CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: September 2, 2015
PREPARED BY: Andrew Crabtree, Director/Community Development
APPROVED BY: City Manager
Title
ZA-15-12: BUTTERFIELD-MWEST: A ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION REQUESTING APPROVAL TO REZONE THE PROPERTY FROM AN INDUSTRIAL PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT TO THE R-3 MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT TO SUPPORT THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS. THE PROJECT SITE, IDENTIFIED BY ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBERS 726-25-061; -066, -067, -078, AND -079 ARE LOCATED ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE INTERSECTION OF JARVIS DRIVE AND MONTEREY HIGHWAY; MWEST PROPCO XXIII, LLc; S.Z. AND MARY A. JAFRI, OWNERS. CEQA: AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY PREPARED.
END
RECOMMENDATION(S)
RECOMMENDATION
1. Open/Close Public Hearing;
2. Waive the first and second reading of the Zoning Amendment Ordinance for ZA-15-12; and
3. Introduce Zoning Amendment Ordinance.
4. Confirm “master plan” (concept plan) goal
BODY
COUNCIL PRIORITIES, GOALS & STRATEGIES:
Ongoing Priorities
Maintaining fiscal responsibility
2015 Focus Areas
Stimulate Economic Development
REPORT NARRATIVE:
As discussed in the attached July 28, 2015 Planning Commission Staff Report, the proposed Zoning Amendment from Industrial Planned Unit Development to the R-3 Medium Density Residential Zoning District would conform to the City's General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance.
A General Plan Amendment (File No. GPA-14-04) was approved (City Council Resolution 15-102) for the subject property on May 6, 2015, changing the designation of approximately 19.5 acres from Industrial to Multi-Family Medium. Approval of the proposed rezoning would bring the Zoning designation for the site into conformance with the site’s Multi-Family Medium General Plan Land Use designation and allow the applicant to compete in the upcoming Residential Development Control System (RDCS) competition.
At the Planning Commission hearing, the Commission discussed the City Council’s direction that, subsequent to the approval of the General Plan Amendment for the subject site, the applicant should work with the Planning Commission to develop a Master Plan for the entire site that addresses the amount of housing units and the parameters (including timeline) for development of the industrial portion of the site. The Commission discussed the timing of the request, intended to allow the project to compete in the upcoming (2015) RDCS process and concluded that it would be premature to approve the rezoning and allow the project to compete in the RDCS prior to completion of the master planning process directed by the City Council.
The Planning Commission recommended that the City Council not approve the Zoning Amendment until completion of the Master Plan process.
Master Plan / Concept Plan
The framework for the master planning process for the site was established with Council’s approval of the General Plan Amendment (GPA-14-04), which defined the area that will become residential and the areas that remain industrial.
As further described in the attached Planning Commission Staff Report, the Council indicated that the Master Plan process should:
• Include a dialogue with the Business Park and residential neighbors;
• Address various commitments made by the applicant; and
• Be completed prior to November 2015
Staff requests Council confirmation that the primary goal is to develop a plan that establishes how the residential and industrial components of the project can be developed in a well-integrated manner and how the project as whole can be designed to adequately address interface concerns with surrounding residential and industrial uses. Both Staff and MWest believe that the plan needs to be flexible enough to allow for changing market conditions and to capitalize on opportunities for the long-term viability of the entire site.
Industrial Development Agreement:
City staff and MWest representatives have been drafting and discussing a concept plan, and on a parallel track are negotiating and drafting an industrial land development agreement and conceptual project site plan for Planning Commission and City Council consideration. It is the intent of the development agreement to memorialize the commitments made by MWest at the May Council meeting and in its April 7 and May 1, 2015 letters (attached, and outlined below) and provide for specific milestones that keep industrial and residential portions of the project moving at a coordinated pace.
Commitments from MWest written correspondence and presentations to City Council and Planning Commission:
|
INDUSTRIAL |
|
|
Description |
Item # In Letter |
|
|
Submittal of PD Zoning, Development Agreement, VTM and EIR for a 600,000 SF industrial park (six months following GPA) |
Item I |
|
I. |
Business Ready Investment: Invest in entitlements and infrastructure |
Item II |
|
|
Engage a qualified and motivated broker and provide quarterly market updates |
Item VI |
|
|
Actively market 38.5 industrial property and collaborate on a strategic outreach plan |
Item VII |
|
|
Comprehensively study detention and storm water quality needs of 58-acre site |
Item VIII |
|
|
Establish a process of entitlements, community benefit & milestones |
Item IX. a |
|
|
Request to establish a suitable financing mechanism such as a Mello Roos Community Facilities District for the financing and construction of Sutter Road as well as the internal access road (estimated value of $3-$4 M) |
Item IX. b |
|
|
Construction of interior roads to facilitate marketing of site |
Item IX. c |
|
|
May assist with the conversion of the 7.6-acre detention pond for public park/recreation use |
Item IX.d |
|
|
Funding and construction of 7.6-acre detention pond by MWest |
Item IX.e |
|
|
Appropriate transitions and buffers between uses |
Item IX. f |
|
|
Bicycle and pedestrian connections, including connections to Jarvis neighborhood and industrial , including a multi-modal ped/bike path along Butterfield Blvd. |
Item IX. g |
|
|
Develop a Transportation Demand Management plan to promote alternate means of transportation and reduce single-occupancy trips |
Item IX. h |
|
|
Seek to establish a bus stop on Butterfield Boulevard |
Item IX. i |
|
|
Explore feasibility of a incorporating a small café within the project. |
Item IX. j |
|
RESIDENTIAL |
|
II. |
Process entitlements (PD Zoning, VTM, DA and RDCS) for up to 409 apartments and up to 5 acres of park/recreation space |
Item III |
|
III. |
Comprehensively study detention and storm water quality needs of 58-acre site |
VIII |
|
IV. |
Establish a process of entitlements, community benefit & milestones |
Item IX. a |
|
V. |
Request to establish a suitable financing mechanism such as a Mello Roos Community Facilities District for the financing and construction of Sutter Road as well as the internal access road (estimated value of $3-$4 M) |
Item IX. b |
|
VI. |
Appropriate transitions and buffers between uses |
Item IX. f |
|
VII. |
Bicycle and pedestrian connections, including connections to Jarvis neighborhood and industrial , including a multi-modal ped/bike path along Butterfield Blvd. |
Item IX. g |
|
VIII. |
Develop a Transportation Demand Management plan to promote alternate means of transportation and reduce single-occupancy trips |
Item IX. h |
|
IX. |
Seek to establish a bus stop on Butterfield Boulevard |
Item IX. i |
|
DETENTION POND |
|
X. |
Explore converting 7.6-acre detention parcel into park land for existing and future industrial & residential neighborhoods |
IV |
|
XI. |
Application of 7.6-acre detention parcel land exchange to improve plan efficiency |
V |
|
XII. |
May assist with the conversion of the 7.6-acre detention pond for public park/recreation use |
Item IX.d |
|
XIII. |
Funding and construction of 7.6-acre detention pond by MWest |
Item IX.e |
|
PARK |
|
|
Explore converting 7.6-acre detention parcel into park land for existing and future industrial & residential neighborhoods |
IV |
|
|
Process entitlements (PD Zoning, VTM, DA and RDCS) for up to 409 apartments and up to 5 acres of park/recreation space |
Item III. |
|
|
May assist with the conversion of the 7.6-acre detention pond for public park/recreation use |
Item IX.d |
Staff Zoning Amendment Recommendation Rationale:
Staff recommends approval of the proposed Zoning Amendment from Industrial Planned Unit Development to the R-3 Medium Density Residential Zoning District for the following reasons: 1) to bring the subject site into conformance with the underlying Multi-Family Medium General Plan Land Use designation, 2) so that the aforementioned industrial development agreement will memorialize MWest’s commitments, include specific milestones related to coordinating progress of the residential and industrial development, and provide the City the ability to assure timely progression of the entire project, and 3) any Residential Development Control System development agreement will also include specific milestones related to MWest’s industrial land development and the ability for the City to assure both projects progress in a timely manner.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: Inform
A 10 day public hearing notice was published in the August 21, 2015 edition of the Morgan Hill Times and notices were mailed to property owners within approximately one-thousand feet of the project site, in excess of the three-hundred foot noticing required pursuant to Government Code Sections 65090-65096.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
Defer action on the proposed rezoning until the applicant has completed a concept plan process with the Planning Commission and City Council.
PRIOR CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSION ACTIONS:
On July 28, 2015 the Planning Commission considered and recommended that the City Council not approve the Zoning Amendment until completion of the “Master Plan” process.
FISCAL AND RESOURCE IMPACT:
No budget adjustment required. This project is part of the Community Development Department work plan and the City has collected application fees to cover costs associated with the project.
CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act):
Project, Description of CEQA requirements
An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was previously prepared for the project and certified by the City Council, along with a Statement of Overriding Considerations, together with an Addendum thereto on May 6, 2015. An EIR was warranted because not all potential significant impacts on the environment for the project could be mitigated to less than significant levels. Transportation impacts to US 101, Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) and energy impacts from annual gasoline consumption, and a cumulative increase in transportation energy demand would remain significant and unavoidable because there is no feasible mitigation to reduce these impacts to less than significant.
Mitigation measures to be implemented by the project address potential aesthetics, cultural resources, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology, geological, noise, biological (burrowing owls, nesting birds & trees), and air quality (construction and operational) impacts. These are included in the project’s Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP).
LINKS/ATTACHMENTS:
1. Planning Commission Staff Report July 28, 2015
A. Applicant’s Presentation for GP Amendment
B. Applicant’s Proposal Letter April 7, 2015
C. Applicant’s Illustrative Land Use Plan
2. Correspondence - MWest May 1, 2015
3. Zoning Amendment Ordinance
4. Exhibit A - Legal Description and Map