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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAttachmt 6 Appendix 1 Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 Project Description for the Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village Preliminary Landscape PlanlLandscape Site Development Review The following findings relate directly to the specific questions listed under the written statement section of the City's application submittal requirements for Site Development Review (SDR). This SDR covers the site plan and streetscape landscaping for the Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village. Architectural review will happen at a later date. For more information on the area covered here, refer to the SDR drawing reductions in this section. A. What type of business, activity or use are you proposing? The Development Plan for the Project Area covered by this Site Development Review, hereinafter referred to as the SDR Area, proposes approximately 240 acres of Low Density Residential land use (1,043 units), approximately ]25 acres of Rural Residential! Agriculture land use, ten net acres for an elementary school, 5.0 net acres of neighborhood park, 4.6 net acres of neighborhood square, 2.1 net acres of semi-public use and approximately 99 acres of open space!stream corridor land use. B. How many employees will you have or propose to have? The only uses at the site that will have employees will be the Elementary School, the daycare located at the school and the semi-public use. Currently, no projections of employee population have been made for these facilities. C. What are the proposed hours and days of operation? Unknown; the schedule of the school and day care will be at the discretion of the school district and day care provider. D. Are there any ways in which your business, activity or use have a negative effect on the health or safety of persons residing or working in the vicinity, or be detrimental to the public health, safety or general welfare. There are no planned activities or uses that will have a negative effect on the health or safety of persons residing or working in the vicinity, nor which are detrimental to the public health, safety or general welfare. Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page I I':\! 9149\oflice\Suhmil1ab\SDR ISDR ·ProjectOescripl ionOCTOBFR2005 .<.Joc Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 E. Describe how the design of the project including site layout, structures, vehicular access, circulation and parking, etc. will provide a desirable environment for the future development. The project will include the creation of eight neighborhood pods, six on the Fallon Enterprises parcel and two on the Braddock and Logan parcel, surrounded and bisected by open space. Residents will travel through the high quality neighborhoods on tree-lined streets to the neighborhood elementary schoo], open space and park areas. Many of the homes will have views of the Dublin Ranch Golf Course, open space areas and the valley below. Streets with separated sidewalks will provide an enhanced pedestrian environment. The design of the project takes advantage of the existing features of the site and neighboring properties to create amenities for future residents. Croak Road and various other streets have been designed to be single-loaded along portions of the open space to provide views of the stream corridor to pedestrians and motorists. Open-ended cul-de-sacs have also been sited along the open space areas for recreation trail access and maintenance/fire access purposes. Views from the neighborhoods to the adjacent Dub]in Ranch Golf Course have been integrated into the site plan through the inclusion of open-ended cul-de-sacs that open onto the golf course property and a single loaded street that provides to the general public a clear view into the golf course. The neighborhoods will benefit from an approximately ] O-acre elementary school. The Elementary School has been located along the Upper Loop Road on the western property along the Open Space Corridor. The schoo] has been sited to be centrally located for all the neighborhoods expected to be served by this facility. The school will be easily accessible via the Upper Loop Road, neighborhood streets, and trails in the Open Space Corridor. Additionally, 2.] acres will be designated for Semi-public uses. The Semi-public use will be located along Upper Loop Road where the road first enters the project area. The Project will provide approximately ]2 gross acres of Neighborhood Park and Neighborhood Square uses. A five-acre net neighborhood park is centrally located to the project and approximately four and a half net acres of Neighborhood Square is sited as a terminus of the main entry road to the western neighborhood and will be more convenient to upper neighborhoods for recreational pursuits. The neighborhood park has been sited to serve both the southern residential areas of the western neighborhoods, as well as the eastern neighborhood. The square backs on to open space and provides a link to the natural areas surrounding the project. Given the square's elevation, residents will enjoy views of the Tri-Valley to the southwest and the open space to the north. A significant feature of the plan is the central Open Space Corridor, located along the major drainage between the two properties. Approximately 32 acres of this Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page 2 P:\[ 9149\DfficeISubmiUals\SDR\SDR-ProjectDescripti0J10CTOBER2005_doc Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 corridor are located on the Braddock and Logan property and approximately 2 acres are on the Fallon Enterprises property. The Open Space Corridor will provide habitat for native flora and fauna, as well as access to other areas of Fallon Village for residents. The project will also provide trails connecting throughout the project, including the ability to connect to a future region-wide trail system. The trails within the Open Space Corridor are limited to the area within thirty feet of each side of the corridor to limit impacts and are designed for pedestrians and bicycles and as a maintenance road. Additional open space will be located to the northwest of the Open Space Corridor, some of which is being preserved for its habitat potential. The open space corridor and the lands in the hills above the development designated as Open Space and Rural Residential/ Agriculture will be subject to conservation easements. The open space along the eastern edge of the golf course and the parcels where the bio- retention ponds are located would not be subject to these easements. Primary access to and through the Project Area will be from Fallon Road from the west and Croak Road from the south. These two streets will intersect at a roundabout on the eastern (Braddock and Logan) property, near the existing terminus of Croak Road. The Upper Loop Road will connect to the existing city road network in the general vicinity of the current intersection of Fallon Road and Old Fallon Road to the west. Internal circulation within the western (Fallon Enterprises) neighborhoods will focus on a residential collector, which serves as a main entry road, and an internal loop road. The main entry road will intersect with the Upper Loop Road at a roughly halfway along the Upper Loop Road's path across the western neighborhoods. The main entry road will provide primary access to much of the northern portions of the site, as well as linking the neighborhood park, school, and neighborhood square. The internal loop road provides access to the periphery of the site and links the parks as well. The internal loop road will also serve as the main travel route to the elementary school for the entire western neighborhoods. The majority of the streets will have separated sidewalks, with the exception being the rural residential streets that end as open cul-de-sacs adjacent to open space. Neighborhood streets on the Fallon Enterprises parcel have been laid out to interconnect the individual neighborhoods with one another. F. Is the site physically suitable for the type and intensity of development proposed? This site is physically suitable to accommodate the type of Single-Family Low- Density Residential, Neighborhood Park, Neighborhood Square, Elementary School, Semi-public and Open Space land uses proposed. No major faults lay under the properties. Based on the analysis undertaken by ENGEO, the site is subject to landslides and other geotechnical areas of concern, typical of this area and fully correctable through remedial grading. Where these areas impact development, they will be removed and/or stabilized in accordance with the Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page 3 P:\19149\ofl1ce\SubmiUals\SDR\SDR-ProjectDescriptionOCTOBER2005.<.Ioc Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 Geotechnical Engineer's recommendations. According to Flood Insurance Rate Map, panel liS of 325 (community-panel number 060001-01 15C) for Alameda County, California, dated revised September 17, 1997, the Project does not lie within the 100-year flood zone. G. Describe how the proposed development may impact views. As the site is nestled behind foreground hills and knolls, views into the site from Interstate 580 will be partially obstructed. Thus, many ofthe homes and roads will not be visible from the freeway. To address the City's visually sensitive ridgelands- limited development policies, the grading ofthe neighborhoods have been designed to mimic the existing topography in many places by placing high points where ridges are currently and low points where valleys now exist. Grading has been designed to retain the existing shape of the hillsides, as practicable, given the City's street slope design standards and utility constraints. Some grading of the hillside slopes above the development will be noticeable after grading. However, the disturbed areas will be graded to transition smoothly and conform to existing slopes and will be hydroseeded with native grasses to quickly vegetate the hillsides so no long-term visual impacts will occur. No homes or roads will be built above the 770' elevation, the City of Dublin's Urban Development Cap, thus preserving views to the ridgelines of the hills to the north of the project. In addition, by not grading within a minimum of 50' of the primary ridgeline, views from the north and east (Doolan Canyon and Livermore) are obstructed by the existing hills, so there are no visual changes created by the Project from these directions. The views from the A4, AS and A 7 neighborhoods of Dublin Ranch Area A (currently under construction) and the Dublin Ranch Golf Course would change as the undeveloped land transforms into urban development, as envisioned by the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan and the General Plan. Grading along the western boundary of the western neighborhoods has been designed to be sensitive to views from the Dublin Ranch neighborhoods, and to avoid deep gullies and razorback ridges. Views from Fallon Road along the Jordan Property will be altered by this project, as the southernmost proposed homes and slope banks will be visible to motorists as an interim condition before the development ofthe Jordan property obstructs views of the lower portion of the site. The preserved Open Space Corridor will also retain significant views up through the Jordan property and the project area to the major ridgeline above. Furthermore, the site is more than 700 feet from Fallon Road, outside ofthe City's scenic corridor area for Fallon Road, and will not block views of the protected primary ridgeline to the north and east. Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page 4 P:\19149\officeISubmittalsISDR\.''>DR-ProjectDcscriplionOCTOBER2005.doc Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 The applicant has reserved some land along the southern boundary to allow a grading easement and/or future land transfer to the adjacent developer so that the ultimate grading and development between the two properties will be better designed and relate to each other better through neighborhood connectivity, sensitive grading, and more natural looking grading conforms between the two projects. H. Describe the physical characteristics of the site including existing slopes and topographic features. The topography of the Project Area is comprised of gentle to steeply rolling hills, with slopes exceeding 30% in some places. The lowest elevation of the Project Area is at approximately 470 feet above sea level, while the highest elevation is at approximately 910 feet. A few drainages flow in a north to south orientation. The site is barren of trees beyond those planted around the homesteads. There are no heritage trees on the properties. Non-native grasses or dry farmed croplands cover the majority of the area. A stock pond is located at the north of the Fallon Enterprises property, in land designated as Open Space. The Project Area has predominantly been used for dry land farming and cattle grazing. A few rural homesteads and outbuildings are scattered on the two properties within the Project Area. I. Describe the architectural design/theme of the development including character, scale and quality of the design, and explain how the project will relate to and be compatible with the existing site and the character of adjacent buildings, neighborhoods and uses. This Site Development Review (SDR) application does not include a request for review and approval of architecture for the residences to be built within the neighborhoods. The architecture for these neighborhoods will be submitted as part of a separate SDR application for review and approval at a later date. J. Describe how the landscape features have been designed so as to insure visual relief and an attractive environment for the public. The streetscapes, parks, connections to open space, and other landscape features are emphasized in the layout of the community and neighborhoods. Roadways along parks and most open space corridors are single-loaded to maximize community exposure and use. Numerous open space view corridors and/or pedestrian access are created at the ends ofthe cul-de-sacs and single loaded streets. Creating a pedestrian friendly environment is a central design principle of the landscape design. Sidewalks are separated from the road with a landscaped parkway in most cases, the exception being where cul-de-sacs are present in the upper reaches of the site and abut open space. Shade canopy trees are provided along both sides of the street on all streets. The pedestrian trail system is Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page 5 P:\19149\office\SubmiHalsISDRISDR-ProjcctDcscriptionOCTOßER2005.doc Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 designed to link the homes with the neighborhoods, parks, school, open space areas, and the future village center. Building upon the agrarian Mediterranean theme, the materials palette emphasizes the use of stone, cobbles, stucco and ornamental iron, with conterra and terra cotta accents. The community and neighborhood entries are designed as outdoor rooms with distinct edges defined by the community wall, low decorative walls, entry monuments and enhanced paving. The geometric forms and textures in these rooms are designed to emphasize pedestrian scale. Fencing is an integral contributor to the community character. A stucco thematic wall along the Upper Loop Road will visually unify the community. The fences around individual lots will be visually de-emphasized. Fence design will be coordinated with topography to avoid views of rear yard fences from adjacent roads. Where privacy fences abut rights-of-way, a landscape set back is provided to soften views of fencing. The landscape character is based on three critical concepts: · Provision of a verdant streetscape · Use of a Mediterranean plant palette · Agrarian references at key locations The provision of shade and cooling properties of landscape is an essential response to the Mediterranean climate. A lush streetscape system with its large canopy trees, ornamental shrubs, and lawn as appropriate, will be provided. Streetscape plant materials are selected for compatibility with the use of recycled water for irrigation. The aromatic textural drought-tolerant plant palette typically associated with the Mediterranean landscape (lavenders, sages, oleanders) will be utilized to reinforce the thematic character at neighborhood entries and pedestrian nodes throughout the neighborhoods. The agrarian flavor is emphasized at the community entry and at other key vistas along Upper Loop Road. In these areas a windrow of lombardy poplars, an orchard grid of olive trees, or a specimen citrus would be used to suggest the rural heritage. K. Is the proposed project located on a hazardous waste and substances site? (A list is of these sites is available in the Planning Department). A series of Phase I Environmental Site Assessments have been conducted on the properties within the Project Area. The Assessments found that no registered hazardous waste or substance sites are known to exist on the Project Area. Copies ofthese reports have been submitted to the City. The Phase I investigations indicate the presence of a former underground gasoline storage tank and various chemicals located in a barn on the Braddock and Logan property. The Phase I investigation recommended that the chemicals be removed by a licensed waste contractor prior to demolition. Additionally, the Assessment Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page 6 P:I 19149\offjçeISubmillalsISDRISDR-Projec!DescriptionOCTOBER20ü5.doc Braddock and Logan Properties at Fallon Village . October 2005 recommended that an asbestos survey of the existing structures should be executed prior to demolition. A Phase II Assessment of the gasoline storage tank found no evidence of subsurface impacts associated with the underground storage tank. Site reconnaissance and records review did not produce any evidence of soil or groundwater impairments associated with the use of the site. No leaking underground storage tanks were identified within one half mile ofthe site. Site reconnaissance and records review of the Fallon Enterprises Environmental Site Assessment yielded no evidence of contamination on site or any nearby leaking underground storage tanks. Various chemicals were found to be stored on-site, but no contamination had occurred. Additionally, no friable asbestos containing materials were found at the site. The Assessment recommended that a licensed waste contractor remove the chemicals prior to demolition. Additionally, a Phase I investigation recommended that a Phase II environmental site assessment be prepared to evaluate the potential impact to underlying soils from a minor amount of household garbage being buried in a swale on the property. Preliminary Landscape Plan/Landscape Site Development Review Project Description· Page 7 P:\19149\officeISubmillalsISDR\SDR-ProjectDescrjptionOCTOBER200S.doc