HomeMy WebLinkAbout- - SAKIOKA GP-11-02 and SP-11-01 - 11/15/2011CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: NOVEMBER 15, 2011
ITEM NUMBER:
SUBJECT: GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT GP -11-02 AND NORTH COSTA MESA SPECIFIC PLAN
AMENDMENT SP -11-01 FOR SAKIOKA LOT 2 AT 14850 SUNFLOWER AVENUE
DATE: NOVEMBER 4, 2011
FROM: DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
PRESENTATION BY: CLAIRE FLYNN, AICD, ACT. ASST. DEVELOPMENT SVCS. DIRECTOR
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CLAIRE FLYNN, (714) 754-5278
C LAJ RE. F LYN N@C aSTAM ESACA. G GV
RECOMMENDATION
Pursuant to the Planning Commission's direction:
Adopt resolution to approve General Plan Amendment GP -11-02 and North Costa Mesa
Specific Plan Amendment SP -11-01 for Sakioka Lot 2.
BACKGROUND
On September 20, 2011, City Council screened the merits of this proposal and
authorized staff to process the General Plan Amendment and Specific Plan
Amendment.
On October 10, 2011, Planning Commission adopted a resolution recommending City
Council approval of the proposed project. The staff report can be found online at:
hftp:/ w vw.ci.costa-mesa.ca.uslcouncil/plannin,q12011-10-101101011 GP1102SP1101 _pdf
ANALYSIS
Sakioka Lot 2
Sakioka Lot 2 is a 33 -acre site that is designated for future commercial and residential
development. It is currently considered agricultural land for future development
purposes. The site is designated Urban Center Commercial by the General Plan and is
zoned PDC (Planned Development Commercial). (Attachment 1)
The General Plan and North Costa Mesa Specific Plan identifies the following
development limits for the property:
Maximum Floor Area Ratio of 6.56 for retail uses and 0.60 for office uses
Maximum Building Square Footage of 863,000 sq.ft.
Trip Budget of 1,062 AM peak hour trips and 1,407 PM peak hour trips
These documents can be found online at:
hftp://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/departments/CMPlanning.htm
Proposed Amendments
The proposed project is a City -initiated proposal to amend the General Plan and North
Costa Mesa Specific Plan to allow flexible development options on Sakioka Lot 2—
without changing the trip budgets. Additional "housekeeping items" are also
recommended for the Wyndham and Marriott Hotel sites.
The primary objective is to allow greater opportunities for different development options
that would be consistent with the land uses envisioned for the North Costa Mesa area
and would not involve any changes to the previously -adopted trip budgets for Lot 2. The
amendment would allow market-driven forces to determine the development scenario
while keeping the integrity of the maximum allowable trip budgets.
Currently, the General Plan/Specific Plan establishes maximum FAR and density limits.
These limits, in consort with the maximum allowable trip budgets, are intended to restrict
development intensity on Sakioka Lot 2. However, these limits may have an unintended
effect of unnecessarily precluding different types of developments (i.e. various
combinations of mixed-use development) which may not involve increased trips beyond
the trip budgets.
The amended text will increase flexibility by removing FAR limits and capping density
limits as shown in Table 1.
Table 1 — Proposed Amendment
Existing Proposed
Maximum Development
SAKIOKA LOT 2
Trip Budget (1,062 AM 1 1,406 PM)
* * NO CHANGE
863,000 sq.ft. FAR
Establish 1.0 FAR limit to provide flexibility,
while using trip budgets to limit development
intensity.
.50 FAR for retail 10.60 FAR for office
Remove FAR limits for mixed-use
development and allow the retailloffice mix to
be driven by market forces.
20 dwelling units per acre for residential
Establish maximum 28 dwelling units per
(includes affordable housing 1 density bonus)
acre for residential component of a mixed-use
development;
No changes to the existing provisions for
affordable housing 1 density bonus projects
within independent residential communities
1.4 FAR Limit
The proposal establishes a maximum 1.0 FAR limit for nonresidential development. The
original proposal screened by the City Council was to keep the FAR limits undefined and
to allow market forces to determine the square footage of commercial development,
subject to trip budgets. However, staff recommends (and the property owner has
concurred with) specifying a maximum 1.0 FAR limit to be consistent with the other
General Plan land use designations where an FAR limit is defined.
The context for comparing the 1.0 FAR can be found in the following:
• A maximum 1.0 FAR is established for the mixed-use overlay zone in the SoBECA
and Westside Urban Plans.
• A maximum 1.77 FAR is allowed for South Coast Plaza Town Center.
• A maximum 1.67 FAR is allowed for the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
• A maximum 1.55 FAR is allowed for Pacific Arts Plaza.
28 dwelling units per acre for Mixed -Use Development
The General Plan and North Costa Mesa Specific Plan promote future development of
affordable housing on Sakioka Lot 2 by allowing a density bonus, resulting in a maximum
20 dwelling unit per acre density. There are no changes to the existing text with regard to
the affordable housing requirements in independent residential communities (not mixed-
use).
In a similar manner, the proposal promotes future mixed-use development by allowing a
maximum 28 dwelling units per acre for residential projects within mixed-use
developments,
The proposal makes important clarifications regarding the maximum allowable residential
densities for mixed-use development and for independent residential communities.
Additional clarifying text is added to distinguish residential development in a mixed-use
development from independent residential communities. The distinction is that an
independent residential community is a residential development that does not include
commercial uses on the same site.
The context for comparing the proposed 28 dwelling units per acre density to other high
density categories could be found as follows:
■ General Plan allows maximum 20 dwelling units per acre density in High Density
Residential category.
■ Maximum 25 to 35 du/acre for Sakioka Lot 1 (The Enclave).
• Maximum 44 du/acre is allowed for the 3 -acre Wyndham Hotel site.
• Maximum 125 du/acre is allowed for the 2 -acre Lakes Pavilions site.
Justifications for Approval of GP and SP Amendments
The amended pages of the General Plan and Specific Plan are included in Exhibit "A" of
each of the resolutions.
Staff recommends approval of these amendments for Sakioka Lot 2 for the following
reasons:
Proposal would streamline the development review process for future development
on Lot 2. By modifying existing limits, the amendment would eliminate the need
for a future major developer — with a project that is consistent with the land use
and traffic constraints — to apply for a site-specific General Plan or Specific Plan
amendment for their project. This will streamline the development process by
removing development constraints for a development proposal that may be
compatible with existing land uses and would be in conformance with the adopted
trip budgets.
■ General Plan Amendment is a follow-yto similar changes adopted for the North
Costa Mesa ff gh_Rise nroiects.
In 2007 and 2408 for the North Costa Mesa high-rise residential projects, General
Plan/Specific Plan amendments were adopted to allow development flexibility for
different mixed-use projects, including high-rise residential projects with
4
commercial flex spaces. However, similar changes were not made for Lot 2 to
allow more flexible development types.
Currently, the General Plan/Specific Plan sets a maximum square footage of
863,000 square feet and maximum FARs. At that time, these maximum limits did
not take into account flexible development opportunities that build upon the
interaction between the uses. There are several possible development scenarios
that while could potentially exceed the maximum square footage, the expected
number of trips are lower than the established trip budgets. Therefore, in order to
maintain development flexibility, the existing FAR limits are not recommended.
Proposal does not involve any changes to allowable traffic generation beyond the
established trip budgets for Lot 2. The site has established trip budgets of 1,062
AM peak hour trips and 1,407 PM peak hour trips. The proposed development
could be a mixed-use facility with a combination of retaillhotellresidentialloffice
uses that cumulatively do not exceed the approved trip budgets. For example, a
hotel with in-house convention facilities and restaurants will result in fewer trips on
a per square -foot basis than a stand-alone hotel.
Proposal would be implemented prior to the next review _ of the Sakioka
Development Agreement, City Council adopted the Development Agreement in
November 1990 and it will expire in 20 years (November 2019). Planning
Commission completed the last annual review of the Sakioka Development
Agreement in February 2011. Once the necessary amendments are adopted, the
changes would be in place prior to the next review of the development agreement
in February 2013. The proposal has no impact on the development agreement; no
changes to the development agreement are proposed.
North Costa Mesa Specific Plan Amendment (Marriott and Wyndham Hotel)
As a "housekeeping item," the Planning Commission also recommended approval of a
North Costa Mesa Specific Plan amendment to change the nonconforming provisions for
the Marriott and Wyndham Hotel. A General Plan amendment is not required for these
changes. This item will be brought forward for public hearing separately at a later date.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
The project has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA), the CEQA Guidelines, and the City environmental procedures. The
proposal does not make any significant changes to the development limitations in the
North Costa Mesa Specific Plan with regard to trip budgets and development intensity.
Therefore, the relevant environmental analysis contained in the following previously -
approved environmental documents is still valid, and no further environmental review is
required:
North Costa Mesa High -Rise Residential Projects, SCH No.
2006011077, January 2007
City of Costa Mesa General Plan Environmental Impact Report, SCH
No. 2000031120, January2002.
South Coast Plaza Town Center E I R No. 1046, SC No. 2000041100,
March 2001.
City of Costa Mesa Negative Declaration for the South Coast Metro
Center: SCH No. 1999021095, April 2000.
SPECIFIC PLAN & GENERAL PLAN CONFORMITY
The proposed action promotes diversity of development options on the subject properties
in conformance with the objectives of the North Costa Mesa Specific Plan and General
Plan, including the following:
North Costa Mesa Specific Plan
Recognize the development potential of the plan area and the need to
sensitively integrate new development with the surrounding areas, and
therefore, promote both resident and business community confidence in the
long-term vision for the plan area.
Costa Mesa 2000 General Plan — Land Use Element
Objective LU -1B - Ensure the long term productivity and viability of the
community's economic base.
Objective LU -2A -- Encourage new development and redevelopment to
improve and maintain the quality of the environment.
Objective LU -1E -- Ensure correlation between buildout of the General Plan
Land Use Plan Map and the Master Plan of Highways.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
City Council has the following alternatives available for consideration:
Adopt the General Plan and Specific Plan Amendments. This would allow
development flexibility on Sakioka Lot 2 without changing the trip budgets.
2. Receive and File. No further activity will occur on this proposal unless directed by
the City Council at a future date.
FISCAL REVIEW
Fiscal review is not required.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's office has approved the attached resolution as to form.
CONCLUSION
As the only large undeveloped parcel in the North Costa Mesa area, staff believes it is
appropriate to initiate a General Plan and Specific Plan amendments to promote
development flexibility for Sakioka Lot 2 without changing trip budgets. Similar
amendments were adopted for the North Costa Mesa High Rise Residential projects in
2007 and 2008, which allowed greater development flexibility for residential and
commercial flex spaces. These types of changes were not instituted for Sakioka Lot 2 at
the time.
mo
C IRE FLYNN, AICP RAJA SETHURAMAN
Act. Asst, Dev. Syps. arector Transportation Manager
KHANF-TNGUYEN
Interim Developme t S ces Director
Attachments: 1. Vicinity Map
2. GP Resolution/Exhibit A, Amended Text
3. Specific Plan Resolution/Exhibit A, Amended Text
cc: Chief Executive Officer
Assistant Chief Executive Officer
City Attorney
Public Services Director
Transportation Svs. Manager
City Engineer
City Clerk
Staff (4)
File (2)
George Sakioka
Roy K. Sakioka & Sons
14850 Sunflower Avenue
Santa Ana, CA 92707
Kari Rigoni
Airport Land Use Commission
3160 Airway Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92625