REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
October 23, 2014
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Development and Resource Management Department
THROUGH: MIKE SANCHEZ, Assistant Director
Development Services Division
BY: SANDRA BROCK, Planner III
Development Services Division
SUBJECT
Title
HEARING to consider Rezone Application No. R-14-006 and related environmental finding, filed by Dirk Poeschel of Dirk Poeschel Land Development Services on behalf of property owner Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and successor in interest Property Multipliers LLC, pertaining to a proposed change in conditions of zoning applicable to approximately 4.24 acres of property; the subject property comprises Assessor's Parcels Nos. 506-320-59S and 506-320-60S) located on the east side of N. Figarden Drive between W. Bullard Avenue and the Burlington North Santa Fe Railroad (Council District 2)
1. ADOPT the proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration as the finding for Environmental
Assessment (EA) No. R-14-006 for the purpose of the proposed project; and
2. BILL - (For introduction and adoption) - Amending the conditions of zoning for the subject
property, which would remain classified in the M-1/BA-20/UGM/cz (Light Manufacturing
District/Boulevard Area Overlay - 20 Feet/Urban Growth Management Area/conditions of zoning)
zone district
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council take the following actions:
1. ADOPT the proposed MND as the finding for EA No. R-14-006 for the purpose of the proposed project; and
2. ADOPT THE ORDINANCE BILL amending the conditions of zoning for the subject property, which would remain classified in the M-1/BA-20/UGM/cz (Light Manufacturing District/Boulevard Area Overlay - 20 Feet/Urban Growth Management Area/conditions of zoning) zone district.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Rezone Application No. R-14-006 was filed by Dirk Poeschel of Dirk Poeschel Land Development Services, on behalf of former property owner Wells Fargo Bank. N.A. and successor in interest (current owner) Property Multipliers LLC. The application pertains to two parcels (APNs 506-320-59S and 506-320-60S), comprising 4.24± acres of developed property with four buildings addressed as 6350, 6360, 6370, and 6380 North Figarden Drive. The subject property is located on the east side of North Figarden Drive between the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and West Bullard Avenue (please see attached aerial photo, vicinity map, and Assessor's Parcel map). The application seeks to amend conditions of zoning which were previously applied to the subject property (through Rezone No. R-01-037) in order to permit some previously prohibited uses, and to allow specific commercial uses pursuant to Fresno Municipal Code Section 12-226.1-B-10. The objective of this rezone application is to expand allowable uses at the subject property and increase its occupancy rate.
The rezone would not change the current M-1/BA-20/UGM/cz (Light Manufacturing District/Boulevard Area Overlay - 20 Feet/ Urban Growth Management Area/conditions of zoning) classification for these parcels, which are planned for Light Industrial use in the 2025 Fresno General Plan, Bullard Community Plan, and Sierra Sky Park Land Use Policy Plan. (Please refer to Attachment 1 for an aerial photo of the neighborhood; a vicinity map showing zoning in the area; the Assessor's Parcel map; the planned land use map of the area; the bordering property information for the subject property; and the site plan approved for Conditional Use Permit No. C-06-090, which authorized development of the subject property.)
BACKGROUND / ANALYSIS
Planning and zoning history of the subject property
The subject property and approximately 28 other acres on the northeast corner of West Bullard Avenue and North Figarden Drive, Rezone No. R-01-037 was filed in conjunction with Plan Amendment No. A-01-23. These applications amended the Bullard Community and 1984 General Plan land uses to create Light Industrial, Neighborhood Commercial, and Office Commercial enclaves on this acreage. (The planned land use map in Attachment 1 shows these land uses, as well as the planned land use designations of surrounding properties.) Rezone No. R-01-037 classified this overall site into three basic zone districts consistent with the land uses approved in Plan Amendment No. A-01-23.
Land planned for Neighborhood Commercial use at the apex of the intersection was assigned a C-1 (Neighborhood Shopping Center District) zoning classification, with overlay zone districts for Boulevard Area (BA) setbacks along N. Figarden Drive and Urban Growth Management (UGM) Area. The Office Commercial land fronting West Bullard Avenue was given C-P zoning (Administrative and Professional Office District) and was also in the UGM area. Land along the Burlington Northern Railroad, planned for Light Industrial use, was classified M-1 (Light Manufacturing District), and also had BA and UGM overlay districts assigned. All these properties were subject to conditions of zoning reflecting community concerns, Sierra Sky Park safety requirements, and noise control considerations relating to the railroad. (A full copy of Ordinance No. 2001-91 adopted for Rezone No. R-01-037 is an exhibit for EA No. R-14-006 and is contained in Attachment 2.)
For the property involved in Rezone Application No. R-14-006, the resulting zoning classification was M-1/BA-20/UGM/cz (Light Manufacturing District/Boulevard Area - 20 Feet/ Urban Growth Management Area/conditions of zoning). Following are the specific conditions of zoning which currently pertain to the subject property, as contained in Ordinance No. 2001-91:
. . . This ordinance shall be conditioned upon the record owners of the property
causing to be recorded a covenant running with the land guaranteeing the following conditions on the subject property:
a. The City of Fresno shall require the dedication of an avigation easement and agreement as called for in the Sierra Sky Park Land Use Policy Plan.
b. No structure, tree or other object shall be permitted to exceed the height limits established in accordance with Part 77, Subpart C, of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR).
c. The development of schools, hospitals, nursing homes or similar uses shall be prohibited.
d. Development of the subject site shall be in substantial conformance with Conditional Use Permit No. 01-144 and attached "Exhibit A," dated November 26, 2001 as determined by the Planning and Development Director. The design theme, landscaping, circulation, etc. shall be established with the development proposed by Conditional Use Permit No. 01-144 and subsequent phases shall be in substantial conformance with this development.
e. The sale of pornographic material shall be prohibited on the subject property.
f. Car washes, mortuaries, and service stations shall be prohibited on the subject property.
g. Development of the M-1 zoned portion of the subject property shall be in accordance with the M-1-P zone district standards.
h. The maximum building height on the subject property shall not exceed 50 feet.
i. The C-P zoned portion of the subject property shall be limited to a church use only.
Conditional Use Permit No. C-01-144, referenced in the Ordinance No. 2001-91, did not provide for development of the entire 32 acres involved in the 2001 plan amendment and rezone applications. It only served as the special permit for part of the original site involved in the 2001 plan amendment and rezoning. Over the intervening years, other entitlement applications were filed to develop various portions of this 32-acre area. The subject property, comprising Assessor's Parcel Numbers 506-320-59S and 506-320-60S, were subsequently developed pursuant to Conditional Use Permit (CUP) No. C-06-090, which authorized four light industrial shell buildings totaling approximately 30,750 square feet (please refer to the site plan exhibit for this special permit included in Attachment 1). Conditions of Approval for CUP C-06-090 reflected the conditions of zoning approved in 2001.
In the recent recession, Wells Fargo bank found itself in possession of the subject property and had difficulty finding buyers and tenants for vacant buildings on the site, due to a lack of defined potential uses for these buildings. Staff worked at length with the applicants to develop a list of potential uses which would be consistent with the City's Zoning Ordinance and remain substantially within the conditions of zoning that had been approved in 2001.
Due to improvements in building technology and energy efficiency standards in the intervening years, noise from the railroad and Sierra Sky Park may allow some types of schools to be instituted on the subject property. Because the 2001 conditions of zoning had prohibited "schools" in general, a rezone application was necessary to remove the prohibition and allow for instruction in yoga, martial arts, music, dance, cosmetology ("beauty college") and general vocational subjects. This is the only 2001 condition of zoning proposed to be deleted; the rest of Section 5, clause "c" would remain from the Ordinance No. 2001-91. Rezone Application No. R-14-006 was also used to define potential commercial uses which could be instituted in the developed buildings on the subject property, as allowed by the M-1 zone district.
There is precedent for modifying the conditions of zoning assigned to this area in 2001. Another rezone application was filed in 2008 for one of the C-1 (Neighborhood Shopping Center) zoned parcels fronting Figarden Drive. That rezone application was approved to modify the provisions of Rezone No. R-01-037 and amend conditions of zoning for that parcel to remove the prohibition against car washes. Subsequently, a conditional use permit was also approved to construct an automated car wash on the C-1 parcel.
Land Use Plans and Policies:
The subject property is planned for the Light Industrial land use in the 2025 Fresno General Plan and Bullard Community Plan, reflecting the land use designation assigned in 2001 (please refer to the land use map in Attachment 1). The proposed rezone would retain the M-1 (Light Manufacturing District) zoning classification assigned to the subject property, and would thereby maintain consistency with the Light Industrial land use designation of the property per Table 2 of the 2025 General Plan (the Zoning Consistency Matrix).
The project location is in the Fig Garden Loop Activity Center, identified in Exhibit 6 of the 2025 Fresno General Plan. As originally conceived, it was a component of a mixed office, commercial, and light industrial project (Plan Amendment No. A-01-023). The designated Office Commercial area covered by this 2001 plan amendment was conditioned on being used as a church, and the designated Neighborhood Commercial portion of the plan amendment had the least acreage of the project components; it was not as amenable to constructing larger buildings such as those on the subject property, which is part of the Light Industrial planned area created by the plan amendment. Approval of the rezone would help maximize the utilization of the subject property and would implement the following General Plan goals, objectives, and policies:
Goal 9: Provide activity centers and intensity corridors within plan areas to create a mix of land uses and amenities to foster community identity and reduce travel.
Objective C-4: Adhere to a multiple community center concept of urban design for the Fresno metropolitan area as conceptually shown in [General Plan] Exhibit 6.
Policy C-4-b: Activity centers should include commercial areas, employment centers, schools, higher density development, churches, parks and other gathering points where residents may interact, work, and obtain goods and services in the same place.
Policy C-4-c: Place emphasis on pedestrian activities and linkages
.
Policy C-4-d: Activity centers should provide for mixed uses and shared parking facilities
.
Policy C-8-e: Mixed use policies and zoning regulations should support the recycling of older buildings.
Policy C-8-f: Mixed use zoning regulations shall allow flexibility in parking requirements.
Goal 13: Plan for a healthy business and diversified employment environment, and provide adequate timely services to ensure that Fresno is competitive in the marketplace.
Objective C-13: Plan and support industrial development to promote job growth while enhancing Fresno's urban environment.
Policy C-13-b: Plan for unified, high quality, geographically dispersed businesses and industrial park sites that are of sufficient size, unified in design, and diversified in activity to attract a full range of business types and supporting uses necessary to provide needed economic and employment growth.
Staff has determined that Rezone No. R-14-006 would implement the above goals, objectives, and policies of the 2025 Fresno General Plan.
As noted in the appended EA, the property is not in any approach protection zone for Sierra Sky Park or in any of the identified airport noise contours; it is in the Horizontal Surface area. Therefore, height restrictions imposed by R-01-037 conditions of zoning would remain, pursuant to the FAA regulations.
With regard to Safety Element and Noise Element conformance, a mitigation measure will require that any proposed instructional use have the appropriate occupancy rating for the building housing that use, and that an acoustical evaluation be done to verify that noise-sensitive instructional uses (and adjacent businesses) would be protected from external and internal noise. The avigation easement covenant required by Rezone Application No. R-01-037 was recorded for the subject property in 2006.
Recommended amended conditions of zoning for Rezone No. R-14-006:
Staff worked with the applicants to refine the list of uses in Rezone Application No. R-14-006, with Fresno Municipal Code Section 12-226.1-B-10 and the existing permitted tenants of the subject property in mind:
USES PERMITTED [in the M-1 Zone District]
B. RELATED USES
10. Commercial uses that are incidental to and directly related to and serving the permitted industrial uses
Since FMC Section 12-226.1-B-10 only allows "by right" uses in conjunction with permitted industrial uses, the proposed conditions of zoning for Rezone No. R-14-006 would prevent "bootstrapping" and creation of a de facto shopping center at the subject property by requiring that commercial uses be allowed when the related classified industrial use for them is specified.
The only requested commercial use which staff could not make the finding for was "Liquor Store." This use appears to be too intensive a commercial activity, and the adjacent C-1 zoned property to the south already has a liquor store and a tavern within walking distance. Staff could not determine that the purchase of alcohol for off-site consumption would be incidental to, related to, or serving the permitted industrial uses at the subject property. The applicant has concurred with the staff and Planning Commission findings.
The resulting proposed conditions of zoning which would be applied through approval of Rezone Application No. R-14-006 would read as follows:
Rezone Application No. R-14-006 shall amend the conditions of zoning previously applied through Rezone No. R-01-037 (Ordinance No. 2001-91) for the two parcels comprising the subject property by applying conditions of zoning listed below, which shall be recorded and put on file with the Fresno County Recorder's Office by the record owners of the subject property executing and causing to be recorded a covenant running with the land guaranteeing compliance with these conditions:
1. Pursuant to the Deed of Avigation and Hazard Easement recorded previously for the subject property (Fresno County Recorder Document No. 2007-126629), the following, in addition to other requirements memorialized in that document, shall apply:
· No structure, tree or other object shall be permitted to exceed the height limits established in accordance with Part 77, subpart C of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR).
· The maximum building height on the subject property shall not exceed fifty (50) feet.
2. The development of hospitals, nursing homes or similar uses shall be prohibited.
3. Development of the subject property shall be in accordance with the M-1-P zone district standards.
4. Development of the subject property shall be in substantial conformance, as determined by the Director of the Development and Resource Management Department, with the site, circulation and landscape design exhibits approved for Conditional Use Permit No. 01-144 as well as the site plan, elevation, parking area, and landscape exhibits approved for Conditional Use Permit No. C-06-090, including the corrected site plan dated December 3, 2007.
5. The sale of pornographic material shall be prohibited on the subject property.
6. Car washes, mortuaries, and services stations shall be prohibited on the subject property.
7. Drive-through uses and drive-up windows shall be prohibited on the subject property.
8. Subsequent uses and modifications of the subject property shall comply with the project-specific mitigation measures adopted for EA No. R-14-006 (attached hereto as Exhibit "B").
9. The following commercial uses shall be permitted by right on the subject property, pursuant to a determination that they are incidental to directly related to and serving the permitted industrial uses on the property and adjacent light industrial land, and pursuant to compliance with project-specific mitigation measures adopted as part of the MND for EA No. R-14-006:
a. Retail appliance sales
b. Retail stereo and sound system store
c. Retail sale of tools and lawn & garden equipment
d. Retail sale of bathroom, kitchen, bedding, and related products
e. Retail sale of paint, lighting, and home décor items
f. Retail sale of carpet
g. Retail bakery
h. Retail meat market
i. Retail sale of health foods
j. Retail ice cream store (with no drive-through or drive-up window)
k. Retail bicycle sales and servicing
l. Retail clothing store, limited to uniforms/protective clothing, and sporting apparel
m. Day spa and salon
n. Retail laundry and dry cleaning
o. Retail stationery sales, photocopying, binding, blueprinting, mailing, and related business services
p. Retail telephone/communication equipment and business machine sales and service
q. Retail florist
r. Retail jewelry sales and repair
s. Yoga and martial arts training
t. Music and dance instruction
u. Beauty college and vocational school
Circulation Element Policies and Major Street System and Highway Traffic Capacity:
All improvements related to major street circulation and on-site circulation are already complete, as required by Conditional Use Permit No. C-06-090, and the proximal segments of major streets are operating at an acceptable level of service.
In order to prevent excess commercial traffic at the subject property, the revised conditions of zoning include a prohibition on drive-through uses. A mitigation measure is also proposed to mitigate any additional increment of vehicle trips which may be generated by establishment of commercial uses in the light industrial shell buildings; the Public Works Department Traffic Engineering staff will review applications for tenant improvement (construction) permits to determine if trip generation will be increased, and that information will be usable to assess City and regional traffic impact fees as appropriate.
No comments regarding Rezone Application No. R-14-090 were received from Caltrans.
Public Utilities, Resources, and Services:
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has determined that adequate sanitary sewer and water services are available to serve the project site subject to implementation of the 2025 Fresno General Plan policies, with the project-specific mitigation measure that any tenant involved in food production or retail sales will be required to install an interceptor for oils and grease. The proposed mitigation measures also provide that the Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division will also review tenant improvement applications to ascertain whether solid waste enclosures on the property need to be augmented for food waste and/or recycling. Other infrastructure elements that are already in place are not anticipated to be affected by Rezone No. R-14-006.
Council District 2 Plan Implementation Committee:
The applicant met with the Council District 2 Plan Implementation Committee informally on June 2, 2014 and on July 14 the Committee formally considered Rezone Application No. R-14-006. The Committee recommended approval of the application, excepting the request to allow a liquor store on the subject property (please refer to Attachment 3).
Planning Commission:
No one attended the Planning Commission hearing to object to the project, the staff recommendation, or the environmental finding, and no correspondence was received prior to, or at the Planning Commission hearing. The pastor of the church south of the subject property stated an objection to the liquor store use but did not object to the other uses; this information was provided to the Planning Commission in the staff report. The Commission voted 6 - 0 (one member of the Commission was absent) to approve staff's recommendation and recommend approval of the EA and the requested rezone without including liquor stores as an allowable commercial use on the subject property (please see Attachment 4).
Other Public Consultation
Notices for the City Council's public hearing on Rezone Application No. R-14-006 were mailed on Friday, October 10. Attachment 5 provides a copy of the notice, with the noticing radius map and list of property owners receiving the notice.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
An environmental assessment (EA) initial study was prepared for this project in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. This process included the distribution of requests for comment from other responsible or affected agencies and interested organizations as well as consideration of public comments received pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15073. An initial study using the Appendix G checklist from the CEQA Guidelines; it is included in Attachment 2 with subsidiary exhibits.
This rezone application was evaluated in accordance with the land use and environmental policies and provisions of the 2025 Fresno General Plan and its related Master Environmental Impact Report (MEIR) No. 10130 (State Clearinghouse No. 2001071097), as well as the MND No. A-09-02 adopted for the General Plan Air Quality Update (SCH No. 2009051016). The resulting EA is appended to this report.
All applicable mitigation measures of MEIR No. 10130 and MND No. A-09-02 have been applied to the project necessary to assure that the project will not cause significant adverse cumulative impacts, growth inducing impacts, and irreversible significant effects beyond those identified by MEIR No. 10130 and MND No. A-09-02 as provided by CEQA Guidelines Section 15177(d).
After conducting a review of the adequacy of the MEIR pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21157.6(b)(1), the Development and Resource Management Department, as lead agency, finds that no substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the MEIR was certified and the MND adopted; and, that no new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time that the MEIR was certified as complete or the MND was adopted, has become available.
The rezone application would allow use of the already-developed subject property at an intensity and scale permitted by the Light Industrial planned land use designation applicable to the site because the M-1 (Light Manufacturing) zone district, which is consistent with that land use designation allows commercial uses to be approved when they are incidental to, directly related to, and serving permitted light industrial uses. The 2025 Fresno General Plan further designates the subject property and its vicinity as an "activity center," and advocates for mixed use and expanding the range of uses in activity centers. Therefore, the proposed project will not facilitate an intensification of uses beyond that which would be allowed by the above-noted planned land use designation.
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15178(a), the project proposal has been determined to be a subsequent project not fully within the scope of the MEIR and MND, because some additional project-specific mitigation measures have been deemed necessary to ensure that implementing Rezone Application No. R-14-006 will not adversely impact existing city service systems or traffic circulation. Therefore, the recommended finding for this project is a MND, as provided by CEQA Guidelines Section 15178(b). The EA in Attachment 2 includes the MEIR and project-specific mitigation measure checklists proposed for Rezone Application No. R-14-006.
A Notice of Intent to make this environmental finding was posted in the Fresno County Clerk's office on May 30, 2014 and was published that same date in the Fresno Bee. No comments or appeals regarding the proposed environmental finding have been received as of the date of preparation of this report.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
N/A; this rezone does not involve any bids or award of contracts for construction or services.
FISCAL IMPACT
No General Fund expenditure was required for this project. The fees for processing this project have been paid by the applicant, and the applicant is required to pay the cost for recording the required covenant to memorialize conditions of zoning. Since the objective of the project is to enhance occupancy of the subject property, a positive General Fund impact is anticipated to result from this rezone through improved business license and sales tax revenues.
Attachments: Aerial photo, Vicinity map showing zoning, Assessor's Parcel map, Planned Land Use map for the area, Bordering Properties chart, and site plan approved for the Rezone No. R-14-006 subject property
EA No. R-14-006, proposing a finding of MND; Initial Study with exhibits and mitigation measure monitoring checklists for Rezone Application No. R-14-006
July 14, 2014 Council District 2 Plan Implementation Committee Action Agenda showing the Committee's recommendation on Rezone Application No. R-14-006
Planning Commission Resolution No. 13296 with recommendation for the Council to approve EA No. R-14-006 and revised conditions of zoning for the subject property as recommended by staff
Mailed notice for the City Council hearing on Rezone Application No. R-14-006 and its EA, with the noticing radius map and list of property owners receiving the notice.
Draft Ordinance Bill for Rezone No. R-14-006