Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 8921 (806 Andersen Drive)RESOLUTION NO. 8 9 21 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL DENYING THE APPEAL BY MARIN IMMIGRATION REFORM ASSOCIATION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION'S CONDITIONAL APPROVAL OF UP93-17 AND ED93- 18, USE PERMIT AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND DESIGN REVIEW PERMIT FOR A JOB CENTER FOR DAY WORKERS, 806 ANDERSEN DRIVE; CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, OWNER & APPLICANT; AP #18-013-08 WHEREAS, use permit and environmental and design review applications were submitted for the establishment of a job center at 806 Andersen Drive and found to be complete for processing; and, WHEREAS, an environmental assessment for the proposed job center resulted in a Negative Declaration prepared consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act and made available for public review and comment; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposal at a duly noticed special meeting on April 8, 1993, received the planning staff report recommendation and public testimony; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission exercised its independent judgment in reviewing the negative declaration and the public testimony thereon and determined that the Negative Declaration was consistent with the CEQA Guidelines; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission voted (7 - 0) to adopt the Negative Declaration and approve said applications; and, WHEREAS, the Marin Immigration Reform Association appealed the Planning Commission's approval of the use permit and environmental and design review permit to the City Council and requested that the approval be denied based on the following reasons quoted and listed as Points 1 through 5: Point 1: That traffic patterns will be altered and peak hour traffic will be impacted as employers will return workers to the job site and the center will attract workers from other cities who will drive to the site. Point 2: That parking will be impacted as workers will drive, not walk to the site. Point 3: That portable toilets will not be sufficient, labor law requires permanent toilet facilities, and a water hookup will be required and no water permit has been approved. ORIGINAL ,89a, Point 4: That the project will be detrimental to public health and safety as it will increase the number of day laborers in the city and drain social services, and increase crime and communicable diseases. Point 5: The permit should be put on hold because pending legislation, SB733, will require providers of employment services to verify authorization to work in this country, and this law would prohibit the City's proposal, and no more taxpayers' money or private contributions should be wasted on the project. WHEREAS, the City Council considered the appeal at a duly noticed public hearing at a special meeting on April 26, 1993, and received public testimony on this item from all interested parties; and, WHEREAS, the City Council determined that the appeal was without merit. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the San Rafael City Council hereby makes the following determinations and findings related to the points of the appeal: Point 1- That traffic patterns will be altered and peak hour traffic will be impacted as employers will return workers to the job site and the center will attract workers from other cities who will drive to the site. The City Council finds that the project will not alter traffic patterns or impact peak hour traffic based on the following facts and analysis: A. The Public Works Department submitted a memo to the Planning Commission and City Council which stated that their registered traffic engineer had reviewed the project and concluded that it would not generate a significant peak hour (4:00 pm - 6:00 pm) impact provided that evening "drop offs" are distributed throughout the area. B. Conditions placed on the use permit require it to stop operation and close its gates at noon. "No parking" signs on Andersen Drive will prohibit drop offs on the street. C. The Assistant City Manager testified that based on the experience of other service providers, the majority of day workers currently seeking employment on the streets are from San Rafael. D. A memo from the City Police Department dated March 15, 1993 states that the proposed turning lanes, "no parking' areas, and entry and exit locations address safety concerns and that the site should alleviate current complaints with job solicitation creating traffic back-up and pedestrian safety problems. E. The cities of Brea, Costa Mesa and Orange have indicated that their experience shows that most workers come from their city and that they walk to the site. Workers are dropped off at their residences at the end of the day. Point 2 - That parking will be impacted as workers will drive, not walk to the site. The City Council finds that the project will not impact parking based on the following facts and analysis: A. The project is based on similar job center operations in Brea, Costa Mesa, and Orange which have provided parking for staff, but either limited or no parking for day workers. Parking at these sites has been adequate. B. The manager of the Marin Square Shopping Center and a number of property owners on Andersen Drive testified in support of the project stating that they believe it will provide a substantial benefit by resolving current problems with day workers and they will not be impacted by the project. Point 3 - That portable toilets will not be sufficient, labor law requires permanent toilet facilities, and a water hookup will be required and no water permit has been approved. The City Council finds that the toilets are adequate and meet legal requirements and that water can be provided for the site based on the following facts and analysis: A. Copies of the Uniform Building Code and applicable laws on Sanitary Provisions were made available to the City Council. The project complies with these laws as one restroom will be handicapped accessible and one permanent toilet facility will be provided for employees. Sufficient temporary restrooms will be provided for the public. B. An application was filed on April 8,1993 for a water meter from the Marin Municipal Water District. The City received a verbal approval of its request on April 23,1993. Point 4 - That the project will be detrimental to public health and safety as it will increase the number of day laborers in the city and drain our social services, and increase crime and communicable diseases. The City Council finds that the project will not be detrimental to the public health and safety based on the following facts and analysis: A. The cities of Brea, Costa Mesa and Orange submitted letters verifying that their job centers have worked in relocating the majority of day worker employments transactions to a single place and minimizing the numbers of employment transactions conducted on the streets. None of these cities report that they have had an increase in the number of day workers since opening their centers which is attributable to the presence of the job centers. B. Dr. Thomas Peters of the County of Marin's Department of Health and Human Services testified that the two main reasons for tuberculosis and other communicable diseases are 1) immigration, not necessarily of undocumented immigrants, but of all people coming to our country, and 2) secondary factors such as the general decline of the health care system, people living in substandard living conditions, and poor economic means. In all of Marin County there were only 18 cases of TB reported in 1992. C. The San Rafael Police Department indicated that reported crime is no higher now than it was 18 months ago. Their memo dated March 15, 1993 presented to the Planning Commission and City Council states that they have many calls for service regarding day laborers loitering on the street. Problems relate to littering, traffic problems, and complaints of laborers blocking the sidewalks. The memo states that creation of a job center should alleviate most of these problems and slightly reduce the demand on police services. D. The manager and several tenants of the Marin Square Shopping Center and a number of property owners on Andersen Drive testified at both the Planning Commission and City Council hearings in support of the project. They stated that the project will provide a substantial benefit by resolving current problems with day workers and they will not be impacted by the project. Point 5 - The permit should be put on hold because pending legislation, SB733, will require providers of employment services to verify authorization to work in this country and this law would prohibit the City's proposal and no more taxpayer money or private contributions should be wasted on the project. The City Council finds that the project will not be affected by SB733 based on the following facts and analysis: A. The status of SB733 is not a land use issue associated with a use permit and environmental and design review permit for a job center located at 806 Andersen Drive. The Planning Commission's decision approving these applications was based on the applicable policies and standards of the General Plan 2000 and the Zoning Ordinance as required by state planning law. B. The City Council cannot foretell whether this legislation will be enacted. If it is adopted, it will become effective in 1994, and any needed program modifications can be made at that time. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council denies the appeal and readopts the following findings of the Planning Commission 1. The Negative Declaration for the project is consistent with the provisions of CEQA in that an Initial Study has been prepared on the project which determined that there is no substantial evidence that the project will have a significant impact on the environment. Revisions have been made to the design and mitigation measures have been attached to the project which reduce potential impacts to a level of insignificance. Public notice of the intent to adopt the Negative Declaration has been done pursuant to state law. The proposed Negative Declaration has been considered in conjunction with comments received during the review period and at the public hearings. Adoption of the Negative Declaration reflects the independent judgment of the Planning Commission. 2. A mitigation monitoring program has been adopted to insure implementation of and compliance with all conditions required to mitigate any impact to a level of insignificance. Use Permit 3. The proposed job center for day workers is consistent with the General Plan 2000 land use designation of Public/Quasi Public in that it is a public facility operated by the City of San Rafael. 4. The proposed job center for day workers is consistent with the goals and policies of General Plan 2000, including policies LU -19, FBW-15, and FBW-17 relating to design. The project is an interim use on the site and has been designed with paving, a wood sided modular trailer, and substantial landscaping. These improvements represent a substantial upgrade over the existing vacant site and are compatible with adjacent commercial and industrial uses. The project is consistent with traffic policies of the General Plan since no peak hour trips will be generated by the project. All City Departments have reviewed the project as required to ensure that it complies with the Safety Policies of the General Plan, including Policies S-6, S-7, S-11 and S-23. 5. The proposed job center complies with each of the applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance and the proposed use is in accord with the objectives of the Zoning Ordinance and the purposes of the P/QP District. The use complies with applicable development and parking standards. 6. The proposed job center, together with the conditions applicable hereto, will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, or materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity, or to the general welfare of the City because all impacts identified in the project analysis and environmental review were mitigated to a level of insignificance. The project has been reviewed by all appropriate City agencies and comments have been incorporated into project revisions through conditions of approval. Environmental and Desien Review 7. The Environmental. and Design Review application conforms to the design standards established in the General Plan 2000, to the Criteria for Approval of Applications listed in Section 14.25.050 of the Zoning Ordinance, the objectives of the Zoning Ordinance, and the purposes of Chapter 25 of the Ordinance. As modified by the conditions of approval, the proposed site plan and temporary modular office building design are consistent with the above criteria established for approving environmental and design review permits in that project scale, colors and materials for this temporary building are consistent with surrounding commercial and industrial development. 8. The project design is consistent with all applicable site, architecture and landscaping design criteria and guidelines for the P/QP Zoning District. 9. The project design minimizes adverse impacts and the project design will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare nor materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity in that the proposed use is an interim use which will be carefully monitored. Project improvements, including a pedestrian connection to Bellam Boulevard, parking restrictions, fencing, and turn lane improvements, provide traffic and pedestrian safety measures. I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of said City on Monday, the 17th day of May 1993, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Shippey, Thayer & Mayor Bozo NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSTAINED: COUNCILMEMBERS: Breeiiner wA po ji; ; JEANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk