HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 PLPA-2011-00049 PH-Tralee TownhomesSTAFF REPORT
PLANNING COMMISSION
DATE: March 13, 2012
TO: Planning Commission
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PLPA-2011-00049 Tralee Townhomes; Planned
Development Rezone Stage 2 Planned Development Amendment to
revise the land plan to remove the public art feature and a Site
Development Review application for the remaining 53 townhouses
which were revised to comply with the current California Building Code
as adopted by the City of Dublin
Report Prepared by Mike Porto, Consulting Planner
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The proposed project, Tralee Townhomes, is the final component of the original project. The
original project included 130 condominiums (apartments) and 103 townhouses as well as
approximately 34,950 square feet of commercial retail office. The proposed project is comprised
of the final 53 townhouses. Adoption of the current California Building Code necessitated a
change in the design of the units to meet the newly required accessibility standards. Revised
architecture and floor plans were needed to comply with the Code changes necessitating a new
Site development Review. Additionally, the original Stage 2 Development Plan provided a
location for public art which was to sit on the podium parking structure. Issues with the weight of
the art piece, structural concerns with the podium itself and the actual proposed location were
determined to be problematic and the public art component is proposed to be eliminated.
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 recommending that the City Council adopt an
Ordinance approving a Planned Development Rezone with a Stage 2 Development Plan
Amendment to revise the public art requirement for the Tralee Mixed-Use development project;
and 6) Adopt a Resolution approving Site Development Review fora 53 townhomes at Tralee
located at 6599 Dublin Boulevard.
Submitted By:
Consulting Planner
Revi ed By
Planning Manager
COPIES TO: Applicant
File
Page 1 of 8 ITEM NO.: •
G:IPA#120111PLPA-2011-00049 Tralee Rezone (Public Art)VPCSR 3.13.12 Tralee.doc
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Location & Existing Use
Tralee is located at the northwest corner of Dublin Boulevard and Dougherty Road. The project
site has a General Plan Land Use designation of Mixed Use. The site has the PD Zoning to
allow a new development of townhomes, condominiums and retail/commercial spaces.
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Surrounding Uses
Uses surrounding and adjacent to the project site are described as:
a) To the north: An auto service, retail/commercial center and light industrial uses;
b) To the south: across Dublin Blvd. two retail/commercial centers, a service station and a
recreational vehicle sales lot;
c) To the east across Dougherty Road: a service station and retail/commercial
establishments;
d) To the west: aretail/commercial center and light industrial uses;
Background
The Planning Commission, at their meeting of June 22, 2004, recommended that the City
Council adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Plan, a General Plan
Amendment to designate the Tralee site for Mixed Use, a Stage 1 and Stage 2 Development
Plan and a Site Development Review and Vesting Tentative Tract Map. The City Council
approved those items at their meeting of July 20, 2004.
The project was originally comprised of 130 condominiums, currently being rented as
apartments, 103 townhouse units and 34,950 square feet of retail/commercial/office with
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common open space, to be developed in two phases. The project began construction in the
summer of 2006 and ultimately the retail/commercial square footage was developed, the 130
condominiums (which included a podium parking structure) were built, as well as 50 of the 103
townhouse units. The condominiums .(apartments) are currently for lease and 35 of the
townhouse units have received final Building Department approval and 15 are partially
complete.
Due to the economic slowdown, the original developer, Pinn Brothers, did not complete the
construction of the townhouse units leaving 53 units within the interior of the project to be
completed. Subsequently, the Site Development Review approval expired and in 2007 The
State of California legislated a change in the Building Code requiring that 10% of amulti-family
project provide accessible units. The original approved design of the units only provided for
garage and storage space on the ground floor. In order for a unit to meet the accessibility
requirements, it must have a bedroom and a powder room effectively "at-grade" so that a
disabled person utilizing a wheelchair can wheel right into the unit. There were no units
designed to accommodate the required accessible units.
The requirement for public art had not been solidified into an Ordinance at the time of the
original approval of Tralee so the developer made a commitment to provide a public art piece in
a location designated on the Stage 2 Development Plan with a value of $35,000.
Subsequently, it was determined that the location of the public art, over the podium parking
structure, was too heavy for the podium structure which was not built to accommodate the
weight. The Applicant has requested an Amendment to the Stage 2 Development Plan to
eliminate the public art piece and pay in-lieu fees of $35,000 for the original commitment.
The Applicant is currently requesting approval of an SDR for 53 townhomes to address
accessibility issues and an Amendment to the Stage 2 Development Plan to eliminate the public
art location and allow for an in-lieu fee to be paid.
ANALYSIS:
Site Develoament Review
Floor Plans:
The change in the Building Code referenced above required that 10% of the units include living
space on the first floor that is easily accessible from an American with Disabilities Act public
walk way (sidewalk). That space has been defined as a bedroom and a powder room. The
majority of the existing townhouse units are all accessed by a minimum of 8 steps making the
first level of the home approximately 4 feet above natural grade. One of the existing plans
incorporated a tandem garage.
The proposed Site Development Review eliminates the steps up to the porch and living area on
3 of the floor plans (UA-1, UB-1 and UB-2) and provides a full bedroom and powder room on the
at-grade level, as well as a standard side-by-side two-car garage. The fourth floor plan (UC-1)
provides the entry at-grade but still requires 16 stairs to reach the living area of the home. This
plan maintains the tandem garage. As previously stated, the Building Code change
necessitated 10% of the units to be accessible. That would be 6 units. The UC-1 unit (non-
accessible) is plotted 12 times (13%) leaving 41 units (77%) as accessible,. far exceeding the
required 10%.
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Building Elevations:
The architecture of the existing project is a contemporary style, which is designed to relate to
the surroundings including the Civic Center buildings and commercial buildings to the west of
the site and the commercial development north of the site. Building surfaces consist of brick and
painted stucco with exposed metal roofs. The architecture detailing, forms and elements of the
mixed-use project are carried through the existing townhouse-style condominiums, as well as in
the Village Green area, so that Tralee becomes a fully integrated project.
Maintaining the overall appearance of the project, when combining the old and new architecture,
was critical. With the proposed elimination of the raised front porches continuity of design was
paramount. The continuation of the building materials, building massing and design elements of
the existing structures was important in order to integrate with the existing constructed project.
The elevations prepared by the SDG Architecture + Engineering for the new project, mirror the
existing architecture with the same use of materials in the same manner although some of the
roof forms have been revised to reflect a more traditional look. This blends well with the existing
architecture. The revised architecture is included in Attachment No 1, "New Architecture" Tab,
Sheets E-1 and E-2. The existing architecture is included in Attachment No 1, "Existing
Architecture" Tab, Sheet B-3E and B-4E. The colors and materials illustration is on Sheet E-3
of Attachment 1.
Site Planning:
Fifty of the townhouse units have been constructed within three buildings facing Sierra Lane and
5 buildings facing an interior paseo. There are 10 new buildings to be constructed in clusters of
4, 5 and 7 units that are arranged to face house entries into paseos and private streets, with
access to each garage from common private drives. Most units now include a small at-grade
patio. Each unit includes two garage spaces. Side elevations are treated with the same level of
detail as the front of the units. Some of the end units include a meter closet with louvered metal
doors painted to match the main building. The affordable units have been integrated within the
center portion of each building. As permitted by the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, the units are
smaller (narrower) than the market rate units, but have been designed with the same number of
bedrooms, bathrooms and decks/balconies consistent with the original approval. The sensitive
use of design elements on elevations that face paseos and drives contribute to an overall well-
designed project that is fully integrated with the new and existing architecture.
Landscape/Fence Plan:
The landscape plan presented as a part of this Site Development Review is consistent with the
previous approval with respect to plant material, location of planting areas, planting concepts
and the provision of hardscapes. The only modifications pertain to the front of the units as the
entrances are now at grade rather than raised. Patios on the front of the homes are now level
with the adjacent walkways changing the landscape palette from the approved, which was
intended to screen the structure of the building, to a palette now that will augment and enhance
the patios.
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Public Art:
Pinn Brothers agreed to provide public art valued at $35,000 and indicated a location on the
Stage 2 Development Plan and the Site Development Review. This Applicant is requesting
removal of the requirement which is more fully described below and in-lieu will provide a cash
payment for the agreed upon value. At the time that Pinn Brothers made the offer of the Public
Art, the City had not formalized the Public Art requirement and adopted the Public Art
Ordinance. The proposed location of the art is shown below which is in the already developed
portion of the site.
Stage 2 Development Plan
Sheet L-14 of the original approval, included below, makes reference to the placement of a
"Kinetic Sculpture on an integral color concrete stepped pedestal."
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Pinn Brothers, the original developer of Tralee proposed the public art piece referenced above.
This was prior to the adoption of the formal Ordinance requiring the provision of public art which
is currently suspended until Mary 21, 2012. Pinn Brothers secured the artist, commissioned the
design and took the proposed piece through the City of Dublin Parks and Community Services
Department's procedure in-place at the time for approval. Subsequently, Pinn never completed
the project and later it was determined that the podium structure was inadequate to hold this
heavy art piece.
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The Applicant has requested that the public art component be eliminated and replaced by a
$35,000 payment in-lieu of providing public art. The Applicant previously posted a bond for
public art in order to receive occupancy of constructed units. Condition No. 33 of Attachment 2
is a condition relating to the conversion of that bond to cash for payment to the City. As the
Public Art was to be placed over the existing embellish courtyard paving. This paving is already
constructed and, therefore, the elimination of the Public Art component will not leave a deficit in
the site plan.
Because the public art location and a description of the art piece itself was described in the Site
Development Review and on the Stage 2 Development Plan, an Amendment to the Stage 2
Development Plan is necessary.
A Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt an Amended Stage 2 Development
Plan is included as Attachment 3, with the Draft City Council Ordinance included as Exhibit A.
Affordable Housing
The original approval made provisions for affordable housing to be integrated within the center
portion of the buildings (Unit UC-1 ). There are 12 UC-1 units proposed; 10 of which were
designated for affordable housing. The new Site Development Review incorporates these units
in the locations and configurations originally approved as a part of the Affordable Housing
Agreement.
CONSISTENCY WITH THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING ORDINANCE:
The area within the proposed project is designated Mixed Use in the General Plan. The site is
zoned PD Mixed Use. Ordinance 22-04 (PA 02-062) approved in 2004 established the Stage
Planned Development zoning and Stage 2 Development Plan which included development
standards. The current Stage 2 Development Plan amendment and Site Development Review
request would be consistent with the General Plan land use designation and Planned
Development zoning as amended.
The proposed project has been reviewed for conformance with the Community Design and
Sustainability Element of the General Plan. The existing mixed use project already approved
has implemented pathways, gathering spaces, open spaces, and a village concept which is
further defined and accentuated by this development. Completion of these 53 townhouse units
will further the goals of the Community Design and Sustainability Element of the General Plan
by providing a high quality of life, interesting and unique urban open spaces and gathering
places and preserving resources and opportunities for future generations.
REVIEW BY APPLICABLE DEPARTMENT AND AGENCIES:
The Building Division, Fire Prevention Bureau, Public Works Department, Dublin Police Services
and Dublin San Ramon Services District reviewed the project and provided Conditions of
Approval where appropriate to ensure that the Project is established in compliance with all local
Ordinances and Regulations. Conditions of Approval from these departments and agencies
have been included in the attached Resolution (Attachment 2).
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NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
In accordance with State law, a public notice was mailed to all property owners and occupants
within 300 feet of the proposed project to advertise the project and the upcoming public hearing.
A public notice was also published in the Valley Times and posted at several locations
throughout the City. A copy of this Staff Report was provided to the Applicant.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
On July 20, 2004, the City Council approved a Mitigated Negative Declaration and a Mitigation
Monitoring Program for Bancor Properties Tralee Project (Resolution 142-04). This project is a
continuation of that original project and is in conformance with the Mitigated Negative
Declaration for the original project.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Project plans.
2. Resolution approving Site Development Review for 53
townhomes at Tralee located at 6599 Dublin Boulevard.
3. Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt an
Ordinance approving a Planned Development Rezone with a
Stage 2 Development Plan Amendment to revise the public
art requirement for the Tralee Mixed-Use development project
with the Draft City Council Ordinance included as Exhibit A.
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GENERAL INFORMATION:
PROPERTY OWNER/APPLICANT:
LOCATION:
APN:
EXISTING ZONING:
GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATION &
EASTERN DUBLIN SPECIFIC PLAN:
SURROUNDING USES:
Signature Development
2201 Broadway Street, Suite 604
Oakland, CA 94612
Northwest Comer of Dougherty Road and Dublin Blvd.
Parcels 2 & 3 of Parcel Map 7893
941-2831-057-00 & 941-2831-003-00
PD-Mixed Use
Mixed Use
LOCATION ZONING GENERAL PLAN LAND USE CURRENT USE OF
PROPERTY
Light Auto service, retail/commercial
North Industrial Business Park/Industrial center and li ht industrial uses;
Across Dublin Blvd. two
South General
Retail/Office and Automotive retail/commercial centers, a
Commercial service station and a
recreational vehicle sales lot
Service station and
East General Retail/Commercial retail/commercial
Commercial establishments;
West General Retail/Office and Automotive Retail/commercial center and
Commercial li ht industrial uses
REFERENCES:
General Plan
Eastern Dublin Specific Plan
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