airspace might be required at a later date if the units were to be sold as condos. The EIR focused on seven issues identified by City Staff during the Initial Study as potentially significant; namely, (1) transportation access, (2) noise, (3) land use, (4) land form aesthetics, (5) community infrastructure, (6) geology/ soils, and (7) hydrology/groundwater. She then summarized the impacts and mitigation measures for six of the issues and outlined the alternatives to the proposed action. James Federhart, Federhart and Associates, 2321 Marina Blvd, S.D., informed the Commission that the existing traffic had been analyzed at the critical intersections, (1) the west intersection of the ramps at 1-805 and Bonita (at LOS "F") and (2) the east ramp at the borderline of LOS "C" and "D", plus addition of cumulative traffic projections of approved developments not yet generating traffic. Mr. Federhart explained that the completion of SR-54 with its direct connections will be freeway-to-freeway and will eliminate present Planning Commission -7- June lO, 1987 diamond ramps at I-5 and "E", the easterly traffic and present intervening signals. People coming south on I-5 will be taking SR-54 to 1-805 instead of coming south on I-5 and taking "E" Street across. Commissioner Shipe expressed concern over possible congestion of Highway 54 and the backing up of traffic to the east. Concerns expressed by the Commission included: (1) possible congestion of Highway 54 and resultant backing up of traffic to the east; (2) the short distance between exiting the 1-805 westbound ramp and Bonita Glen Road, which with the addition of a second exit ramp going west on "E" will limit the distance to make a left-hand turn to Bonita Glen to about 45 feet; (3) the traffic in and out of the proposed complex would be directly onto Bonita Street causing traffic to back up on that street, which, in turn, will cause the signal to stay green longer because of the amount of traffic~ thereby backing up the traffic on street further up the hill Furthermore, with stoppage of traffic at each of the signals, cars will stack up further onto the freeway so that when the signal turns green to exit the freeway, the wait at the intersection for the freeway traffic to exit will be even longer. Each instance will cause more backup of traffic on "E" Street; (4) at what point would would a determination be made that there is a significant impact on the property; (5) and the need for the mitigation measures to be more specific. This being the time and the place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. Carol Freno, 3703 Alta Loma Drive, Bonita, speaking as a member of Crossroads, voiced concern on the need to bus children to other schools thus depriving them of the benefit of all after-school activities; the magnitude the proposed project on a road that has been designated "scenic" and a "Gateway to Chula Vi sta". Alan Perry, 225 Broadway, San Diego, representing the applicant stated there are two other consultants present to answer any questions. Other speakers in opposition were: (1) Larry Pride, 16 Bonita Road, CV; Peter Watry, 82 Second Ave., CV; (3) Thomas Balestrieri, 76 Bonita Road, CV; (4) Bob Swift, 36 Bonita Road, CV; (5) Jim Burley, 6500 San Miguel Road, representing the Sweetwater Valley Civic Association; (6) Louise Joseph, 36 Sandalwood Drive, CV: (7) Rosalee Mason, 38 Toyon Lane, CV; (8) Maynard Joseph, 36 Sandalwood Drive, CV; (9) Raymond Prisbylla, 75 Bonita Road, CV; (lO) Helen Little, 271 Rogan Road, CV; (ll) Therese Vezina, 31 Toyon Lane; CV. Their concerns included: (1) Traffic build-up on "E" Street~ chose area because of school qualifications, does not want busing; increase of speeders; devaluation of property by rezoning; and concern over apartment-generated traffic. (2) Location of project is absurd; the EIR is the most "creative" he has ever reviewed; the EIR says that after the completion of Highway 54 that traffic is expected to drop from 23,000 per day to 13,000 yet in all his figuring he can not imagine more than 2,000 cars now tak~,nEg,, "E" Street who would take 54 and it is wrong to consider that traffic on Street will ever be less than it is today; the £IR says the LOS at Bonita Road is "B", yet the pictures he was Plannin9 Commission -8- June lO, 1987 submitting showed traffic backed up from the freeway past Bonita Glen, past Flower and up the hill and those taken on May 8th show traffic backed up past Hilltop toward First Avenue - which to him indicates a LOS "D" condition described as"a zone of increasing restriction approaching instability at the intersection", (3) There are already three stop lights within 1-1/2 blocks and the project proposes a fourth; an article in the paper states, "..if land use regulations go too far, (cities) could be liable for damages". (4) The land use and land form are in strong conflict with the single-family medium density neighborhood and will reduce the quality of living; visual corridors are only open spaces between buildings} the project should be denied and the property developed at no greater than the R-1 zoning at which it is currently zoned. (5) No changes to the planning and zoning rules at the present time with the present study in progress (that the City is helping pay for)~ the traffic situation at "E" and 1-805 is at gridlock now. (6) When will the connecting road between the two highways be in; against busing children; parents in the school to which children are bussed resent the intrusion. (7) The EIR speaks of special building materials to reduce the noise for the Plaza Bonita apartment residents but nothing is said about the noise levels along Bonita Road; the buildings are too massive, the eucalyptus trees won't even be visible with such massive buildings; no good social impacts can come from such high density; will miss the foxes and hawks and the great horned owl in the area. (8) The old Bonita Road that goes up to First Avenue can't be widened after Hilltop Drive, there's no room for it; Stafford Gardner in their January meeting told the nearby residents they were lucky only 96 units were going in because it could have been doubled; it is just a money-making project which will congest the area and make it less livable. (9) Scenic highway doesn't mean two massive buildings on either side of the road~ the EIR uses vague language that is not defined, such as, "sufficient amount of landscaping"; questioned the future growth in the area for the land where the church (which is for sale) is located; also, will the lot on the north side of 1-805 which according to the General Plan is high density, be used for apartments to add more pressure and traffic; (10) There comes a time in a community when the members need to say no; those who live in the area now can't go any further, it is necessary to do what is good for the people now; stability means a lot to children; let's keep the nice community we have;---Ill) Traffic is so bad I can't get out of Toyon Lane; I'm trying to sell my home but no one wants to live with the traffic, the property has depreciated al ready. No one else wishing to speak, the public hearing was closed. MSUC (Cannon/Fuller) to continue the item to the meeting of June 24, 1987. Commissioner Cannon added that, before consideration of the Final EIR, he would like to see in the EIR when the improvements are going to be made to the intersection at 1-805. 8:55 - 9:00 p.m. - The Commission recessed. Planning Commission -9- June lO, 1987 3. PUBLIC HEARING: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT PCC-87-40M - REQUEST TO CONTINUE AN EXISTING AUTO RECYCLING YARD LOCATED AT 150 CENTER STREET - STANDARD AUTO RECYCLING Assistant Planner Schilling said this requestistocontinue an existing auto dismantling yard in operation since 1959, under a Major Use Permit by the County of San Diego and which expired on April 27, 1987. The site is approximately 3.37 acres, contains a storage yard and a 26,400 square foot metal building used partially for parts storage with the remainder of the building leased by a tenant for boat manufacturing. The site is served by a 21-space parking lot. A proposed landscaping/irrigation plan has been submitted along with the Major Use Permit application which has been approved with minor modifications by the City Landscape Architect. Since the use has been in operation under the City's jurisdiction, Zoning Enforcement has received no complaints regarding the manner in which the business had been conducted. Staff has noted that the conditions of approval originally granted by the County appear to have been complied with except for the storage of wrecked autos in the front parking lot. The business has been informed that open storage can only occur within the parts' building or in the storage yard. Aside from this, staff is recommending approval subject to the conditions outlined in the staff report. Three following issues are a concern to staff: (1) Condition "e" requires the applicant to submit a revised sign plan showing which part of the site area is engaged in the boat-manufacturing operation. This will allow staff to determine if there are conflicts between the two land uses and if there is sufficient on-site parking for both uses. (2) Condition "a" requires the applicant to show there is legal access to the site from the corner of Center Street and Britton Avenue where the public street ends and the apparent private easement begins since that easement represents sole access to this site and to 151 Center Street. There is an apparent private easement on which the County required street improvements from Jack Stanley, Standard Auto Recycling~but there is no reference in available records that any irrevocable offers to dedicate were ever received from the property owners to the north of the site or any record of a private easement being granted to these property owners through this site. The easement, however, has been used by the applicant, since 1959 and also by the adjacent wrecking yard. Once records are produced to show legal access, street improvements may be required either by the Engineering or Planning Department. The easement is paved at this time and there is a turnaround at the end of the street. Staff members of the Montgomery Planning Committee are recommending that the permit be granted for a period of time not to exceed 2 years or 90 days after adoption of the Montgomery Specific Plan, whichever comes first. The purpose of the short time period is to allow the use to continue on an interim basis until long-term land use questions can be addressed by the Montgomery Specific Plan. If it is determined after the Specific Plan is adopted that auto Planning Commission -10- June 10, 1987 dismantling operations will be permitted, then the site would need to be reevaluated as part of the renewal of the Major Use Permit to incorporate some of the long-term design programs to be instituted. Commissioner Green questioned the need for the applicant to prove he has that prestrictive easement. He was answered that the Engineering Department requires recordation of legal access to the site. Commissioner Fuller asked if the Montgomery Specific Plan was to be a part of the General Plan and was answered it was a separate plan and is a condition of the annexation of Montgomery. Commissioner Cannon asked for clarification of the conflict between the boats and the wrecked cars. It was answered that no conflict is known at this time, however, the use is not shown on the site plan and staff has concern about storage of boats in the parking lot. The Commissioner then noted that the City may be forcing the applicant to go to Court to prove legal access. If there is no recorded easement, then there is no private easement, so obviously there is a prescriptive easement because they have been using continuously for 5 years. Senior Civil Engineer Daoust replied there was no intention of forcing the applicant to go to court, the requirement was to maintain a record of what is the existing situation and there is no record now of any provision of an access right. This being the time and the place as advertised, the public hearing was opened. No one wishing to speak, the public hearing was closed. MSUC {Green/Cannon) to find this project will have no significant environmental impacts and adopt the Negative Declaration issued on IS-87-5?M. MSUC (Green/Cannon) based on findings contained in Section "E" of the staff report, to approve the request, PCC-87-40M, to continue an existing auto dismantling yard at 150 Center Street subject to the conditions listed with the following changes: a. Change the text to read: The owner shall provide information about his right of access to the property. e. Change text to read: Storage of boats in the parking lot will not be permitted. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Director Krempl stated that at the workshop on the 17th, there will be representatives from each of the school districts present to discuss in some detail school issues relating to needs, evaluation, future school planning, financing and so forth. Planning Commission -11- June 10, 1987 - He then introduced Rich Rudolf, the Assistant City Attorney, replacing Charles Gill, who had the great distinction of taking on the closing of Thad's Adult Business in the City of Chula Vista. Commissioner Shipe welcomed Mr. Rudolf in the Commission's name. COMMISSION COMMENTS None ADJOURNMENT AT 9:15 p.m. to the Study Session Meeting of June 17, 1987 at 5:00 p.m. in Conference Rooms 2 & 3 Ruth M. Smith, Secretary Planning Commission WPC 4210P