HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 13142 (General Plan 2020 Amendment)RESOLUTION NO. 13142
RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL APPROVING AN
AMENDMENT TO THE SAN RAFAEL GENERAL PLAN 2020: A) AMENDING LAND
USE ELEMENT EXHIBIT 11, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL/OFFICE LAND USE
DESCRIPTION; AND B) NEIGHBORHOOD ELEMENT POLICY NH -59 (CAL-PDX
SITE EAST OF HOME DEPOT) TO EXPAND THE PERMITTED USES TO INCLUDE
REGION -SERVING, SPECIALTY RETAIL
GPA07-004
The City Council of the City of San Rafael finds and determines that:
WHEREAS, in November 2004, the City of San Rafael adopted the San Rafael General
Plan 2020 and certified the supporting Final Environmental Impact Report for the plan. This
action included, among others, a revision to the description of and permitted uses for the Light
Industrial/Office land use designation in Exhibit 11 of the Land Use Element. Further, this action
incorporated a new Neighborhood Element into the General Plan containing Policy NH -59 (Cal -
Pox Site, east of Home Depot) and Program NH -59a (Development Review Process). These
components of the San Rafael General Plan 2020, which are applicable to the 19+ -acre Cal -Pox
project site (Target Store), read as follows:
a. Exhibit 11, Land Use Categories.
Light Industrial/Office: Motor vehicle service, contractor uses and yards; light
manufacturing; distribution; warehousing and storage, incidental employee -
serving retail/service; and office use allowed. Specialty retail uses may be
allowed to occupy minor portions of the Light Industrial/Office designation
provided that intensity and traffic standards are met and the integrity of the
district is not threatened.
Policy NH -59 Cal -Pox Site (east of Home Depot). Allow light industrial/office
and specialty retail uses. Traffic congestion in the area, prior to needed roadway
improvements, may limit development on the site to low -traffic -generating uses.
Hotel use may be considered for the site provided that environmental analysis
demonstrates that potential hazardous soils conditions are in compliance with
State and Federal laws, and that geo-seismic conditions and commercial use
conflicts have been mitigated.
C. Program NH -59a. Development Review Process. As part of a development
application, consider land use changes to Cal -Pox Site to allow for development.
WHEREAS, as part of the preparation process for the San Rafael General Plan 2020, the
subject, 19+ -acre Cal -Pox site, located east of Home Depot was considered to be a large,
opportunity site for development in the East San Rafael area. Consequently, Program NH -59a
(above) was specifically crafted and adopted to provide broad opportunities for property reuse
and redevelopment, which may necessitate a refinement or change to the site's General Plan
designation or pertinent land use policies. Further, to adequately address traffic for projected
development in the East San Rafael area, the General Plan EIR modeled the potential for a `large
retail' use for the traffic zone that contains the Cal -Pox site; and
WHEREAS, in 2006, Target Store representatives filed a Priority Projects Procedure
(PPP) application, requesting a traffic capacity allocation for a proposed 137,000+ -square foot
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Target Store on the 19+ -acre Cal -Pox site. On August 21, 2006, PPP was granted by the City
Council. This PPP was granted for two years. On August 18, 2008, the City Council granted a
second PPP approval for the Target Store project, which expired in August 2010; and
WHEREAS, on May 11, 2007, planning permit applications were filed with the City of
San Rafael, Planning Division proposing development of an approximately 137,000+ -square -foot
Target retail store on the 19+ -acre Cal -Pox site at the San Rafael Shoreline Center. The planning
applications included, among others, a request to amend the San Rafael General Plan 2020,
specifically Neighborhood Element Policy NH -59 Cal -Pox Site (East of Home Depot), amending
the allowed land uses. Following this initial filing, the proposed General Plan amendment was
further refined to consider expanding the description of permitted uses in Land Use Element
Exhibit I 1 for the Light Industrial/Office land use designation to include region -serving specialty
retail; and
WHEREAS, following the initial filing of the Target Store planning applications, the
City commenced with environmental review of the project. Consistent with the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines and the City of San Rafael Environmental
Assessment Procedures Manual, the appropriate steps were followed to complete environmental
review of the project, which included: a) the publication of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) in
August 2007 for the purpose of scoping the topic areas of study for the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Report; b) the preparation and publication of a Draft Environmental
Impact Report (DEIR) in September 2008, which included a 45 -day public review process and
Planning Commission public hearing for commenting on the DEIR; and c) the preparation of a
Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) by responding to all comments made and submitted
on the DEIR. On October 19, 2009, on a 5-0 vote, the San Rafael City Council, adopted
Resolution No. 12858 certifying the Target Store FEIR; and
WHEREAS, the certified FEIR assesses the environmental impacts of the proposed
amendment to San Rafael General Plan 2020 to broaden the allowed land uses in the Light
Industrial/Office designation. The FEIR finds that the proposed amendment to the General Plan
will result in a significant, unavoidable impact, in that it would be in potential conflict with San
Rafael General Plan 2020 Land Use Element Policy LU -2 (Development Timing), Neighborhood
Element Policy NH -59 (Cal -Pox Site), Circulation Element Policy C-5 (Traffic Level of Service)
and Infrastructure Element I-2 (Adequacy of City Infrastructure and Services), which are adopted
for the purpose of avoiding or mitigating the physical, environmental effect resulting from
increased traffic. The FEIR states that there is a conflict because of the significant and
unavoidable traffic impact to the Bellam/Kerner Boulevard intersection, which would result from
the proposed project (Target Store). According to Public Resources Code, Section 21082.2,
subdivisions (a) and (e), the lead agency (City) is tasked with determining the significance of
impacts and statements in an FEIR are not determinative of significance. As set forth in the
CEQA findings for this project approved by separate resolution, the City has conservatively
found that the project will lead to significant and unavoidable impacts related to the potential
consistency issue. The City, however, has determined that the project is consistent with all of the
pertinent General Plan goals and policies, including Policies LU -2, C-5 and I-2. Specifically,
Policy C-5 allows the City to approve projects that exceed the level of service (LOS) standards if
it finds that the benefits of the project to the community outweigh the resulting traffic impacts.
The project, therefore, meets the traffic standards set forth in the San Rafael General Plan 2020.
Further, because the project meets the traffic standards set forth in Policy C-5, and other
infrastructure such as water and sewer is in place, the project is consistent with Policies LU -2 and
I-2. As explained in the FEIR, per CEQA Guidelines Section 15063, in order to adopt the
proposed amendment to the San Rafael General Plan 2020, the City must weigh the benefits of
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the project against the unavoidable, adverse environmental (traffic) effects of the project and
adopt a statement of overriding consideration. By separate resolution, the City Council has
adopted a statement of overriding considerations. Similar findings are required by San Rafael
General Plan 2020 Circulation Element Policy C -5D (Evaluation of Project Merits) and Program
C -5c (Exception Review), which permits the City to approve a project that exceeds the LOS
standards if the City finds that the project's benefits to the community outweigh the project's
traffic impacts; and
WHEREAS, on November 16, 2007, in accord with California Government Code
Section 65352.3(a), specifically the directive of Senate Bill 18 (SB 18), the Department of
Community Development staff sent an offer for tribal consultation to the representatives of the
Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria (Federated Indians). Tribal consultation is required
for all projects that propose an amendment to the local General Plan. The purpose of the tribal
consultation is to consult with the local tribe representatives on potential impacts to Native
American places, features and objects described in Section 5097.9 and 5097.993 of the California
Public Resources Code. The prescribed 90 -day period was observed for the Federated Indians to
respond to the offer, but the City received no response; and
WHEREAS, in early 2009, the project sponsor requested that the planning applications
for the Target Store project be placed `on -hold' due to a depressed economy; and
WHEREAS, in Spring 2010, the planning applications for the project were re -activated
and the project was amended with minor modifications and revisions including the following: 1)
the filing of an accompanying Tentative Map application to divide the 19.42 -acre site into two
parcels, a 15.82 -acre parcel for the proposed Target Store and a 3.6 -acre parcel for the existing
Sonnen BMW storage lot; 2) the creation of a 1.6 -acre landscape easement on the proposed 3.6 -
acre parcel with the Sonnen BMW storage lot occupying the remaining two acres; 3) relocation of
the proposed Target Store building approximately 28 feet northward and 3.7 feet eastward; 4) the
addition of three surface parking spaces establishing a total surface parking count of 553 spaces;
and 5) modifications to proposed building specifications for LEED Gold green building
certification. The modifications propose no change to the general site layout of the building,
parking and landscaping, nor is there any change to the building footprint or architecture.
Second, the modifications propose no change to the current operation of the BMW vehicle
storage use authorized by City Use Permit UP03-034, which has no term limits. The BMW
vehicle storage lot lease and the proposed landscape easement are structured to run through year
2033 with extension options every five years. Further, the re -activated project continues to
propose an amendment to the San Rafael General Plan 2020; and
WHEREAS, in reviewing the re -activated project, the proposed amendment to the San
Rafael General Plan 2020 was further refined so that the proposed allowance for region -serving
specialty retail use is applicable to meeting specific site and building size criteria that are suitable
for such uses. The addition of specific building size criteria would be consistent with the region -
serving specialty retail land use definition adopted in San Rafael Municipal Code Title 14
(Zoning). As a result, the General Plan 2020 description of the permitted uses in the Light
Industrial/Office land use category in Exhibit 1 1 of the Land Use Element is proposed to be
amended to expand the allowed uses to include "region -serving specialty retail when contained in
a building of 50,000 square feet or greater in size and located on a site greater than 10 acres." To
ensure internal consistency with the Neighborhood Element, specifically, Policy NH -59 (Cal -Pox
site, east of Home Depot) and to confirm its specific application to the subject project site, a
similar amendment to Policy NH -59 is proposed to allow for region -serving specialty retail use;
and
WHEREAS, the City reviewed the certified FEIR to determine if it adequately assesses
the environmental impacts of the re -activated project. As a result of this review, expanded and
updated information and studies were prepared to address and assess the minor project
modifications, resulting in the preparation of an Addendum EIR (Addendum). By separate
resolution, the City Council has adopted the Addendum; and
WHEREAS, in considering the General Plan Amendment application, the City Council
has reviewed and considered the Addendum for the re -activated Target Store project, along with
the previously certified FEIR and all applicable mitigation measures therein. As noted above, the
certified FEIR has concluded that the proposed project results in unavoidable, adverse
environmental impacts due to potential policy conflicts associated with project -related traffic
impacts. The City Council has weighed the proposed project benefits against the unavoidable,
adverse environmental effects. By separate resolution, consistent with CEQA Guidelines Section
15063 and consistent with San Rafael General Plan 2020 Circulation Element Policy C -5D
(Evaluation of Project Merits) and Program C -5c (Exception Review), the City Council has
approved the CEQA Findings of Fact, an exception to the Circulation Element Policy C-5 (Level
of Service), and a Statement of Overriding Considerations, which support approval of the
proposed Target Store project and the accompanying General Plan Amendment application
(GPA07-004). Further, this separate resolution approves a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting
Program (MMRP) to ensure that required mitigation measures are incorporated into project
action; and
WHEREAS, on November 9, 2010, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public
hearing on the proposed General Plan Amendment application, accepting all public testimony and
the written report of the Department of Community Development. On a 5-2 vote (Commissioners
Kirchmann and Sonnet dissenting), the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 10-19
recommending to the City Council adoption of the General Plan Amendment; and
WHEREAS, on December 6, 2010, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing
on the proposed General Plan Amendment application, accepting all public testimony and the
written report of the Department of Community Development. Following closure of the public
hearing, the City Council continued the matter to December 20, 2010 so that staff and the project
sponsor could respond to comments from public testimony; and
WHEREAS, on December 20, 2010, the City Council held a public hearing, reviewed
and considered the proposed General Plan Amendment. Following closure of the public hearing,
the City Council continued the matter to a date uncertain in order for staff to prepare a
Community Impact Report for this project; and
WHEREAS, on April 4, 2011, the San Rafael Community Impact Study of a Proposed
Target Retail Store (Community Impact Report) was completed and published consistent with the
scope approved by the City Council on January 3, 2011. The Community Impact Report was
made available for review. The Community Impact Report has been accepted by the City Council
through the adoption of a separate resolution; and
WHEREAS, on April 21, 2011, the City Council reviewed and considered the proposed
General Plan Amendment; and
WHEREAS, the custodian of documents which constitute the record of proceedings
upon which this decision is based, is the Community Development Department.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council hereby approves
General Plan Amendment application GPA07-004, amending the San Rafael General Plan 2020
as follows:
Amend Land Use Element, Exhibit 11, by expanding the Light Industrial/Office land use
description to read:
Allowed uses include: Mmotor vehicle services, contractor uses and yards; light
manufacturing; distribution; warehousing and storage; incidental employee -serving
retail/service; aad-office use a-llewed.: and rep-ion-servine specialty retail when contained
in a buildina of 50,000 square feet or Greater in size and located on a site Greater than 10
acres. Other specialty retail uses may be allowed to occupy minor portions of the Light
Industrial/Office districts provided that intensity and traffic standards are met and the
integrity of the district is not threatened.
Amend Neighborhood Element Policy NH -59 to read:
Policy NH -59 Cal -Pox Site (east of Home Depot). Allow light industrial/office�a*d
specialty retail, and region -serving specialty retail uses. Traffic congestion in the area,
prior to needed roadway improvements, may limit development on the site to low -traffic -
generating uses. Hotel use may be considered for the site provided that environmental
analysis demonstrates that potential hazardous soils conditions are in compliance with
State and Federal laws, and that geo-seismic conditions and commercial use conflicts
have been mitigated.
This adoption of this General Plan Amendment is based on and supported by the
following findings:
The public interest would be served by the adoption of the proposed amendments to
Land Use Element Exhibit 11, which would broaden the permitted land uses for the
Light Industrial/Office land use designation to include region -serving specialty retail
and to Neighborhood Element Policy NH -59 in that:
a. This action would be consistent with and implement San Rafael General Plan
Neighborhood Element Program NH -59a. Program NH -59a, which is specific to
the Cal -Pox site at the Shoreline Center (125 Shoreline Parkway), directs that, as
part of the development review process for this site, land use changes to the
General Plan be considered to allow for redevelopment. As anticipated, the
proposed land use change to the General Plan has been initiated and proposed in
conjunction with the Cal -Pox site redevelopment with a Target Store.
b. This action would provide consistency with the zoning provisions of the San
Rafael Municipal Code Title 14. Specifically, the proposed amendment to allow
region -serving specialty retail use in the General Plan Light Industrial/Office
designation would be consistent, in part, with the zoning definition for region -
serving specialty retail use in the San Rafael Municipal Code (SRMC) Title 14,
(Zoning). SRMC Title 14 defines region -serving specialty retail as generally
high -tax -generating retail uses in buildings that are more than 50,000 square feet
in size.
c. This action would not be growth inducing nor would it be precedent setting as the
property and building size criteria required for region -serving specialty retail use
allowance would focus application to few qualifying sites. First, the Light
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Industrial/Office land use designation is adopted for two geographic areas of San
Rafael, the Greater Canal/East San Rafael and the Northgate Industrial Park in
North San Rafael. Within these two geographic areas there are only two,
privately -owned parcels/sites that contain over 10 acres of land area, which are
suitable for region -serving specialty retail use, the Home Depot site (III
Shoreline Parkway), and the Cal -Pox site (125 Shoreline Parkway, east of Home
Depot). Both sites are located at the Shoreline Center in East San Rafael. The
following are other sites in the two geographic areas that are 10 acres in size but
are not suitable for or probable to be developed with region -serving specialty
retail use:
1) 4300 Redwood Highway ("The Vineyard") in Northgate Industrial
Park. This 10 -acre site was recently redeveloped with "The Vineyard"
light industrial/office complex, where the suites are condominium units
that are individually owned. Given the age of this development (new)
and division of ownership, redevelopment of this property with region -
serving specialty retail use is not probable or practical.
2) The lands of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation
District located at 1011 Andersen Drive in East San Rafael. This site
is fully developed and occupied by a public -quasi -public transportation
service. Given the service needs of this site, redevelopment with
region -serving specialty retail use in not probable or practical.
3) The Canalways property located north of the Shoreline Center in East
San Rafael (Kerner Boulevard). This property is highly constrained for
development given the environmental conditions (wetlands, potential
wildlife habitat).
Further, as the 111 Shoreline Parkway site is already developed with a region -
serving specialty retail use (Home Depot), the proposed amendment would make
this use in conformance with the San Rafael General Plan 2020. Lastly, as the
125 Shoreline Parkway site is greater than 10 acres in size and can accommodate
the development of a building that is greater than 50,000 square feet, it makes it
suitable for a large, region -serving specialty retail development and use, such as a
Target Store. Given the property size and opportunity to accommodate a large
retail use, the land use assumptions and traffic modeling prepared for the San
Rafael General Plan 2020 EIR incorporated and studied traffic projections for a
"Large Retailer" in the East San Rafael Census Tract 1122, which generally
mirror the traffic projections of the project. The development of a Target Store at
this location would be in the public interest in that it would provide a centralized
location for a region -serving specialty retail use that would provide a broad
variety of goods and high tax generation. In summary, as the proposed text
amendments would result in a minimal potential for general application to
geographic areas designated for Light Industrial/Office use, the action would not
be precedent setting or growth -inducing.
The proposed amendment would be generally consistent with the related elements,
goals, policies or programs of the San Rafael General Plan 2020 in that:
a. Although the proposed amendment has the potential to be in conflict with San
Rafael General Plan 2020 Land Use Element Policy LU -2 (Development
Timing), Neighborhood Element Policy NH -59 (Cal -Pox Site), Circulation
Element Policy C-5 (Traffic Level of Service) and Infrastructure Element I-2
(Adequacy of City Infrastructure and Services), which are adopted for the
purpose of avoiding or mitigating a physical, environmental effect associated
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with traffic, the City Council has determined, through adoption of a separate
resolution of CEQA Findings of Fact and Statement of Findings of Overriding
Consideration, that the benefits of the General Plan amendment outweigh the
unavoidable, adverse environmental effects of the action. These findings
conclude that the amendments would be consistent with and implement
Circulation Element Policy C-51) (Evaluation of Project Merits) and Program C -
5c (Exception Review), which acknowledge that the City may approve an action
that would exceed the LOS standards set by Policy C-5, if the City finds that the
benefits of the project to the community outweigh the traffic impacts. The
findings in this separate resolution are reaffirmed herein to support this action to
amend the San Rafael General Plan 2020.
As summarized in finding I a above, the action would be consistent with and
implement San Rafael General Plan 2020 Neighborhood Element Program 59a,
which directs that land use and policy changes be considered when reviewing
redevelopment of the subject Cal -Pox site.
As drafted, overall, the amendments would be consistent with: a) Neighborhood
Element Policy NH -52 (New Business Development), by promoting a slightly
broader allowance, yet localized application for specialty retail use in the Light
Industrial/Office designated areas; b) Economic Vitality Element Policies EV -2
(Seek, Retain and Promote Businesses that Enhance San Rafael), EV -4 (Local
Economic and Community Impacts), EV -8 (Diversity of our Economic Base),
and EV -13 (Business Areas) by broadening, with limited application, the uses
that are permitted in areas that are designated for Light Industrial/Office land
use.
I, ESTHER C. BEIRNE, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution No. 13142 was read and introduced at a special meeting of the City Council on the
2151 day of April 2011, and ordered for a second reading, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Councilmembers: Heller, Levine and Mayor Boro
NOES: Councilmembers: Brockbank and Connolly
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
Resolution No. 13142 came up for second reading and final adoption at a regular meeting of the
San Rafael City Council on Monday, May 16, 2011 and was adopted by the following vote, to
wit:
AYES: Councilmembers;
NOES: Councilmembers:
ABSENT: Councilmembers:
CC-Reso GPA 5-16-11
Heller, Levine and Mayor Boro
Brockbank and Connolly
None
"s'5 SIL"Z , &"e'.
ESTHER C. BEIRNE, City Clerk
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