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L� STAFF REPORT
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DATE: May 12, 2015
TO: Planning Commission
SUBJECT: PUBLIC HEARING: PLPA-2015-00016 - Amendments to the General
Plan, Dublin Crossing Specific Plan, Eastern Dublin Specific Plan,
and the Dublin Crossing Development Agreement.
Report prepared by Kristi Bascom, Principal Planner
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council has initiated a General Plan and Specific Plan Amendment study with the
intent of making changes to the approved Dublin Crossing project in order to facilitate the
acquisition of a 12-acre school site that can be used by both the City and the School District. In
order to effectuate these changes, the Planning Commission will consider amendments to the
General Plan and Dublin Crossing Specific Plan to: 1) Incorporate the 1.5 acre Chabot Creek
into the Community Park and increase the acreage devoted to Medium Density Residential by
1.5 acres; 2) Re-designate the 13 acre "Mixed Use" site to "General Commercial/DC High
Density Residential"; and 3) Allow use of the site designated "School" for both school and park
purposes. The project will also involve modifications to the Dublin Crossing Development
Agreement, a minor technical amendment to the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan boundary to be
consistent with the Dublin Crossing Specific Plan boundary, and consideration of a CEQA
Addendum.
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 the following Resolutions:
a) Recommending City Council adoption of a CEQA Addendum for Amendments to the
General Plan, Dublin Crossing Specific Plan, Eastern Dublin Specific Plan, and Development
Agreement related to the Dublin Crossing Project;
b) Recommending that the City Council adopt a Resolution amending the General Plan, Dublin
Crossing Specific Plan, and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan related to the Dublin Crossing
Project;
c) Recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance approving Amendment No. 1 to the
Development Agreement between the City of Dublin and Dublin Crossing Venture LLC
related to the Dublin Crossing Project.
Submitted By: Reviewed By:
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Kristi Bascom Jeff er
Principal Planner Assistant Com •unity Development Director
COPY TO: File
ITEM NO.: 8.1
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G:IPA120151PLPA-2015-00016 Dublin Crossing GPA-SPA15.12.15 PC MtgIPCSR 5.12.15.docx
DESCRIPTION
Backqround
The Dublin Crossing project site includes approximately 189 acres of land that are divided
between the following property owners: 139 acres owned by the United States Army, 8.7 acres
owned by the Alameda County Surplus Property Authority, and approximately 41.9 acres owned
by Dublin Crossing Venture LLC. The project area is shown below.
Figure 1: Vicinity Map
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After several years of planning, analysis, and negotiations, on November 5, 2013, the City
Council approved the Dublin Crossing Specific Plan (DCSP) and associated implementation
actions. The Specific Plan outlined the future development of the project area, which includes
demolition of the existing buildings and other improvements on the site and construction of a
residential mixed-use project with up to 1,995 single- and multi-family residential units; up to
200,000 square feet of retail, office and/or commercial uses; a 30 acre Community Park; a 5
acre Neighborhood Park, and a 12 acre school site to serve approximately 900 students. The
Land Plan approved with the Specific Plan is included as Attachment 1
In addition to the DCSP, amendments were approved to the General Plan, the Dublin Zoning
Ordinance, and Zoning Map to implement the Specific Plan. The project approvals also
included the certification of the Dublin Crossing Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The
approval actions by the City Council were formalized in Resolutions 186-13 (EIR certification)
and 187-13 (Specific Plan approval and General Plan amendments) as well as Ordinances 07-
13 (Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map changes) and 08-13 (Development Agreement
approval).
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The Dublin Crossing project includes a 12-acre school site that the Dublin Unified School District
(DUSD) intends to use for a future school that can accommodate up to 900 students. However,
funding for new school construction is extremely limited. Despite the best efforts of our State
legislative representative last year, a state ballot measure for school construction was not
placed on the November 2014 ballot, and no solutions have been proposed by Governor Brown
to bridge the construction funding gap that exists between the resources local districts have to
build new facilities and the actual costs to build new schools. The lack of funding support from
the State means that local school districts, like DUSD, need to find alternative solutions to the
now-broken State model that has funded school construction over the years.
Realizing the predicament faced by DUSD, City Staff has been working closely with the
Superintendent's office on potential options and ways for the City to assist in bridging the gap
between land acquisition costs, the current development impact fee structure set by the State,
and the need to provide adequate facilities for existing students and to accommodate future
student populations.
Due to the nature of the land exchange agreement between the developer, Dublin Crossing
Venture LLC (SunCal), and the Department of the Army, it is anticipated that the multi-phased
Dublin Crossing project will take 8-12 years to construct. According to the project Phasing Plan
and as identified by SunCal, the 12 acre school site is in Phase 3 of the project and should
become available in 2017.
Unfortunately, based on the Governor's stated position that school construction bond funding
will not be authorized by the State, it is unlikely that DUSD will have the ability to acquire the
Dublin Crossing school site in the timeframe to meet the needs of the District, especially given a
current land value of approximately $36 million.
In 2014, City Staff approached SunCal to discuss options for the City to obtain the 12-acre
school site in an effort to assist DUSD. After much discussion and negotiation, SunCal and City
Staff reached agreement on tentative deal terms that would allow the transfer of the future
school site to the City at no cost in exchange for modifications to the entitlements for the Dublin
Crossing project.
ANALYSIS
The proposed changes to the Dublin Crossing Specific Plan and Development Agreement will
result in the delivery of the 12 acre school site to the City without increasing the current
maximum number of housing units (up to 1,995) allowed in the project or the maximum amount
of commercial square footage allowed to be built (up to 200,000 square feet). Additionally, the
same amount of parkland will be provided, although the Neighborhood Park will now be a facility
that is jointly used by both the community and the School District while the Community Park
remains at 30 acres.
The following is a description of the land use changes and modifications to the Development
Agreement:
General Plan and Specific Plan Amendments
Under the proposal agreed to by City Staff and SunCal, the Dublin Crossing Specific Plan would
be amended to include several land use changes that will financially benefit the Developer and
allow them to transfer the school site to the City at no cost, including:
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• Modifying the designation of the 12 acre School site to allow both school and park uses.
This will allow the playground(s), recreational field(s), and other amenities to be used by
both the school community as well as the residential neighborhood.
• Incorporating the 1.5 acre Chabot Creek into the Community Park and increase the
acreage devoted to Medium Density Residential by 1.5 acres. Although this will allow the
Developer more flexibility in where the residential development takes place, the Specific
Plan limit of 1,995 residential units will not be exceeded; and
• Redesignating the 13 acre "Mixed Use" site on the corner of Arnold and Dublin Boulevard
to "General Commercial/DC Medium-High Density Residential", thereby removing the
requirement for both the 5 acre Neighborhood Park site and a minimum of 75,000 square
feet of commercial development on this parcel within the site. Attachment 1 illustrates
the revised Conceptual Land Use Plan
Minor amendments to the General Plan, as outlined in Exhibit A to Attachment 2, are also
needed to ensure consistency with the amended Dublin Crossing Specific Plan.
Eastern Dublin Specific Plan Amendments
A cleanup item to the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan figures is included, which will ensure that
there is consistency on all figures in all documents between the boundaries of the Dublin
Crossing Specific Plan area and the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan area. The figures being
modified are Figure 4.1 (Land Use Plan), Figure 4.2 (Planning Subareas), and Figure 5-3b
(Circulation System)
A Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt these amendments is included as
Attachment 2, with the amendments to the General Plan, Eastern Dublin Specific Plan, and
Dublin Crossing Specific Plan included in Exhibit A to Attachment 2 to the Staff Report.
Amendment No. 1 to the Dublin Crossinq Development Aqreement
Under the proposal agreed to by City Staff and SunCal, the Development Agreement would be
amended to:
• Remove the requirement to provide construction funding for a 5 acre Neighborhood Park
($2.143 million);
• Remove requirement for the final Community Benefit Payment ($1.2 million); and
• Include language related to the no-cost transfer of the school site from the Developer to
the City.
A Resolution recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance approving the
amendments is included as Attachment 3 with the City Council Ordinance included as Exhibit A
to Attachment 3. Amendment No. 1 to the Dublin Crossing Development Agreement is included
in Exhibit A-1 to Attachment 3 to this Staff Report.
A City-sponsored request to initiate a General Plan and Dublin Crossing Specific Plan
amendment to affect the changes notes above was unanimously supported by the City Council
on March 17, 2015. City Council Resolution 36-15 is included as Attachment 4 to this Staff
report.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City prepared an Initial Study, dated April 21, 2015, to determine whether the standards for
subsequent or supplemental environmental review under CEQA are met, including whether
there could be significant environmental impacts occurring as a result of this project that are
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new or substantially more severe than those already addressed in the Dublin Crossing
Environmental Impact Report, which was certified by the City Council on November 5, 2013 (via
Resolution 186-13). The Initial Study concluded that the proposed project would not have a new
or substantially more severe significant effect on the environment than addressed in the certified
Dublin Crossing EIR, no significant information has arisen since the certification of the EIR, and
no other standards under CEQA that would require further environmental review have been met.
Therefore, an Addendum to the EIR was prepared documenting these facts, and is included as
Exhibit A-1 to Attachment 5 to this Staff Report. A Resolution recommending that the City
Council adopt a CEQA Addendum for the Amendments to the General Plan, Dublin Crossing
Specific Plan, Development Agreement Amendment and Eastern Dublin Specific Plan related to
the Dublin Crossing Project is included as Attachment 5 with the City Council Resolution
attached as Exhibit A to Attachment 5 and a Statement of Overriding Considerations included as
Exhibit A-2 to Attachment 5.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH
A notice of this public hearing was published in the Valley Times, mailed to all property owners
and tenants within 300 feet of the Specific Plan project area boundaries, and all persons who
have expressed an interest in being notified of actions related to this project were notified via
email.
The Staff Report for this public hearing was also available on the City's website.
ATTACHMENTS: 1) Dublin Crossing Conceptual Land Use Plan
2) Resolution Recommending that the City Council adopt a Resolution
amending the General Plan, Dublin Crossing Specific Plan, and
Eastern Dublin Specific Plan related to the Dublin Crossing Project,
with the City Council Resolution included as Exhibit A and
modifications to the Dublin Crossing Specific Plan included as
Exhibit A-1
3) Resolution Recommending that the City Council adopt an Ordinance
approving Amendment No. 1 to the Development Agreement
between the City of Dublin and Dublin Crossing Venture LLC related
to the Dublin Crossing Project, with the City Council Ordinance
included as Exhibit A and Amendment No. 1 to the Development
Agreement included as Exhibit A-1.
4) City Council Resolution 36-15.
5) Resolution Recommending City Council adoption of a CEQA
Addendum for Amendments to the General Plan, Dublin Crossing
Specific Plan, Eastern Dublin Specific Plan, and Development
Agreement related to the Dublin Crossing Project, with the City
Council Resolution included as Exhibit A, the Initial Study and
Addendum included as Exhibit A-1, and the Statement of Overriding
Considerations included as Exhibit A-2.
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GENERAL INFORMATION:
APPLICANT: City of Dublin
PROPERTY OWNERS: United States Army (139 acres), Alameda County
Surplus Property Authority (8.7 acres), and Dublin
Crossing Venture LLC (41.9 acres)
LOCATION: Approximately 189 acres north of Interstate 580 and
Dublin Boulevard. The Project site is bound by 5tn
Street to the north, Scarlett Drive to the west, Dublin
Boulevard to the south, and Arnold Road to the
east.
APNs 986-0001-001-15 (partial),
986-0034-002-00, and
986-0034-006-00
ZONING: Dublin Crossing Zoning District
GENERAL PLAN: Dublin Crossing Specific Plan
SURROUNDING USES:
LOCATION ZONING GENERAL PLAN LAND USE CURRENT USE OF
PROPERTY
North Ag Public Lands Camp Parks
South PD High Density Residential and Residential Apartments
Campus Office (Transit Center)
East PD Campus Office Business Park
PD and Medium-High Density Residential Combination of uses including
West Light and Retail/Office, apartments, service
Industrial Business Park/Industrial and commercial, and retail uses
Outdoor Stora e
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