HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Resolution 11288 (St. Vincent's Village Appeal)RESOLUTION NO. 11288
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL
DENYING APPLICATIONS FOR: (1) PREZONING (ZCO2-001), (2)
ANNEXATION (AX02-001), (3) GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT
(GPA02-001), (4) PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (ZCO2-001), (5) USE
PERMIT (UP02-106), (6) ENVIRONMENTAL AND DESIGN REVIEW
(ED02-034), AND (7) VESTING TENTATIVE MAP (TS02-001) FOR
THE PROPOSED ST. VINCENT'S VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT (APN: 155-010-27, 64, 69, 70 and 77)
The City Council of the City of San Rafael finds, determines and resolves as follows:
WHEREAS, on March 18, 2002, Shapell Industries of Northern California, Inc.
("Shapell") and the Catholic Youth Organization of the Archdiocese of San Francisco
("CYO") submitted applications ("Shapell/CYO applications") to the City of San Rafael
("City") for development of approximately 594 acres owned by CYO and located east of
U.S. Highway 101, west of San Pablo Bay, north of Miller Creek and South of Pacheco
Ridge. The applications included requests for: Prezoning, Annexation, General Plan
Amendment, Planned Development, Use Permit, Environmental and Design Review
Permit, and a Vesting Tentative Map; and
WHEREAS, the Shapell/CYO proposal for development includes a mix of
residential, commercial, office/professional, educational, and recreational uses, including
766 residential units, approximately 120,000 square feet of office space, and additional
retail/commercial space; and
WHEREAS, on April 17, 2002, the City informed Shapell/CYO by letter that its
applications were not complete, and provided Shapell/CYO with a checklist of additional
items to be submitted in order for the City to make a determination that the applications
were complete and in a condition to commence processing; subsequent letters regarding
application incompleteness were sent to Shapell/CYO on June 7, 2002, July 23, 2002,
and February 13, 2003, following submittal of additional materials; and
WHEREAS, in August of 2002, the City sent a Notice of Preparation ("NOP") of
a draft environmental impact report ("EIR") pursuant to the California Environmental
Quality Act ("CEQA") (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) for the project proposed
by Shapell/CYO to nearby property owners, interested persons, groups, and agencies
soliciting the views of those entities as to the proper scope of a draft EIR for the project;
and
WHEREAS, in response to the NOP, the City received approximately 49 letters
from agencies and individuals, including the neighboring City of Novato and the County
of Marin ("County"), identifying concerns over potential impacts of the project, including
specifically concerns regarding the lack of a concomitant proposal for development of the
Silveira property, and impacts on traffic and transit; and
WHEREAS, Shapell/CYO has appealed the City's determination that its
applications are incomplete, which appeal will be considered by the City Council at a
hearing on April 7, 2003; and
WHEREAS, the City and the County have, in the past, jointly planned for the
future use and development of the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties. Since 1973,
County planning policies have stated that the subject properties are located within the
"City -Centered Corridor," which is where urban development has been planned in
exchange for retaining western and central Marin in open space and agricultural uses; and
WHEREAS, for many years, the City, County and the Marin County Local
Agency Formation Commission ("LAFCO") have identified the St. Vincent's and
Silveira properties, except for a small area of St. Vincent's east of the railroad tracks, as
located within the City's Sphere of Influence; and
WHEREAS, based on the County's 1973 Countywide Plan, the San Rafael
General Plan 2000, adopted in 1988, set forth policies for the St. Vincent's and Silveira
properties, describing environmental concerns and identifying development potential for
the area west of the railroad tracks; and
WHEREAS, the St. Vincent's property lies within the jurisdictional boundaries
of the County and is zoned A-2 under the current County Zoning and designated Urban
and Conservation Reserve (Interim Land Use Designation 1 unit per 100 acres), Public
Facility/Urban and Conservation Reserve, Ridge and Upland Greenbelt Areas,
Streamside Conservation Zone and Bayfront Conservation Zone in the St.
Vincent's/Silveira Interim Land Use Policy Map of the Countywide Plan (1994); and
WHEREAS, the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties currently have no zoning
designation enacted by the City; and
WHEREAS, the St. Vincent's/Silveira Area Policies in the General Plan 2000
contemplated that "due to roadway and sewer capacity constraints, the area would not be
expected to develop within the very near future" and also contemplated that certain
"development phasing" infrastructure improvements would need to be completed prior to
development of the St. Vincent's property; and
WHEREAS, several of the improvements contemplated in the St.
Vincent's/Silveira Area Policies, including the extension of the McInnis Parkway and
completion of the Lucas Valley Road/Smith Ranch Road interchange, have not been
completed and are not currently under consideration by the City or other agencies with
jurisdiction over those improvements; and
WHEREAS, Highway 101 in the project vicinity operates at Level of Service
(LOS) F during the morning commute hours and Level of Service E in the evening
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commute, thereby exceeding the Marin County Congestion Management Agency's
standard of LOS E during the morning peak period; and
WHEREAS, the Preliminary Traffic Study for the St. Vincent's Project (April 2, 2002)
submitted by the St. Vincent's Village applicants indicates that traffic generated by
development of the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties would add between 4 and 5%
additional traffic volume to Highway 101 in the morning commute hours in the vicinity
of the project and would increase the volume to capacity (V/C) ratio between .04 and .05
during the morning commute period, which exceeds the Congestion Management
Agency's standard for significant impact of .01 increase in the V/C ratio for highway
segments already operating a Level of Service F by 400 to 500%; and
WHEREAS, in the opinion of the City, the County is the land use agency better
able to balance development potential of the St. Vincent's property with potential
solutions to the regional transportation network due to its administration of the Marin
County Congestion Management Agency and its seat on the Metropolitan Transportation
Commission; and
WHEREAS, in 1998 the City Council and County Board of Supervisors
determined to pursue a cooperative planning effort to prepare recommended amendments
as regards the St. Vincent's and Silveira lands in their respective plans. The City and
County entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") which set forth a
cooperative process for preparing recommendations for general plan amendments for
development of the property; and
WHEREAS, the City and County appointed an Advisory Task Force with 16
members representing various countywide interest groups to prepare recommended
general plan amendments for the City and County; and
WHEREAS, on May 3, 2000, the City Council and Board of Supervisors held a
joint hearing on the proposed Task Force recommendations, accepted the proposals, and
directed their respective planning staffs to include the recommendations in their on-going
updates of their respective general plans; and
WHEREAS, the composition of the Board of Supervisors has changed since the
acceptance of the Task Force recommendations and public comments from a majority of
the members of the current Board of Supervisors have indicated that the Board of
Supervisors no longer supports the Task Force recommendations and no longer supports
developing the St. Vincent's property as previously recommended; and
WHEREAS, State law vests in the County marked input and control over the tax
sharing agreement between the City and County which would be required for annexation;
contemplated opposition to any proposed annexation of these lands to the City appears
likely from the Board of Supervisors' public comments and may well result in County
insistence on a tax sharing agreement which would result in a project financial impact
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where City service costs would exceed tax revenues to the City making annexation
fiscally imprudent for the City; and
WHEREAS, on January 13, 2003, the City Council held a public hearing in
which it considered options for proceeding with consideration of development of the
lands of St. Vincent's and Silveira in light of waning support from the County Board of
Supervisors and members of the public, as well as to exchange among themselves
Council members opinions concerning these matters; and
WHEREAS, on January 13, 2003, the City Council unanimously adopted
Resolution No. 11237, which provided in pertinent part:
that the City Council of the City of San Rafael directs staff to prepare
proposed amendments to the City's General Plan relating to the St.
Vincent's and Silveira properties, indicating the City's determination not
to annex or to serve these lands and directing that LAFCO remove them
from the City's Sphere of Influence and Urban Service area as appropriate
and to bring such proposed amendments to the Planning Commission and
City Council for public hearing and consideration for adoption. In doing
so staff is directed to include policies continuing the City's long advocacy
that any future development of these lands in the County should provide
for maximum creation of workforce housing while protecting unique
environmental features and their habitat values by providing a fair
economic use of these lands for their owners. The City Council further
directs the General Plan 2020 Steering Committee also consider such
policies in their preparation of a draft General Plan 2020 consistent with
such Council direction; and
WHEREAS, Resolution No. 11237 is not a final determination on land use for
the St. Vincent's property, but only provided direction to the City staff to include certain
options in the General Plan 2020 process for consideration by the City Council; any
amendments to the General Plan would be subject to the requirements of CEQA and
considered in future public hearings; and
WHEREAS, as set forth in Resolution No. 11237, the City Council noted and
considered the long history of planning efforts for the St. Vincent's area and also noted a
lack of current support for this previous planning, including public statements made by a
majority of the current members of the County Board of Supervisors and individuals and
groups that participated in the Task Force that indicated lack of continued support for the
proposed development of the St. Vincent's property; and
WHEREAS, on March 3, 2003, Mayor Boro sent a letter to the President
of the County Board of Supervisors notifying the Board of the City's intention to
consider withdrawing from the previously referenced MOU at the City Council's April 7,
2003, meeting; and
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WHEREAS, the St. Vincent's property which is the subject of the Shapell/CYO
applications is not contiguous to the City, a necessity for any annexation. The Silveira
property and property of the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District lie between the City
limit and the St. Vincent's property; and
WHEREAS, currently there are no applications for development or annexation of
either the lands of Silveira or Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District properties; and
WHEREAS, the St. Vincent's/Silveira policies in the General Plan 2000 state
that "development of the St. Vincent's/Silveira sites should occur as an orderly extension
of existing urban development from the south after reasonable development of already
incorporated areas;" and
WHEREAS, development of the St. Vinent's property at this time would
therefore result in non-contiguous development in contravention of General Plan 2000
policies since the southern -most property owned by the Silveiras which is contiguous to
the City boundaries and existing development is not proposed for development at this
time; and
WHEREAS, development of the St. Vincent's property at this time would
therefore result in non-contiguous development in contravention of sound principles of
land use planning including the LAFCO policy that "[b]oundaries should not be drawn so
as to create an island, corridor, or strip either within the proposed territory or immediately
adjacent to it" (LAFCO Policy and Procedures Guide: Chapter III, Section 2(B)(2)); and
WHEREAS, the City may only approve development that is conditioned on
annexation of the subject lands and LAFCO is the sole agency with authority to approve
an annexation; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Section 56375, the St. Vincent's
property must initially be prezoned before LAFCO may consider whether or not the
property should be annexed to the City; and
WHEREAS, nothing in the City's General Plan 2000, State Law, or any other
law compels the City to prezone the property at this time; and
WHEREAS, the City believes that comments made by members of the public,
representing various groups and individuals, including members of the Task Force, which
strongly oppose development of St. Vincent's, appear to represent the views of a
significant number of the citizens of the City; and
WHEREAS, without the previously anticipated and necessary partnership,
cooperation and support based upon the previously referenced MOU from the County,
the enormous amount of City time and resources necessary for processing the
Shapell/CYO applications, including preparation of an EIR pursuant to CEQA and the
conduct of numerous hearings over possibly several years, all as required by City code
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provisions and State law, are perceived by the Council to be overly burdensome and
likely doomed to inability to produce a project that would be feasible; and
WHEREAS, the City has identified other infill sites in its draft Housing Element
submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development that
should reasonably accommodate the number of dwelling units required under State law
for the City's Regional Housing Needs Allocation from 1999-2006; and
WHEREAS, the City is not obligated to complete further environmental review
pursuant to CEQA (Public Resources Code, section 21080, subd. (b)(5) should it
determine to disapprove the Shapell/CYO applications at this time.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED based upon all of the matters
referred to herein above as well as the specific and detailed findings which follow that the
City Council of the City of San Rafael does hereby decline to prezone the St. Vincent's
and Silveira properties as requested in the applications on file so as to permit the
development proposed in the Shapell/CYO applications and further does hereby decline
to amend at present the General Plan to incorporate the Task Force recommendations
concerning these lands. Be it further resolved that, absent prezoning of the St. Vincent's
property, the Shapell/CYO Vesting Tentative Map is inconsistent with the current land
use designations for the property, and therefore may not be approved. Accordingly, and
be it ftirther resolved, the Shapell/CYO applications for a Planned Development, Use
Permit, and Environmental and Design Review Permit, are also disapproved. This
resolution is based on the preceding and the Findings of Fact which follow, which are
incorporated herein by reference in full.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Introduction
The proposed St. Vincent's Village Development Project is located within the
Sphere of Influence ("SOI") of the City of San Rafael ("City"), in an unincorporated area
of Marin County ("County"). The project site is comprised of two separate properties
known as the St. Vincent's School for Boys ("St. Vincent's") and Silveira Ranch
property ("Silveira Property"). The project site is located directly east of U.S. Highway
101, approximately four miles north of downtown San Rafael. The subject properties are
located to the south of Hamilton Field (City of Novato) and west of San Pablo Bay and
the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District spray fields.
The City and County have worked cooperatively to plan for future development
of the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties for many years since the County's 1973
designation of the properties located within the "City Centered Corridor" as suitable for
future urban development. In 1982, the Marin Countywide Plan described the St.
Vincent's and Silveira sites as a study area allowing major employment opportunities and
providing for housing potential. The County initiated a joint City/County planning study
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in 1982 to develop consistent planning policies for the area. The North San Rafael Policy
Plan was not adopted at that time due to a lack of funds for environmental review.
The City took the lead in establishing a 25 member St. Vincent's/Silveira
advisory committee in 1991, specifically including residents outside the City and also
including County staff representatives. After three years of meetings, the committee was
unable to achieve unanimous consensus. The majority of the committee supported mixed
use development consistent with the City's General Plan 2000, but four committee
members submitted a minority report advocating significantly less development centered
around the historic Holy Rosary chapel located on the lands of St. Vincent's. Because
unanimity was not capable of being achieved, the committee recommendations were not
adopted by the Council.
The City and County again decided to undertake a joint planning process
in 1998, and adopted a written Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") calling for joint
formation of a broad based advisory task force, whose recommendations could be utilized
in the concurrent updates of the City's and County's general plans. The MOU set forth
principles for determining appropriate land uses for the properties, which included
environmental protection, maximization of workforce housing and fairness to the
property owners. The MOU also stated that the City would be the agency to process any
proposed development applications for the area and that an application consistent with
the recommendations of the Task Force could be submitted prior to adoption of the
revised general plans. The MOU was negotiated between City and County staff and
decisionmakers, and included significant input from environmental organizations.
The St. Vincent's/Silveira Task Force completed its recommendations after 20
months of work, with all members signing the document, except Tony Silveira, owner of
the Silveira Ranch. The City Council and Board of Supervisors accepted the Task Force
recommendations on May 3, 2000, and directed their respective staffs to utilize them in
forming policy recommendations for their updated general plans. Recently,
representatives of various environmental organizations have lobbied members of the
Board of Supervisors seeking to have them terminate the MOU and have the County
assume greater control over processing any development applications for the properties.
In addition, and as stated earlier in this Resolution, the majority of the members of the
current Board of Supervisors have publically stated their opposition to the proposed level
of development of these lands.
In March, 2002, the Catholic Youth Organization ("CYO") and Shapell Industries
of Northern California, Inc. ("Shapell") filed applications for development of 766
housing units (plus 90 second units) and 124,000 square feet of non-residential
development. Entitlements necessary for the project include a General Plan
Amendment, Prezoning, Master Use Permit, Environmental Design and Review, and a
Vesting Tentative Map. Approval of any of the applications by the City must, of
necessity, be conditioned on annexation. If the City approved any of the applications,
the Marin Local Agency Formation Commission ("LAFCO") must consider and act upon
an application for annexation. The LAFCO Board has two members of the County
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Board of Supervisors currently sitting on it, one of whom has stated she is opposed to any
development of these lands.
Finding: The City's Determination Not To Prezone The St. Vincent's Property
Benefits The Public Health, Safety and Welfare.
The City finds that prezoning the property as requested by Shapell/CYO would be
detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare in that it would not result in infill
development. The Shapell/CYO applications propose development of only the St.
Vincent's property, not the Silveira property. No applications for development of the
Silveira property have been submitted.
Prezoning the St. Vincent's property would therefore result in a large
undeveloped area continuing to exist between the current City limits and the St. Vincent's
property. Such "leapfrog" development results in inefficient provision of services, higher
costs of infrastructure, increased impacts on traffic and transit services, greater impacts
on air quality, and impacts on agricultural preservation. The inefficient use of land in this
manner contravenes policies specific to development of the lands of St. Vincent's and
Silveira in the General Plan 2000 which state that "development of the
St.Vincent's/Silveira sites should occur as an orderly extension of existing urban
development from the south after reasonable development of already incorporated areas."
The City believes that phased development adjacent to existing City boundaries and
infrastructure is preferable for providing housing and commercial opportunities in a most
efficient and logical manner.
Additionally, such leapfrog development proposing development of only the St.
Vincent's properties and not also the lands of Silveira contravenes sound principles of
land use policy established by the Cortese -Knox -Hertzberg Act and by LAFCO itself.
Chapter 3, Section 2(B)(2) of LAFCO's Policy and Procedures Guide states:
Boundaries Which Create Islands, Strips or Corridors: Boundaries should
not be drawn so as to create an island, corridor, or strip either within the
proposed territory or immediately adjacent to it.
The provision is derived from the Cortese -Knox -Hertzberg Act, Government Code
section 56668 et. seq., which sets forth standards for annexation. Approval of the
Shapell/CYO applications would result in a strip of undeveloped land between the City's
current boundaries and the proposed development. It would therefore, be inconsistent
with this policy.
Prezoning the St. Vincent's property as requested by Shapell/CYO would also be
detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare as it would result in an increase of
traffic on Highway 101, which is already operating at an unacceptable Level of Service
(LOS) F during morning commute hours, which exceeds the LOS E standard established
by the Marin Congestion Management Agency. The Preliminary Traffic Study for the
St. Vincent's Project (April 2, 2002) submitted by the St. Vincent's Village applicants
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indicates that traffic generated by development of the St. Vincent's and Silveira
properties would add between 4 and 5% additional traffic volume to Highway 101 in the
morning commute hours in the vicinity of the project and would increase the volume to
capacity (V/C) ratio between .04 and .05 during the morning commute period, which
exceeds the Congestion Management Agency's standard for significant impact of .01
increase in the V/C ratio for highway segments already operating a Level of Service F by
400 to 500%. As discussed in detail below, roadway improvements that were previously
contemplated in the General Plan 2000, including extension of the McInnis Parkway and
completion of the Lucas Valley Road/Smith Ranch Road interchange have not been
constructed, are not planned, and are not a part of the Shapell/CYO applications.
Finding: Circumstances That May Have Favored Prezoning And Developing
The St. Vincent's Property Have Changed Since Adoption Of General
Plan 2000 And Acceptance Of The Task Force Recommendations.
The St. Vincent's/Silveira Area Policies were added to the General Plan in 1988.
At the time, the St. Vincent's/Silveira properties "represent[ed] the largest potential
housing opportunity area in the San Rafael Planning Area." The General Plan 2000 land
use plan for St. Vincent's includes primarily a residential area with a variety of housing
types. Some office and commercial uses are also proposed. A neighborhood commercial
center, developed in conjunction with a transit stop is envisioned to provide a focal point
of the community.
The General Plan 2000 also noted that "[d]ue to roadway and sewer capacity
constraints, the area is not expected to develop within the very near future." The St.
Vincent's/Silveira Area Policies therefore set forth a plan for development phasing that
envisioned certain improvements would precede or occur simultaneously with
development of the St. Vincent's property. As noted earlier in this Resolution and
Findings of Fact, many of those improvements are not in place and are not currently
funded or even being considered.
Traffic congestion during commute periods has increased significantly since
preparation of General Plan 2000 in 1986. Highway 101 has deteriorated from Level of
Service (LOS) E in the morning commute period to LOS F today and from LOS D in the
evening commute period to LOS E today.
The Preliminary Traffic Study for the St. Vincent's Project (April 2, 2002)
submitted by the St. Vincent's Village applicants indicates that traffic generated by
development of the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties would add between 4 and 5%
additional traffic volume to Highway 101 in the morning commute hours in the vicinity
of the project and would increase the volume to capacity (V/C) ratio between .04 and .05
during the morning commute period, which exceeds the Congestion Management
Agency's standard for significant impact of .01 increase in the V/C ratio for highway
segments already operating a Level of Service F by 400 to 500%; and
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General Plan 2000 states that a "parallel arterial to Highway 101 is needed to
provide additional north/south capacity through to Novato, as well as for police and fire
emergency access." No such parallel arterial has been constructed or proposed. General
Plan 2000 also requires that "[r]ight of way for the east side arterial to the northern
Planning Area boundary shall be secured." This mandatory precursor to development has
not occurred, nor is it currently proposed.
The General Plan 2000 also states that "[d]evelopment shall occur at the same
time as or after completion of needed roadway improvements, including McInnis
Parkway, the Lincoln Avenue -Los Ranchitos Road connector, widening of North San
Pedro and Merrydale Roads, and improvement of Lucas Valley Road/Smith Ranch Road
interchange." The Lincoln Avenue -Los Ranchitos Road connector is the only listed
improvement that is complete at this time.
Additionally, General Plan 2000 requires that "development shall not occur until a
decision on the ultimate mode of and service design for the Northwest Pacific Railroad
transitway is made by the Highway 101 committee." This decision has not yet been
made.
Circumstances regarding development of the St. Vincent's property have also
changed since the City Council accepted the Task Force recommendations. The City
accepted the Task Force recommendations in May of 2000. The recommendations were
unanimously approved by the members of the Task Force except for one member, the
owners of the Silveira property. Two years have elapsed since the time the City Council
accepted the Task Force recommendations and the Shapell/CYO applications were
originally submitted to the City.
In that time, public opposition to developing the area has grown. Members of the
Task Force have subsequently withdrawn support for the levels of development
contemplated in the Task Force recommendations. Additionally a majority of the
members of the County Board of Supervisors have publicly commented, either explicitly
stating or impliedly suggesting, that they do not support the proposed level of
development of the St. Vincent's property.
Moreover, on January 13, 2003, the City Council unanimously adopted
Resolution No. 11237, which specifically directs City staff to prepare proposed
amendments to the City's General Plan for Council consideration relating to the St.
Vincent's and Silveira properties, indicating the City's determination not to annex or to
serve these lands and directing that LAFCO remove them from the City's SOI and USA.
Finding: Disapproving The Prezoning Proposed By Shapell/CYO Is Consistent
With General Plan 2000.
The St. Vincent's and Silveira properties are currently in the City's Sphere of
Influence ("SOI"). The SOI represents "the ultimate probable physical boundaries and
service area of a local agency." (Government Code, § 54774.) General Plan 2000,
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therefore, contemplates that development of the area may ultimately occur. Nothing in
General Plan 2000, however, affirmatively requires the City to actively pursue or to
approve development of the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties. Furthermore, nothing
in General Plan 2000 affirmatively requires the City to take any action to prezone the
area or apply to LAFCO for annexation of the area to the City.
The St. Vincent's and Silveira properties are not currently zoned by the City. The
City's determination that it will not prezone the properties as requested by Shapell/CYO
will not alter this circumstance. The status quo will remain in place. Although prezoning
the St. Vincent's property as requested by Shapell/CYO would be consistent with
General Plan 2000, it does not follow that declining to prezone the property is
inconsistent. (Merritt v. City of Pleasanton (2002) 89 Cal.App.41h 1032.)
The properties are within the jurisdictional boundaries of the County and are
zoned A-2 under the County's Zoning Ordinance. The County's zoning designation will
remain in place. Additionally, declining to prezone the property in the manner requested
by Shapell/CYO will in no way preclude future development of the property in a manner
that is consistent with the County's General Plan. Nor would it preclude future
development of the St. Vincent's area in a manner consistent with General Plan 2000 and
the policies of LAFCO. (See Chandis Securities Co. v. City of Dana Point (1996) 52
Cal.App.4`h 475, 483.)
Finding: Declining To Prezone The St. Vincent's Property Will Not Reduce
Residential Density.
Government Code, section 65863, subdivision (b) provides that no local agency
shall "by administrative, quasi judicial, or legislative action, reduce, require, or permit
the reduction of the residential density for any parcel to a lower residential density that is
below the density that was utilized by the Department of Housing and Community
Development in determining compliance with the housing element law" unless the
agency makes certain findings. Specifically, the agency must make written findings,
based on substantial evidence, that (1) the reduction is consistent with the general plan,
including its housing element, and (2) that the remaining sites identified by the housing
element are sufficient to accommodate the agency's regional housing allocation. (Gov.
Code, sec 65863, subd. (b).)
The City finds that determining not to take the legislative action of prezoning the
property will not reduce the residential density of the site. No changes to the City's
General Plan are made by this action. Nor are the County's General Plan and zoning
affected by this action. Therefore, the residential density for the site will remain
unchanged.
The St. Vincent's property is within the City's Sphere of Influence in the City's
General Plan 2000. Therefore, while the City does not have land use jurisdiction over the
site, it does have planning jurisdiction. Under General Plan 2000, the site has a land use
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designation of Mixed Use. The General Plan 2000 policies for St. Vincent's and Silveira
designate the properties for development of up to 2,100 housing units and up to 366,000
square feet of non-residential development. The determination not to prezone will not
affect these designations or densities.
Currently, the St. Vincent's and Silveira properties are in the County and are
zoned by the County as A-2 (which allows development of one residential unit per two
acres), and have a land use designation of Urban and Conservation Reserve (Interim Land
Use Designation 1 unit per 100 acres). Declining to prezone the property will have no
affect on the County's land use designations and zoning for the St. Vincent's property.
The City's Housing Element expired in 2000 and the City is currently preparing a
draft Housing Element for approval by the Department of Housing and Community
Development ("HCD"). In order to obtain HCD approval of the draft Housing Element,
the City will have to demonstrate the ability to add 2,090 units between 1999 and 2006.
Almost 900 units have been built or approved in San Rafael between 1999 and 2002,
leaving approximately 1,200 units which must be planned for. The City has prepared a
list of housing sites in its draft Housing Element which has been forwarded to HCD for
review to satisfy the requirements of State law, demonstrating the ability to satisfy the
stated Regional Housing Needs Determination through 2006.
Finding: Sufficient Additional Adequate Housing Sites Are Available.
Under Government Code section 65863, subdivision (c), if a local agency reduces
the residential density of a parcel, but cannot make the findings required by subdivision
(b), the local agency may still reduce the residential density of a parcel "provided it
identified sufficient additional, adequate, and available sites with an equal or greater
residential density in the jurisdiction so that there is no net loss of residential unit
density."
As discussed above, the legislative determination declining to prezone the St.
Vincent's and Silveira properties will not reduce the residential density on either of the
properties. The City has nevertheless identified additional, adequate and available sites
with an equal or greater residential density that would offset any loss of residential units
created by removing St. Vincent's and Silveira from the inventory of housing
opportunities in the City's Housing Element.
Finding: The City Cannot Make The Findings Necessary To Approve The
Tentative flap.
The City may not approve a map that is inconsistent with the General Plan. (Gov.
Code, § 66473.5.) This consistency requirement includes consistency with applicable
zoning. (Neighborhood Action Group v. County of Calaveras (1984) 156 Cal.App.3d
1176, 1184.)
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The area of the proposed Vesting Tentative Map is within the City's SOI. The
City, therefore, has the discretion to process the application for the Vesting Tentative
Map and other development entitlements. (Gov. Code, § 66454.) Because St. Vincent's
is not within the City's jurisdictional boundaries, City approval of any of the
ShapeIUCYO applications must be conditioned on annexation of the area to the City.
LAFCO is the agency that must approve annexation of the area. LAFCO cannot approve
the annexation unless the area is prezoned. (Gov. Code, §§ 56375, 65859.) Thus,
prezoning the St. Vincent's property is a necessary prerequisite for approving the
Shapell/CYO applications.
The Government Code requires that the City find that the proposed Vesting
Tentative Map is consistent with the applicable general plan in order to approve it. (Gov.
Code, § 66474, subd. (b).) The City cannot make the required finding in this case. In
order for the Vesting Tentative Map to be consistent with General Plan 2000, the St.
Vincent's property must first be prezoned. (General Plan 2000, Policies LU -5 and SVS -
1.) The City has made the legislative determination to decline to prezone the St.
Vincent's property, and therefore, the Vesting Tentative Map must be denied.
Additionally, the proposed Vesting Tentative Map is not consistent with General
Plan 2000 because, while the General Plan 2000 contemplates that the property could
ultimately be developed, it sets forth a phasing plan for development. The phasing plan
requires that certain roadway and infrastructure improvements be constructed prior to or
simultaneously with development. As discussed above, many of the roadway
improvements have not yet been constructed, are not in the planning process, and are not
a part of the Shapell/CYO applications. Approval of the Vesting Tentative Map is
therefore also premature.
The St. Vincent's property is currently within the jurisdictional boundaries of the
County. The proposed Vesting Tentative Map is not consistent with the Countywide
General Plan which designates the area as Urban and Conservation Reserve (Interim
Land Use Designation 1 unit per 100 acres), Public Facility/Urban and Conservation
Reserve, Ridge and Upland Greenbelt Areas, Streamside Conservation Zone and
Bayfront Conservation Zone in the St. Vincent's/Silveira Interim Land Use Policy Map
of the Countywide Plan (1994). Nor is it consistent with the County's Zoning Ordinance,
which zones the property A-2, which allows one residential unit per two acres.
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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 seventh day of April, 2003, by the following
vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Hel l er, Mi 11 er, Phi 11 i ps and Mayor Boro
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: Cohen
A.
JEA& M EONCINI, City Clerk
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