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2008/04/10 Planning Commission MinutesREVISED ROHNERT PARK PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES THURSDAY, April 10, 2008 The Planning Commission of the City of Rohnert Park met this date in a regular session commencing at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room, 6750 Commerce Blvd., with Chairperson Ahanotu presiding. Call To Order Chairperson Ahanotu called the meeting of the regular session to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. with Chairperson Ahanotu leading the pledge. Roll Call Present (4) Commissioners: Chairperson Ahanotu, Commissioner Kilat, Commissioner Armstrong and Commissioner Adams were present. Commissioner Callinan was excused. Community Development Director, Ron Bendorff, Senior Planner, Maureen Rich and Recording Clerk, Sonia Espino were present. Approval of Minutes Upon motion by Commissioner Ahanotu, seconded by Commissioner Kilat, the minutes of March 13, 2008 were approved at presented by a 4-0 vote. Upon motion by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Armstrong, the minutes of March 27, 2008 were approved as presented by a 2-0 vote. Commissioner Kilat and Commissioner Ahanotu abstained. Acknowledgement of Chairperson Ahanotu acknowledged the posting of the Agenda of this meeting in Public Noticing three (3) public places, per the requirements of the Brown Act. Unscheduled None. Public Appearances Final Environmental Senior Planner, Maureen Rich gave the staff report. She stated that the City Impact Report/General owns 29.8 acres located on the north side of Hinebaugh Creek, south of Business Plan Park Drive, west of Redwood Drive and east of Labath Avenue. The City has an Amendment/Rezoning interest in selling the property to Redwood Equities per Amended Option to Purchase and Purchase Agreement signed in April 2003. The Stadium Area File No. PL2004- Master Plan ("SAMP") project, as submitted, proposes up to 140,000 square feet 063GPIRZ of commercial uses on 15.7 acres, 338 high density residential units on 13.6 acres and 0.5 acres of park land. The applicant is requesting that the Planning Ken Blackman/Redwood Commission review and make the appropriate recommendations to the City Equities Council on the following: • Certification of Environmental Impact Report • Amendment to General Plan text and diagram • Site Rezoning (Planned Development — Final Development Plan) Ms. Rich noted that the EIR Consultant would be reviewing the EIR certification Planning Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 process following staff's presentation. Ms. Rich then presented the following specifics for each of the remaining entitlements listed above: • Amend General Plan Diagram — From Public Institutional (23.1 acres) and Industrial (6.7 acres) to High Density Residential (13.6 acres), Commercial Regional (15.7 acres) and Parks/Recreation (0.5 acres). • Amend Zoning Code Map — From Public Institutional (23.1 acres) and Industrial (6.7 acres) to High Density Residential (13.6 acres with up to 338 units); Regional Commercial (15.7 acres with up to 140,000 square feet of commercial) and Parks/Recreation(0.5 acre). Ms. Rich advised the Commission that justification for action shall be based on the following: • That the EIR was prepared in compliance with CEQA; the EIR has been reviewed by the Planning Commission prior to action being taken on the project; the EIR reflects the independent judgment and analysis of the City; The economic, legal, social, technical, and other benefits of the project have been considered against the unavoidable environment impacts and the Statement of Overriding Considerations may be adopted. • That the General Plan Amendment would be appropriate and that project development as proposed would be consistent with the General Plan goals/policies; Notice of the amendment was given to the public. • That the Rezoning (Stadium Area Master Plan "P -D" and Final Development Plan) would' consistent with the General Plan goals/policies; the rezoning would be beneficial to and not detrimental to the public's health, safety and welfare; the rezoning will accommodate the City's Fair Share of regional housing needs-, each individual component of the project can exist independent and will not be detrimental to existing and future surrounding uses; the streets meet the standards of the City and there is adequate infrastructure to service the project; Commercial and residential developments will be designed to be harmonious and densities will not exceed those permitted by the General Plan; any deviation from normal zoning (e.g., parking) will be fully analyzed prior to approval; appropriate public hearing notice was given. Based on findings of her report, Ms. Rich recommended that the Planning Commission recommend to the City Council the following: Adopt a Resolution recommending certification of the EIR Adopt a Resolution recommending approval of the General Plan Amendment text and diagram; and Adopt a Resolution recommending approval of the Rezoning (Stadium Area Master Plan "P -D" and Final Development Plan). Ms. Rich introduced Andy Hauge of Hauge Breck. Mr. Hauge presented a timeline of the EIR process to date; Draft EIR circulated June -August of 2007; Planning Commission Comment Session Draft EIR August 9, 2007; Final EIR circulated October 7, 2007. Mr. Hauge summarized project specifics and commented on the following: • Unavoidable Impacts — Air quality, noise, traffic and circulation; 2 Planning Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 Added mitigation measures — Conduct site specific soil sampling and testing for agricultural, commercial and industrial toxic substances prior to construction for each commercial parcel; CEQA finding of FACT — Four potentially unavoidable impacts in air quality, noise and traffic; All other impacts are either not significant, less than significant or can be mitigated to a level of less than significant; Project includes a mitigation monitoring program; the project would be the environmentally superior alternative; Overriding Considerations — Project fulfills six general plan goals regarding jobs/housing balances, land use, available range of housing types, paced growth, maximized public accessibility to parks, shopping etc. Ms. Rich added the following: The State allows up to 4 General Plan Amendments per year and this would be the first request for 2008. In addition to the land use diagram amendments the Master Street Plan, Figure 4.1-1 would also need to be amended to eliminate Martin Avenue from Labath to Dowdell Avenue Extension, change Carlson Avenue from local road to minor arterial and addin Dowdell Avenue Extension as a minor arterial Ms. Rich made mention of letter submitted by KRCB. The letter pointed out concerns regarding significant noise and line of sight issues for receiving and broadcasting purposes as their parcel is home to a number of critical microwave and satellite dishes. Ms. Rich stated that upon future development an engineering, study would need to be performed to identify any interference issues. Chairperson Ahanotu asked if there were any questions of Staff. Commissioner Adams asked for what kind of water analysis was performed for the EIR. Senior Planner Rich noted that the water analysis in the EIR is based on the city's Urban Water Management Plan. The applicant; Ken Blackman was recognized. He spoke briefly regarding the EIR and the proposed project as submitted. Commission Kilat presented her concerns regarding the following: • Would it be appropriate to certify the EIR if there is no support for the project as it has been proposed? Given the alternatives that were presented, there should have been a proposal for commercial and industrial Based on recent meetings with the General Plan consultant, it seems that the City's Jobs/Housing balance may be different than what was previously reported. This project would provide jobs but not necessarily the kind of jobs that we need in Rohnert Park. The City should preserve industrial development areas since this is the designation that generates higher paying jobs. Suggested motion that overriding considerations not be included and that they be separate from EIR. Cannot make the last justification for action 3 Planning Commission Minutes April 10, 2008 about statement of overriding consideration. Commissioner Adams asked the EIR consultant if certification of the EIR would be appropriate. Mr. Hauge responded that in approving an EIR the Commission is stating that the information is correct. The EIR is a disclosure document and is not a decision document. The issues that the Commission is grappling with are policy decisions relating to land use and not necessarily environmental After much discussion Commission consensus was as follows: • City currently has sufficient housing in areas included in General Plan to meet the city's obligation. • Regional Commercial land uses are not desirable since they produce average wage jobs and the City should keep industrial land uses with the campus like facilities to attracthigher paying jobs. • Need diverse opportunities to promote growth. • Residential uses would not be a desired component as they could conflict with existing commercial and industrial land uses that surround the site. A motion was made by Commissioner Kilat, seconded by Commission Armstrong to adopt Resolution No. 2008-12, recommending to the City Council the Certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report and adoption of a State of Overriding Considerations for the Stadium Area Master Plan EIR. The motion passed with a 4-0 vote. Further discussion was held. The Commission reiterated concerns about the residential component proposed for this site.. Mr. Blackman responded that in 2004 an analysis was performed which projected that industrial type uses would not be needed until around 2013. In 2006 an additional study was undertaken and indicated that a demand for light industrial would not be necessary until 2020 Director Ron Bendorff, presented and summarized a Fos'written by Thomas Hansen. At this time Chairman Ahanotu closed the public hearing. A motion was made by Commissioner Ahanotu, seconded by Commission Adams requesting revisions to Resolution 2008-13 recommending to the City Council denial of the request to amend the land use text and diagram of the General Plan for property located at 5900 Labath Avenue. The motion passed with a 4-0 vote. A motion was made by Commissioner Adams, seconded by Commissioner Kilat requesting revisions to Resolution 2008-14 recommending to the City Council denial of the amendment to the Official Zoning Map (Rezoning for the Stadium Area Master Plan "P -D" and Final Development Plan) for property located at 5900 Labath Avenue. The motion passed with a 4-0 vote. Staff stated that resolutions for denial would be brought to the next Planning Commission meeting scheduled for April 24, 2008. CEQA Presentation Community Development Director, Ron Bendorff, gave a brief explanation of the key points of CEQA, with an emphasis on how they relate to a Planning Commissioner's duties. Key points discussed were as follows: 4 Planning Commission Minutes Anril 10. 2009 Chairperson Recording Clerk yI u • What is CEQA? • What is subject to CEQA? • What are the basic Requirements of CEQA • Where are the CEQA requirements found? • Who enforces CEQA? Matters From None. Commissioners Matters from Planning None Staff Adjournment There being no further business, Chairperson Ahanotu adjourned the meeting at 8:45 PM until Thursday, April 24, 2008. Chairperson Recording Clerk yI u