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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 12025 (East SR Area Development)RESOLUTION NO. 12025 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL GRANTING 2005 PROJECT SELECTION PROCESS (PSP) DETERMINATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE EAST SAN RAFAEL AREA; City File No's. PSP05-12 and PSP05-10 WHEREAS, the Circulation Element of the San Rafael General Plan 2020 analyzes current traffic levels and the existing limitations on the transportation infrastructure and identifies limited traffic capacity as a major concern among San Rafael's citizenry and as a potential impediment to the health, safety and welfare of the City; and WHEREAS, on November 15, 2004, the San Rafael City Council adopted Resolution No. 11666 establishing the Project Selection Process (PSP), to implement San Rafael General Plan 2020 Policies LU -2 (Development Timing) and LU -3 (Project Selection Process) and Program LU -3a (Project Selection Process) to mitigate traffic impacts resulting from new development. PSP was established to: a) provide that any future adverse traffic impacts resulting from new development are avoided or minimized by relating the timing of construction of new development to the timing of construction of necessary circulation improvements associated with said new development; b) maintain the traffic level of service (LOS) standards consistent with General Plan Circulation Element Policy C-5 (Traffic Level of Service Standards); c) achieve desired projects with significant public benefit; and d) prioritize and allocate limited traffic capacity among development proposals citywide; and WHEREAS, the circulation -impacted areas are Citywide and have been divided into four geographic areas, North San Rafael, Central San Rafael, West Francisco Blvd and East San Rafael and findings and recommendations for the other three areas of San Rafael have been made through adoption of separate resolutions; and WHEREAS, on November 19, 2005, the City Traffic Engineer determined that there is limited traffic capacity available for new development in the City of San Rafael and on November 29, 2005, the Community Development Director initiated PSP 2005 and published a Notice of Invitation to submit applications for Project Selection Process determination. A January 13, 2006 application deadline date was established; and WHEREAS, two PSP applications for development projects in the East San Rafael area were submitted by the filing deadline. One of the applications (Shoreline Center) included three alternatives, however two of the alternatives were withdrawn by the applicant during the processing of PSP; and WHEREAS, the PSP Committee, comprised of staff members from various City Departments, reviewed the PSP applications and ranked them in accordance with the review criteria established by City Council Resolution No. 11666. The Committee's recommendations for Project Selection Process determination have been forwarded to and considered by the Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, on July 25, 2006, the Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public meeting on the PSP applications in the East San Rafael area and considered all reports, recommendations, letters and testimony; and WHEREAS, as part of the review of the PSP application, the Planning Commission considered the findings and recommendations of the PSP Review Committee; and WHEREAS, on a 5-0-2 vote (Colin and Mills absent), the Planning Commission adopted Resolution 06-14 recommending to the City Council the approval of the both PSP applications; and WHEREAS, on Monday, August 21, 2006, the City Council conducted a duly -noticed public hearing on the two PSP applications for the East San Rafael area, accepting public testimony, reviewing the written report of the Community Development Department and considering the recommendation of the Planning Commission. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the City Council has utilized the review criteria prescribed in the implementing PSP Resolution (City Council Resolution No. 11666) for evaluating development projects competing for PSP determination. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that for the East San Rafael area, the City Council hereby grants Project Selection Process determination for Marin Square ShouuinR Center (25/55/75 Bellam Blvd.) mixed-use development and Target at Shoreline Center (End of Shoreline Pkwv) retail development; based on the following findings: PSP05-12; MARIN SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER (25/55/75 BELLAM BLVD.) Traffic A total of 42 A.M. and 33 P.M. net new peak hour trips would be generated by the proposed project. The City Traffic Engineer concludes this project would not change the LOS at affected intersection or arterials, however, the intersection of KernerBellam Blvd.'s and eastbound Bellam Blvd. arterial in the A.M. peak period already operate past capacity. Although there is uncertainty concerning the precise nature of the reuse of the buildings along Kerner Blvd. with uses that are more traffic -intensive than historic uses and which would not be subject to City review, this project would not add a significant amount of new trips through the circulation system. Qualifier The project would qualify for public benefit through two categories: A) Affordable Housing —The project proposal includes 20% affordability of the base density allowed on the site (96 units). By providing the City's 20% affordability requirement, the project qualifies for a State density bonus of 25%, or an additional 24 units. In total, the project would develop 120 residential units, with 19 of them as affordable. In evaluating the 2 project benefits, the project would provide affordability required by the Zoning Ordinance and thus would receive a "Minimal" rating. Furthermore, this site is listed as a housing opportunity site in General Plan 2020. B) High Tax Generating - The additional retail created by this project is estimated to generate $30,450 in additional sales tax paid directly to the City. Since the project would result in less commercial trips than the existing amount of commercial trips, the trips associated with the commercial component of the use have not been determined. Therefore, the total trip generation for the project has been to establish the sales tax generation/trip and resulted in a figure of $406/trip, a "Minimal" rating for high tax generating uses. Findings The City Council hereby grants PSP determination. The project proposes a large number of market rate and below market rate housing units, which is a high priority use for the City. Furthermore, this housing is proposed on a site that is identified as a housing opportunity site in the City's General Plan. This project meets the zoning requirements for affordable housing and therefore receives a rating of "Minimal" for public benefit. Furthermore, the re -development of a portion of this shopping center with housing and new commercial will be a benefit to the area and the rest of the underutilized center and the project would result in additional sales tax generation that is also ranked "Minimal." In regards to traffic, the project would conform with applicable LOS policies, with the exception of the eastbound Bellam Blvd during the A.M. peak period, during which the project would decrease the average speed for this arterial that is already operating below acceptable LOS. However, the volume of traffic generated by this project going through the affected arterial is insignificant compared to the other East San Rafael project and would only reduce capacity by 1.1%. Since the project does not comply with arterial LOS policy, it would be required to complete an EIR and receive a City Council override for exceeding LOS policy. It is likely that the process could be completed within the required two-year time frame. It is found that the benefits of this project containing a large number of market rate and affordable units, outweigh the traffic impacts from the incremental addition of trips, and therefore should be granted PSP determination. Although there may be issues with the project that will be analyzed during the review of project entitlements and CEQA, the granting PSP at this time is appropriate to allow the project applications to continue through the development review and environmental review process. Granting PSP authorization is warranted due to the provision of a significant number of needed affordable housing units (19 units) on a site designated in the General Plan as a housing opportunity site, and due to the minimal impact on traffic operations. PSP05-10; TARGET AT SHORELINE CENTER (END OF SHORELINE PKWY) Traffic A total of 115 A.M. and 394 P.M. net new peak hour trips would be generated by the proposed project. The City Traffic Engineer concludes this project would: a) exceed LOS standards for the intersection of Kerner/Bellam Blvd. in the A.M. peak period by a minimal amount of 2.2 seconds of increased delay; and 2) exceed the arterial LOS standard for eastbound Bellam Blvd. in the A.M. peak period by decreasing average travel speeds by 0.2 miles per hour. 3 Oualifier High Tax Generating— It is estimated that this project would generate approximately $450,000 in additional sales tax paid directly to the City. This amount of sales tax would result in $884/ per new vehicle trip, (based on the revised traffic generation numbers) thus an "Acceptable" rating. This amount of additional sales tax generated by this project is found to be a significant contribution to the City's sales tax base and would therefore provide a great deal of public benefit. Findings The City Council hereby grants PSP determination. The project proposes to construct a new retail use that would generate a significant amount of new sales tax ($450,000) directly to the City of San Rafael and would bolster the City's tax base. In regards to traffic, the impacts of the project using specific trip generation rates based on a typical Target store have been analyzed and found to result in the generation of 115 A.M. peak hour trips and 394 P.M. peak hour trips. Based on these numbers, the traffic analysis discloses that the project would nevertheless still exceed the applicable LOS policies for the intersection of Kerner Blvd./Bellam Blvd. since: a) the project would add 2.2 seconds of delay to the intersection of Bellam Blvd/Kerner Blvd, an intersection that currently exceeds the acceptable LOS standard (LOS D); and b) the project would decrease the average travel speed by 0.2 miles per hour for eastbound Bellam corridor during the A.M. peak period and this corridor in the AM peak period already exceeds the acceptable LOS standard (LOS D). The traffic analysis further discloses that the amount of new trips added to the affected area would deteriorate the entire Bellam Boulevard corridor capacity by 1.3% to 5.9% (depending upon peak period and direction). Furthermore, the Commission has found that it is infeasible that the necessary traffic improvements to address the traffic conditions in the area will be implemented even within the next 10 to 15 years, therefore there are no reasonably foreseeable improvements to address this existing circumstance. Since the project does not comply with arterial LOS policy, it would be required to undergo an EIR and receive a City Council override for exceeding LOS policy. It is likely that this process could be completed within the two-year PSP time frame. The Commission found that the benefits of the project as a high tax generating use, outweighed the traffic impacts from the additional trips to the already impacted area, and therefore should be granted PSP determination. Although there may be issues with the project that will be analyzed during the review of project entitlements and CEQA, PSP is granted at this time to allow the project applications to continue through the development review and environmental review process. Granting PSP authorization is warranted due to the fact that the additional sales tax ($450,000) generated by this project outweigh the traffic impacts from the new retail facility. 4 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 City Council of said City held on Monday, the 21St day of August, 2006 by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEM 3ERS ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Miller and Mayor Boro None Phillips 5 JEXNNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk