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HomeMy WebLinkAbout- - GP-09-01 OCFEC - 2/16/2010CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 16, 2010 ITEM NUMBER: SUBJECT: GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT GP -09-01 TO AMEND THE FAIRGROUNDS LAND USE DESIGNATION IN THE COSTA MESA 2000 GENERAL PLAN DATE: FEBRUARY 4, 2010 FROM: DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION BY: CLAIRE L. FLYNN, PLANNING ADMINISTRATOR KHANH NGUYEN, ACTING DIRECTOR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CLAIRE FLYNN, (714) 754-5278 dlynn&i.costa-mesa.cams RECOMMENDATION Adopt resolution to approve General Plan Amendment GP -09-01. BACKGROUND: Public Notice Council took action on this item on February 2, 2010. However, this item has been renoticed for the February 16, 2010 Council meeting because the original mailing list for the public notice was found to be incomplete. All of the legal requirements for public noticing have been met for the proposed General Plan Amendment. Per Council's request, please note that the following changes were made to General Plan amended text (Exhibit "A" of resolution): • Change "swap meet" to "outdoor marketplace" • Indicate that "Exclusive use or dedicated athletic sports facilities and educational uses that are unrelated to the OCFEC are prohibited." The information contained in the previous Council report (dated February 2, 2010) is provided in its entirety in the following pages. General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 is a City -initiated amendment to amend the Land Use Element of the 2000 General Plan for the 150 -acre Orange County Fair and Event Center property at 88 Fair Drive. The site has a Fairgrounds land use designation and is zoned Institutional & Recreational (I&R zone). The proposed General Plan Amendment describes the existing land use/traffic context, involves expanded text description for the Fairgrounds land use designation, and provides discussion on permitted and prohibited land uses. No change to the maximum allowable floor -area -ratio of .10 is proposed. Key Milestones On October 7, 2009, the State of California Department of General Services (DGS) released a Request for Proposals advertising that the Orange County Fair and Events Center property (Fairgrounds) was available for sale. On November 3, 2009, Council directed staff to research all options in respect to a ballot initiative that would preserve the land uses and activities at the Orange County Fair and Event Center (OCFEC) should the State Department of General Services successfully sell the 150 -acre site. It is Council's intent that the ballot measure identifies a precise land use designation for the OCFEC and that any future change or amendment would require voter approval. On December 1, 2009, Council directed staff to prepare a General Plan amendment to revise the "Fairgrounds" land use designation in respect to the Orange County Fair and Event Center and once adopted, include as a ballot measure in June 2010. On January 11, 2010, Planning Commission recommended Council approval of the General Plan amendment. The staff report and meeting minutes may be viewed online at: http://Www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/CMCalendar.htm?a=planning On January 14, 2010, the State Department of General Services opened the bids and conducted an auction of the property. Craig Realty Group was the highest bidder at $56.5 million dollars. The sale is not final. It will take several months to qualify the bid and ultimately enter into a sales agreement with Craig Realty Group. If negotiations proceed in a timely basis, the State projects that the fairgrounds sale will be finalized by October/November 2010. ANALYSIS Uses of the Property under City's General Plan/Zoning The 150 -acre property has a General Plan designation of "Fairgrounds" and is located in the I&R (Institutional and Recreational) zone. According to the City's General Plan, this designation recognizes the unique land uses associated with the Fairgrounds. The Fair Board of Directors of the 32nd District Agricultural Association (DAA) adopted a 10 -year strategic Master Plan in August 2003. Because the property is currently owned by the State of California, the City has limited land use authority. Therefore, the Master Plan has not been adopted by the City of Costa Mesa, and that upon the property's transfer to a new private owner, the Master Plan will carry no authoritative backing. The Fairgrounds use is considered a legal nonconforming use with respect to the City's zoning regulations because the City of Costa Mesa did not approve the OCFEC Master Plan. The new property owner/operator may continue to operate the Fairgrounds as it currently operates at the time of sale (specifically as a legal nonconforming use). General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 It is the City's primary intent to preserve and promote fairground and event uses at the OCFEC. Per Council direction, staff prepared General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 to amend the "Fairgrounds" land use designation as described in the 2000 General Plan (see existing General Plan text, Attachment 1). The text amendment further defines permissible land uses for the property in a "broad" sense and to recognize the City's land use authority at such time the Fairgrounds is no longer owned by the State. Planning Commission believes that the General Plan amendment can achieve the "certainty" that both Council and the community desire for the property, while retaining the appropriate degree of flexibility in administering future land use decisions and permits. Planning Commission considered the following important changes to the Fairgrounds Land Use Designation: Emphasizes central importance of retaining and sustaining annual Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa. The Fairgrounds is an important recreational resource in Costa Mesa with historical significance. The Fairgrounds has existed at this location for over 60 years and has become a year-round exhibition, conference, and event center. Includes discussion of permitted uses. Permitted uses include ancillary office uses, exposition/conference uses, equestrian uses, agricultural/livestock activities, restaurants, temporary specialty retail sales (including vehicle sales), outdoor marketplace, emergency operational uses, and concerts/live entertainment uses. Complementary uses to the fairground and event center uses may include botanical gardens, animal exhibits, museum, art/historical artifacts gallery, performance art theaters, and restaurants that are ancillary to the fairground uses. Includes discussion of prohibited uses. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, casinos/gambling venues, shopping centers, hotel/motels, residential uses, self - storage facilities, hospitals, and medical uses. In addition, exclusive use or dedicated athletic sports facilities and educational uses that are unrelated to the OCFEC are prohibited. 0 Describes existing built conditions. As of 2009, the Fairgrounds site contains a total of 400,000 square feet of buildings, including: • Pacific Amphitheater • Arlington Theater • Grandstand Arena • Equestrian Center • Exhibit and Administration Buildings • Concession and Restaurant Buildings Describes traffic context of Fairground and Event Center uses. The 2000 General Plan traffic model does not take into account the trip generation from the annual OC Fair or weeknight/weekend special event uses (i.e. Orange County Marketplace) because peak vehicle trips to the site occur outside normal business timeframes. Orange County Fair (OC Fair) attendance from 1995 to 2006 ranged from 750,000 to 950,000 visitors during the 4 -week long period. From 2006 to 2009, OC Fair attendance exceeded a million visitors. Based on peak attendance of approximately 60,000 visitors per day during the OC Fair event, approximately 48,000 vehicle trips per day is expected (based on average vehicle occupancy of 2.5 persons per vehicle). The General Plan amendment also includes minor text revisions to correct the trip budget discussion in the Land Use Element. See Exhibit "A" of the resolution for the amended General Plan text. (Attachment 2). Ballot Initiative As a separate agenda item for the February 2nd Council meeting, the City Attorney's office has prepared an ordinance for the June 2010 ballot that indicates any future change or amendment of the Fairgrounds land use designation, as applied to the OCFEC, will require approval by the majority of Costa Mesa registered voters. y ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION The General Plan Final Program Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR) was certified by City Council in January 2002. The OCFEC Master Plan Final EIR was certified by the 32nd District Agricultural Association in September 2003. These two environmental documents constitute the required environmental documentation for the proposed General Plan amendment. Staff believes that General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 is within the original scope of the General Plan Final EIR and OCFEC Master Plan EIR, and no additional environmental documentation is required. LEGAL REVIEW The City Attorney's office has approved the attached resolution as to form. ALTERNATIVES Council may make any modifications to the proposed text changes to the Land Use Element. However, there are no other alternatives to the proposed General Plan amendment that would better define the Fairgrounds land use'designation. CONCLUSION The adoption of General Plan Amendment GP -0-01 will meet the Council's objectives of achieving certainty of future land uses at the Orange County Fair and Event Center, while retaining the appropriate degree of flexibility over an undetermined time period. CLAIRE L. FLYNN, AI Planning Administrator w KHANH NG Acting Devto ent vs. Director Attachments: 1. Excerpt of Existing General Plan Text 2. Resolution cc: City Manager Assistant City Manager City Clerk City Attorney Public Services Director City Engineer Associate Engineer Staff (4) File (2) File: 021610GPO9010CFEC I Date: 20410 1 Time: 1:00 p.m. Ji ATTA{ ELN- 1 e Y i 4� Y � cerpt o'fi Larijd �Uks® -yam'011nt Costa Mesa General ]Plast Fairgrounds This designation recognizes the unique land uses associated with the 150 -acre Orange County Fairgrounds and Exposition Center. This property is owned by the State of California, and the City has limited permitting authority. However, it is the goal of the City to work closely with the State to ensure that the impacts associated with the development and use of this site are appropriately addressed and mitigated. Of particular concern are traffic -related impacts and land use compatibility. The maximum allowable floor area ratio for this designation shall be 0.10. The compatible zoning district is I&R. GENERAL PLAN/ZONING RELATIONSHIP The relationship between the 2000 General Plan land use designations and zoning districts is shown in Table LU -9. This table indicates how properties should be zoned to be consistent with the General Plan Land Use Plan Map, As presented in the table, there are 15 General Plan land use designations and 21 zoning categories. HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS Providing a land use arrangement that encourages a correlation of employment and housing opportunities is a local and regional responsibility. Providing sufficient commercial land to support residential development is primarily a local responsibility, although commercial uses, which serve regional needs are provided as well. Sufficient land must also be established to meet the recreational needs of the local community, although regional needs are often accommodated by land within individual cities. Refer to Table LU -3, Population, Housing, and Employment, to review historical. data for Costa Mesa's population, number of housing units, and employment opportunities. W PAGE LU -46 + LAND USE ELEMENT Costa Mesa General laan GENERAL PLAN LAND USE MAP The General Plan Land Use Map (Exhibit LU -4) indicates the location of the land use designations within the City and its S,Phere of Influence. Copies of the General Plan Land Use Map may be obtained from the Planning Division. LAND USE INTENSITYIDENSITY State General Plan law requires the Land Use Element to indicate the maximum building intensities/densities allowed in the City. The Land Use Element contains 15 land use designations; each allows certain land uses and establishes corresponding intensity/density standards (refer to Table LU -1 on page LU -3). Table LU -1 also includes the expected overall levels of development within each land use designation. A number of terms are used to describe the land use designations. The term "intensity" refers to the degree of development based on building characteristics such as height, bulk, floor area ratio, and percent of lot coverage. Intensity is most often used to describe non-residential development levels. For most non-residential land use categories (commercial, industrial, and public), the "floor area ratio" (FAR) provides the most convenient method of describing levels of development. The FAR is the relationship of total gross floor area of all buildings on a lot to the total land area of the lot expressed as a ratio. For example, a 21,780 square -foot building on a 43,560 square -foot lot (one acre) yields an FAR of 0.50. The FAR describes use intensity on a lot, but not the actual building height, bulk, or lot coverage. These are regulated through the zoning code or specific plans. Building intensity can also be measured by the impacts generated by a particular development. One critical impact is traffic generation. Because of the scale of major development sites in North Costa Mesa and their potential for significant traffic generation, trip budgets have been established for the major land holdings covered by the North Costa Mesa Specific Plan. These trip budgets are shown on Table LU -7 (see following discussion). Also, the FAR in many of the land use designations is "stepped" in correlation to the traffic -generating characteristics of a particular land use. The term "density," in a land use context, is'a measure of the desired population or residential development capacity of the land. Residential density is described in terms of dwelling units per gross acre (du/ac); thus, the density of a residential development of 100 dwelling units occupying 20 acres of land is 5.0 du/acre. A dwelling unit is a building or a portion of a building used for human habitation and may vary considerably in size (square footage) from small apartmentssat 400-500 square feet to large single-family homes exceeding 5,000 square feet. For purposes of calculating population, an avergge number of persons per acre or dwelling unit for all types and sizes of dwelling units is assumed. TRIP BUDGETS The concept of regulating development potential in terms of both building intensities and trip generation limits was first used to control major developments within the Regional Commercial and Urban Center Commercial designations in the mid-1980s. The thought behind this concept was to design a combination of PAGE LU -20 + LAND USE ELEMENT Costa Mesa General~ Pla+ii freeway access improvements and local arterial improvements and to allocate development rights to the major landholdings in northern Costa Mesa based upon land use intensities which could be accommodated by the planned improvements. These major landholdings include the Industrial Park portion of Segerstrom Home Ranch, Metro Pointe, South Coast Plaza, South Coast Plaza Town Center, South Coast Metro Center and the currently undeveloped portions of Sakioka Farms. Because of the unique combination of uses at the Orange County Fairgrounds and Exposition Center, special trip generation rates were established for the Fairgrounds. With this special rate and the overall community concern over the impacts of the operation of the facility, a trip budget has also been established for the Fairgrounds classification. The trip budget is expressed in terms of morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) peak hour traffic volumes. The trip budget for each of the major landholdings is based upon the general office trip rates and office FAR standard as used in the Costa Mesa Traffic Model prepared for this 2000 General Plan; the Regional Commercial, Urban Center Commercial and the Fairgrounds classification are described in the Land Use Classifications portion of this element. The trip budget for the Fairgrounds and the Industrial Park portion of Segerstrom Home Ranch are also based on assumptions from the 2000 General Plan Traffic.Model. The allowable floor area ratios and trip budgets shall be applied on a project - planning rather than parcel -specific basis. This approach will allow consideration of multi -phased or multi -lot projects as a whole development rather than individual pieces of the whole. An example would be a commercial condominium subdivided as a planned unit development ,lvhere each building is located on a separate lot which conforms to its building footprint and where the parking and landscaped areas are located on common lots. In this example, the individual building lots would have a floor area ratio of at least 1.00 FAR, but the overall project (individual building lots and all common lots) would met the allowable floor area ratio building intensity standard for the given land use classification. However, the rates could be applied at a parcel -specific level if the project is or can be developed on a single lot and not subdivided at a later date. Subdivisions of existing developments or projects shall not cause the development to become nonconforming or, if already nonconforming, shall not make the development more nonconforming with respect to the density and intensity standards for the land use designation in which the project is located unless binding agreements restricting development of the newly created parcel(s) are recorded as a part of the subdivision. TRIP BUDGET TRANSFERS The trip budgets established at the Traffic Analysis Zone JAZ) level in the Costa Mesa Traffic Model can also be combined or transferred between TAZs in a specified area of the City and under certain conditions to account for large master planned developments which contain multiple TAZs. Likewise, trips can be combined or transferred between individual parcels within single TAZs. Combinations and/or transfers shall only be allowed for projects, which meet the following conditions: PAGE LU -22 + LAND USE ELEMENT RESOLUTION NO. 10- Attachment 2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA TO ADOPT GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT GP -09- 01 TO AMEND THE FAIRGROUNDS LAND USE DESIGNATION IN THE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE 2000 GENERAL PLAN THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS: WHEREAS, Final Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) No. 1049 (State Clearinghouse Number 200031120) was prepared by the City of Costa Mesa for 2000 General Plan and certified by City Council in January 2002; WHEREAS, Final Program EIR for the 2000 General Plan addresses a full range of environmental issues associated with the 20 -year planning horizon of the 2000 General Plan (2020). All impacts resulting from implementation of the 2000 General Plan were minimized to a level of significance with the exception of impacts related to transportation/circulation, air quality, and noise; WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa adopted the 2000 General Plan on January 22, 2002. The General Plan is a long-range, comprehensive document that serves as a guide for the orderly development of Costa Mesa. By its very nature, the General Plan needs to be updated and refined to account for current and future community needs; WHEREAS, the Fair Board of Directors of the 32nd District Agricultural Association (DAA) adopted a 10 -year strategic Master Plan and Final EIR in 2003. In conjunction with the City's General Plan EIR, this document serves as environmental documentation for General Plan Amendment GP -09-01; WHEREAS, the Costa Mesa 2000 General Plan designates the 150 -acre Orange County Fair and Event Center property at 88 Fair Drive as Fairgrounds. This designation recognizes the unique land uses associated with the fairground and event uses; 0 WHEREAS, General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 involves textual amendments to the Fairgrounds land use designation, including but not limited to, expanded description of the existing land use and traffic context and discussion on permitted and prohibited land uses; WHEREAS, General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 emphasizes the central importance of retaining and sustaining the annual Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa; WHEREAS, duly noticed public hearings were held by the Planning Commission on January 11, 2010 and by the City Council on February 16, 2010 to allow for public comment on the proposed project and with all persons having been given the opportunity to be heard both for and against the proposed amendment; WHEREAS, the project has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the CEQA Guidelines, and the City environmental procedures, and the previously -certified General Plan Final EIR. General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 is found to be within the original scope of the General Plan Final EIR and OCFEC Master Plan EIR, and no additional environmental documentation is required; BE IT RESOLVED that, based on the evidence in the record, the City Council does hereby ADOPT General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 which amends the Land Use Element as set forth in Exhibit "A" attached to this resolution; ATTEST: PASSED AND ADOPTED this 16th day of February 2010. ALLAN MANSOOR Mayor, City of Costa Mesa APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY CLERK OF THE CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF COSTA MESA /D STATE OF CALIFORNIA) )ss COUNTY OF ORANGE ) I, JULIE FOLCIK, City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa, hereby certify that the above Council Resolution No. 10_ as considered at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the day of , 2007, and thereafter passed and adopted as a whole at the regular meeting of said City Council held on the day of , 2010, by the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the Seal of the City of Costa Mesa this day of , 2010 Exhibit A [Excerpt of Land Use Element of 2000 General Plan: The existing discussion of the "Fairgrounds land use designation" discussion on Page LU -46 of the 2000 General Plan shall be replaced in its entirety with the following new discussion below.] Fairgrounds The Fairgrounds land use designation is applicable to only one property known as the Orange County Fair and Event Center (OCFEC) in the City of Costa Mesa. The Fairgrounds is a 150 -acre site located at 88 Fair Drive. This designation is intended to: Ensure continued development of the property as an integrated complex that is composed of recreational, agriculture -related educational institutions, open space, farmland, equestrian, and commercial uses, and • Promote the continued and sustained use of the property for the annual Orange County Fair in recognition of its value as a regionally significant resource in the City of Costa Mesa. Home to the annual Orange County Fair since 1949, the site is bounded by Arlington Drive (north boundary), Fair Drive (south), Fairview Road (west), and Newport Boulevard (east).. Regional access is primarily provided to the site by State Route 55 (SR -55) at the interchanges of Fair Drive/Del Mar Avenue and 22nd Street/Victoria Street. Access from Interstate 405 (1-405), which is approximately one mile north of the Fairgrounds, is provided via interchanges at Bristol Street, Fairview Road, and Harbor Boulevard. The site was formerly a portion of the Santa Ana Army Air Base, and in 1949 the California 32nd District Agricultural Association (DAA) acquired the property from the Federal Government. Since that time, the annual Orange County Fair has occurred at this location. Through the years the 32nd DAA has expanded the use of the property into a year-round exhibition, conference, equestrian, activity, and event center; these uses compose collectively the OCFEC. The 32nd DAA Fair Board adopted the current OCFEC Master Plan in 2003. Given that the 32nd DAA is a state entity for administration of the Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa has limited land use and permitting authority over the property while it is controlled by the State. Therefore, the City of Costa Mesa did not have -the authority to adopt the 2003 OCFEC Master Plan. If in the future, the State no longer controls the property, any proposed new development or change of use shall be subject to review for consistency with the City's General Plan and zoning regulations. The new property owner/operator may continue to operate the Fairgrounds as it existed at the time of sale as a legal nonconforming use and development. The property's legal nonconforming status will remain in effect until such time as the property owner submits and receives approval of a master plan by Costa Mesa. /eZ. During the timeframe that General Plan Amendment GP -09-01 for the OCFEC was adopted, Costa Mesa was in the process of preparing a ballot initiative for the June 2010 election. The ballot measure intends to preserve the property for fairground and event center uses by requiring Costa Mesa voter approval of any General Plan amendment in respect to the Fairgrounds designation. Additionally, the City was preparing a Fairgrounds Specific Plan that would further establish land use regulations that reinforce the fairground uses. As of 2009, the Fairgrounds site contains a total of 400,000 square feet of buildings, including: • Pacific Amphitheater • Arlington Theater • Grandstand Arena • Equestrian Center • Exhibit and Administration Buildings • Concession and Restaurant Buildings • Memorial Gardens • Centennial Farms • Livestock Barns Orange County Fair (OC Fair) attendance from 1995 to 2006 ranged from 750,000 to 950,000 visitors during the 4 -week long period. From 2006 to 2009, OC Fair attendance exceeded a million visitors. Based on peak attendance of approximately 60,000 visitors per day during the OC Fair event, approximately 48,000 vehicle trips per day is expected (based on average vehicle occupancy of 2.5 persons per vehicle). Although best known for the annual OC Fair, the site hosts many "non - fair" activities and events year round, including the weekly Orange County Marketplace and Farmer's market, equestrian events, trade and consumer shows, special vehicle sales events, agricultural events, and cultural festivals. In 2009, the Fairgrounds were also home to the Centennial Farm, Equestrian Center, 4-H Clubs, and All American Boys Chorus. In addition, Orange Coast College used a portion of the parking lot for off-site parking during the school year. The Fairgrounds designation recognizes the existing fairground and event center uses associated with this site. The 2000 General Plan traffic model does not take into account the trip generation from the annual OC Fair or weeknight/weekend special event uses (i.e. Orange County Marketplace) because peak vehicle trips to the site occur outside normal business timeframes. However, further development of the Fairgrounds will need to be balanced with the development capacity of the City's transportation system and with the protection of surrounding neighborhoods. Permitted uses include ancillary office uses, exposition/conference uses, equestrian uses, agricultural/livestock activities, restaurants, temporary specialty retail sales (including vehicle sales), outdoor marketplace, emergency operational uses, and concerts/live entertainment uses. Complementary uses to the fairground and event center uses may include botanical gardens, animal exhibits, museum, art/historical /3 artifacts gallery, and performance art theaters that are supportive of the fairground uses. Uses that are not supportive of fairground and event center uses are expressly prohibited. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, casinos/gambling venues, shopping centers, hotel/motels, residential uses, self -storage facilities, hospitals, and medical uses. In addition, exclusive use or dedicated athletic sports facilities and educational uses that are unrelated to the OCFEC are prohibited. As a State-owned property, the Fairgrounds is not normally subject to the City's Noise Ordinance. However, pursuant to a 1990 Court Order (Case Nos. 42 07 28 and 55 65 08), exterior noise standards comparable to the City's noise regulations have been applied to the property. Noise sensitive uses include neighboring residences, Davis Intermediate School, and Costa Mesa High School. The court-ordered noise restrictions apply to the operation of the Pacific Amphitheater. Development within the Fairgrounds designation is intended for buildings ranging from one- to four-story structures. The maximum allowable floor area ratio for this designation shall be 0.10. Employment generation for fairground and event center uses vary dependent upon the specific use within this designation. For example, typical employment density standards are 1 employee per 300 square feet of office use, 1 employee per 333 square feet of service uses, and 1 employee per 500 square feet for retail. Because of the limited range of uses and lower building intensity permitted in the Fairgrounds designation compared to other nonresidential land use designations, the standard mix of uses in this designation would generate a population density in the range of 4 to 15 employees per acre. Office development consisting of a maximum buildout of 653,400 square feet at 0.10 FAR would generate up to 14.5 employees per acre, although it is important to note that office uses are ancillary to the primary fair and event center uses. The compatible zoning district is I&R. /y [Excerpt of Land Use Element of 2000 General Plan: The existing discussion of the "Trip Budgets" discussion on Page LU - 20 of the 2000 General Plan shall be amended as shown below.] TRIP BUDGETS The concept of regulating development potential in terms of both building intensities and trip generation limits was first used to control major developments within the Regional Commercial and Urban Center Commercial designations in the mid-1980s. The thought behind this concept was to design a combination of freeway access improvements and local arterial improvements and to allocate development rights to the major landholdings in northern Costa Mesa based upon land use intensities which could be accommodated by the planned improvements. These major landholdings include the Industrial Park portion of Segerstrom Home Ranch, Metro Pointe, South Coast Plaza, South Coast Plaza Town Center, South Coast Metro Center and the currently undeveloped portions of Sakioka Farms. aeGaYGe of the 6IRigUe GGmbinatinn of uses at theQrange GGunty established far the FalFgre Inds With this snenial rate and the Averall nnmmUnity nannern Gyer the imnants of the aneratinn of the faGillty, a tFip budget has alse been established far the Fairnrni inns GlassifiGAtiAR The trip budget is expressed in terms of morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) peak hour traffic volumes. The trip budget for each of the major landholdings is based upon the general office trip rates and office FAR standard as used in the Costa Mesa Traffic Model prepared for this 2000 General Plan; and the Regional Commercial, Urban Center Commercial aid —the FairgmuRdS—Glassnsatien—are described in the Land Use Classifications portion of this element. The trip budget for the Fairg Fe ends and the Industrial Park portion of Segerstrom Home Ranch are also based on assumptions from the 2000 General Plan Traffic Model. The allowable floor area ratios and trip budgets shall be applied on a project -planning rather than parcel -specific basis. This approach will allow consideration of multi -phased or multi -lot projects as a whole development rather than individual pieces of the whole. An example would be a commercial condominium subdivided as a planned unit development where each building is located on a separate lot which conforms to its building footprint and where the parking and landscaped areas are located on common lots. In this example, the individual building lots would have a floor area ratio of at least 1.00 FAR, but the overall project (individual building lots and all common lots) would met the allowable floor area ratio building intensity standard for the given land use classification. However, the rates could be applied at a parcel - specific level if the project is or can be developed on a single lot and not subdivided at a later date. 115� Subdivisions of existing developments or projects shall not cause the development to become nonconforming or, if already nonconforming, shall not make the development more nonconforming with respect to the density and intensity standards for the land use designation in which the project is located unless binding agreements restricting development of the newly created parcel(s) are recorded as a part of the subdivision. 14