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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.2 Springfield Montessori School PA08-03819 1 aM , AGENDA STATEMENT PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DATE: February 24, 2009 SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PA 08-038 Springfield Montessori School (Legislative and Adjudicatory Action) - CEQA Addendum, Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone, Develofinent Agreement, Site Development Review and Conditional Use Permit to construct a 16,002 square foot building and related site improvements. Report prepared by Erica Fraser, Senior Planner ATTACHMENTS: 1) Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt a CEQA Addendum for a Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone and Site Development Review for the Springfield Montessori School with the Addendum attached as Exhibit A. 2) Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance approving a PD Planned Development Rezone and related Stage 2 Development Plan with the Draft Ordinance attached as Exhibit A. 3) Resolution approving the Site Development Review for the Springfield Montessori School with the Project Plans attached as Exhibit A. 4) Resolution approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow for the operation of the Springfield Montessori School. 5) Resolution recommending that the City Council approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and VSS Holdings, Inc. for a portion of the Project Site with the Development Agreement attached as Exhibit A. 6) Written Statement. RECOMMENDATION: 1) Receive Staff presentation; 2) Open the public hearing; 3) Take testimony from the Applicant and the public; (I 4) Close the public hearing and deliberate; and `VV 5) Adopt the following Resolutions: a) Resolution (Attachment 1) recommending that the City Council adopt a CEQA Addendum for a Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone and Site Development Review for the Springfield Montessori School with the Add-ndum attached as Exhibit A; b) Resolution (Attachment 2) recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance approving a PD Planned Development Rezone and related Stage 2 Development Plan with the Draft Ordinance attached as Exhibit A; c) Resolution (Attachment 3) approving the Site Development Review for the Springfield Montessori School with the Project Plans attached as Exhibit A; d) Resolution (Attachment 4) approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow operation of the Springfield Montessori School; and COPIES TO: Property Owner/Applicant File G ITEM NO. D • 2- Page 1 of 8 G: IPAM2008IPA 08-038 Snrinefield Montessori School PC 2-24-09IPCSR 2.24.09.doc e) Resolution (Attachment 5) recommending that the City Council approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and VSS Holdings, Inc. for a portion of the Project Site with the Development Agreement attached as Exhibit A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Applicant is requesting approval of a Planned Development Rezone with associated Stage 2 Development Plan; Site Development Review; Conditional Use Permit; a Development Agreement; and an addendum to the environmental review in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to allow the construction of a 16,002 square-foot daycare building with playground and related improvements, and the operation of a daycare on the Site. The Daycare will enroll up to 180 children, ages 2-6 years, and will operate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The facility operates mainly as a daycare and also includes a kindergarten program with before and afterschool care. The vacant Site is bordered by the Eleanor Murray Fallon Middle School to the north, a residential development to the west, vacant land designated for Public/Semi-Public uses to the south and a residential development under construction to the east. The subject property is 2.57 acres in size and is designated as Public/Semi-Public in the General Plan and the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan which allows community serving uses including daycare. The location of the property is shown on the map below. Page 2 of 8 BACKGROUND: Dublin Ranch is located within the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Area that has been annexed to the City of Dublin. The Project Site is located within a portion of Area F of Dublin Ranch which 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. On March 21, 2000, the City Council adopted an Ordinance (Ord. 6-00) rezoning the subject property to Planned Development with an associated Stage 1 Development Plan. The subject property was designated for a High School at that time. The City Council also approved a Mitigated Negative Declaration (Resolution 34-00) which reviewed the impacts associated with the rezoning. On March 16, 2004, the City Council approved an amendment to the General Plan and the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan to change the land use designation of the subject property from High School to Public/Semi- Public. At that time, the City Council also adopted a revised Stage 1 Development Plan for Area F including this property (Ord. 12-04). The City Council adopted a CEQA Addendum (Resolution 43-04) which reviewed the environmental impacts related to the General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Amendments and the rezoning. ANALYSIS: Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone Chapter 8.32 of the Dublin Zoning Ordinance establishes the intent, purpose and requirements of the Planned Development District. The intent of the Planned Development District is to create a more desirable use of the land, a more coherent and coordinated development, and a better physical environment than would otherwise be achieved under a single zoning district or combination of zoning districts. The Zoning Ordinance requires the adoption of both Stage 1 and Stage 2 Development Plans, which establishes regulations for the use, development, improvement and maintenance of the property within the Planned Development Zoning District. The Project Site i3 zoned PD, Planned Development, with a Stage 1 Development Plan. The Applicant is requesting approval of a Stage 2 Development Plan for the specific development of the subject Site at this time. The Development Plan allows for the construction of a daycare building, playground, parking lot and related improvements on the Site (which are discussed in further detail in the Site Development Review section starting on page 4 of this Agenda Statement). A Resolution recommending the City Council approve the Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone is included as Attachment 2. The Stage 2 Planned Development District regulations, applicable to this Project Site only, are included as Exhibit A to Attachment 2. Site Development Review The Applicant has proposed to construct a Montessori School on a vacant parcel. The Project includes one 16,002 square-foot daycare building, parking lot, playground, landscaping and related improvements. The facility will provide services for up to 180 children, aged 2-6 year3 as further discussed below in the Conditional Use Permit section of this Staff Report. Project Plans can be found in Exhibit A of Attachment 3 of this Staff Report. Page 3 of 8 Site Plan The proposed one-story building will be 16,002 square feet in size. The building is located on a 2.57-acre parcel and, once constructed, will have a floor area ratio of .14. The Eastern Dublin Specific Plan allows for a maximum Floor Area Ratio of .50 for properties with the Public/Semi-Public land use designation. Access to the Site will be provided on Brannigan Street. An exisling sidewalk is located adjacent to Brannigan Street which provides pedestrian access to the Site. A pedestrian walkway will provide access from the sidewalk, through the parking lot, and to the front entrance. Architecture The proposed building has a Mediterranean architectural style to complement the predominant architecture style of the houses in the vicinity. Due to the siting of the building in relationship to the adjacent street and properties, only the Front Elevation and the Right Elevation will be visible from the street. The entrance area at the front of the building has been designed to provide a unique focal point to the building. The entryway features varying roof heights, windows, a steel awning and accent materials. The design of the entryway breaks up the massing of the building and promotes visual interest of the Site. Visual interest of the building is also promoted through the use of several accent features. Attractive light fixtures will be installed on the sides of the building and wall sconces will be located on either side of the front doors. Two decorative slate details will also be provided on the walls. These materials will match the slate tile located on the entryway. Four canvas awnings will be located on the front elevation above the large windows. The building will be constructed with dark tan stucco. Accent materials are provided which include a slate tile accent band at the top of the entrance, precast concrete base with a sand color on the bottom of the building and a dark tan accent color at various points throughout the building. The right side of the building will also have a slate tile trim at the top and concrete base at the bottom. This elevation will also have an arcade (covered walkway) to provide additional visual interest of the building. Although this Elevation will be partially visible from the sweet, views will be limited due to the siting of the building. Playground A small playground will be located at the rear of the building. The playground will be used by the school only and will be enclosed by an 8-foot tall wrought iron fence. The playground will include passive recreation areas as well as a sport court, play structure and swings. The swings and play structure will be located adjacent to the northern property line and the parking lot for the Middle School. The playground will be located a minimum of 100 feet from the adjacent residential dwellings to the west. Noise impacts to the adjacent residential dwellings associated with the playground will be minimal due to the distance between the dwellings and the playground and because no more than 24 children will be located outside in the playground at a time (please refer to the Conditions of Approval for the Conditional Use Permit in Attachment 4 and the Applicant's Written Statement included as Attachment 6). Page 4 of 8 Parking Section 8.76.080.D of the Dublin Zoning Ordinance requires daycare facilities to provide one parking space for each employee and one loading space for every 5 children at the facility. As previously discussed, the facility will serve up to 180 children and will have a raaximum of 15 employees on-site at one time. Based on this requirement, the Site is required to provide a total of 51 parking spaces (15 employee spaces + 180 students/5 spaces = 51 parking spaces). The Applicant is proposing to provide a total of 52 parking spaces, including one space that will be designated for loading, which will exceed the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance by one stall. Landscaping The Applicant is proposing to install a variety of trees, shrubs and groundcover on the Site. A total of 51,994 square feet of the Site will be planted with plant materials (th=_s figure excludes concrete work, the parking lot and playground area). Approximately 46% of the Site will be landscaped and the landscape areas are distributed throughout the Site to break up the expanse of the parking lot and provide a buffer between the adjacent uses and street and the built environment on the Site. The Zoning Ordinance (Section 8.76.070.A.12) requires one tree for ,-very four parking spaces. A total of 14 trees will be planted in and around the parking lot which exceeds the requirement of the Zoning Ordinance. As proposed, the parkin; lot will have a mixture of trees and groundcover throughout. Trees and shrubs will also be planted around the parking lot to provide a buffer between the street and the parking lot. The Applicant will also be responsible for planting the parkway strip between the street and the sidewalk. The parkway will be planted with the Aristocrat Pear tree, consistent with the street trees in Dublin Ranch. Groundcover and shrubs will also be planted in the parkway consistent with other parkways in Dublin Ranch. On the west side of the property, the sloped area that will remain will be planted with a variety of shrubs and will also be hydroseeded. Please refer to Attachment 3 of this Staff Report for the Resolution approving the Site Development Review. Conditional Use Permit The adopted Stage 1 Planned Development states that a daycare facility is a Conditional Use. Therefore, the Applicant has requested approval of a Conditional Use Permit to allow for up to 180 children (ages 2- 6) to be served by the Daycare with a maximum of 15 employees on-site at one time. The facility will be comprised of the daycare building which will include offices, and staff related rooms, restrooms, a multipurpose room and nine classrooms (two toddler classrooms, six pre-school classrooms and one kindergarten classroom). The Daycare will operate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The school will offer 3-day, 4-day and 5-day enrollment options. The school also offers a morning session, an afternoon session and a full day session. The various enrollment options will result in a staggered pick-up and drop-off schedule so that children will come and go throughout the day, rather than all at once. The playground will be used by the daycare attendees. The daycare's recess schedule will allow for each classroom to have access to the playground for a 30-minute period. No more than 24 children will be in Page 5 of 8 the playground at a time. The playground will be located a minimum of 100 feet from the adjacent residential dwellings to the west. Noise impacts to the adjacent residential dwellings associated with the playground will be minimal due to the distance between the dwellings and the playground and because no more than 24 children will be located outside in the playground at a time. Additional information regarding the programs offered and the school schedule can be found in the Applicant's written statement included as Attachment 6. The Springfield Montessori School will provide daycare for children ages 2-6 and will provide a necessary service to residents of Dublin. Conditions of Approval have been incl xded in the Resolution approving the Conditional Use Permit (Attachment 4) to ensure that the daycare facility will not negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood. Development Agreement The Eastern Dublin Specific Plan requires a Site-specific Development Agreement in conjunction with all Site Development Review applications in Eastern Dublin. The Development Agreement (Exhibit A to Attachment 3) for this Project was prepared by the City Attorney wish input from Staff, and is consistent with typical Development Agreements in Eastern Dublin. The proposed Development Agreement provides security to the developer that the City will not change the zoning and other laws applicable to the Project for a period of five years. The Development Agreement augments the City's standard development regulations, defines financial responsibilities of the developer, ensures the timely provision of adequate public facilities and provides terms for the developer to advance funds for specific facilities which have a community or area-wide benefit or for reimbursement from future development, as appropriate. Development Agreements are approved by the City Council. A fesolution recommending the City Council approve the Development Agreement is included as Attachment 5 with the Development Agreement included as Exhibit A to Attachment 5. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: 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, there are no new significant environmental effects and no substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. On May 10, 1993, the Dublin City Council adopted Resolution No. 51-93, certifying an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Eastern Dublin General Plan Amendment and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan (Eastern Dublin EIR, SCH #91103064). The certified EIR consisted of a Draft EIR and Responses to Comments bound volumes, as well as an Addendum dated May 4, 1993, assessing a reduced development project alternative. The City Council adopted Resolution No. 53-93 approving a General Plan Amendment and a Specific Plan for the reduced area alternative on May 10, 1993. On August 22, 1994, the City Council adopted a second Addendum updating wastewater disposal plans for Eastern Dublin. For identified impacts that could not be mitigated to a less than significant level, the City Council adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations. On February 15, 2000, the City Council adopted Resolution 344,0 approving a Mitigated Negative Declaration for Dublin Ranch Planning Area F. On March 16, 2004, the City Council adopted Resolution 43-04 approving a CEQA Addendum for Dublin Ranch Areas B/E/F. Page 6 of 8 Staff prepared an Initial Study to review the Site-specific environmental impacts associated with the development of this Site as a daycare facility. The Initial Study determined that the development of this facility would not create any additional impacts beyond those identified in the Eastern Dublin EIR or the 2000 Mitigated Negative Declaration. Therefore, an Addendum to the Eastern Dublin EIR was prepared to document these facts. Relevant Mitigation Measures from the Eastern Dublin EIR and the 2000 Mitigated Negative Declaration continue to apply to this Project. A Resolution recommending that the City Council approve a CEQA Addendum for this Project is attached as Exhibit A to Attachment 1. CONCLUSION: The Applicant is proposing a daycare facility that combines architecture and extensive landscaping to provide for an attractive use for the community. The proposed Springfield Montessori School will provide a Public/Semi-Public use for the Site which will meet the intent of the General Plan and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan to promote the establishment of Public/Semi-Public uses in the City. As conditioned, the school will not significantly impact the surrounding neighborhood. RECOMMENDATION: 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; and 5) Adopt the following Resolutions: a) Resolution (Attachment 1) recommending that the City Council adopt a CEQA Addendum for a Stage 2 Planned Development Rezone and Site Development Review for the Springfield Montessori School with the Addendum attached as Exhibit A; b) Resolution (Attachment 2) recommending that. the City Council adopt an Ordinance approving a PD Planned Development Rezone and related Stage 2 Development Plan with the Draft Ordinance attached as Exhibit A; c) Resolution (Attachment 3) approving the Site Development Review for the Springfield Montessori School with the Project Plans attached as Exhibit A; d) Resolution (Attachment 4) approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow operation of the Springfield Montessori School; and e) Resolution (Attachment 5) recommending that the City Council approve a Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and VSS Holdings, Inc. for a portion of the Project Site with the Development Agreement attached as Exhibit A. Page 7 of 8 GENERAL INFORMATION: APPLICANT/ PROPERTY OWNER: Rajan Lal, VSS Holdings Inc 746 Miner Road Orinda CA 94563 LOCATION: Corner of Kohnen Way and Brannigan Street ASSESSORS PARCEL NUMBER: 985-0052-022 and 985-0052-023 GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATION: Public/Semi-Public SPECIFIC PLAN AREA: Eastern Dublin Specific Plan EXISTING ZONING AND LAND USE: Planned Development SURROUNDING USES: Location Zoning General Plan Land Use Current Use of Property Site PD- Planned Public/Semi Public Vacant Develop ment North PD- Planned School Eleanor Murray Fallon Development Middle School South PD- Planned Public/Semi Public Vacant Development East PD- Planned Medium Density Development under Development Residential construction West PD- Planned Medium Density Residential dwellings Develop ment Residential Page 8 of 8