HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-038 General Plan Community Design Elementtip' ~t
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C~,~> AGENDA STATEMENT
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DATE: August 26, 2008
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SUBJECT: PA 07-038: General Plan Community l;~esign Element (Legislative)
Report prepared by Jeff Baker, Senior Planner
ATTACHMENTS: 1) Draft Community Design Element.
2) Resolution Recommending that the City Council adopt a Resolution
approving a General Plan Amendment adding a Community Design
and Sustainability Element to the General Plan as Chapter 10, with the
draft City Council Resolution Inchzded (Exhibit A).
3) City Council/Planning Commissicn Study Session Staff Report Dated
April 1, 2008 (without Attachments).
4) City Council/Planning Commiss on Study Session Minutes Dated
April 1, 2008.
5) Planning Commission Staff Report Dated July 29, 2008 (without
Attachments).
6) Planning Commission Study Sessi~m Minutes Dated July 29, 2008.
7) Village Policy Statement.
8) Village Action Plan.
RECOMMENDATION: 1) Receive Staff presentation;
2) Open the Public Hearing;
3) Receive public testimony;
`' 4) Close the Public Hearing and deliberate; and
5) Adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council Adopt a
Resolution approving a General Plan Amendment adding a
Community Design and Sustainability Element to the General Plan as
Chapter 10, with the draft City Council Resolution Included (Exhibit
A).
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Background
The Fiscal Year 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 City Council Goals and Objectives include, as a high priority
goal, the preparation of a General Plan Community Design Element. On June 19, 2007, the City Council
adopted a Resolution (Resolution 105-07) approving a Consulting Services Agreement with RBF/UDS
Consulting to prepare the Community Design Element and authori ping the City Manager to sign the
Agreement on behalf of the City.
COPY TO:
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ITEM NO. ` ~; . ~.~>
G: IPA#12007107-038 Conun~mit~• Design FleurentlPlnnning ConrnrrssronlPC 8.26.081pcsr 8.26.08 CDE.doc
Each city and county in California is mandated to adopt a General Plan with seven required "elements".
Each jurisdiction may adopt additional optional elements as they see fit. The proposed Community
Design Element is an optional element and would be added to the Dublin General Plan as Section 10.
The draft Community Design Element (Attachment 1) provides a guic_ing vision for the character of future
public and private improvements throughout the City. The draft Community Design Element is a
graphically based document that illczstrates design principles related to site planning, architecture and
landscaping. Planning theorist and author Kevin Lynch provides a commonly used model for community
design which divides the city into functional areas, which contribute to distinctive design. Lynch's
functional areas have been refined to create the unifying principles of ~;ommunity design for Dublin.
A joint City Council/Planning Commission Study Session was held on April 1, 2008 to discuss the
unifying principles of community design which provide the framework of the Community Design
Element. The City Council and Planning Commission identified those principles that they value the most
(Attachments 3 and 4). Staff and RBF/UDS Consulting used the information obtained at the Study
Session to refine the unifying principles and prepare the goals, policies and implementation measures that
comprise the draft Community Desig~t Element.
The draft Community Design Element includes five unifying principles of community design that provide
the framework for the document. Each of these unifying principles is described below:
a. Positive Regional Identity -The visual character of public acid private improvements adjacent to
roads of regional significance, including major arterials and Interstates 580 and 680;
b. Sense of Arrival -The design of public and private improvements to create a sense of arrival at
entrances to the City;
c. Design of the Built Form -Elements that create and enhance high quality, safe and attractive,
residential, commercial, office, industrial, and mixed use neighborhoods and villages;
d. Connections and Linkages -Streets, sidewalks, paths and tr~.ils that enhance connectivity within
and between separate properties, the public right-of--way and ol-en space; and
e. Sustainability -Techniques to provide a high quality of life and preserve energy, water and other
natural resources, with attractive and integrated design.
Separate sections of the Community Design Element are dedicated to each of these principles. Each
section contains goals, policies and implementation measures that will provide a guiding vision for the
character of public and private improvements throughout the community. These improvements include
streetscape design, landscaping, site planning, and building design. The Community Design Element also
contains graphics and photographs to illustrate these policies.
The Planning Commission held a subsequent Study Session on July 29, 2008 to review the draft
Community Design Element (Attachments 5 and 6). The Study Session included an overview of the draft
document, and an introduction to the proposed goals, policies, and implementation measures. The
Planning Commission provided Staff and the consultant team with the; following comments and feedback
regarding the draft Community Design Element, as further discussed in the Analysis section of this Staff
Report.
^ Address distracting signs and Electronic Readerboard Signs adjacent to I-580 & I-680;
^ Create Villages throughout the entire City;
^ Review the document format; and
^ Other minor modifications throughout the draft document.
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The feedback from the Study Session has been incorporated into the draft Community Design Element
that is included as Attachment 1 to this Staff Report. The Planning Commission is requested to review
the revised draft document and make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the adoption of this
proposed General Plan Element.
ANALYSIS:
Planning Commission Modifications
As previously stated, the Planning (:ommission provided Staff and the consultant team with comments
and feedback regarding the draft Community Design Element (Attachment 6) at the July 29, 2008 Study
Session. The Commission requested the addition of a policy to regulate distracting signs and Electronic
Readerboard Signs along Interstates 580 and 680 (I-580 and I-680); :cn implementation measure to create
Villages throughout the entire City; a review of the document format; and various other minor
modifications throughout the draft document. The following is a disc ~ssion of the modifications proposed
by the Planning Commission:
Distracting Signs Adjacent to I-580 and I-680
The Planning Commission cited on;oing concern regarding the use; of distracting signs and electronic
reader board signs adjacent to I-580 and I-680. The Planning Commission directed Staff to include a
policy in the Community Design Element to address signs adjacent to I-580 and I-680. The following
policy (Policy 10.5.3.E on page 86 of Attachment 1) has been included to address distracting signs and
Electronic Readerboard Signs:
Polic~10.5.3.E: Encourage attractive quality signage along freeway corridors that avoids the use of
distractive features such as electronic reader boards, bright color.;, bulky scale and mass, etc.
The Sign Ordinance (Zoning Ordinance Chapter 8.84) regulates Electronic Reader Boards and requires
approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) by the Planning Comn-fission. In order to approve a CUP,
the Planning Commission must make a Finding of consistency with the General Plan. A CUP for an
Electronic Readerboard Sign adjacent to I-580 and I-680 would not bey consistent with Policy 10.5.3.E and
therefore, could not be approved. However, if the Planning Commission would like the ability to approve
an Electronic Readerboard Sign where appropriate, Policy 10.5.3.E could be revised as follows to allow
such flexibility:
Alternative Policy 10.5.3.E: Encourage attractive quality sig~iage along freeway corridors that
avoids the use of distractive features such as bright colors, bully scale and mass, and discourages
electronic readerboard signs.
Villages
The City Council's 2003/2004 Goals and Objectives included the development of policies that define
village characteristics as a planning tool and also identified opportunities to create new villages in Dublin.
Staff conducted research and prepared a background study of village concepts for use in creating a Village
Policy Statement (Attachment 7). The Village Policy Statement identifies the characteristics that
comprise a village in Dublin. On September 7, 2004, the City Council adopted the Village Policy
Statement and directed Staff to identify potential village sites.
Staff analyzed potential village sites using the criteria established iii the Village Policy Statement and
created a Village Action Plan (Attachment 8). The Village Action Plan included measures to achieve
villages consistent with the Village Policy Statement. The City Council approved the Village Action Plan
on August 16, 2005, and identified the following six potential village locations:
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^ Dublin Village Historic Area
^ Downtown Dublin
^ Camp Parks
^ Transit Center
^ Dublin Ranch Town Center
^ Fallon Village Center
The concepts of the Village Policy Statement and Village Action .?lan are incorporated into the draft
Community Desigm Element (Section 10.7.3.6). This includes identification of village locations and
policies to ensure that the village characteristics are incorporated into future development of these areas.
The Planning Commission expressed a desire to incorporate all areas of Dublin into villages. In order to
achieve this, the Planning Commission directed Staff to include ar- implementation measure to create
villages throughout Dublin. The following Implementation Measure (Implementation Measure 10.7.4.M
on page 105 of Attachment 1) has been included to study additional village areas:
Implementation Measure 10.7.4.M: Study the feasibility of c~•eating villages for all portions of
Dublin.
The City Council would need to allocate Staff time in order to study the feasibility of creating villages
throughout Dublin. Staff would need to review and modify the ch~-racteristics and policies that define
villages in Dublin and study how they would apply to areas throughout Dublin. Creating villages
throughout the City has the potential to divide the City into individual districts or communities rather than
one overall community.
Format of the Community Design Element
Concern was raised at the Study Session regarding the format of the draft Community Design Element.
Staff reviewed the concerns regarding the existing format and alternatives to address these concerns.
However, after further review, Staff believes that the existing document format best serves the use of the
document. The existing format enables users to clearly identify anti cite applicable goals, policies and
implementation measures. Therefore, Staff is not recommending any further modifications to the format
of the draft Community Design Element.
Sustainability Element
Sustainability was identified as a ur-ifying principle of community design, as noted above. The draft
Community Design Element includes extensive Policies and Implementation Measures related to
Sustainability (Section 10.9). The concept of Sustainability has come to the forefront of planning in
recent years. In fact, some local jurisdictions have adopted a Sustainability Element in their General
Plans. Because of the importance of this issue and the number of policies related to this topic, the
Planning Commission may want to consider adopting the proposed d~~cument as a combined Community
Design and Sustainability Element. Adopting this document as a combined Element will provide further
weight to the importance of sustainability in Dublin.
CONCLUSION:
The Community Design Element cor-tains goals, policies and implementation measures that will further
the City's efforts to create an inviting; and attractive community by providing a guiding vision for public
and private improvements throughout the City.
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ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
This project is exempt from the environmental review requirements of the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). The activity is covered by the
general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect
on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in
question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Planning; Commission: 1) Receive Stai f presentation; 2) Open the Public
Hearing; 3) Receive public testimony; 4) Close the Public Heari;ig and deliberate; and 5) Adopt a
Resolution recommending that they City Council Adopt a Resolution approving a General Plan
Amendment adding a Community Design and Sustainability Element to the General Plan as Chapter 10,
with the draft City Council Resolution Included (Exhibit A).
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