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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.3 PCSR Amendments to DDSP Of DUe�� X82 STAFF REPORT PLANNING COMMISSION DATE: March 11, 2014 TO: Planning Commission SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PLPA-2013-00073 Amendments to the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP). General Plan Amendment and Specific Plan Amendment to increase the number of residential units permitted and decrease the amount of non-residential square footage permitted in Downtown Dublin, and an Addendum to the DDSP Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Report prepared by Kristi Bascom, Principal Planner EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Planning Commission will consider and make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the General Plan Amendment and Specific Plan Amendment for changes proposed to the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP) and an Addendum to the DDSP EIR. The proposed changes include increasing the number of residential units permitted in the Downtown by 1,200 units and decreasing the amount of commercial square footage permitted by 773,000 square feet, creating minimum density thresholds for the Transit-Oriented and Retail Districts, and restricting residential development on the west side of San Ramon Road in the Retail District. Other minor amendments are also included. No specific development is proposed as a part of this project, and Site Development Review approval will be required before any new construction could commence. An Addendum to the EIR has been prepared that concludes that all potential environmental effects were adequately addressed in the original EIR. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission: 1) Receive Staff presentation; 2) Open the public hearing; 3) Take testimony from the public; 4) Close the public hearing and deliberate; and 5) Adopt the following Resolutions: a) Resolution Recommending that the City Council adopt an Addendum to the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan EIR related to increasing the number of residential units and decreasing the amount of non-residential square footage permitted in Downtown Dublin; and b) Resolution Recommending that the City Council amend the General Plan and Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP) to allow an increase in the number of residential units permitted in the DDSP by 1,200 units and to decrease the amount of non- residential square footage permitted by 773,000 square feet, create minimum density thresholds for the Transit-Oriented and Retail Districts, and restrict residential development west of San Ramon Road in the Retail District. Submitted By a iewed By Principal Planner Asst. Community Development Director COPY TO: File CIA ITEM NO.: 0 Page 1 of 8 G:IPA#U0131PLPA-2013-00073 DDSP Amendment Residential IncreaselPC Mtg 03.11.20141PCSR 03.11.2014.doc DESCRIPTION: Background On February 1, 2011, the City Council adopted the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP) (City Council Resolution 9-11) and certified the associated Final Environmental Impact Report (City Council Resolution 8-11). The Specific Plan was developed with the intent to incentivize residential and commercial development in Downtown Dublin and represents a vision of the future development for the Downtown area that provides flexibility to respond to market conditions. A map of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Area is shown in Figure 1 below and Attachment 1. The DDSP established three distinct Figure 1: DDSP Districts districts (shown in Figure 1), each including its own set of development standards tailored to the envisioned uses. The Transit-Oriented District , embraces the recent opening of the West Dublin BART station and is the ` district where a vast majority of the new residential development in Downtown Village Parkway Dublin is envisioned to take place. The District Retail District includes much of the existing retail core and aims to stimulate infill development and Retail District revitalization of aging buildings and large parking areas. The Village Parkway District embraces the existing successful service and retail uses along a "Main Street" corridor with an aim to reutilize and re-tenant existing Transit Oriented buildings with more intense uses such District as restaurants, service retail, and other local-serving businesses. Since the adoption of the DDSP in 2011, Downtown has seen several new development projects come to fruition and more that have been approved, but not yet built. New businesses have opened in existing buildings such as Sports Authority, Savers, Sprouts Farmer's Market, new buildings have been constructed for new commercial tenants such as REI, Freebirds, Habit Burger, new residential projects have opened (Connolly Station), and other residential projects have been approved, although construction has not yet started (former Crown Chevy site, Veteran's Housing project). Capital improvements have also been made (Golden Gate Streetscape Enhancement Project) and Downtown Dublin continues to enjoy a successful resurgence. When the DDSP was written, the development potential envisioned was a maximum of 1,300 residential units in the three districts (in addition to the 53 units already existing at Wicklow Square at the Dublin Senior Center) and over 3 million square feet of potential commercial development that could include retail, office, and other non-residential uses. The development potential currently allowed in the DDSP is as follows: 2of8 Table 1: Development Potential in the DDSP Non-Residential (SF Residential (Units) Retail District 737,100 100 Transit-Oriented District 2,202,710 1,100 (plus 150 hotel rooms) Village Parkway District 20,730 100 3,035,540 Total (includes hotel room square footage) 1,300 Since the adoption of the DDSP, there has been continued interest in the development of additional residential units in Downtown — particularly in the Transit-Oriented District, where 1,003 of the available 1,100 residential units are already entitled. These units are accounted for in the completed Connolly Station apartment project (309 units), the AMB/Prologis/Corovan warehouse site (308 units), the former Crown Chevrolet site (314 units), and the Veteran's Housing site (72 units). In 2011, the City engaged the Urban Land Institute Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) to review the DDSP and provide an assessment on priorities for implementation, which were contained in a final report (Attachment 2). The report contained several suggestions on incentivizing development in Downtown, one of which was to remove the residential unit cap to let the market dictate how much housing in Downtown Dublin could be accommodated. Although City Staff is not recommending to remove the cap altogether, given the high demand for residential units in Downtown and, in particular, near the West Dublin BART station, the City is proposing to raise the limit for residential development from the current 1,300 units to 2,500 units throughout the three districts. To offset potential impacts resulting from an increase in residential development Downtown, the proposal also includes reducing the non-residential (commercial) development potential from 3,035,540 SF to 2,262,540 SF, also throughout the three districts. The proposed amendment will allow the area to capture market demand for housing Downtown (which is one of the guiding principles of the DDSP to create a vibrant downtown) and it will also provide opportunities for the City to meet the obligations of the Housing Element and the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers that have been assigned to Dublin by the State of California. There are two RHNA-related challenges that the City is facing: 1) Meeting the current Housing Element RHNA obligation; and 2) Meeting the future Housing Element RHNA obligation for 2014-2022. Recently-initiated General Plan Amendment studies for the East Dublin Transit Center Site A-1, SummerHill/DiManto Parcels 3 and 4, and the Frederich/Vargas properties have the potential to impact the Housing Element and the City's ability to meet its current RHNA obligation. All of these projects, in addition to other projects that are moving forward but do not require General Plan Amendments, such as Wallis Ranch, are proposing to decrease the development densities on each site. If these projects to reduce densities are to be considered, the units that are being "lost" need to be accounted for elsewhere in the City to satisfy the current Housing Element cycle. 3 of 8 After taking all of the City's potential development sites into account, the City is expecting to still have a deficit of 1,075 below market rate housing units to meet the future Housing Element RHNA obligation for 2014-2022. This issue was discussed by the City Council at the meeting on July 16, 2013 and by consensus, the City Council directed Staff to study an increase in the residential development capacity in the DDSP, which City Staff has identified as an area that could accommodate residential development. The Planning Commission also discussed the Housing Element and RHNA obligations at the meeting on February 25, 2014 where the concept of increasing the development potential in the DDSP was considered. ANALYSIS: It would not be in the City's best long-term interests to convert future job-producing sites (such as future office development properties in the Transit Center or the remaining commercially- designated areas in Eastern Dublin) to residential uses. However, increasing the residential development capacity within the DDSP area is considered a viable option. Interest in residential development opportunities in Downtown has proven to be strong, and it is recognized that having more residents in Downtown will create more opportunities for restaurant, entertainment, and other commercial uses. Even with the potential increase in residential units in the DDSP and the corresponding decrease in commercial square footage, there remains over 2 million square feet of commercial development potential available for future non-residential projects. Allowing additional residential development in Downtown could compensate for reducing the development potential on several project sites in Eastern Dublin for the current Housing Element cycle, could accommodate any future requests to reduce project densities on other project sites for the next Housing Element cycle, and could provide opportunities for additional economic development in Downtown. In addition to increasing the overall number of units permitted in the DDSP, two other proposed amendments focus on ensuring that future residential development is focused in the key areas of Downtown and that future residential development enables the number of units hoped for to the Downtown. These proposed changes are described in more detail in the following sections. 1. Increase residential development potential in the DDSP In order to accommodate the additional residential growth without creating new impacts, the proposal is to increase the residential development potential of the area while reducing the commercial development potential. All other development standards and design guidelines currently in the DDSP that affect development (such as maximum FAR, building height, setbacks, etc.) are proposed to remain unchanged unless specifically noted. The main impact of adding residential units to Downtown would be to the transportation and circulation system. An analysis completed by RBF Consulting (the group that prepared the original DDSP Environmental Impact Report) assessed how much commercial development potential would need to be removed from the DDSP to ensure that the impacts of adding 1,200 residential units could be negated. The results of the analysis indicated that the equivalent commercial reduction should be 773,000 square feet to ensure that the impacts to the circulation system and traffic flow in Downtown (and throughout the City) would be no greater than what was already anticipated in the DDSP EIR. 4of8 The proposed changes to the development potential in the DDSP are as follows: Table 2: Net New Development Potential in the DDSP Existing Difference Non- Residential • Residentia Residential (SF) (Units)_ • Retail 737,100 100 543,850 400 (193,250) +300 Transit- 2,202,710 1,622,960 (+150 hotel 1,100 (+150 hotel 1,900 +800 Oriented rooms) rooms) Village 20,730 100 20,730 200 +100 Parkway 3,035,540 2,262,540 Total (includes150 1,300 (includes150 2,500 (773,000) +1,200 hotel rooms) hotel rooms) Table 3-4 (Net New Development) of the DDSP is proposed to be amended to increase the total residential units to 2,500 and decrease the Non-Residential square footage by 773,000 square feet and Table 6-1 (Development Pool) is proposed to be amended to make the same changes as noted above. 2. Establish minimum residential densities in the Transit-Oriented and Retail Districts Currently, the DDSP does not specifically indentify a minimum density for any of the districts, although the DDSP notes that Medium to High Density development is appropriate. The proposed amendment provides more specificity and certainty for future developers and will allow the City to comply with our RHNA obligations by establishing a minimum density for residential development in the Transit-Oriented and Retail Districts. Due to the urban nature of these two districts and their close proximity to the West Dublin/Pleasanton BART station, the ULI panel recommended, and Staff concurs with, ensuring that development of a certain minimum residential density occurs. The proposed minimum density in the Retail District is 22 units per net acre and the proposed minimum density in the Transit-Oriented District is 30 units per net acre. Table 3-4 (Net New Development) of the DDSP is proposed to be amended to identify minimum residential densities in both districts. 3 Allow residential development in the Retail District core area only Residential development is currently allowed throughout the Retail District. Staff is recommending focusing future residential development and mixed use projects in those areas that are closest to the BART station. The proposed amendment would allow residential development in the Retail District only in the core area east of San Ramon Road. There are a finite number of units allocated to the Retail District. The intent of this amendment is to focus the limited residential development in the optimal location to achieve the goals of creating a vibrant, walkable downtown that is accessible to the BART station and that preserves the viability of existing commercial uses on the perimeter of the Retail District. Those properties in 5 of 8 the Retail District west of San Ramon Road would remain available for all types of non- residential uses currently permitted in the DDSP, but new residential development would be prohibited. Figure 2 illustrates those properties in the Retail District that will be affected by this change. Figure 2: Affected Retail District Properties Table 3-1 (Land Uses) of the DDSP is proposed to be amended to allow residential units in the core of the Retail District only. Additionally, Table 3-1 will be modified to 1'wv allow Live/Work units in the Retail District of j the DDSP. Currently, the DDSP allows Live/Work in the Transit-Oriented District but not the Retail District. This modification ^� would allow them in both districts. r 73 y` The exact amendments to Table 3-1, Table di 3-4, Table 6-1, and the text sections of the DDSP are detailed in the Resolution 011 g ' recommending City Council adoption of the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan Amendment, J��Po which is included as Attachment 3 to this Staff Report. GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS: General Plan Table 2.1 (Land Use Development Potential: Primary Planning Area) will need to be updated to reflect the increase in allowable residential units and also the decrease in maximum non-residential development potential. The exact amendments to Table 2.1 in the General Plan are detailed in the Resolution recommending City Council adoption of the General Plan Amendment, which is included as Attachment 3 to this Staff Report. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared to address potential environmental impacts of the DDSP. The DDSP EIR (SCH# 2010022005) was prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and was certified by the City Council on February 1, 2011. An Initial Study was prepared to analyze the potential environmental impacts of allowing an increase of 1,200 residential units in Downtown while decreasing the amount of commercial square footage by 773,000 square feet. All of the environmental impact sections were examined, no new significant environmental impacts were identified, and no substantial increases in the severity of previously-identified impacts were discovered. The Initial Study included a detailed analysis of the traffic impacts of additional residential units and determined that there would be no net impact if the amount of commercial development in the DDSP were reduced by enough to offset the increase of residential units. The analysis determined that the equivalent to 1,200 residential units is 773,000 square feet of non-residential (commercial) development potential, and therefore the Initial Study concluded that there were no new impacts to transportation and circulation in the DDSP area beyond those identified in the 2011 EIR. 6of8 To document the findings of the Initial Study, an Addendum was prepared, which concludes that the potentially significant effects of the project were adequately addressed in the prior EIR, notes the project changes, and notes their relation to the analysis in the prior EIR. The Resolution recommending City Council adoption of the Addendum is included as Attachment 4 to this Staff Report. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH: Staff met with representatives from the Dublin Unified School District in September and December 2013 to review the proposed increase in residential units in the Downtown. Although the District initially expressed concerns about the potential impacts resulting from an increase in students generated by the additional units, the District did not provide any formal comments on the proposed DDSP amendments. A notice of this public hearing was published in the Valley Times and mailed to all property owners and tenants in the Specific Plan area, those within 300 feet of the existing Specific Plan boundaries, and all persons who have expressed an interest in being notified of meetings related to this project. ATTACHMENTS: 1) DDSP Boundary Map. 2) ULI Technical Advisory Panel report dated July 2011. 3) Resolution Recommending that the City Council amend the General Plan and Downtown Dublin Specific Plan (DDSP) to allow an increase in the number of residential units permitted in the DDSP by 1,200 units and to decrease the amount of non-residential square footage permitted by 773,000 square feet, create minimum density thresholds for the Transit-Oriented and Retail Districts, and restrict residential development west of San Ramon Road in the Retail District, with the City Council Resolution included as Exhibit A. 4) Resolution Recommending that the City Council adopt an Addendum to the Downtown Dublin Specific Plan EIR related to increasing the number of residential units and decreasing the amount of non- residential square footage permitted in Downtown Dublin, with the City Council Resolution included as Exhibit A and the Initial Study/Addendum included as Exhibit A-1. 7of8 GENERAL INFORMATION: APPLICANT: City of Dublin LOCATION: The DDSP (DDSP) project area is located in the southwestern portion of the City and is approximately 284 acres in size. The project area is generally bound by Village Parkway to the east, Interstate 580 to the south, San Ramon Road to the west, and Amador Valley Boulevard to the north. There are some partial boundary limits that extend beyond those roadways, most notably for a portion of San Ramon Road, a portion of Amador Valley Boulevard, and all of the Village Parkway within the Specific Plan area. ASSESSORS PARCEL NUMBER: Various GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATIONS: Downtown Dublin — Retail District Downtown Dublin — Transit-Oriented Dist. Downtown Dublin —Village Parkway Dist. SPECIFIC PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATIONS: Various 8 of 8