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HomeMy WebLinkAbout41 - PH-3 - Planning Application PA-11-03 - 11/3/2015CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2015 ITEM NUMBER: PH -3 SUBJECT: PLANNING APPLICATION PA -11-03 —CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR A PRIVATE HELISTOP FOR NET DEVELOPMENT CO. 3132 AIRWAY AVENUE FROM: PLANNING DIVISION/DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION BY: MEL LEE, SENIOR PLANNER DATE: OCTOBER 22, 2015 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MEL LEE, AICP (714) 754-5611 mel.lee@costamesaca.gov PROJECT DESCRIPTION Conditional Use Permit to install a 40 -foot (long) x 40 -foot (wide) helistop on the roof of an existing industrial building. The helistop will be located on a 6 -foot high platform on the roof of an existing 19 -foot high building. The proposed helistop was conceptually approved in 2011 by the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) and conditionally approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This project was originally heard by the Planning Commission on August 8, 2011, who recommended denial of the project to the City Council, and subsequently withdrawn by the applicant prior to being heard by the City Council. The applicant is re -submitting the project for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. RECOMMENDATION The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council approve the helistop by adoption of City Council resolution, subject to conditions of approval. BACKGROUND Site Location The property is located on the east side of Airway Avenue, between Baker Street and Fischer Avenue. The property is zoned MP (Industrial Park), approximately 2.4 acres in size, and contains an existing one-story, 37,955 square foot industrial building. The subject property abuts John Wayne Airport (JWA) to the east. On April 1, 2011, the City issued building permits for a tenant improvement for Leading Edge Aviation Services. Leading Edge Aviation Services paints civilian and military aircraft at facilities around the world; however, no painting of aircraft is proposed at this location - this location is for storage of materials and offices only. The tenant improvement included a second story, 980 square foot addition for the CEO's office at the northeast end of the building (see site photos Attachment 2). This tenant improvement was finaled in October 2011. The second phase of the tenant improvement was to be the construction of the helistop on the southeast end of the existing building for the CEO's private helicopter. Per Zoning Code Section 13-30(82), heliports and helistops require the approval of a conditional use permit. What is a helistop? A helistop is a landing place for helicopters, often on the roof of a building or some other limited access area. There are a number of different terms to describe similar facilities, including "heliport" and "helipad". The applicant's supporting documents, which are attached to the Planning Commission staff report, explains that the facility will be specifically used for limited takeoffs/landings, rather than housing other related activities such as maintenance, refueling, and storage, which is normally associated with a heliport; additionally, the facility is for private use and not open to the general public. For clarity, the term "helistop" is used to describe the proposed facility in this report. A map showing the known helistops in the City of Costa Mesa and within the area of JWA is attached to this report for reference (Attachment 1). Other Regulatory Agencies Because of the proximity of the helistop to John Wayne Airport (JWA), the proposed facility is regulated by the California Public Utilities Code (PUC) and, in addition to City approval, requires approval by the Airport Land Use Commission for Orange County (ALUC), Caltrans Division of Aeronautics, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In 1975, ALUC adopted the Airport Environs Land Use Plan (AELUP) which specifies permitted uses in proximity to the airport. The uses include the following general provisions: 1. Uses not deemed to create adverse noise impacts. 2. Uses that will not concentrate people in areas with high potential for aircraft - related accidents. 3. Uses that will not adversely affect navigable airspace or aircraft operations. A detailed description of the proposed facility was submitted to ALUC and their determination that the facility was compatible with the AELUP was made on July 21, 2011, and is attached to the Planning Commission staff report. According to the ALUC, their 2011 approval of the proposed facility remains valid. City Council as the Final Review Authority Typically, the Planning Commission is the final review authority for CUP's unless the Commission's action is appealed or called up for review by the City Council. However, Public Utilities Code Section 21661.5(b) stipulates that final approval of the helistop is by the City Council, unless said approval is specifically delegated by the Council to the Commission. The specific PUC provision is summarized below: 21661.5. (a) No political subdivision, any of its officers or employees, or any person may submit any application for the construction of a new airport to any local, regional, state, or federal agency unless the plan for construction is first approved by the board of supervisors of the county, or the city council of the city, in which the airport is to be located and unless the plan is submitted to the appropriate commission exercising powers pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 21670) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 9, and acted upon by that commission in accordance with the provisions of that article. (b) A county board of supervisors or a city council may, pursuant to Section 65100 of the Government Code, delegate its responsibility under this section for the approval of a plan for construction of new helicopter landing and takeoff areas, to the county or city planning agency. Because the City Council does not have a formal policy delegating the approval of heliports or helistops to the Planning Commission, it is necessary that the Council take final action on the CUP. Original Request (2011) On August 8, 2011, Planning Commission considered the request. One member of the public spoke in opposition to the request during the hearing. The Commission recommended denial of the project to the City Council on a 3-1 vote (Commissioner Fitzpatrick voting no, Commissioner Salcedo absent). The basis for the denial is discussed in greater detail in the attached Planning Commission staff report. The project, with the Planning Commission's recommendation for denial, was scheduled for the November 1, 2011 City Council hearing. The applicant requested several continuances before withdrawing the item from the City Council agenda on June 19, 2012. Because of the amount of time that has elapsed between the time the project was last considered at a public hearing, the request was brought back to the Planning Commission at their September 28, 2015 meeting for recommendation to the City Council. Summary of September 28, 2015 Planning Commission Action The Planning Commission held a public hearing on September 28, 2015, which included presentation of the staff report. In addition, public comments both in favor of and opposed to the request were received by the Planning Commission. Based on the evidence and testimony presented during the hearing, the Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the conditional use permit to the City Council by a 5-0 vote based on the following: The applicant's noise study, which was not presented to the Planning Commission in 2011, concluded that there would be no significant noise impacts to surroundinq properties as a result of the helistop operations. After the August 8, 2011 Planning Commission meeting, the applicant prepared a noise study for the City Council's consideration, which was withdrawn prior to the public hearing. The noise study, prepared by Acoustics Group Inc., concluded that there would be no increase in noise impacts to surrounding uses (including noise -sensitive uses such as the nearby Mariner's Christian School) because the subject site is within the 65 decibel (dB) Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) noise contour of JWA, and that the helistop noise would be below this City, County, and FAA noise standard for sensitive receptors. At Mariner's Christian School, the existing CNEL from JWA is 62 dB. Future helistop operations would produce a CNEL of 46.1 dB at the school, approximately 16 dB below existing airport noise levels. The noise study was updated by the consultant and presented at the September 28, 2015 meeting, and incorporated as a condition of approval. The use of the helistop is for a private helicopter only — the facility will not be open to the general public, i.e., a heliport, and will be limited to a specific number of flights per day and per week and hours of operation. According to the applicant, the use of the facility will vary depending upon the business owner's travel needs. A maximum of 2 arrivals and 2 departures per day with a maximum of 3 arrivals and 3 departures per week are permitted for the helistop. Hours of operation shall be 7:00 am -7:00 pm, Monday through Saturday, and 8:00 am -7:00 pm Sunday. This is reflected in the conditions of approval. No fueling, maintenance, or repair facilities are proposed. According to the applicant the facility will be used for arrivals and departures of the helicopter only. No fueling or maintenance activities will occur on the site. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION The project has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the CEQA Guidelines, and the City environmental procedures, and has been found to be exempt from CEQA under Section 15311, Class 11, Accessory Structures if the Planning Commission recommends approval of the project. If the project is denied, it is exempt from the provisions of CEQA Section 15270(a) for Projects Which Are Disapproved. LEGAL REVIEW The City Attorney has reviewed the resolutions and they have been approved as to form by the City Attorney's Office. PUBLIC NOTICE Pursuant to Title 13, Section 13-29(d), of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code, three types of public notification have been completed no less than 10 days prior to the date of the public hearing: 1. Mailed notice. A public notice was mailed to all property owners within a 500 - foot radius of the project site. The required notice radius is measured from the external boundaries of the property. (See attached Notification Radius Map.) 2. On-site posting. A public notice was posted on the street frontage of the project site. 3. Newspaper publication. A public notice was published once in the Daily Pilot newspaper. Notice was also provided to all persons who submitted correspondence for the project. ALTERNATIVES The City Council may take the following actions: 1. Recommend approval of the facility to the City Council as proposed by the applicant; or 2. Recommend denial of the facility to the City Council as proposed, based on the concerns raised by the Planning Commission at the August 8, 2011 meeting as discussed earlier in this report. CONCLUSION Staff is requesting that the Planning Commission provide a recommendation to the City Council as to the approval or denial of the requested conditional use permit for the private helistop facility. MEL LEE, AICP GARY ARMSTRONG, AICP Senior Planner Director of Economic Development & Development Services / Deputy CEO Attachments: 1. Location Map and Radius Map 2. Site Photos 3. Applicant's Prosect Description Letter and Proposed Flight Route 4. Draft Resolutions 5. Correspondence from Public from July 2011 to Present in Reverse Chronoloaical Order 6. Plans 7. September 28. 2015 Plannina Commission Meetina Minute Excerpts 8. September 28, 2015 Planning Commission Resolution 9. September 28. 2015 Plannina Commission ReDortS and AttnrhmPnts Additional Correspondence received cc: Chief Executive Officer Assistant Chief Executive Officer Director of Economic & Development / Deputy CEO City Attorney Public Services Director Transportation Svs. Mgr. City Engineer City Clerk (9) File (2) Distribution List