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Home My WebLink About12 - NB-1 - General Plan Screening Request GPS-11-04 - 2/7/2012MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 7, 2012 ITEM NUMBER: SUBJECT: GENERAL PLAN SCREENING REQUEST GPS -11-04 FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1726 SUPERIOR AVENUE FOR PROPOSED WALGREENS DEVELOPMENT DATE: JANUARY 26, 2012 FROM: DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT PRESENTATION BY: MEL LEE, AICP, SENIOR PLANNER FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MEL LEE (714) 754-5611 mel.lee@costamesaca.gov Accept or reject the following proposed General Plan Amendment (GPA) for processing: o A site specific floor area ratio (FAR) -.30 maximum FAR allowed; .49 FAR proposed — for a proposed Walgreens retail store and pharmacy project on the former Tower Records site. The propel is located at the intersection of Superior Avenue and Newport Boulevard, north of 17 Street. The property contains an existing retail building (formerly Tower Records) which will be demolished to accommodate the proposed project. The property is zoned C2 (General Business District), has a General Plan Designation of General Commercial, and is also located within the Downtown Redevelopment Project Area. Location: 1726 Superior Avenue Application: GPS -11-04 Request: General Plan Screening request GPS -11-04 for site specific floor area ratio (FAR) - .30 maximum FAR allowed; .49 FAR proposed — for a new Walgreens retail store and pharmacy on the former Tower Records site. SUBJECT PROPERTY: SURROUNDING PROPERTY: Zone: C2 North: (Across Superior) C2, Commercial Uses General Plan: General Commercial South: C2, Commercial Uses Lot Dimensions: Irregular East: (Across Newport) C2, Commercial Uses Lot Area: 29,182 SF West: C2, Commercial Uses Existing Development: Commercial building (to be demolished) and surface parking DEVELOPMENT STANDARD COMPARISON Development Standard Required/Allowed Proposed/Provided Lot Size: Lot Width (Average) 120 FT 99 FT 1 Lot Area 12,000 SF 29,182 SF Floor Area Ratio (FAR): Maximum FAR .30 8,755 SF .49 14,310 SF 2 Building Height: 2 Stories/30 FT 1 Story (w/Basement/32 FT 3 Interior Landscaping: 1,100 SF 0 SF 3 Setbacks (Building): Front (Superior Ave. 20 FT 67 FT Side (left/right 0 FT/10 FT 0 FT/ 128 FT Rear (Newport Blvd. 20 FT 0-1 FT 3 Setbacks (Landscaping) Newport Blvd. 20 FT 0-18 FT 3 Superior Ave. 20 FT 0-16 FT 3 Parkin Standard 54 42 Handicapped 3 2 Total 57 Spaces 4 44 Spaces Bicycle Racks NA 1 for 5 Bic cies (1) The property is legal nonconforming. (2) Site-specific General Plan amendment required for 0.49 FAR deviation. (3) Does not comply with code requirement — variance application required. (4) Parking deviation requested based on unique operational characteristics as validated by parking study by KOA. H The applicant is proposing to construct a new 14,310 square foot retail building (9,990 square foot ground -level retail store with 4,320 square foot below grade basement) for Walgreens. If the General Plan Screening is accepted for processing, the proposal would require approval of the following: ® Site-specific General Plan Amendment (GPA) to allow a .49 Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for the project (.30 maximum FAR allowed). ® Variance and/or minor conditional use permit to allow a reduction in required on-site parking spaces for the project. ® Variance from maximum building height (30 feet allowed; 32 feet proposed). ® Variance from building and landscaped setbacks (20 feet required along Newport Boulevard and Superior Avenue; 0-1 foot building setback along Newport Boulevard and 0-18 foot landscaped setbacks along both streets proposed). ® Variance from interior parking area landscaping requirements (1,100 sq. ft. required; 0 sq. ft. proposed). General Plan Screening Criteria City of Costa Mesa 2000 General Plan Land Use Element Objective LU -1E.1 (c) allows the City Council to accept General Plan Amendments (GPAs) to approve deviations from the maximum FAR established by the General Plan based on criteria established by City Council policy (Policy No. 500-2). The above policy, a copy of which is attached to this memo, establishes three criteria for accepting GPA requests: ® A GPA is necessary to resolve an inconsistency between General Plan and zoning designation for a parcel; ® A GPA is necessary to provide a uniform land use designation for a single parcel or development site; or ® A GPA would result in decreased traffic impacts from the property. The policy also acknowledges these criteria are only guidelines and City Council may accept an application which does not meet the criteria if it finds there are overriding reasons to do so. f ® Proiect will result in an increase in traffic to the property. Transportation staff completed a preliminary trip generation analysis and concluded that the proposed project is expected to result in an increase in trips per the table below. P �eOra6 �ai A� Y� i0a Eji �rl� Tower Records - Specialty Retail 10,620 44.32 - 55 470 General Plan Allowance - General Commercial 8,755 67.91 14 55 600 Walgreens - Per Traffic Stud (1) 14,310 N/A 41 108 1,160 (1) Source: Traffic Impact Study prepared by KOA Corporation (Attachment 3) Although the project will result in an increase in traffic to the property, as noted earlier, City Council Policy allows acceptance of the request if it finds there are overriding reasons to do so. Proiect complies with General Plan Communitv Desian Element Obiective CD - 8A. 1.: new and remodeled commercial structures and properties in Costa Mesa should be designed to reflect the Citv's architectural diversitv. vet be compatible with nearby existing buildings' scale and character. The proposed development is a single story building that will be compatible in scale and character to surrounding buildings in the vicinity. The proposed development will replace an obsolete building on the property that has been a frequent target of vandalism and graffiti. Proiect complies with General Plan Land Use Element Obiective LU -1 C.1: permit the construction of buildings over two stories or 30 feet only when it can be shown that the construction of such structures will not adversely impact surroundina developments and deprive existina land uses of adeauate liaht. air. Privacy, and solar access. There will be no adverse impacts to surrounding developments or a deprivation of adequate light, air, privacy, and solar access to surrounding properties because the 2 foot excess roof height applies to the roof peak of a single architectural tower element on the northerly portion of the building. Proiect will revitalize a aronerty located in the Downtown Redevelopment Proiect Area. The "Tower Records" site has been vacant for approximately 5 years with minimal property maintenance. The new Walgreens store would revitalize the property in keeping with redevelopment objectives. Furthermore, the project will be consistent with the redevelopment plan as it pertains to the architectural design guidelines for new construction (i.e., roof materials, building colors and architecture, etc.). If City Council directs staff to proceed with the processing of the General Plan Amendment as discussed above, initial feedback is requested on the following Code deviations: 0 Parking Determination. The applicant is seeking a determination as to whether the number of proposed on-site parking spaces will be adequate for the project based on the parking study prepared by KOA Corporation (Attachment 3) which indicates that, based on a survey of three similar Walgreens stores, two in Santa Ana and one in Huntington Beach, the proposed parking supply would adequately serve the new Walgreens store. The study indicated that the City's retail parking rate of 4 spaces per 1,000 square feet is not an appropriate rate for this type and size of a Walgreens store. ® Building and landscaped setbacks (20 feet required along Newport Boulevard and Superior Avenue; 0-1 foot building setback along Newport Boulevard and 0-18 foot landscaped setbacks along both streets proposed). Council may wish to provide general feedback regarding the proposed building setbacks and landscaping. ® Interior parking area landscaping requirements (1,100 sq. ft. required; 0 sq. ft. proposed). Council may wish to provide general feedback regarding the parking lot landscaping, and whether or not additional landscaping is desired. City Council has the following alternatives available for consideration: 1. Accept General Plan Amendment application for processing and provide any initial feedback related to the proposed Code deviations. This will allow the applicant to proceed with the application process per City Council policy and based on any initial feedback related to the proposed Code deviations. 2. Deny application from further processing. Denial of this request would mean that the project could not proceed to be considered by the Planning Commission or City Council in its current form. Fiscal review is not required for this item. Legal review is not required for this item. KefliMMIRMWO Council may accept or reject this project for General Plan Amendment processing. If the project is accepted for processing, it does not provide an assurance that the project will be ultimately approved. ft MEL LEE, AICP KHANH NGUYE Senior Planner Interim Develo Services Director ATTACHMENTS: 1. Location Map 2. City Council Policy 500-2 3. Packet Containing Plans, Parking Study, and Traffic Study (Separately Bound Document) DISTRIBUTION: Chief Executive Officer Assistant Chief Executive Officer Economic Development Director City Attorney Interim Development Svs. Director Public Services Director Transportation Svs. Mgr. City Clerk (2) Staff (4) Planning Staff (8) File (2) Corrie Kates P.O. Box 4403 Costa Mesa, CA 92628 Walgreen Co. 106 Wilmot Road, MS #1640 Deerfield, IL 60015 File: CCO20712Wa1 reensScreenin Date: 01/25/12 1 Time: 11:00 am r Z W 2 (r V F— F— w Q U N M X 00 ai 0 N Cil (0 Q (fl N r T N N r a N co 2 U 1 m (D w � Q U 0 O p U U Q r Q a o o'N Q�24� 13 C g N 9 l ATTACHMENT CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA COUNCI L POLICY POLICY EFFECTIVE (SUBJECT - NUMBER DATE PAGE PROCESSING OF GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS 500-2 11/3/86 1 -of 2' Rev. 8/1/94 Background The General Plan constitutes the official policy of the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa with regard to physical development of the City. The City Council may, at -its option, amend the General Plan or any element thereof. On August 2, 1982, the City Council enacted Resolution 82-65 adopting "General Plan Administration and Implementation Policies and Procedures". These procedures provided that regularly scheduled General Plan review hearings would be held at the first Planning Commission meeting in February, June, and October. Since that date, State Law has been amended to allow elements of the General Plan to be amended four, rather than three, times during any calendar year. Due to the increased workload on Staff, Planning Commission and City Council resulting from the review of General Plan Amendment applications, the City Council wishes to review the type and number of such applications prior to acceptance for processing. Purpose It is the purpose of this policy to: 1. Establish dates for the hearing of General Plan Amendments. 2. Establish guidelines to assist the City Council in providing direction to Staff with regard to processing privately initiated General Plan Amendment applications. Policy Privately initiated General Plan Amendment applications shall be heard at the first Planning Commission meetings in February, June, and October. A fourth date for, -the hearing of General Plan Amendment applications may be assigned by the City Council at its discretion for either privately initiated or City initiated General Plan Amendments. The City Council shall review applications for amendments to the General Plan and shall direct Staff to either proceed with processing of the applications or to return all materials to the applicant .and refund the application fee. A list of applications, including the name of applicant, location of