REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
May 14, 2015
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, Director
Development and Resource Management Department
THROUGH: MIKE SANCHEZ, Assistant Director
Development and Resource Management Department
BY: NATHAN BOUVET, Planner III
Development and Resource Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
HEARING to consider Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007, Rezone Application No. R-14-011, and related environmental assessment for the property located on the southwest corner of E. Mono Street and S. Adler Avenue (Council District 5)
a. Adopt the environmental finding of Environmental Assessment No. A-14-007/R-14-011/S-14-060, a finding of a Mitigated Negative Declaration, dated April 3, 2015
b. RESOLUTION - Approving Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007 amending the Fresno General Plan and Roosevelt Community Plan planned land use designation for ± 0.57 acres from the Medium Density Residential designation to the Office planned land use designation in the City of Fresno
c. BILL - (For introduction and adoption) - Amending the Official Zone Map to reclassify ± 0.57 acres from the R-1 (Single Family Residential, Fresno City) to C-P (Administrative and Professional Offices, Fresno City) zone district
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council take the following action:
1. ADOPT the environmental finding of a Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for Environmental Assessment No. A-14-007/R-14-011/S-14-060 for the purpose of the proposed project.
2. ADOPT RESOLUTION approving Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007 amending the Fresno General Plan and Roosevelt Community Plan planned land use designation for ± 0.57 acres from the Medium Density Residential designation in the City of Fresno to the Office planned land use designation in the City of Fresno.
3. ADOPT BILL amending the Official Zone Map reclassify ± 0.57 acres from the R-1 (Single Family Residential, Fresno City) to C-P (Administrative and Professional Offices, Fresno City) zone district.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed project, filed by Dr. Tejinder Randhawa, pertains to approximately 0.57 net acres of property located on the southwest corner of East Mono Street and South Adler Avenue (see Vicinity Map and Aerial Photograph). The applicant proposes to amend the Fresno General Plan and the Roosevelt Community Plan from the Medium Density Residential designation in the City of Fresno to the Office planned land use designation in the City of Fresno. The applicant also proposes to rezone the subject property from the R-1 (Single Family Residential, Fresno City) to C-P (Administrative and Professional Offices, Fresno City) zone district. These applications have been filed in order to facilitate approval of a 2,150 square foot medical office building in accordance with Site Plan Review Application No. S-14-060 on a 0.57 acre site (see exhibits).
The proposed project is supported by staff and was approved by the Council District 5 Plan Implementation Committee on December 1, 2014. In addition, on April 15, 2015, the Fresno City Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007 and Rezone Application No. R-14-011 to the City Council. The site plan review application is not being reviewed at this time.
BACKGROUND
Project Information
PROJECT
- See Executive Summary
APPLICANT
- Dr. Tejinder Randhawa
LOCATION
- Located on the southwest corner of East Mono Street and South Adler Avenue (APN: 463-232-03) Council District 5, Councilmember Quintero
SITE SIZE
- Approximately 0.57 acres
LAND USE
- Existing - Medium Density Residential (City Designation)
- Proposed - Office (City Designation)
ZONING
- Existing - R-1 (Single Family Residential, Fresno City)
- Proposed - C-P (Administrative and Professional Offices, Fresno City)
PLAN DESIGNATION AND CONSISTENCY
- Pursuant to the Urban Form, Land Use and Design Section of the Fresno General Plan, the proposed C-P zone district classification for the subject property and the proposed Office planned land use designation for the subject property, may be found consistent.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
- A Finding of a Mitigated Negative Declaration was filed with the Fresno County Clerk's office on April 3, 2015.
PLAN COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
- The District 5 Plan Implementation Committee made a formal recommendation on December 1, 2014. The Committee recommended approval of the plan amendment and rezone applications by a 5-0 vote.
PLANNING COMMISSION
- On April 15, 2015, the Planning Commission, by a 7-0 vote, recommended that the City Council: (1) Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for Environmental Assessment No. A-14-007/R-14-011/S-14-060; (2) Approve Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007; and (3) Approve Rezone Application No. R-14-011.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
- Recommend that the City Council: (1) Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration prepared for Environmental Assessment No. A-14-007/R-14-011/S-14-060; (2) Approve Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007; and (3) Approve Rezone Application No. R-14-011.
BORDERING PROPERTY INFORMATION
|
Planned Land Use |
Existing Zoning |
Existing Land Use |
North |
Medium Density Residential |
R-1 Single Family Residential |
Residential |
South |
Corridor/Center Mixed Use |
C-P Administrative and Professional Offices |
Residential |
East |
Corridor/Center Mixed Use |
C-2 Community Shopping Center |
Residential and Commercial |
West |
Medium Density Residential |
R-1 Single Family Residential |
Commercial Retail |
Project Description
Dr. Tejinder Randhawa, has filed Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007 and Rezone Application No. R-14-011 pertaining to approximately 0.57 acres of property located on the southwest corner of Mono Street and South Adler Avenue. The subject site is bounded on the north by existing single family residential developments and multi-family development south of Kings Canyon Road. Property south of Kings Canyon Road has been developed with single family residential developments. Property to the east of the subject site has been developed with single family residential and commercial developments. Property to the west of the subject site is currently vacant but proposed to be developed with retail commercial uses.
Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007 proposes to amend the Fresno General Plan and Roosevelt Community Plan from the planned land use designation of Medium Density Residential to the Office land use designation. Rezone Application No. R-14-011 proposes to amend the Official Zone Map to reclassify the subject property from the R-1 (Single Family Residential) zone district to the C-P (Administrative and Professional Offices) zone district. These applications have been filed in order to facilitate approval of a proposed 2,150 square foot medical office building.
Land Use Plans and Policies
The Fresno General Plan puts a strong emphasis on infill development, complete neighborhoods and multimodal connectivity. Each of these areas is discussed below.
Infill Development
The proposed project is considered BRT Corridor infill because it is located in close proximity to the Ventura Avenue - Kings Canyon Road Corridor. The General Plan includes the following guidance on this topic:
Ventura Avenue - Kings Canyon Road Corridor. The Ventura Avenue - Kings Canyon Road Corridor offers many opportunities for mixed-use development on both under-utilized properties and vacant land. This corridor is envisioned to be developed in the future with areas of multi-family housing facing directly on the street and retail centers integrated with housing at the one-mile and half-mile road intersections.
Although not a mixed use development, approval of the plan amendment and rezone applications would help facilitate infill development within existing neighborhoods as called for in General Plan policy.
Complete Neighborhoods
The General Plan states that the defining characteristic of a complete neighborhood is one that is mostly self-sufficient, walkable and interconnected. It provides residents with most daily needs. A complete neighborhood should include most of the following elements:
· A range of housing choices
· Neighborhood serving retail
· A range of employment opportunities
· Public services, such as health clinics
· Entertainment and cultural assets
· Parks and public schools
· Community services such as a library, recreation center, senior center or community garden
· Public plaza/civic space
· Access to Public Transit
The neighborhood around the site includes single family and multiple family residential uses, as well as commercial uses.
Approval of the project would result in completion of currently missing frontage improvements along South Adler Avenue, including curb, gutter, sidewalk and street trees. It would also provide a pedestrian path from the proposed medical office building to the bus stop on Kings Canyon Road.
Multimodal Connectivity
The General Plan calls for the City to develop guidelines for walkability. These are currently in process as part of the new development code. The policy suggests that the guidelines include strategies to avoid the following design features:
· Walls and fences that separate related uses or isolate neighborhoods
· Over reliance on cul-de-sacs and dead end streets
· Disconnected bike and pedestrian paths
· Wide streets that lack pedestrian support, such as sidewalks, and a landscape strip separating pedestrians from the street
· Street front parking lots that separate pedestrians from the commercial operations
· Retail centers that are exclusively auto-oriented
· Transit stops that are not easily accessible from an individual's starting point and destination
· Long blocks that discourage walking
Implementing Policy UF-12-d states, "facilitate the development of vertical and horizontal mixed-uses to blend residential, commercial, and public land uses on one or adjacent sites." This ensures land use compatibility between mixed-use districts and the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The proposed site is surrounded by a blend of office, corridor/center mixed use, and medium density residential development.
In addition to horizontal mixed uses that exist and/or are proposed, Implementing Policy UF-14-a states "develop and use guidelines and standards for a walkable and pedestrian-scaled environment with a network of streets and connections for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as transit and autos." For example, street front parking lots that separate pedestrian from commercial operations shall be avoided. The site plan review component of this development proposed a ten (10) foot sidewalk off South Adler Avenue. Additionally, a twenty-four (24) foot setback, inclusive of a ten (10) foot landscape setback was required and has been incorporated into the project. These two aspects help promote walkability between commercial and residential uses in the area.
Additionally, Implementing Policy UF 14-b encourages developments that design local roadways to connect throughout neighborhoods and large private developments with adjacent major roadways and pathways of existing adjacent development. Lastly, this policy creates access for pedestrians and bicycles where a local street must dead end or be designed as a cul-de-sac to adjoining uses that provide services, shopping, and connecting pathways for access to the greater community area.
No walls or fences currently exist on the project site except those that separate the alley and the existing medical office to the south. However, South Adler Avenue offers an opportunity for connecting the residential neighborhood north of the site to Kings Canyon Road and adjacent commercial properties in the vicinity.
The urban form of the proposed project is already somewhat established, as a building exists on the adjacent site (current location of medical office building to the south). The proposed medical office building will have its front entrance facing north toward East Mono Street, so the building will not be "turning its back" to the sidewalk. Finally, the architectural design in terms of massing, materials and colors is required to be compatible with the surrounding development.
According to the Fresno General Plan the Ventura Avenue - Kings Canyon Road Corridor offers many opportunities for mixed-use development on both under-utilized properties and vacant land. The project includes a proposed amendment to the Fresno General Plan and the Roosevelt Community Plan for approximately 0.57 acres from the Medium Density Residential planned land use designation to the Office land use designation. In order to change the planned land use designation of the subject site for the purposes of facilitating future development, the proposed project shall meet the goals, objectives and policies of the Fresno General Plan and Roosevelt Community Plan which promotes this type of land use and design type with primarily one (1) to two (2) story retail uses (exist to the west), with moderate office and minimal multifamily as supportive uses (single family and multifamily residential exists to the north and south of the subject site).
The Office planned land use designation is intended for administrative, financial, business, professional, medical, and public offices. An existing medical office building is located on the northwest corner of Kings Canyon Road and South Adler Avenue. Approving the request to amend the Fresno General Plan and Roosevelt Community Plan from the Medium Density Residential to Office land use meets this intention. Further, this designation is also considered compatible with existing residential neighborhoods given the smaller level of noise and traffic generated compared to commercial uses.
Land Use Objective LU-6 states "retain and enhance existing commercial areas to strengthen Fresno's economic base and site new office, retail, and lodging use districts to serve neighborhoods and regional visitors." Approving the amendment and rezone adheres to this objective. The proposed project incorporates Implementing Policy LU-6-c by locating a commercial office use between more intensive commercial uses to the west and east and residential areas to the north for example.
Similarly, the goals of the Roosevelt Community Plan are directed toward the creation of an intensive community activity corridor by concentrating commercial uses serving the Roosevelt Community Plan Area along Kings Canyon Road between Chestnut and Sunnyside Avenues. (Commercial - Goal 1-8). Commercial Goal 1-10 promotes projects that "plan for the sizes, locations and characteristics of commercial developments that will meet community needs that can be accommodated by the planned infrastructure, that promote land use compatibility, and that enhance the visual appearance of the plan area." A medical office, specifically a children's clinic, is much anticipated and needed in the community where health care alternatives or transportation to medical facilities are limited.
In conclusion, the proposed project is consistent with many of the goals and policies of the General Plan and the Roosevelt Community Plan. The proposed project promotes reinvestment by proposing a quality development in an existing neighborhood, preserves neighborhood character by proposing a design that is compatible with the surrounding architecture, and protects property values by constructing a compatible infill development on currently vacant property.
Circulation Element Plan Policies and Major Street System Traffic Capacity
The subject property is located on the southwest corner of East Mono Street and South Adler Avenue. The subject property location is in close proximity to residential and commercial land uses which provide for a pattern of development that is anticipated to have the potential to reduce the number of average daily vehicle trips when compared to other commercial uses (i.e., retail).
A Limited Traffic Analysis (LTA) was prepared by Peters Engineering for the proposed project. The analysis focused on the anticipated volume of vehicle traffic resulting from the project. The primary purpose of the analysis was to evaluate the net change in traffic expected to be generated at the site as a result of the proposed plan amendment and rezone.
Site access will be provided via one (1) proposed driveway connecting to South Adler Avenue and one (1) driveway connecting to the alley south of the site. Data provided in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, 9th Edition, was used to estimate the number of trips anticipated to be generated by the current and proposed land use designations at the site for comparison purposes. Based on an allowable density of 10.37 dwelling units per acre, the 0.57 acre site would yield approximately five (5) single family residences, which was used to determine trip generation calculations for the current planned land use designation.
The results of the trip generation analysis summarized within the LTA (see Limited Traffic Analysis) suggest that the proposed land use designation of Office is capable of generating more trips than the current land use designation of Medium Density Residential. However, the number of trips projected is substantially less than the City of Fresno's threshold for performing traffic impact studies (100 trips per peak hour).
The developer of this project will be required to pay the Traffic Signal Mitigation Impact (TSMI) Fee of $47.12 per average daily trip at the time of building permit, based on the trip generation rates set forth in the latest edition of the ITE Trip Generation Manual and the Master Fee Schedule. The fee would be $3,486.88 payable at the time of the building permit. The project will also be required to pay all applicable New Growth Area fees including the Fresno Major Street Impact (FMSI) Fee and City-wide regional street impact fees, which will be determined at time of building permit. This FMSI fee is creditable towards major street roadway improvements included in the nexus study for the FMSI fee. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has indicated that the proposed project will mitigate any potential project related traffic impacts to State facilities through payment of the applicable City Fees and subject to payment of the Regional Traffic Mitigation Fee (RTMF).
The area street plans are the product of careful planning that projects traffic capacity needs based on the densities and intensities of planned land uses anticipated at build-out of the planned area. Based upon the project requirements for street dedications, improvements, and contributions to the Citywide impact fee system, the adjacent and interior streets will provide adequate access to, and recognize the traffic generating characteristics of, individual properties and, at the same time, afford the community an adequate and efficient circulation system.
Public Services
Fresno is one of the largest cities in the United States still relying primarily on groundwater for its public water supply. Surface water treatment and distribution has been implemented in the northeastern part of the City, but the city is still subject to an EPA Sole Source Aquifer designation. While the aquifer underlying Fresno typically exceeds a depth of 300 feet and is capacious enough to provide adequate quantities of safe drinking water to the metropolitan area well into the twenty-first century, groundwater degradation, increasingly stringent water quality regulations, and a historic trend of high consumptive use of water on a per capita basis (some 250 gallons per day per capita), have resulted in a general decline in aquifer levels, increased cost to provide potable water, and localized water supply limitations.
In accordance with the provisions of the Fresno General Plan and MEIR mitigation measures, project specific water supply and distribution requirements must assure that an adequate source of water is available to serve the project. The City has indicated that groundwater wells, pump stations, recharge facilities, water treatment and distribution systems shall be expanded incrementally to mitigate increased water demands. The Department of Public Utilities, Water Division has reviewed the proposed project and has determined that water facilities are available to provide service to the subject site subject to several conditions.
The proposed project will be required to contribute to the completion of the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District's (FMFCD) master planned storm drainage facilities. Storm water ponding basins provide significant opportunity to recharge groundwater with collected storm water run-off and surface water obtained from the Fresno Irrigation District (FID) and United States Bureau of Reclamation on the northern edge of the current urban limit boundary.
When development permits are issued, the subject site will be required to contribute to the completion of the FMFCD's master planned storm drainage facilities, and to preserve the patency of irrigation canals and pipelines for delivering surface water to recharge/percolation basins. Fees to support expansions and service enhancements of the City's water utility, including recharge activities, are also imposed as conditions of approval for special permits.
Occupancy of this site will generate wastewater containing human waste, which is required to be conveyed and treated by the Fresno-Clovis Regional Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation Facility. There will not be any onsite wastewater treatment system. The proposed project will be required to install sewer branches, and to pay connection and sewer facility fees to provide for reimbursement of preceding investments in sewer trunks to connect this site to a public system.
City police and fire protection services are available to serve the subject site. The subject site is located within one and one half (1 ½) miles of Fire Station No. 15.
The demand for parks generated by the project will be within planned service levels of the City of Fresno Parks and Community Services Department and the applicant will pay any required impact fees at the time building permits are obtained.
Any urban residential development occurring as a result of the proposed project will have an impact on the School District's student housing capacity. The School District, through local funding, is in a position to mitigate its shortage of classrooms to accommodate planned population growth for the foreseeable future. The developer will pay appropriate impact fees at time of building permits. Fresno Unified School District currently levies a commercial/industrial development fee of $0.54 per square foot. The fee is adjusted periodically in accordance with law. New development on the subject property will be subject to the fee in place at the time fee certificates are obtained.
Council District Plan Implementation Committee
The District 5 Plan Implementation Committee recommended approval of these applications by a 5-0 vote on December 1, 2014.
Fresno City Planning Commission
On April 15, 2015, the Fresno City Planning Commission considered Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007 and Rezone Application No. R-14-011 and recommended approval of the plan amendment and rezone applications and the related environmental assessment to the City Council by a vote of 7 to 0.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
An environmental assessment 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 (see Agency Comments).
Preparation of the environmental assessment necessitated a thorough review of the proposed project and relevant environmental issues and considered previously prepared environmental and technical studies pertinent to the Roosevelt Community Plan area, including the Fresno General Plan Master Environmental Impact Report (MEIR SCH No. 2012111015). These environmental and technical studies have examined projected sewage generation rates of planned urban uses, the capacity of existing sanitary sewer collection and treatment facilities, and optimum alternatives for increasing capacities; groundwater aquifer resource conditions; water supply production and distribution system capacities; traffic carrying capacity of the planned major street system; and, student generation projections and school facility site location identification.
The proposed plan amendment and rezone have been determined to not be fully within the scope of the recently updated MEIR SCH No. 2012111015 as provided by the CEQA, as codified in the Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 21157.1(d) and the CEQA Guidelines Section 15177(c) because a plan amendment is proposed which would change the land use designated in the general plan for the site. It has been further determined that all applicable mitigation measures of MEIR SCH No. 2012111015 have been applied to the project, together with project specific mitigation measures necessary to assure that the project will not cause significant adverse cumulative impacts, growth inducing impacts and irreversible significant effects beyond those identified by SCH No. 2012111015 as provided by CEQA Section 15178(a). In addition, pursuant to Public Resources Code, Section 21157.6(b)(1), staff has determined that no substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which the MEIR was certified 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, has become available. Therefore, it has been determined based upon the evidence in the record that the project will not have a significant impact on the environment and that the filing of a mitigated negative declaration is appropriate in accordance with the provisions of CEQA Section 21157.5(a)(2) and CEQA Guidelines Section 15178(b)(1) and (2).
Based upon the attached environmental assessment and the list of identified mitigation measures, staff has determined that there is no evidence in the record that the project may have a significant effect on the environment and has prepared a mitigated negative declaration for this project. A public notice of the attached mitigated negative declaration finding for Environmental Assessment Application No. A-14-007, R-14-011, S-14-060 was published on April 3, 2015 with no comments or appeals received to date.
Project specific mitigation measures include:
· Incorporation of landscape water efficiency measures
· Compliance with Fresno County Environmental Health Department requirements for the permitting of a Medical Waste Management Program and Hazardous Materials Plan
· Compliance with Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District requirements
· Compliance with Department of Public Works Traffic Engineering requirements
· Compliance with Solid Waste Management requirements
· Compliance with Public Works Department, Traffic and Engineering Services general comments and conditions related to the Limited Traffic Analyses (LTA)
· Payment of public service-related impact fees
LOCAL PREFERENCE
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT
Affirmative action by the Council will result in timely deliverance of the review and processing of the application as is reasonably expected by the applicant/customer. Prudent financial management is demonstrated by the expeditious completion of this land use application inasmuch as the applicant/customer has paid to the City a fee for the processing of this application and that fee is, in turn, funding the respective operations of the Development and Resource Management Department.
Attachments: Vicinity Map
Aerial Photograph
Noticing Map
Proposed Planned Land Use Map
Proposed Zone District Map
Exhibits
Agency Comments
Limited Traffic Analysis
Environmental Assessment No. A-14-007/R-14-011/S-14-060 dated April 3, 2015
Planning Commission Resolutions Nos. 13325 (EA & Plan Amendment) and 13326 (Rezone)
City Council Resolution for Plan Amendment Application No. A-14-007
City Council Ordinance Bill for Rezone Application No. R-14-011