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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 Dublin Preschool CUP/SDR ti`s Of DU8 /�i ` STAFF REPORT 1 Vo�� PLANNING COMMISSION IFOR DATE: August 14, 2012 TO: Planning Commission SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PLPA-2011-00055 Dublin Preschool Conditional Use Permit and Site Development Review for the construction and operation of a Day Care Center Prepared By: Mamie R. Delgado, Senior Planner EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Applicant is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit for the operation of a Day Care Center with up to 60 children and a Site Development Review Permit for the construction of a 3,284 square foot building with a 2,400 square foot outdoor play area along with 17 parking spaces, landscaping and associated site improvements. The Project site is located at 7250 Amador Valley Boulevard within the Village Parkway District of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. 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 Conditional Use Permit and Site Development Review for the construction and operation of a Day Care Center at 7250 Amador Valley Boulevard. III . a _ .' !. . ! ,, C Submitted By I °' evi ed By Senior Planner Assistant Community Development Director COPIES TO: Applicant File r� ITEM NO.: S.1, Page 1 of 8 DESCRIPTION: Figure 1. Project Site (7250 Amador Valley Blvd) The Project site is located near the southeast corner of Amador .'` ` Valley Boulevard and Village Parkway and is currently vacant. Adjacent uses include single- €. family residential to the east, 110 Taco Bell to the south, a multi- µ* g\\1a i tenant retail building to the west .. ,, �a and Amador Valley Boulevard to ** P�`a�o� the north. The site is _� approximately .35 acres in size ��` `� . 3. �`' and has a General Plan and '� ," �` . Zoning designation of Downtown „, , . "' , , Dublin — Village Parkway District. .• The A pp licant is proposing to construct a 3,284 square foot - � � s Day Care Center with a 2,400 -* square foot outdoor play area , along with 17 parking spaces, �°'� _ s, landscaping and associated site improvements. ;,� �. Background: `' x N The Project site and adjacent multi-tenant retail center were approved in 2004 for the development of a 5,582 square foot, two-story office building with 22 parking spaces (on the Project site) and an 8,539 square foot multi-tenant retail center with 32 parking spaces (to the west of the Project site). At the same time the project was approved, a Parcel Map was approved to create two separate parcels for the office building and the multi-tenant retail center. The retail center was subsequently constructed and is fully operational with a variety of businesses including Starbucks, Café Art, Montgomery Beauty Salon, an Optometrist and We Buy Gold. The office building site was sold and the entitlements to develop expired. The property is currently owned by Valley Community Bank. The property is now under contract to be purchased by the Applicant who is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit to operate a Day Care Center and Site Development Review to construct a 3,284 square foot building with associated site improvements. ANALYSIS: Conditional Use Permit The Project site is located in the Downtown Dublin Zoning District which refers to the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan for permitted, conditional and prohibited uses for each of the three Districts (Retail District, Transit-Oriented District and Village Parkway District) within the Specific Plan Area. The Project site is located within the Village Parkway District which allows, as a conditionally permitted use, "Civic, Cultural and Institutional" uses including Day Care Centers. "Civic, Cultural and Institutional" uses are subject to approval of a Conditional Use Permit by the Planning Commission. 2 of 8 A Conditional Use Permit enables the City to place conditions of approval on a project to ensure that the operating characteristics are compatible with surrounding uses. The proposed Project has been reviewed for issues related to noise, parking and other operating characteristics such as hours of operation and outdoor play activities. Conditions of approval have been placed on the Project, where appropriate, to ensure compatibility with the surrounding residential and commercial uses. The Applicant is proposing to operate a Day Care Center with 5 employees and up to 60 children between 2-5 years of age; the hours of operation would be 7:00am and 6:30pm Monday through Friday (Attachment 1). Outdoor play activities are proposed within an enclosed playground between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday through Friday. According to the Applicant, up to 30 children would be outdoors for up to 30 minutes, four times a day. Noise The Dublin General Plan Noise Element sets forth the acceptable levels of community noise exposure. Because the proposed Day Care Center includes outdoor play activities and would be located adjacent to a residential neighborhood, a noise study was conducted to determine whether the noise associated with the proposed Day Care Center would exceed the normally acceptable noise exposure level of 60 decibels as set forth in the General Plan. The noise study concluded that the additional noise associated with the proposed outdoor play activities would not result in a significant increase in the existing noise environment and the community noise exposure would remain below the normally acceptable level of 60 decibels (Attachment 2). Condition of Approval No. 11 has been included in the draft Resolution (Attachment 3) to ensure that outdoor play activities occur as proposed by the Applicant. Additionally, Condition of Approval No. 12 has been included in the draft Resolution to ensure that outdoor activities are controlled so as not to become a nuisance to persons living or working in the vicinity of the Day Care Center. Parking The Dublin Zoning Ordinance requires that Day Care Centers provide 1 parking space for every employee plus one loading space for every 5 children at the facility. Loading spaces associated with Day Care Centers are often provided in the form of a parking space when the ages of the children require that they be accompanied by an adult into and out of the facility. The proposed Day Care Center would have 5 employees and 60 children requiring a total of 17 parking spaces as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1. Day Care Center Parking Requirements Parking Standard Proposed Project Required Parking Day Care Center 1 space/employee 5 employees 5 spaces 1 space/5 children 60 children 12 spaces Total Required Parking 17 spaces The proposed Site Plan (Attachment 4, Sheet Al) indicates that 17 parking spaces will be provided on the Project site; however, 10 of these spaces are currently being utilized by the adjacent multi-tenant retail center. As a result, a parking study was conducted to determine whether adequate parking would be available to accommodate the proposed Day Care Center based on the existing and projected parking demands of both the Day Care Center and the adjacent multi-tenant retail center. 3 of 8 The parking study concluded that during peak parking demand periods, the proposed Day Care Center would require all 17 parking spaces on the Project site (Attachment 5). As a result, parking for the multi-tenant retail center, which is currently occurring on the Project site, would be displaced during the peak parking demand periods and patrons of the retail center would need to park on the street along Village Parkway and/or Amador Valley Boulevard. On-street parking was previously anticipated for the retail center when Starbucks was granted a Conditional Use Permit for a parking reduction. Additionally, the parking study determined that existing on-street parking would be adequate to accommodate the demand. There are 4 on- street spaces along Village Parkway and approximately 7 on-street spaces along Amador Valley Boulevard. Site Development Review Site Layout A 3,284 square foot building is proposed and would be located on the northern portion of the Project site closest to Amador Valley Boulevard (see Attachment 4, Sheet Al). The building's main entrance would be on the southern elevation facing the parking lot. While the building would back up to Amador Valley Boulevard a secondary pedestrian entrance is proposed off of Amador Valley Boulevard and the building would be stepped back along this elevation as it transitions between the existing retail center and the single-family homes to the east (see Attachment 4, Sheets Al and A3). The Downtown Dublin Specific Plan requires a minimum 5-foot setback along Amador Valley Boulevard; the proposed building would have a 6-foot setback at the west end of the building (closest to the retail center) and a 24-foot setback at the east end of the building (closest to the single-family homes). The Downtown Dublin Specific Plan also requires a minimum 15-foot setback from shared property lines with single-family residential property; the proposed building would maintain a 15-foot setback along the east elevation which is adjacent to single-family homes (see Attachment 4, Sheet Al). As an additional measure to minimize any potential impacts to the adjacent single-family homes, the Applicant has proposed to locate an office, restroom and break room on the east side of the building closest to the single-family homes and place the classrooms on the western portion of the building furthest away from them (see Attachment 4, Sheet A2). The outdoor play area is proposed to be located along the south and west elevations which face the parking areas for the proposed Day Care Center and adjacent retail center (see Attachment 4, Sheets Al and A2). The location of the outdoor play area has been placed as far as practical from the single-family homes to minimize noise associated with outdoor play activities. The outdoor play area would be enclosed with a 6-foot high steel fence (see Attachment 4, Sheet A3) and would include a play structure in the southwestern corner of the play area (see Attachment 4, Sheet A2). The play structure would be 12-feet tall at the highest point; however, the tallest platform height where children would be standing would not exceed 48-inches for safety reasons should a child fall from the play structure (Attachment 6). The Project site will include 17 parking spaces including 5 compact spaces which will be reserved for employee parking for the Day Care Center, one accessible space for persons with disabilities and one electric/clean air vehicle space. All parking would be located on the southern portion of the site (see Attachment 4, Sheet Al). Access to the Project site can be obtained 4 of 8 from existing driveways on Amador Valley Boulevard and Village Parkway. Both driveways are fully improved and provide vehicular access to the retail center parcel. A "Maintenance, Drainage, Ingress and Egress Agreement" was recorded in 2005 and includes a vehicular ingress and egress easement across the retail center parcel to the Project site. The existing trash enclosure located on the adjacent retail center parcel will be a shared trash enclosure for both the Project and the retail center (see Attachment 4, Sheet Al). The "Maintenance, Drainage, Ingress and Egress Agreement" includes a provision that allows for the Project to utilize the existing trash enclosure. As part of the Project, the trash enclosure will be upgraded to meet current trash enclosure standards including new lighting within the enclosure, a new accessible entrance on the east side of the enclosure and a new accessible path from the Project site to the enclosure. Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Design Guidelines The Downtown Dublin Specific Plan contains Design Guidelines for development occurring within the Specific Plan Area. Some of the design standards contained in the Design Guidelines are required while others are recommended; the Design Guidelines also include standards that may not necessarily be recommended but are allowed or optional. The Design Guidelines require that all building facades that are visible from the public realm be designed with similar architectural elements, materials and colors as the front façade. The proposed Day Care Center building would have a cement plaster finish on all four elevations and would be painted with three different colors to define a base, body and cap along the facade: 1) a deep rusty orange (Cedarbark) along the base of the building; 2) a warm gray (Clay Pebble) for the body of the building; and 3) a lighter gray band (Pebblestone Beige) just below the roof line of the building. Numerous windows would be incorporated on the north, west and south elevations and all would be accented with forest green fabric awnings. One window would be incorporated on the east elevation and would provide natural light for an office. All windows would be clear glass with an anodized aluminum frame. The Design Guidelines also require that facades that are visible from the street and parking areas be articulated to improve design quality. The north elevation of the proposed Day Care Center building fronts Amador Valley Boulevard and is the most articulated elevation. The building is stepped back from west to east providing a significant amount of articulation. Additionally, five windows are proposed along this elevation with a fabric awning over each window which provides a projecting façade element that visually breaks up the building plane. The west elevation faces the existing retail center and includes a recess along the center of the elevation. Four windows are proposed along this elevation, each with a fabric awning over it. The south elevation faces the parking lot for the proposed Day Care Center and is also articulated, being stepped back from west to east. Five windows are proposed along the south elevation and similar to the other elevations, each window includes a fabric awning over it. The Design Guidelines encourage varying roof forms that are compatible with the overall style and character of the building. Additionally, roofs should be designed to prevent water damage or stains on building facades; if gutters and downspouts are provided, they should drain directly into a landscape area, retention/detention basin, bioswale or storm drain. Lastly, mechanical equipment is required to be screened from public view. The proposed roof for the Day Care Center would be composed of composition shingles (consistent with the adjacent retail center) and would include gutters and downspouts that would directly drain into landscaping or bio- 5of8 retention areas; a mechanical well on the roof would completely screen all roof mounted equipment from public view. Landscaping and Lighting The existing bioswale and new filtration planters will be landscaped with drought tolerant ornamental grasses. The bioswale is located along the southern property line and southeast corner of the Project site. The filtration planters would be located near the northeast corner of the Project site, along the eastern property line and just outside the southwest corner of the outdoor play area. Filtration planters are flow-through planters designed to cleanse stormwater runoff before it is collected into a pipe and routed to the disposal point. A total of ten 24-inch box trees are proposed to be added to the Project site near and along the eastern property line in addition to a variety of evergreen shrubs, plants and groundcover. Existing landscaping to the west of the Project site is located on the retail center parcel and is proposed to remain; any damage to existing landscaping as part of the development of the Project site would be replaced. There are currently 4 street trees along the Amador Valley Boulevard Project frontage; these trees will remain and any missing and/or damaged tree grates would be repaired as part of the Project (see Attachment 3, Condition of Approval No. 56). Signage Any proposed wall or freestanding signage will be reviewed under a separate permit for conformance to the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan and the Dublin Zoning Ordinance, as applicable. CONSISTENCY WITH THE GENERAL PLAN, SPECIFIC PLAN AND ZONING ORDINANCE: The Project is consistent with the General Plan land use designation of Downtown Dublin — Village Parkway District which allows for range of uses consistent with the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. The Project is consistent with the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan land use designation of Downtown Dublin — Village Parkway District in that Day Care Centers are a conditionally permitted use and the development of the Project site complies with the development standards and design guidelines contained in the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan. 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 3). NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: On Tuesday, June 12, 2012 the Applicant hosted a neighborhood outreach meeting at 7:00pm in the Dublin Library Community Room. The Applicant's architect prepared a letter inviting surrounding residents/property owners within 300-feet of the Project to the neighborhood 6 of 8 outreach meeting. One member of the public attended and was representing the new ownership of the adjacent retail center. In accordance with State law, a Public Notice was mailed to all property owners and occupants within 300 feet of the proposed Project. A Public Notice was also published in the Valley Times and posted at several locations throughout the City. To date, the City has received no objections from surrounding property owners regarding the Project. A copy of this Staff Report has been provided to the Applicant. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), together with the State Guidelines and City Environmental Regulations require that certain projects be reviewed for environmental impacts and when applicable, environmental documents prepared. Staff is recommending that the Project be found Categorically Exempt from CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15332, In-Fill Development Projects. The Project consists of a Conditional Use Permit and Site Development Review for the construction and operation of a Day Care Center for up to 60 children. The Project is consistent with the General Plan land use designation of Downtown Dublin — Village Parkway District and the Downtown Dublin Zoning District; the Project site is less than 5 acres in size and is surrounded by urban uses; it has no value as habitat for endangered, rare or threatened species; approval of the Project will not result in any significant effects related to traffic, noise, air quality or water quality; and, the site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. ATTACHMENTS: 1) Applicant's Written Statement dated June 11, 2012. 2) Noise Study prepared by Rosen Goldberg Der& Lewitz dated May 24, 2012. 3) Resolution approving a Conditional Use Permit and Site Development Review for the construction and operation of a Day Care Center at 7250 Amador Valley Boulevard. 4) Project Plans dated received by Dublin Planning on June 21, 2012. 5) Parking Analysis prepared by Omni Means dated April 19, 2012. 6) "Neptune" Play Structure Specifications. 7 of 8 GENERAL INFORMATION: APPLICANT: Zhen Zhen Li, Empire California Investment, LLC 18801 Belgrove Circle, Saratoga, CA 95070 PROPERTY OWNER: Valley Community Bank, Attn: Greg J. Hickel, Executive V.P./Chief Credit Officer, 5000 Pleasanton Ave, Suite 210, Pleasanton, CA 94566 LOCATION: 7250 Amador Valley Boulevard ASSESSORS PARCEL NUMBER: 941-0210-035-00 GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION: Downtown Dublin —Village Parkway District SPECIFIC PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION: Downtown Dublin Specific Plan —Village Parkway District SURROUNDING USES: LOCATION ZONING GENERAL PLAN LAND USE CURRENT USE OF PROPERTY North DDZD Downtown Dublin —Village Commercial Parkway District South DDZD Downtown Dublin —Village Commercial Parkway District East R-1 Single-family Residential West DDZD Downtown Dublin —Village Commercial Parkway District REFERENCES: Dublin General Plan Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Dublin Zoning Ordinance 8 of 8