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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.2 PA05-030 Lowe's at Graton Station AGENDA STATEMENT PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DATE: Julv 25. 2006 SUBJECT: ATTACHMENTS: RECo.MMENDATIo.N: ~ PUBLIC HEARING: PA 05-030 Lowe's at Grafton Station Stage I Development Plan Amendment, Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone, CEQA Addendum, Master Sign Program, Site Development Review and Conditional Use Permit for the Grafton Station retail shopping center. Report prepared by Erica Fraser, Senior Planner ~ I) Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance rezoning the project area and approving an amendment to the Stage I Development Plan and approving a related Stage 2 Development Plan. 2) Resolution recommending that the City Council approve a CEQA Addendum for the Project to the 1993 Eastern Dublin Environmental Impact Report with the Addendum attached as Exhibit A. 3) Resolution recommending that the City Council approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and Lowe's HIW, Inc. for a portion of the project site with the Development Agreement attached as Exhibit A. 4) Resolution approving the Site Development Review and Master Sign Program for PA 05-030 for the Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. 5) Resolution approving a Conditional Use Permit for an outdoor display in front of the Lowe's building. 6) June 27, 2006 Planning Commission Study Session Staff Report (without Attachments). 7) Minutes from the June 27, 2006 Planning Commission Study Session. 8) Stage I Development Plan. 9) Stage I Development Plan showing amendments. 10) Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone booklet. II) Site Development Review Package. 12) Elevation reviewed during the June 27, 2006 Study Session 13) Master Sign Program. 14) Conditional Use Permit Plan, Sections and Examples. IS) Letter from Albert Montes dated July 10, 2006. 16) Location Map. I) Receive Staff presentation; 2) Open the public hearing; 2) Take testimony from the Applicant and the public; 3) Close the public hearing and deliberate; 4) Adopt Resolution (Attachment I) recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance rezoning the project area and approving an amendment to the Stage I Development Plan and approving a related Stage 2 Development Plan; Co.PIES TO.: Property Owner/Applicant File ITEM NO. <g. 2. G:IPA#\2005\05-030 Lowe'sIPC PH\PCSR 7-25-06.doc Page I of7 5) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 2) recommending the City Council approve a CEQA Addendum for the Project to the 1993 Eastern Dublin Environmental Impact Report with the Addendum attached as Exhibit A; 6) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 3) recommending that the City Council approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and Lowe's HIW, Inc. for a portion ofthe project site with the Development Agreement attached as Exhibit A; 7) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 4) approving the Site Development Review and Master Sign Program for PA 05-030 for the Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse; and 8) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 5) approving a Conditional Use Permit for an outdoor display in front ofthe Lowe's building. PRo.JECT DESCRIPTIo.N: Dublin Ranch is located within the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Area that has been annexed to the City of Dublin. Area H was annexed as a part of Dublin Ranch and also pre-zoned to conform to the land use designations in the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan. Area H (commonly referred to as Grafton Station) is also a part of the Tassajara Gateway subarea, as defined in Section 4.9.1 of the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan. On March 21, 2000, the City Council approved a rezone and Stage 1 Development Plan for Area H (PA 98-070). The vacant site is bordered by vacant land (zoned General Commercial) to the west; Dublin Boulevard and medium high density residential neighborhoods to the north; Interstate 580 to the south; and vacant land (zoned Campus Office) and a future stormwater treatment basin to the east. The site consists of approximately 29.2 gross acres. The site has two land use designations comprised of 18.7 acres designated General Commercial and 10.5 acres designated General Commercial/Campus Office. The Applicant is proposing to: I) amend the Stage 1 Planned! Development Permit related to gross acreage and additional allowed uses; 2) amend Stage 2 Planned Development Permit Rezone to ensure compatibility with the Development Plan; 3) process a Site Development Review for the Lowe's building and associated landscaping and parking as well as the installation of the bio-swale and the extension of Brannigan Street and Grafton Street; and 4) allow the display of outdoor goods through a Conditional Use Permit. BACKGRo.UND This project was reviewed by the Planning Commission during a Study Session on June 27,2006. A Staff Report was prepared for the meeting which described the project (see Attachment 6). During the Study Session, the Planning Commission expressed concerns regarding the design of the front of the Lowe's building and the request for a Conditional Use Permit to allow an outdoor display (see Planning Commission Minutes, Attachment 7). Please refer to the June 27, 2006 Staff Report for background information on the project and for more detailed information. ANALYSIS: Stage I Amendment The Applicant has requested that the Stage I Development Plan be amended to reflect the accurate gross Page 2 of7 acreage and to include additional permitted and conditionally permitted uses. During the June 27, 2006 Study Session, the Planning Commission did not express any concerns or comments regarding the amendments. The proposed Stage I amendments are compatible with the approved Stage I Development Plan and the Eastern Dublin EIR. Please refer to the June 27, 2006 Staff Report for more information. Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone During the Planning Commission Study Session, the Planning Commission expressed some concerns regarding the proposed oleander shrubs located adjacent to Northside Drive and the Eucalyptus trees located along the extension of Brannigan Street. The Applicant has modified the project plans to include the California Pepper tree along the Brannigan Street extension and Strawberry Trees have replaced the oleander shrubs. The Planning Commission did not express any other concerns or comments regarding the Stage 2 Rezone. The Eastern Dublin Specific Plan encourages regional serving retail in this area (see Section 4.9.1). Additionally, the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Land Use, General Commercial and General Commercial/Commercial Office, permits regional and community serving retail uses. The Stage 2 Development Plan is compatible with the intent of the Tassajara Gateway and the land use designation because the shopping center is designed to be regional serving (large scale, big box stores) and also has some small scale retail shops which are typically intended to serve the community. CEOA Addendum The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15164 provides that an addendum to a previously certified Environmental Impact Report (EIR) may be prepared when the project requires a minor technical change to the EIR and there are no new significant environmental effects and no substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. The amendments to the Stage 1 Development Plan require environmental review due to the increase in gross acreage of the site (which results in an increase in the allowable floor area of the site). The increase in acreage allows an additional 25,059 square feet of commercial space to be constructed on the site. Although there will be an increase in the allowable floor area on the project site, the total amount of commercial space (318,000 square feet) falls within the development potential which was studied for the Tassajara Gateway subarea and Eastern Dublin in the Eastern Dublin EIR. The CEQA Addendum for this project is attached as Exhibit A to Attachment 2. Site Development Review Approximately 12.24 acres of the site is proposed to be developed, not including the roadways. The proposed Site Development Review (SDR) includes the Lowe's building and garden center, related parking and landscaping, the bioswale and the extension of Brannigan and Grafton Street that will be constructed to serve Lowe's. The Lowe's building is proposed to be 138,135 square feet in size and the adjacent garden center is proposed to be 31,659 square feet in size. The remainder of the shopping center will require separate Site Development Review permits prior to construction of the retail pads. The SDR plans are located in Attachment II. Elevations can be found under the architecture tab on Sheet A-4. Samples of the colors and materials of the building are located on Sheet A-5 under the architecture tab. Please refer to the June 27, 2006 Staff Report for detailed information regarding the Site Plan, Landscape Plans and Parking (no changes have been proposed). Page 3 of7 During the Planning Commission Study Session, the Planning Commission expressed concerns regarding the design of the building and its relationship to the design guidelines for the shopping center which called for a "Main Street" design theme. Following the Study Session, Staff and the architects for Lowe's worked with Larry Canon, the City's consulting commercial Architect, to redesign the building to address the concerns of the Planning Commission and ensure compatibility with the design guidelines and the context of the future shopping center. The following discussion describes the changes to the proposed design of the Lowe's to addressed the concerns expressed by the Planning Commission on June 27, 2006. Front (East) Elevation The front of the building has been modified to reflect a typical main street which is comprised of smaller buildings with varying architectural design. The building has been broken up into varying segments with varying designs. Roof forms have been modified to include pitched roofs and varying cornices which comply with the design guidelines. The treatments on the entrances to the store, garden center and lumber yard have been designed to reflect the Grafton Station Tower elements shown in the design guidelines (see page 1I-13). The rooflines are offset (varying height) in order to promote interest and to reduce the appeared massing ofthe building. Some of the building segments include light pole fixtures for added architectural detail. Awnings have also been dispersed on the front of the building (they are both metal and steel) to provide interest and to give the appearance that each segment of the building is a different building, consistent with the main street design theme. False windows have also been included on the front of the building (frames with obscured glass) to give the appearance of a storefront. The City's consulting Architect has reviewed the elevations and has a few concerns regarding the detailing on the entrances to the store, garden center and lumber yard. In response to those concerns, Staff has added Condition No. 25 which requires the Applicant to redesign the entrances by indenting the areas with the signs and add exposed beams on the entry to provide additional detailing on the front elevation. The Applicants will be required to show these modifications on the Building Permit plans. Rear (West) Elevation The basic form of the rear elevation has remain unchanged. The staging area will be obscured from view by a solid wall. At the rear of the building, columns and arches have been added to break up the appeared massing ofthe building and to limit the amount of blank walls. This elevation is located at the rear of the building and is not located in an area where there will be a large amount of pedestrian or vehicular access. Views of this side of the building will also be further limited by future development on the DiManto property and by the trees which will be planted along the Brannigan extension. The design of this elevation is consistent with the design guidelines because the rear has a level of detail which is consistent with rear elevations, service areas have been screened from view and elements have been added to promote architectural interest of the rear ofthe building. Right Side (North) Elevation This side of the building has been modified to include details which replicate a storefront. Light fixtures have also been added to this elevation to compliment the light fixtures on the front of the building. Page 4 of7 Left Side (South) Elevation The left side elevation has been modified to include light fixtures along the wall to match the light fixtures located on the front of the building and the right side of the building. Master Sign Program The Planning Commission did not express any concerns regarding the freeway sign or the Master Sign Program. Please refer to the June 27, 2006 Staff Report for additional information. The Master Sign Program is included in this Staff Report as Attachment 12. Conditional Use Permit As part of the application packet, Lowe's has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to allow the display of items in the front of the store. The Dublin Zoning Ordinance allows commercial uses to have these types of displays with authorization of a Conditional Use Permit. The Stage 2 Planned Development includes permitted and conditionally permitted uses and also includes outdoor storage as a conditional use. The City has not previously approved a permanent outdoor display for a retail business. During the June 27, 2006 Study Session, the Planning Commission expressed some concerns regarding the display of certain items outside of the store. The Planning Commission expressed concerns regarding the display of building materials including plywood, roofing materials, CMU blocks and other similar items which appeared to be storage rather than an attractive display. Additionally, the Planning Commission had safety concerns regarding the display of these items which are typically stacked on and may be stacked very high. The Planning Commission also stated that they did not want items displayed which would block access to the store or located in the parking lot (with the exception of a Temporary Use Permit which must be approved by the Community Development Department prior to the display of items in the parking lot). As conditioned, season sales, including the sale of Christmas trees, and parking lot sales require a Temporary Use Permit from the Community Development Department prior to each sale. Based on the Planning Commission's concerns, Staff has drafted conditions (see Attachment 5) which restrict the types of items which may be displayed outside of the building. The Conditions prohibit the display of building materials including drywall, plywood, block, bricks, roofing materials and any other similar item (see Condition No. II) and the display of landscape materials such as soil, fertilizer, mulch, gravel or similar item (see Condition No. 12). Additionally, based on concerns expressed by the Planning Commission regarding the storage of pick-up items outside of the contractor loading area, staff has included Condition No. 17 which prohibits storage of items in this location, prohibits the storage of materials overnight, and allows items to be located outside for pick-up only for a maximum period of one hour. Staff also has concerns with the display of storage sheds which are large in size and could create access problems into the store and could not be adequately screened. Staff feels that these types of displays are not appropriate for the exterior of the store. Staff has added Condition No. 12 which prohibits the display of accessory structures and sheds outside of the building. Co.NCLUSIo.N: The Applicant is proposing a unique development for Grafton Station that combines architecture and extensive landscaping to provide for an attractive retail center for the community. The Lowe's store and related improvements will be constructed during the first phase of the project and additional retail buildings will be Page 5 of7 constructed in the future. RECo.MMENDATIo.N: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission: 1) Receive Staff presentation, 2) Open the public hearing, 3) Take testimony from the Applicant and the public, 4) Close the public hearing and deliberate, 5) Adopt Resolution (Attachment I) recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance rezoning the project area and approving an amendment to the Stage I Development Plan and approving a related Stage 2 Development Plan, 6) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 2) recommending the City Council approve a CEQA Addendum for the Project to the 1993 Eastern Dublin Environmental Impact Report with the Addendum attached as Exhibit A, 6) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 3) recommending that the City Council approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and Lowe's HIW, Inc. for a portion of the project site with the Development Agreement attached as Exhibit A, 7) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 4) approving the Site Development Review and Master Sign Program for PA 05-030 for the Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, and 8) Adopt Resolution (Attachment 5) approving a Conditional Use Permit for an outdoor display in front of the Lowe's building. Page 6 of7 GENERAL INFo.RMATIo.N APPLICANT: Jim Tong Charter Properties 4690 Chabot Drive Suite 100 Pleasanton, CA 94588 Laura Orlich SSOE Inc. 22121 1ih Avenue Suite 225 Bothell, WA 98021 PRo.PERTY o.WNER: Chang Su-O Lin, H. Yao Lin and H. Lien Lin 4690 Chabot Drive Suite 100 Pleasanton, CA 94588 Lo.CATIo.N: South of Dublin Boulevard and north of North side Drive and 1-580 ASSESSo.RS PARCEL NUMBER: 985-0036-009 GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATIo.N: General Commercial and General Commercial/Campus Office SPECIFIC PLAN AREA: Eastern Dublin Specific Plan EXISTING Zo.NING AND LAND USE: Planned Development SURRo.UNDING USES: Location Zoning General Plan Land Use Current Use of Pronertv Site PD- Planned General Commercial Vacant Development and General Commercial/Campus Office North PD- Planned High Density and High Density Development Neighborhood Residential Units and Commercial Vacant South N/A N/A 1-580 Freeway and City of Pleasant on East PD- Planned Campus Office Vacant Development West PD- Planned General Commercial Vacant Development Page 7 of7