HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.3 PA 09-019 Alameda County Fire Facility CUPAGENDA STATEMENT
PLANNING COMMISSION MEET[NG DATE: July 14, 2009
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PA 09-019 Alameda County Fire Facility (Quasi-
Judicial) -Conditional Use Permit request for a Community Facility and a
parking reduction for shared parking located at 6400 Sierra Court.
Report Prepared by Erica Fraser, Seni~~r Planner
ATTACHMENTS: I) Resolution approving a request for a Conditional Use Permit to operate
a Community Facility (Alameda (~ounty Fire Facility) and a parking
reduction for shared parking located at 6400 Sierra Court in the Light
Industrial (M-1) Zoning District with the Project Plans/Written
Statement included as Exhibit A.
2) June 29, 2009 Zoning Administrator Staff Report (without attachments).
RECOMMENDATION: 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 a Resolution approving a request for a Conditional Use Permit to
operate a Community Facility (Alameda County Fire Facility) and a
parking reduction for shared parking located at 6400 Sierra Court in the
Light Industrial (M-1) Zoning District with the Project Plans/Written
Statement included as Exhibit A.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Background
The subject Property, 6400 Sierra Court, is located in the Light Industrial (M-1) Zoning District. The
subject Property is currently vacant and was used by the Chevron Corporation for several years as a
storage facility. The subject Propert}' is currently vacant and include: a 205,914 square-foot building on a
10.94-acre lot. On June 29, 2009, the Zoning Administrator appro~~ed two Conditional Use Permits to
allow two Indoor Recreational Facilities (East Bay Sports and Go Ku-t Racers) to operate in a portion of
the building.
The Site is bounded by the Alameda County Auto Auction to the north, Sierra Court to the east, a retail
building to the south, and the Alamo Creek Trail to the west. The building is set back approximately 272
feet from the residential properties located to the west, across the Alamo Creek Canal. The Alameda
County Auto Auction vehicle storage lot is located at the rear of the Property which provides a separation
between the building and the Alamo Creek Trail. The location of the Project Site is shown on the map on
the following page.
COPIES TO: Applicant
Property Owner p 22
ITEM NO. O . J
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G: IPA4110091PA 09-019 Alameda ('onnry Fire at 6400 SierralPCSR 7 /4.09.doc
Proposed Project
The Alameda County Fire Department proposes to operate a Community Facility at 6400 Sierra Court in
the M-1 Zoning District. A Community Facility is a conditional use in the M-1 Zoning District and
requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit by the Planning Comrr.ission prior to operation.
The Alameda County Fire Department has requested approval of a Conditional Use Permit to operate a
Community Facility that will house their headquarters and other operrtional facilities at this location.
ANALYSIS:
Operating Characteristics
The Alameda County Fire Department is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit to operate a
Community Facility within a 63,241 square-foot tenant space in an existing building located at 6400
Siena Court. The main entrance to the Facility will be located at the front of the building facing Sierra
Court.
The building will be used for the headquarters of the Alameda Counh/ Fire Department which will mainly
consist of offices and conference rooms and will be located on the second floor of the tenant space. The
EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and IT (Information technology) divisions will also be located in the
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tenant space. The Department's Reserve Program will also be located on the Site and the space will be
used for storage and meetings/training for members of the Reserve Program. The space will also be used
by staff of the Training Division; however, most of the training drills will be located off-site in San
Leandro or Livermore.
The Apparatus Maintenance Division will occupy a large portion of the tenant space on the first floor. The
Division will repair vehicles (including fire trucks) in one of the eight service bays inside the building. A
truck wash will also be located outside of the building. All equipment storage associated with this
Division will be located within an approved enclosure and will not be: visible from the street.
Alameda County Fire Department will operate an Emergency Operations Center from a conference room
inside the tenant space. The City of Dublin will also locate their Emergency Operations Center from
within the space. An emergency operations center (EOC), is a central command and control facility
responsible for carrying out emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level
in an emergency situation. The EOC will only be operational during emergencies.
The Alameda County Fire Department anticipates that the Department's dispatch center will be moved to
this location at a future date. The Site will not be used as a Fire Staticn.
The Headquarters and Apparatus Division will operate Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00
p.m. The Reserves and Training Divisions will operate in the evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, and from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on weekends. The EOC will operate as needed
and the dispatch center will operate :?4 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Parking
A total of 374 parking spaces are provided on the Site for use by tenants of the building. A total of 38 of
the 374 parking spaces are located in a gated portion of the lot for use by Alameda County Fire only
(Exhibit A to Attachment 1).
The Zoning Ordinance does not include the parking requirements fir this type of Facility, therefore the
parking required for this Facility is per this Conditional Use Pennit.
Based on the Applicant's Written Statement listing the hours of op~;ration for each of the divisions, the
peak demand for parking is expected to occur in the evenings when the space is used for meetings and
dispatch. The following chart illustrates the anticipated demand for parking spaces generated by this use
(information provided by the Applicant, please refer to the Applicant's Written Statement in Exhibit A to
Attachment 1).
TARi.F. 1: Fstimated Maximum Number of Peonle on Site
Time of Day Number of Peo le
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday 65
throu Friday
6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m., Monday 85
through Friday
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Saturday 45
and Sunday
As shown on the above table, the peak demand for this Facility will occur in the evenings during the week
when up to 85 people are anticipated to be in the Facility for training snd to staff the dispatch center.
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On June 29, 2009, the Zoning Administrator approved Conditional Use Permits for East Bay Sports and
Go Kart Racers (Indoor Recreational Uses). These uses will require a total of 302 parking spaces to
support their uses as shown in Table 2 below. This will leave a surplus of 72 parking spaces which are
available for use by Alameda County Fire. The building will be fully leased with these three tenants.
TABLE 2: Total Number of Parkine Spaces Required for Approved Uses
Parking Spaces
Required Parking S paces
Available Surplus
East Bay Sports 159 -- --
Go Kart Racers 143 -- --
Total 302 374 72
Based on the information provided by the Applicant, Staff anticipates that the peak parking demand for
the Facility will be 85 parking spaces and will occur during the e~~ening on weekdays (please refer to
Table 1) when the space is used for the Reserves and Training Division and dispatch.
TARi,F, 3: Total Number of Parkine Spaces Required
Parking Spaces
Re uired Parking Spaces
Available Parking Deficit
East Bay Sports 159 -- --
Go Kart Racers 143 -- --
Alameda County Fire
De artment 85 -- --
Total 387 374 -13
As shown in the above table, the Project will result in an over~.ll deficit of 13 parking stalls. The
Applicant has requested approval oi' a parking reduction for shared ~~arking on this Site to allow this use
to operate on the Site.
Parking Reduction for Shared Parking
As previously discussed, the Site has a total of 374 parking spaces and the approved uses require a total of
302 parking spaces, per the Zoning Ordinance and Conditional Use Permit to support their use. With the
addition of the Alameda County Fire Facility, an additional 85 parking spaces would be required which
will result in a deficiency of 13 parking spaces (see Table 3 above).
The Dublin Zoning Ordinance allows for a Parking Reduction for '3hared Parking (Section 8.76.OSO.F)
when shared off-street parking is proposed between two or more adjacent use types. In such
circumstances, the Planning Commission may grant a reduction in off-street parking requirements if the
following requirements can be met:
1. The Conditional Use Permit findings can be made.
2. A sufficient number of spaces are provided to meet the: greatest parking demands of the
participating use types and to ensure that there will not be a parking deficiency.
3. Satisfactory evidence is provided that the use types by their natures and operating times will not
conflict with each other.
4. Overflow parking will not adversely affect any adjacent use.
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5. Additional documents, covenants, deed restrictions, or other agreements as may be deemed
necessary by the Planning ('ommission are executed to assure that the required parking spaces
provided are maintained and that uses with similar hours an~i parking requirements as those uses
sharing the parking facilities remain for the life of the documents, covenants, deed restrictions or
other agreements.
As discussed in the Zoning Administrator Staff Report (pages 3-4 of Attachment 2), although the Zoning
Ordinance includes parking requirements for East Bay Sports, it is unlikely that the use will generate the
need for 159 parking spaces. This determination was based on a survey that was conducted of a similar
facility in Livermore during the day and evening when the Facility was open and based on the parking
requirement For this Facility in Livermore. As discussed in the Staff report, a typical parking requirement
for a similar Indoor Recreational Facility is one parking space per 600 square feet (which would mean
that 94 parking spaces would be required).
Staff made several site visits to the Livermore Facility which includes an indoor Soccer facility and an
indoor Go Kart Facility which operate in adjacent buildings. Staff visited the Site during the day and
evening hours. During the day, only a few parking stalls were filled :it each Facility. More parking spaces
were used in the evening hours (after 5:00 p.m.), however, the parking lot still had empty parking spaces
and no overflow parking was noted. The peak demand period for :he Alameda County Fire Facility is
anticipated to occur Monday throul;h Friday in the evening hours. Staff made several site visits in the
evening to the Livermore Facility to count cars (at 6:00 and 7:00 p.rr..). On average, Staff observed 7 cars
parked in the Umigo (Go Kart) parking lot and 21 cars parked in ;he Cabernet Sports (Indoor Soccer)
parking lot.
Based on the availability of parking at the Livermore Facility during the day and evening hours, Staff has
found that the Site has adequate parking to support all three users v~ithout an overflow issue to adjacent
sites and Staff is recommending that the Planning Commission approve the request for a parking
reduction for shared parking.
Conformance with Zoning Ordinance and General Plan
The General Plan Land Use designation for the parcel is Business Park/Industrial, which permits a wide
range of uses. The Project Site is zoned Light Industrial (M-1). A Community Facility is permitted in the
M-1 Zoning District with the approval of a Conditional Use Permit.
The proposed application is consistent with the Dublin General Plan and the Municipal Code because the
Project is compatible with the existing Zoning and General Plan Land Use designation and the use will
provide a needed service for the community. As conditioned, the Project will be operated and maintained
in such a manner as to reduce impacts on surrounding properties.
Conditional Use Permit Findings
In order for the Planning Commission to approve a request for a Conditional Use Permit, the Planning
Commission must make all of the findings found in Section 8.100.(160 of the Dublin Zoning Ordinance
and included on pages 2-3 of the Resolution (Attachment 1). With the: addition of the proposed Conditions
of Approval contained in the Resolution, the findings as required by the Zoning Ordinance can be made.
CONCLUSION:
The application has been reviewed by the applicable City departments and agencies, and their comments
have been incorporated into the Conditions of Approval for the Project. The proposed Project, as
conditioned, is consistent with the Dublin General Plan and the Zoning District in which the Project Site
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is located and represents an appropriate project for the Site. The Facility will provide emergency support
services for the Alameda County Fire Department which will benefit the community,
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The Projects have been reviewed under the California Environmental Quality Act, (CEQA), State CEQA
Guidelines and the Dublin Environmental Guidelines, and Staff recommends that the Project be found
Categorically Exempt per CEQA Section 15301 (minor alteration of existing facilities).
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 a Resolution approving a request for a Conditional 1Jse Permit to operate a Community
Facility (Alameda County Fire Facility) and a parking reduction for :.hared parking located at 6400 Sierra
Court in the Light Industrial (M-1) Zoning District with the Project Plans/Written Statement included as
Exhibit A.
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GENERAL INFORMATION:
APPLICANT:
PROPERTY OWNER:
LOCATION:
GENERAL PLAN
LAND USE DESIGNATION
ZONING:
SURROUNDING USES:
Alameda County Fire Departure ~t, 835 E. 14`h Street Suite 200, San
Leandro, CA 94557
Clair Robison, 1298 Collins Late, San Jose, CA 95129
6400 Sierra Court (APN 941-0205-043)
Business Park/Industrial
M-1 (Light Industrial)
Location Zoning General Plan :Land Use Current Use of
Pro ert
Site M-1 - Li ~ t Industrial Business Park/[ndustrial Vacant
North M-1 -Light Industrial Business Park/[ndustrial Alameda County Auto
Auction
South C-2 -General Retail/Office Retail Uses
Commercial
East PD - Pla~med Business Park/ [ndustrial Various Light Industrial
Development and M-1- Uses
Light Industrial
West M-1-Light Industrial Stream Comdor Alamo Creek Canal
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