MEETING DATE:
JULY 9, 2019
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION NOS. 2019-8656, 2019-8657, 2019-8658, 2019-8659 AND ORDINANCE 2019-1475 - TO APPOVE THE REDEVELOPMENT OF 1210 E MISSION RD WITH A TWENTY-FOUR (24) UNIT RESIDENTIAL CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT.
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
ADOPT a Mitigated Negative Declaration (ND18-004); and APPROVE a General Plan Amendment (GPA 18-0003), Tentative Subdivision Map (TSM 18-0002), Multifamily Site Development Plan (MFSDP 18-0002), and a Variance (V18-0001); and APPROVE a first reading of a Rezone (R 18-0003) to allow the redevelopment of a commercial property with twenty-four (24) new residential condominium units.
Body
Board or Commission Action
The Planning Commission recommended approval to City Council by a 6-0 vote.
Relevant Council Strategic Theme
Quality of Life
Planning for the Future
Relevant Department Goal
Not applicable
Executive Summary
The project site is a 1.52 acre property located at 1210 E. Mission Road that is currently developed with a 6,915 square foot vacant retail bank building, a parking lot, and ornamental landscaping.
The proposed project would demolish the existing building and remove all other improvements (i.e., parking lot, landscaping, etc.) and redevelop the site with a twenty-four (24) unit residential condominium development. The project would consist of four (4) 2-story townhome buildings with fifty-six (56) onsite parking spaces; onsite recreational amenities that include a dog park area, playground tot lot, and covered picnic area with barbeque grill; and a four (4) foot dedication of right-of-way on Avenida Chapala with street improvements to allow parking along the project frontage (currently there is no parking allowed on this side of the street). The condominium units will feature in unit 2-car garages and private recreational space (i.e., patios/front yards) that will vary in size from 250 square feet to 1,000 square feet in area.
Discussion
The project applicant is requesting approval of a General Plan Amendment, Rezone, Tentative Subdivision Map, Multifamily Site Development Plan, and Variance to redevelop the project site. As previously stated, the site is currently developed with a retail bank building that has not operated in approximately ten (10) years. A 1977 deed restriction on the property, held by the owner of the adjacent commercial property, limited the use of the project site to a “financial institution”. A November 2, 2017 amendment to the deed restriction adds “multifamily and condo uses” as allowed, however, no other commercial or residential land uses are identified as allowed. With this amended deed restriction, the project could be developed if approved by the City Council.
General Plan Amendment
The project site currently has a General Plan land use designation of Neighborhood Commercial (NC). To allow the development of the property as residential, the General Plan land use designation must be amended. In the vicinity of the project site, on the north side of Mission Road from Woodland Parkway to Avenida Chapala, a multifamily residential district of Medium Density Residential 2 (MDR2) exists. The project proposes to extend the existing MDR2 district to the project site. The MDR2 allows for multifamily development with a density range of 15.1 to 20.0 dwelling units per acre (du/ac). After the Avenida Chapala right-of-way dedication, the subject property will be 1.48 acres (net) and will have a density of 16.2 du/ac, in conformance with the MDR2 standards.
Rezone
The project site currently has a zoning designation of Neighborhood Commercial (N-C). To implement the MDR2 General Plan land use designation, the zoning of the property would need to also be changed to Multifamily Residential 3 (R-3-10). The R-3-10 zone has a maximum density of 20 du/ac (16.2 du/ac is proposed by the project), a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet (64,600 square feet is proposed by the project), and maximum building height of forty-five (45) feet or 3-stories (twenty-nine (29) feet/2-stories is proposed by the project). The project complies with these requirements.
Tentative Subdivision Map
The project site currently consists of a 1.52-acre parcel that is proposed to be subdivided to allow a common interest development consisting of twenty-four (24) residential condominium units. The Tentative Subdivision Map would also dedicate four (4) feet of right-of-way to Avenida Chapala to allow street parking along the project frontage. In preliminary meetings with the neighborhood conducted by the developer, residents requested that the project include street parking on both sides of Avenida Chapala (currently parking is only allowed on the west side of Avenida Chapala, due to a reduced right-of-way width). The developer agreed and the Tentative Subdivision Map would dedicate the necessary right-of-way and require the street improvements to implement the requested street parking on Avenida Chapala.
Multi-Family Site Development Plan
Under the Multifamily Site Development Plan, the project design is reviewed for compliance with the development standards of the Zoning Ordinance (San Marcos Municipal Code (SMMC) Title 20) and other regulatory provisions. As shown in the project plans (Attachment H), the project proposes four 2-story buildings. The proposed new buildings would be approximately twenty-nine (29) feet in height which is within the allowable height limit of the R-3-10 Zone. The buildings consist of both Spanish/Mission and traditional architectural styles that include pitched roofs with Spanish tiles, pop outs and wall projections, and enhanced features such as textured/colored walls, awnings, window trim, shutters, stone veneer, cornices, and other enhancements. The units would have three (3) to four (4) bedrooms and range in size from 1,445 to 1,590 square feet.
Buildings one (1) and four (4) of the project will have front doors oriented to Avenida Chapala, with front yards that are enclosed by a forty-two (42) inch high wood fence and grade separation from the street by a small (1 to 4 foot high) landscaped slope. These units will also have direct pedestrian access to the street/sidewalk, with vehicle access provided in the rear of the unit off the private driveway. Buildings two (2) and three (3) will have front doors facing easterly, with pedestrian access being provided through the common recreation area and vehicle access provided by the private driveway. These units will also have private yards enclosed by a forty-two (42) inch high wood fence and will be separated from the commercial center by a six (6) foot tall block wall.
In addition to private open space (“patios/front yards”), the project includes three (3) common recreational amenities. These amenities include a dog park area, a playground/tot lot, and a covered picnic area with a built-in countertop barbeque grill. Landscaping throughout the project will consist of a mixture of trees, shrubs, and ground cover to enhance the proposed buildings and screen walls. Although twenty-two (22) mature trees will be removed from the site, the project would install a minimum of sixty-five (65) new trees throughout the site and along both E. Mission Road and Avenida Chapala. All landscaping will be maintained privately and will be required to comply with the City’s Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (SMMC Chapter 20.330).
A six (6) foot high block wall with pilasters and varying colors of block will border the south (E. Mission Road) side of the perimeter of the project. This wall will provide privacy for the ground floor of the project and reduce offsite noise. The wall will also utilize climbing vines, shrubs, and trees on the outer perimeter to further enhance the public appearance and deter vandalism (the walls are also required to have an anti-graffiti coating). On the east (commercial center) side of the project, a similar block wall will be used to enclose the project. The wall will sit on top of a small retaining wall as high as three (3) feet, so the wall may have an outward height of between six (6) to nine (9) feet. A twenty (20) foot water/sewer District easement bisects the property from east to west, going under the common recreational amenities and out to Avenida Chapala. As a result, the east side perimeter wall will include an ornamental iron gate over the easement, to provide the required unrestricted access. Lastly, an internal retaining wall on the north side of the project will vary from two (2) to five (5) feet in height and will utilize natural colored split face cement block.
The multifamily residential parking standards require two (2) spaces for every unit, plus one (1) space for every three (3) units for guest parking. Each unit will have an attached two (2) car garage and a total of eight (8) open guest parking spaces will be provided. Consistent with the California Building Code, garages will be prewired for electric vehicle charging stations. Garages will also include a window to allow Homeowner Association (HOA) enforcement of garage parking requirements. A Parking Management Plan is also required to be approved by the City for the HOA’s management and enforcement of both the private garage and the eight (8) onsite parking spaces.
Access to the project site will be limited to a single driveway on Avenida Chapala. Sidewalks will continue to be provided on E. Mission Road and Avenida Chapala. The project design provides adequate circulation onsite for emergency vehicles and delivery trucks. The project also includes the installation of one (1) private fire hydrant at the southwest corner of the private driveways (near the dog park area).
Variance
Special setbacks exist for E. Mission Road that require buildings to be setback a minimum of eighty-six (86) feet from centerline of the street. As previously discussed, a dedication of four (4) feet of right-of-way to Avenida Chapala along the project frontage and the presence of a water and sewer easement that bisect the project site create a unique set of challenges for the site. These challenges are compounded by the larger footprints of the 2-story units proposed by the applicant to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood scale. As a result, the applicant has requested a reduction of the building setback for E. Mission Road from eighty-six (86) feet to seventy (70) feet from centerline. The reduced setback would be consistent with other developments on E. Mission Road, in the vicinity of the project. In addition, E. Mission Road is designated as a 4-lane arterial by the General Plan Circulation Element and has already been developed to the necessary width, with no need for the acquisition of additional right-of-way.
Public Comment
A public workshop was conducted by the City on February 21, 2019. Three (3) residents attended the workshop and received a presentation by the developer. During the workshop, residents asked questions about fire safety and access to the project. Residents also provided generally positive feedback about adding street parking to the east side of Avenida Chapala and replacing the vacant bank building with new development (in the seven-year period between January 2012 and May 2019, approximately 134 calls for service at the subject property have been responded to by the San Diego Sheriff’s Department). No written comments were received from the public about the project.
Planning Commission Meeting
At the June 3, 2019 Planning Commission meeting, the Commission requested that the applicant add landscaping to the outside of the eastern perimeter wall that separates the project from the shopping center; however, the applicant explained that was not feasible because the necessary planting area would be located offsite. Separate from the Commission’s landscape request and as part of their motion to recommend approval of the project, the Commission modified condition of approval C(19)(h) of the Multifamily Site Development Plan (MFSDP) to require the installation of screening materials in the metal gate that is over the water/sewer easement, on the eastern perimeter wall.
There was one speaker for the item and they expressed opposition to the project based on concerns related to the affordability of the proposed market rate housing units, construction noise, proposed width of Avenida Chapala not wide enough to make the roadway safer, insufficient onsite parking, and obstruction of pedestrian access across the property to the shopping center. A draft of the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes has been provided as Attachment F of this report.
Environmental Review
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a Mitigated Negative Declaration (Attachment D) was prepared for the proposed project and circulated for a thirty (30) day public review period from January 30 to March 1, 2019. One comment was received from the Federal Emergency Agency (FEMA) providing general provisions for development in a floodplain or floodway; the project is not located in a floodplain or floodway.
Cultural Resources
In accordance with California Assembly Bill (AB) 52 and Senate Bill (SB) 18, local Native American tribes were notified of the project and tribal consultation did occur and has concluded. Although the site was previously disturbed for the development of the existing structures, there remains the potential that intact subsurface cultural deposits remain onsite and may be encountered during the development of the project. As a result, mitigation measures and conditions of approval have been included in the project to require tribal monitoring of grading activity.
Traffic
A Traffic Letter Report for the project was prepared by Linscott, Law, and Greenspan (LLG) and has been included in the MND as Attachment D. Based on the letter, the project will generate approximately 192 average daily trips (ADT) which does not trigger a CEQA level traffic study. In comparison, a financial institution use of the site would generate 2,280 ADT. The report studied the E. Mission Road frontage segment and the E. Mission Road/Avenida Chapala intersection. Both the road segment and the intersection will continue to operate at an acceptable level of service once the project is occupied. The project will contribute toward citywide traffic and as a result, the project will financially participate in the Congestion Management community facilities district (CFD 2011-01) which will assist in City-wide efforts to reduce traffic congestion and impacts to State Route 78.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal and Economic Impact Reports were prepared for the project and have been provided as Attachment E. As previously discussed, a deed restriction on the property limits its use to only a financial institution or a multifamily residential development. For the purposes of the Fiscal and Economic Impact Reports, the project (24 residential condominium units) was evaluated against a non-sales tax generating commercial use (i.e., bank). The Fiscal Impact Report determined that approving the project would result in an annual net surplus of $2,298 to the City’s General Fund over the use of the site as commercial ($1,191 surplus as commercial vs. $3,489 surplus as residential). Conversely, the Economic Impact Report determined that the economic output of the City would be impacted negatively by an estimated $379,604 net loss annually, primarily the result of the lost employment caused by the redevelopment of the site as residential ($891,863 economic output of the site as commercial vs. $512,259 economic output of the site as residential).
Attachment(s)
Resolution No.’s 2019-8656 (GPA 18-0003), 2019-8657 (TSM 18-0002), 2019-8658 (MFSDP 18-0002), Resolution No. 2019-8659 (V18-0001), and Ordinance No. 2019-1475 (R 18-0003)
A. Vicinity Map
B. Requested Entitlements
C. Site & Project Characteristics
D. Mitigated Negative Declaration
E. Fiscal and Economic Impact Reports
F. Draft of June 3, 2019 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes
G. Photo Simulation of Project
H. Project Plans (site plan, elevations, grading, landscaping, etc.)
Prepared by: Sean del Solar, Associate Planner
Submitted by: Joseph Farace, Planning Division Manager
Reviewed by: Dahvia Lynch, Development Services Department Director
Approved by: Jack Griffin, City Manager