HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.1 PCSR Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan OF D1�2
-1— X82 STAFF REPORT
1� ��� PLANNING COMMISSION
DATE: July 22, 2014
TO: Planning Commission
SUBJECT: PLPA-2014-00028 Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the
Livermore Municipal Airport General Plan Amendment and Zoning
Ordinance Amendment
Prepared by, Mamie R. Delgado, Senior Planner
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In August 2012, the Alameda County Airport Land Use Commission adopted a comprehensive
update to the 1986 Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the Livermore Municipal Airport.
Pursuant to State Law, jurisdictions affected by the Plan are required to review and update their
local plans for consistency with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. Staff has reviewed the
updated Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan and is proposing amendments to the General Plan
and Zoning Ordinance to ensure consistency with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan.
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; 5)
Adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt a Resolution approving General
Plan amendments to establish consistency with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the
Livermore Municipal Airport; and 6) Adopt a Resolution recommending that the City Council
adopt an Ordinance approving Zoning Ordinance amendments to establish consistency with the
Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the Livermore Municipal Airport.
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Submitted By Revie ed By
Senior Planner Assistant Community Development Director
COPIES TO: File
ITEM NO.: • '
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DESCRIPTION:
Background
The State Aeronautics Act provides for the establishment of an Airport Land Use Commission
(ALUC) to protect the public health, safety and welfare by promoting the orderly expansion of
airports and the adoption of land use measures by local public agencies to minimize the public's
exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards near airports. The State Aeronautics Act also
requires the preparation of a land use compatibility plan for public-use airports in California in
order to encourage compatibility between airports and the various land uses that surround them.
In 1971, Alameda County established an Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) to prepare a
land use compatibility plan for the Livermore Municipal Airport. The plan was adopted in 1977
and amended in 1979 and 1986. The land use compatibility plan promotes compatibility
between the Livermore Municipal Airport and the surrounding environment which includes
properties in the cities of Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore, as well as unincorporated Alameda
County.
The Alameda County ALUC uses the land use compatibility plan when reviewing development
projects that are proposed within the adopted airport referral area, also known as the Airport
Influence Area (AIA). The AIA is an area surrounding the Livermore Municipal Airport where
airport-related noise, overflight, safety and airspace protection factors may have an adverse
effect on land uses. In Dublin, the AIA generally encompasses the area between Tassajara
Road and the eastern City limit line, south of Gleason Drive (Attachment 1).
In 1993, the Alameda County ALUC, at the request of the City of Livermore, amended the land
use compatibility plan to include an Airport Protection Area (APA). The purpose for establishing
the APA was to protect the Livermore Municipal Airport from possible closure or curtailment of
operations due to the encroachment of incompatible land uses near the airport or under the
flight pattern for the airport. In adopting the APA, restrictions were placed on the establishment
of residential and other noise-sensitive land uses in an effort to minimize the public's exposure
to noise and safety impacts from aircraft. The City's current General Plan land use designations
remain in compliance with the APA.
In 2012, the Alameda County ALUC completed a multi-year effort to update the 1986 land use
compatibility plan. Because portions of Dublin are located within the AIA, APA and Safety Zones
6 and 7 for the Livermore Municipal Airport, the Alameda County ALUC engaged City Staff in
the process to update the plan. Staff reviewed the draft plan and did not identify any significant
changes in permitted land uses that would affect properties in Dublin under their current General
Plan Land Use designations. On July 18, 2012, the Alameda County ALUC adopted the updated
Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) for the Livermore Municipal Airport (Attachment
2).
When an ALUCP is amended or updated, State law requires that local agencies review their
general plans and applicable specific plans to ensure that they remain consistent with the
ALUCP. There are four ways a local agency can achieve consistency with an adopted ALUCP:
1. Incorporate policies into existing General Plan Elements.
2. Adopt a General Plan Airport Element.
3. Adopt the ALUCP as a stand-alone document.
4. Implement compatibility policies through zoning.
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In order for local plans to be found consistent with the ALUCP, they must address compatibility
planning and avoid direct conflicts with compatibility planning criteria.
Compatibility Planning Criteria
The ALUCP sets forth policies related to the following compatibility planning criteria:
Noise: Noise compatibility policies are established to prevent the development of noise-sensitive
land uses in portions of the airport environ that are exposed to significant levels of aircraft noise.
Safety: Safety compatibility policies are established to minimize the risk to people and property
on the ground as well as people in an aircraft in the event of an accident or emergency landing
occurring outside the airport boundary.
Airspace Protection: Airspace protection policies are established to reduce the risk of harm to
people and property resulting from an aircraft accident; these policies seek to prevent the
creation of land use features that can be hazards to the airspace used by aircraft in flight.
Overflight: Overflight policies are established to warn people near an airport of the presence of
aircraft so they can make informed decisions before acquiring or leasing property within the
airport referral area.
Consistency Determination
Proposed changes to local plans to address compatibility planning must be submitted to the
Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for a consistency determination prior to adoption by the
local agency. Once deemed consistent by the ALUC, future projects need only be reviewed by
the ALUC under a limited number of circumstances which are discussed in further detail below.
In the absence of a consistency determination by the ALUC, all projects within the Airport
Influence Area (AIA) must be referred to the ALUC for review prior to approval.
Staff is proposing adoption of General Plan policies and an Airport Overlay Zoning District to
ensure compatibility with the ALUCP. The proposed General Plan policies address compatibility
planning criteria and the proposed overlay zoning district will provide City Staff with the tools
necessary to review projects within the AIA for compliance with ALUCP policies. The intent of
the overlay zoning district would be to protect land uses from hazards related to airport
operations; identify a range of uses compatible with the airport environ; prohibit the development
of incompatible uses; require noise attenuation, where appropriate; and comply with the Federal
Aviation Administration regulations, while maintaining local control of land use decisions. Staff
reviewed the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan which currently addresses the Airport Protection Area
(APA) for the Livermore Municipal Airport; therefore, the Specific Plan does not need to be
amended.
On March 4, 2014, the proposed General Plan and Zoning Ordinance Amendments were
presented to the Dublin City Council for review and recommendation to the Airport Land Use
Commission. The City Council received the March 4th report and directed Staff to submit the
proposed General Plan and Zoning Ordinance Amendments to the Alameda County Airport
Land Use Commission for a land use compatibility determination.
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On May 21, 2014, the proposed General Plan and Zoning Ordinance Amendments were
presented to the Airport Land Use Commission for a consistency determination. The ALUC
adopted Resolution 01-2014 (Attachment 3) finding the proposed amendments consistent with
the policies and provisions of the 2012 Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the Livermore
Municipal Airport.
Proposed General Plan Amendments
Staff is proposing amendments to the General Plan Land Use Element, Seismic Safety and
Safety Element and Noise Element to incorporate policies to ensure compatibility between the
General Plan and the ALUCP (Attachment 4). In addition, Staff is proposing that the Dublin
General Plan Land Use Map (Figure 1-1) be amended to include the Airport Influence Area
(AIA) boundary, the Airport Protection Area (APA) boundary and Safety Zone 6 (Attachment 5).
Proposed Overlay Zoning District
Staff is also proposing the creation of an Airport Overlay Zoning District to implement the
proposed General Plan policies (Attachment 6). An overlay zoning district is a regulatory tool
that creates special zoning provisions in addition to those in the existing zoning district. The
proposed Airport Overlay Zoning District would be placed over existing Planned Development
Zoning Districts within the AIA and would include special provisions to address compatibility with
the Livermore Municipal Airport.
The boundary of the proposed overlay Zoning District would be coterminous with the Airport
Influence Area (AIA) boundary and would be reflected on the Dublin Zoning Map (refer to
Attachments 1 and 7). As noted earlier, the boundary generally encompasses the area between
Tassajara Road and the eastern City limit line, south of Gleason Drive. All development within
the AIA would be reviewed by City Staff for compliance with the proposed Airport Overlay
Zoning District Chapter of the Zoning Ordinance. However, as noted above, State Law would
still require that certain land use actions be reviewed by the ALUC prior to being approved by
the City. These land use actions include:
• General Plan or Specific Plan amendments that propose new land uses or increase the
intensity or density of existing land uses.
• Zoning Ordinance amendments that introduce new land uses; increase the intensity or
density of an existing land use; or involve airport related concerns (i.e. noise, safety,
obstructions, or hazards).
• Redevelopment of a property that introduces a new land use to replace an existing land
use at a density or intensity that may differ from the existing use and the existing use is
not compatible with the ALUCP.
• Airport and Heliport Plans for new airports, heliports or helipads that require a State
Airport Permit or the expansion of existing airports or heliports.
In the past, Dublin projects, such as Fallon Village and more recently the Fallon Gateway
freeway oriented sign, have been reviewed by the ALUC under this provision of State Law and
were deemed consistent with the ALUCP.
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Planning Commission Action
As noted above, the proposed General Plan and Zoning Ordinance amendments were
presented to the City Council on March 4t" in advance of submitting them to the Alameda
County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) for a formal compatibility determination. Now that
the ALUC has determined the proposed amendments are consistent with the Airport Land Use
Compatibility Plan, Staff is presenting the proposed amendments to the Planning Commission
and City Council for formal adoption. The Planning Commission is being asked to make a
recommendation to the City Council to adopt the proposed General Plan (Attachment 8) and
Zoning Ordinance (Attachment 9) amendments.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
In accordance with State law, a Public Notice was published in the Valley Times and posted at
several locations throughout the City. The Public Notice was also provided to all persons who
have expressed an interest in being notified of meetings. A copy of this Staff Report has been
made available on the City's website.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), together with State Guidelines and City
Environmental Regulations require that certain projects be reviewed for environmental impacts
and that environmental documents be prepared. Pursuant to the CEQA, Staff is recommending
that the proposed Amendments be found exempt from CEQA per CEQA Guidelines Section
15061(b)(3). Section 15061(b)(3) states that CEQA applies only to those projects that have the
potential to cause a significant effect on the environment. The adoption of the proposed
Amendments are exempt from CEQA because the Amendments do not, in and of itself, allow
the construction of any building or structure, but rather sets forth the regulations that shall be
followed if and when a building or structure is proposed to be constructed or a site is proposed
to be developed. The Amendments, therefore, have no potential for resulting in significant
physical change in the environment, directly or ultimately.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Airport Influence Area (AIA) boundary map.
2. Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the Livermore Municipal Airport, August 2012.
3. Airport Land Use Commission Resolution 01-2014.
4. Proposed General Plan policies.
5. Proposed General Plan Land Use Map with Airport Influence Area boundary, Airport
Protection Area boundary and Safety Zone 6.
6. Proposed Airport Overlay Zoning District Chapter.
7. Proposed Zoning Map with Airport Influence Area boundary, Airport Protection Area
boundary and Safety Zone 6.
8. Planning Commission Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt a Resolution
approving General Plan amendments to establish consistency with the Airport Land Use
Compatibility Plan for the Livermore Municipal Airport, with the draft City Council
Resolution attached as Exhibit A.
9. Planning Commission Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt an
Ordinance approving Zoning Ordinance amendments to establish consistency with the
Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for the Livermore Municipal Airport, with the draft
City Council Ordinance attached as Exhibit A.
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