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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Specific Plan Status~ OF Dlj~ ti 19~ ~ ~ ,82 ``~,~1 ~~C~~~/ STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL File # ^© !^®-0[~ DATE: November 17, 2009 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers Planning Commission FROM: Joni Pattillo, City Manager SUBJE Joint City Council/Planning Commission Study Session to Discuss the Status of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (PA 07-036) Prepared By: Erica Fraser, Senior Planner EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The purpose of the Joint City Council/Planning Commission Study Session is to discuss the proposed land use concept for the Specific Plan Area, the proposed "Development Pool" (square footage available for intensification/development) of properties in the Specific Plan Area and the proposed Community Benefit Program for the use of the Development Pool. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funds have been allocated in the Fiscal Year 2009/2010 budget to prepare the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council and Planning Commission receive Staff's presentation and provide Staff with feedback regarding the proposed land use concept, "Development Pool" concept and Community Benefit Program. Submitt By: Commun ty Development Director Reviewed By: Assistant City Manager Page 1 of 8 ITEM NO. I• DESCRIPTION: Background The Fiscal Year 2006-2007 City Council Goals and Objectives included, as a high priority goal, the preparation of a comprehensive Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP). On June 19, 2007, the City Council adopted a Resolution approving a Consulting Services Agreement with RBF Consulting for preparation of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. The Specific Plan is anticipated to encompass the area of the existing Downtown Core, Village Parkway, West Dublin BART, Dublin Downtown and the San Ramon Specific Plans. A map of the proposed Specific Plan Area is shown below: Figure 1: Proposed Specific Plan Area The City of Dublin was awarded a Station Area Planning Grant in June 2008 in the amount of $200,000 from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. On February 17, 2009, the City Council adopted a Resolution approving a draft Funding Agreement for a Station Area Planning Grant for an amount not to exceed $200,000 for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. On July 21, 2009, the City Council adopted a Resolution approving a Consulting Services Agreement with RBF Consulting (for preparation of the Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report). The work on the Environmental Impact Report is underway. Project Status Page 2 of 8 A joint Study Session with the City Council and Planning Commission was held in August of 2007 to initiate preparation of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. In the winter of 2007/2008 Staff and RBF Consulting conducted a number of public outreach efforts to solicit input from stakeholders and other interested persons on the preparation of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. These outreach efforts included an online survey, a series of walking tours through the Specific Plan area, and an evening workshop. Outreach regarding the survey included placing a flyer in water bills to notify residents about the on-line survey, placing an advertisement in the Parks and Community Services Activity Guide that is mailed to Dublin residents, and a television advertisement which ran on the local community channel (TV 30). Over 300 people participated in the online survey. Staff and RBF Consulting also conducted one-on-one interviews with property owners in the Specific Plan area. These outreach efforts provided residents, property owners, and business owners with an opportunity to share their ideas while helping to shape the future of Downtown Dublin. Specific Plan Districts An Opportunities, Issues and Strategies Report was prepared to identify areas of strength to capitalize on in the Specific Plan Area and opportunities to generate positive fiscal impacts to the City. A number of background studies including a Traffic and Transportation Analysis, Infrastructure Analysis and a Market Analysis were completed to assist in the preparation of the Opportunities, Issues and Strategies Report. The Report describes the preliminary opportunities, issues and strategies related to the potential infill opportunities and revitalization of the Specific Plan area. The Opportunities, Issues and Strategies Report was presented to the City Council and Planning Commission at a Joint Study Session on June 5, 2009. The information contained in the Opportunities, Issues and Strategies Report and the feedback from the City Council and Planning Commission was used by RBF and Staff to create a draft land use plan. Based on the Report, three districts have been established in the Draft Specific Plan to establish development standards and design guidelines that are unique to each District. The three Districts are: Village Parkway District, which encompasses the Village Parkway Specific Plan Area; the Retail District, which is comprised of an area that is dominated by retail and large format retail uses; and the Transit-Oriented District, which is located near the West Dublin BART Station and accommodates transit-oriented developments with significantly higher Floor Area Ratio to take advantage of the proximity to public transit opportunities. Each District will have its own design guidelines and maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The following map illustrates the location of each District. Page 3 of 8 Figure 2: Specific Plan Districts ~~ y f x ,A f y t~ 1~ ~r. 4 r ,-i 5 `1 ~ t y .5r y ~r x,~~ t >1~.; ,r ~,. °ax~ t.xv,. r' s t a~..5 4" ' "3 t-*` F"'`, 1 ~ ~1~~ a / ,. t r r S, K : ~.` t ~r ~,-' -t .-v's"' ~ r'"~ t 4r s'~'(~ ~~~..~j ~ b.~ ,,l~~~ ~ - LEGEND y t ~~ 4r ... ~ v =d :. la P.,nd , ~; `4~i i i~ ~'.5.~ ~ .-~1 r t,V xc .r} 4..~ ~ ~''- f'" -. {'~1' { ~ its l mgt lt~c ~f1 s 4--~ r t ,<.~'i..~ ~;~'t.+-''~j j~ ~~' /„~~~fj i . j ,, ~* '"~ .,,~~. ,~"l Sp~ciic Plon Ditrids , .._ y `'~E DRi+ to ~ ,, 3-'~r `~.~C-- ~ 1~vf' 4ktbil ~sh~c1 r LA ~ . ~" r ~ ~I° 3 L~ 1 ~ ?y~ is ~ ~ ~rt^ ~~~ TrtrL ILGr.nkd DieE~k1 y ~ ~-.. `*,~£. .r 7y-i Y a~ 1~' ~ :~C`~" ~>~ ~r V11oge F6rA .ar Gi3hk= .: ~? ~ _ 'lr ^, ~ x ~ n~ ~ ~~~ ~.~~ v ,. n ~. . .. "~ f ,~~ , r„ ~ 84 Y' ~ r~ I ~ ` ~f w _ ....... ~x '~~ -'" ,--~} 1.f~"-' ~ a '',\.~~ ~r ~r~`' ~ ... „ h Gty of -'"' ~ ~~ ~l `, %e~nbn a_t." ~ ~~ ~: The follow-up steps from the June 30, 2009 Joint City Council/Planning Commission Study Session include this follow-up study session to discuss the Land Use Concept that was developed by RBF based on information obtained during the Study Session. The purpose of the Study Session is to review the Land Use Concept Staff and RBF have created, the Development Pool Concept, the Community Benefit Program and to provide feedback to Staff. ANALYSIS: Land Use Plan Following the Study Session, Staff and RBF reviewed the existing land use plans, the Opportunities, Issues and Strategies Report, the Specific Plan Guiding Principles (Attachment 1) and comments made by the City Council and Planning Commission during the Study Session. Based on this, Staff determined that, in order to allow maximum flexibility within the Specific Plan Area, a typical land use plan would not meet the intent of the Guiding Principles. Rather than establishing a typical land use plan which assigns a specific land use designation to each parcel, Staff is recommending that permitted uses be established across each of the three Districts. This would allow for maximum flexibility and would ensure that uses are permitted in each District which meet the objectives in the Guiding Principles. A list of permitted and conditionally permitted uses would be prepared for each District. These uses would be allowed to occur anywhere within each District rather than restricting certain uses to a particular parcel. For example, any property within the Transit-Oriented District would have a restaurant with outdoor dining. This is different from what is allowed today; currently, outdoor dining can only occur on certain parcels. By allowing these uses to be located anywhere within Page 4 of 8 the District, the City would be permitting maximum flexibility to encourage development in the Specific Plan Area. A Downtown Specific Plan Land Use Designation would be created in the General Plan and Downtown Specific Plan to allow this flexibility. Housing, however, may be limited to specific locations based on traffic impacts. A Traffic Study is currently being prepared to identify current traffic counts in the Specific Plan Area and will also evaluate constraints to future development. Following the completion of the Traffic Study, the Specific Plan may need to identify specific housing sites or limit the number of units within the Specific Plan area in order to minimize traffic impacts and to maintain a Level of Service (LOS) of D. This limitation is consistent with City Council direction at the June 30, 2009 workshop. Development Pool Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is defined as the relationship between the amount of useable floor area permitted in a building (or buildings) and the area of the lot on which the building stands. The following diagram (Figure 3) illustrates the different ways in which a building may be constructed on a site with an FAR of 1.0. Figure 3: Example of Different Building Configurations with an FAR of 1.0 ~- •STORIES I / ~~ ~~~ ~ ~/ ~ $TOFi The current specific plans assign development potential to each property based on the maximum Floor Area Ratio allowed for each property and the maximum development potential that could be accommodated pursuant to the environmental review prepared for each specific plan. Since the inception of the Specific Plans, none of the properties which received a significant increase in the allowable Floor Area Ratio (or development potential) have intensified, with the exception of Target which did construct a small addition. Staff is proposing to create a Development Pool within each District. A Traffic Study is currently underway which will identify the maximum development capacity in terms of square footage that Page 5 of 8 can occur within each District. The development capacity, above the base FAR (discussed in more detail below) would be placed into a Development Pool, by District. The maximum development potential for the proposed Specific Plan Districts will not be known until environmental review is completed. Based on the traffic study or availability of water resources, the development potential would be set to ensure that the Specific Plan does not result in significant environmental impacts. Staff is proposing to allow a base Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of up to a .50 in the Transit-Oriented District and a .35 in the Village Parkway and Retail Districts. If a property owner would like to develop beyond this base Floor Area Ratio, they may obtain additional square footage from the "Development Pool." The Development Pool would allow the property owners to develop their property up to the maximum Floor Area Ratio permitted in the Specific Plan. In order to access the Development Pool, the property owner would be required to enter into an agreement with the City and will need to provide a community benefit, as discussed further below. The property will then be required to be developed within a certain time frame or the additional square footage will be returned to the Development Pool so that it is available for other property owners that wish to use it. The following Table illustrates an example of development potential for three properties in the Specific Plan Area, before the property owners would be required to obtain additional square footage from the Development Pool. Table 1: Example of Development Potential Before Property Owners Must Obtain Square Footage from the Development Pool Existing Building Maximum Base Site Size and FAR Building Size Change and FAR Hostess Factory 6,200 sq. ft., 10,825 sq. ft. +4,625 sq. ft. Villa a Parkwa .20 FAR .35 FAR Target (Retail 122,400 sq. ft., 144,625 sq. ft. +22,245 sq. ft. District .29 FAR .35 FAR Corrie Center 78,516 sq. ft., 81,088 sq. ft. +2,572 sq. ft. Transit-Oriented .48 FAR .50 FAR As shown above, each of the three properties have development potential beyond the existing building size. For example, Target could construct an addition of up to 22,245 square feet, before obtaining additional square footage from the Development Pool. If Target wanted to increase the size of their building beyond the base FAR allowed by the Specific Plan, Target would then be required to pull the additional square footage from the Development Pool and provide a Community Benefit. Following completion of the Traffic Study, Staff will identify housing opportunity sites in the Specific Plan Area and will identify the appropriate development amount before property owners must use the Development Pool. The Traffic Study will also determine the maximum development (total square footage and number of housing units) which would be allowed in the Specific Plan Area. Page 6 of 8 One benefit to the proposed Specific Plan is that environmental work will be completed as part of the process. This means that any requests for an increase in square footage over the base FAR would not require subsequent environmental review. This is a cost and time savings for property owners in the Specific Plan Area. Community Benefit Program One of the Guiding Principles states that developers should provide a community benefit payment in return for the City allowing increased density on their property (Attachment 1, Principle 7.1). Staff proposes that a Community Benefit Program should be created which requires property owners to enter into an agreement with the City to pull square footage from the Development Pool. The terms of the Community Benefit Program will be prepared at a later date for City Council consideration. Options include requiring a community benefit payment, establishment of a fund which will construct improvements in the Downtown Area, payments to property owners to assist with improvements, or the construction of improvements as part of the project which provide a community benefit (such as outdoor plazas, high quality materials, etc.). Staff anticipates that the Community Benefit Program would be set-up similar to the City's current Sales Tax-Reimbursement Program in that the property owner or developer would enter into an Agreement with the City that ensures that the agreed upon benefit will be provided. The life of the Agreement will also be limited. to a specific period so that if the project is not constructed, the square footage can be returned to the Development Pool and will be available for other property owners in the plan area. CONCLUSION: The existing Specific Plan significantly increased the density allowed in the Specific Plan Areas, however, few properties have taken advantage of this benefit that the City provided and have intensified their properties. The proposed Specific Plan will allow intensified development in the Downtown and the Development Pool will allow the property owners, who wish to construct a more dense project, to construct this improvement on their properties. By utilizing the Development Pool concept, the City will ensure that the additional square footage (development potential) is available to those that will use it, rather than assigning it to a specific property which may never use it. The proposed land use and development pool concept will provide property owners with the ability to increase the size of their development without pulling from the Development Pool right away. The base FAR of.35 FAR in the Retail District allows properties to slightly intensify their development before requiring them to pull from the Development Pool. By requiring developers to pull additional development potential from the Development Pool and requiring the developer to enter into a Community Benefit Program, the City would ensure that a benefit to the community is provided in exchange for the increased development on the site. PURPOSE OF MEETING: As previously discussed, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss the proposed land use concept, "Development Pool" concept and Community Benefit Program. In order to assist the City Council and Planning Commission in their discussion, Staff has prepared the following questions to be considered by the City Council and Planning Commission: Page 7 of 8 1. Should the City allow uses based on the Specific Plan District rather than a Land Use Designation? Or, would a typical land use plan, with specific allowable uses for each property, be more appropriate? 2. Should the City establish a base FAR for each District, before a developer is required to use the Development Pool? Or, should the City allow development (FAR) up to the maximum allowed pursuant to the Specific Plan? 3. If the City establishes a base FAR for each District, should the base be established as .35 for the Village Parkway and Retail Districts and .50 for the Transit-oriented District? 4. Should the City establish a Community Benefit Program to provide a benefit to the community in exchange for allowing developers to use the Development Pool? 5. Are there any benefits to the community you would like to see included in the Community Benefit Program? NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: A Notice of this Study Session was published in the Valley Times and mailed to all property owners and tenants in the Specific Plan Area, within 300 feet of the existing Specific Plan boundaries and all persons who have expressed an interest in being notified of meetings. The Staff Report for this meeting was also made available on the City's webpage. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Guiding Principles (Excerpt from the Opportunities, Issues and Strategies Report) G: IPA#12007107-036 Downtown Dublin Specific PIanlCity CouncillCC PC Study Session 11.17.09111 17 09 Staff Reportl FINAL.doc Page 8 of 8 rof3 Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Opportunities, Issues, and Strategies Report 7 GUIDING PRINCIPLES This section describes a set of guiding principles that will be used as part of the preparation of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP). They are drawn from the focused mazket study, field observations, interviews with stakeholders, discussions with City staff, and professional urban design principles. Within the new study azea, three districts have been identified to establish unique development standazds and design guidelines that are unique to each district's needs (see Figure 7-1: Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Districts). These districts are:. ^ Retail District -comprised of mostly regional serving lazge-format retailers bounded by Amador Boulevard, I-680, Dublin Boulevard and San Ramon Road ^ Transit-Oriented District -comprised of land south of Dublin Boulevard and within walking distance to the West Dublin BART station ^ Village Parkway District -comprised of retail and service-oriented businesses along both sides of Village Parkway. Guiding principles for the DDSP study area as a whole and each district aze described below. The purpose of these guiding principles is to define a framework for future land uses, development standards and design guidelines for the project area and each district. 7.1 Downtown Dublin Guiding Principles 1. Support short-term incentives to promote development in downtown Dublin such as expedited permitting, reduced parking requirements, reduced water hook-up fees, and sales tax reimbursement program (the later of which currently exists). 2. Consider the development of a community benefit payment in return for increased density/FAR (i.e., density bonus/incentive program) that could be used to pay for public improvements in the Planning Area. 3. Increase the amount of retail sales and related economic activity throughout downtown Dublin. 4. Enhance the visual quality of downtown Dublin, including public streetscape improvements (via the City's existing Streetscape Master Plan), entryways, on-site landscaping and the appearance of individual buildings. 5. Create apedestrian-friendly downtown that minimizes potential conflicts between vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists. 6. Encourage a greater joint use of parking areas through compatible mixes of uses and enhanced pedestrian connections. 5/22/2009 Page 34 `' I ~ ~ ~ ~~ Attachment 1 ~ ~3 Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Opportunities, Issues, and Strategies Report 7. Consider more flexible and appropriate parking standards that reflect verifiable demand and consider the transit-oriented land uses in the area. 8. Work with property owners and business to achieve the goals and objectives of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. a. Work with local businesses and property owners to establish a business improvement district that would help to fund downtown improvements. b. Modify the existing traffic impact fee to offset the costs of providing requisite traffic and transportation improvements. 7.2 Retail District Guiding Principles 1. Encourage and support large-format regional retail as an important community and financial asset of the City. 2. Develop design standards and guidelines that support and enhance large-format regional retail uses such as optimal building configuration and design, signage, more efficient parking, parking strategies, pedestrian amenities, landscaping, etc. 3. Encourage a diverse mix of complementary land uses including civic uses, eating establishments, entertainment, and similar uses that compliment existing retail land uses. 4. Allow higher density housing and additional units (over the 100 units currently allowed) on the former Circuit City property. 5. Identify ways to improve/enhance non-vehicular and vehicular circulation and connections that are pedestrian friendly, particularly in areas that contain large, expansive parking lots. 6. Work with Zone 7 to relocate the existing storm drain that extends east -west through the district to allow for greater flexibility in future redevelopment efforts. 7.3 Transit-Oriented District Guiding Principles 1. Promote transit-oriented development to create a distinctive and active district. 2. Retain existing auto dealerships while supporting their eventual relocation to other easterly locations within the City of Dublin. 3. Identify opportunity sites for redevelopment that incorporate mixed-use and provide public and/or private plazas and outdoor gathering areas at strategic locations. 4. Encourage underground and/or above ground parking structures. 5. Discourage housing along Dublin Boulevard unless part of a mixed-use development with ground floor office or retail uses. 5/22/2009 Page 35 Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Opportunities, Issues, and Strategies Report 7.4 Vllage Parkway District Guiding Principles _ - 1. Continue to support a diverse mix of complementary land uses along Village Parkway. 2. Create opportunities for integrating live/work units into the Village Parkway area. 3. Consider an appropriate site(s) for High Density housing. 4. Support the retention of existing light industrial businesses. 3af3 5/22/2009 Page 36