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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC RESO 2007-259RESOLUTION NO. 2007 — 259 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NATIONAL CITY ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMBINED GENERAL PLAN/ZONING MAP FROM OPEN SPACE RESERVE (OSR) TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL -PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (CG-PD) ON A 15.08 ACRE VACANT PARCEL ON THE NORTH SIDE OF PLAZA BONITA ROAD, WEST OF SWEETWATER ROAD AND EAST OF 1-805; REVIEWING, CONSIDERING AND CERTIFYING A FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT TO ASSESS PROJECT IMPACTS OF A COSTCO WHOLESALE FACILITY ON THE 15.08 ACRE VACANT PARCEL; AND DELETING/MODIFYING A MITIGATION MEASURE REGARDING OPEN SPACE ON THE 15.08 ACRE VACANT PARCEL FOR THE PREVIOUSLY CERTIFIED 1978 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE PLAZA BONITA MALL. APPLICANT: COSTCO CORPORATION CASE FILE NO. GP-2005-4, ZC-2005-3, EIR SCH NO. 2003111073 WHEREAS, the City Council considered the recommendation and findings of the Planning Commission for approval of an amendment to the General Plan to change the land use designations on the Combined General Plan/Zoning Map from Open Space Reserve (OSR) to General Commercial -Planned Development (CG-PD) for a 15.08 vacant parcel on the north side of Plaza Bonita Road, west of Sweetwater Road, and east of 1-805, at the duly advertised public hearing held by the City Council on November 6, 2007, and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission and City Council have caused and duly held studies and proceedings for the timely amendment to the General Plan of the City of National City, pursuant to Title 7, Chapter 3, Article 6 of the Government Code of the State of California, and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission at a duly advertised public hearing held on October 15, 2007, considered the proposed amendment to the General Plan of the City of National City, along with all evidence and testimony presented at said hearing, and along with the Environmental Impact Report to assess project impacts of a Costco Wholesale Facility, and deleting/modifying mitigation measures regarding Open Space for the previously Certified 1978 Environmental Impact Report for the Plaza Bonita Mall on a 15.08 vacant parcel on the north side of Plaza Bonita Road, west of Sweetwater Road, and east of 1-805 together with any comments received; and WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the need and desirability to conduct reviews of, and consider amendments to, the General Plan to accommodate the changing needs of the community. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council certifies it has reviewed and considered the information contained in the Final Environmental Impact, and certifies the Final Environmental Impact Report based on the following findings: FINDINGS FOR CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT 1. The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) has been prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act. Resolution No. 2007 — 259 November 20, 2007 Page 2 2. The City Council has reviewed and considered the information in the FEIR before approving the project. 3. The FEIR reflects the City's independent judgment and analysis. 4. The Planning Commission has considered the environmental impact report together with any comments received during the public review process and the responses. 5. On the basis of the whole record, including the Initial Study, written comments, and responses, there is substantial evidence that the project will have a significant effect on the environment. 6. Based on the FEIR and the analysis provided therein, a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) has been prepared to assess the potential environmental impacts and identifies impacts that can be mitigated to below a level of significant impact. 7. The mitigation measures that have been identified as feasible mitigation measures that will mitigate impacts to below a level of significant impact in the MMRP have been incorporated into the conditions of approval for the Costco Wholesale Planned Development Permit and are enforceable through the permit conditions. 8. Based on the FEIR, there are air quality and traffic impacts which cannot be feasibly avoided or mitigated but those impacts are overridden by other factors, thus a Statement of Overriding Consideration is required for impacts to air quality and traffic. 9. Impacts to air quality cannot be mitigated to below a level of significant impact because the 15.08 parcel was assessed as Open Space and a rezoning to Commercial and development of the site would result in unmitigable impacts. 10. Impacts to traffic cannot be mitigated to below a level of significant impacts because no feasible mitigation has been determined at these locations: a. Bonita Road Segment between Plaza Bonita Road and 1-805 (Year 2008 and 2030); and b. SR-54 Segment; Plaza Bonita Center Way and Woodman Street (Year 2008 and 2030); and c. SR-54/Plaza Bonita Center Way intersection, and eastbound on -ramp (Year 2030). 11. The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) sets forth all significant environmental impacts and the mitigation measures which will avoid or reduce each significant impact to a level of insignificance, with the exception of certain traffic impacts and air quality impacts which are detailed in the FEIR as unmitigable. Resolution No. 2007 — 259 November 20, 2007 Page 3 12. The traffic impact at the intersection of Sweetwater Road and Mesa Vista Way is both a direct and cumulative impact, for which the applicant has agreed to participate in the County of San Diego Traffic Impact Fee program to mitigate that impact. The. Traffic Impact Fee program is designed to use funds for identified improvements within this traffic corridor and would mitigate for the traffic impacts identified at the intersection of Sweetwater Road and Mesa Vista Way. 13. The alternatives proposed are each rejected, as explained in the FEIR, because they do not meet the project objectives and neither the lifestyle altemative nor the big box alternative have an overall lesser impact on the environment than the proposed project. 14. The documents and other materials that constitute the record of proceedings on which the City Council based its findings are located at the City of National City, 1243 National City Boulevard, National City. The custodian for these documents is the City Clerk of the City of National City. This information is provided in compliance with Public Resources Code Section 15091(e). BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council adopts the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program prepared as part of the FEIR. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council adopts and makes this Statement of Overriding Considerations concerning the project's unavoidable significant impacts to air quality and traffic to explain why the projects' benefits override and outweigh its unavoidable impacts. STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS 1. Impacts to Air Quality cannot be mitigated to a below a level of significant impact since the 15.08 parcel was assessed as Open Space and a rezoning to Commercial and development of the site would result in unmitigable impacts. There is no feasible mitigation measure for this impact. 2. Impacts to traffic cannot be mitigated to below a level of significant impacts because no feasible mitigation has been determined at these locations: a. Bonita Road Segment between Plaza Bonita Road and 1-805 (Year 2008 and 2030); b. SR-54 Segment; Plaza Bonita Center Way and Woodman Street (Year 2008 and 2030); and c. SR-54/Plaza Bonita Center Way intersection, and eastbound on -ramp (Year 2030). 3. This project will bring substantial benefits to the City of National City, including creation of jobs, diversification of wholesale shopping opportunities to the City's residents and businesses, better use of the vacant parcel, and an increase in local tax revenues through development of the Costco Wholesale; and, development of the project site through a carefully coordinated planning process will minimize environmental impacts, all in accordance with the General Plan goals. Resolution No. 2007 — 259 November 20, 2007 Page 4 4. The City Council finds that the project's unavoidable impacts are acceptable in light of the project's benefits. Each benefit set forth below constitutes an overriding consideration warranting approval of the project, independent of other benefits, despite each and every unavoidable impact. a. In the near -term, implementation of the project will create local construction jobs for site preparation, grading, and construction and in the long-term, it will create jobs for local residents of approximately 250-300 employees. b. The project will provide diverse retail opportunities to City residents by offering a wide variety of household products including bulk groceries at reduced costs that are not offered elsewhere in the city. c. The National City median income is lowest in the County and it has the largest average household size; the project can offer goods and services to National City's low and very low income families at lower prices than at typical retail stores and increase their purchasing power for other items not offered at Costco. d. The project will increase the City's economic base from revenues derived from increased sales tax, gas tax, and property tax which would enable the City to continue to maintain essential services and quality of life amenities to the City at desirable levels. e. Since the project offers products in large quantities, it is able to offer reduced prices to their customers that then enables customers to save money and be able to purchase other items from other retail stores that offer goods and services that the project does not offer. f. In addition to the retail market, the project offers a wholesale market oriented toward business members who may purchase goods at Costco for resale which then enables these small businesses to remain competitive and attractive to customers and to increase their purchasing power. g. The project will serve to implement an objective of the City's Strategic Plan adopted by the City Council by assisting in achieving fiscal sustainability. Construction of the project will eliminate the potential for dumping of trash and debris, the use of the parcel for illegal paint ball activities, and the use of the parcel as an area for homeless persons. The project site is currently an underutilized open space site that was designated for recreation facilities that were not installed by the County of San Diego nor are there any plans to incorporate the site into the City's park system; whereas the project will allow installation of additional recreational improvements within the Sweetwater Regional Park, a regional park facility that will benefit local residents and the region. Resolution No. 2007 — 259 November 20, 2007 Page 5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council finds that the modification/deletion of a prior mitigation measure placing the 15.08 acre vacant parcel into open space contained in the 1978 Plaza Bonita Environmental Impact Report is supported based on the information contained in the FEIR before the Council in this approval and the following findings: DELETION/MODIFICATION OF PRIOR MITIGATION MEASURE CONTAINED IN 1978 PLAZA BONITA EIR 1. The 1978 Plaza Bonita EIR identified the site as mitigation for the loss of recreational opportunities, due to the loss of the Bonita Golf Course and its replacement by a shopping mall. The golf course, however, was relocated approximately 3-miles east of the site, thus replacing the recreational opportunities. 2. This open space which was a mitigation measure for the loss of open space associated with the Plaza Bonita Shopping Center has not been developed or used for park purposes, nor are there any plans to use this site for the purposes in which the mitigation measure was imposed. 3. Almost thirty (30) years have passed from the time the 1978 Plaza Bonita EIR was adopted containing this mitigation measure. 4. This previously adopted mitigation measure is not feasible, and is impractical and unnecessary, given the relocation of the golf course, the inability to create a recreational opportunity at the site at issue in a timely manner, and the development of the Sweetwater Regional Park, all providing substantial evidence supporting deletion of the mitigation measure. 5. The sale of the open space easement requires that the funds be used for park improvements, thus even if the mitigation were required to be replaced, this is adequate substitute mitigation for the vacation of the open space easement that was identified in the 1978 Plaza Bonita EIR; therefore this modification of the mitigation measure is supported by substantial evidence. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council finds that the proposed amendment is in the public interest and is consistent with General Plan policies based on the following findings: FINDINGS FOR APPROVAL OF THE GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT AND ZONE CHANGE 1. That the proposed amendment to the Combined General Plan/Zoning Map changing the subject property from Open Space Reserve (OSR) to Commercial General -Planned Development (CG-PD) is consistent with the General Plan, since the proposed 15.08 acre site is a unique City property due to its size, location, and proximity to other commercial properties and major highways, and the proposed Commercial General zoning would be consistent with the Plaza Bonita mall development adjacent to the east and south. Resolution No. 2007 — 259 November 20, 2007 Page 6 2. That the proposed amendment is in the public interest, since it will allow for a commercial development that will be a benefit to the community and meets the goals of the General Plan to expand the amount of retail space in the City. 3. That granting of the General Plan Amendment and Zone Change further enhances the goals of the General Plan to encourage recapturing or surpassing previous levels of sales tax revenues generated in the City in order to provide adequate funding for public programs. 4. That granting of this General Plan Amendment and Zone Change are consistent with all other City plans and ordinances, since the proposed development, carries out the intent of the General Plan and Land Use Code to construct high quality commercial development, while further expanding the goals of providing for recreational opportunities within Sweetwater Regional Park. 5. The proposed amendment is also consistent with the General Plan and Land Use Code because the open space ratios set forth in the General Plan remain exceeded. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council hereby amends the Combined General Plan/Zoning Map from Open Space Reserve (OSR) to General Commercial - Planned Development (CG-PD) as further shown on Exhibit "A", attached hereto. PASSED and ADOPTED this 20th day of Nov- ber 007. on Morrison, Mayor ATTEST: /1 Mic .el R. Da Ia, Ci APPROVED AS TO FORM: /o . George H. Eiser, III City Attorney - CITY BOUNDARY PROJECT SITE Westfield Plaza Bonita ZONE BOUNDARY ••• • GP-2005-4/ZC-2005-3'PD-CU P-2005-7 NATIONAL CITY PLANNING EXHIBIT "A" DRN. DATE: 10/1/07 INITIAL HEARING: 10/15/07 Passed and adopted by the Council of the City of National City, California, on November 20, 2007 by the following vote, to -wit: Ayes: Councilmembers Morrison, Natividad, Ungab, Parra, Zarate. Nays: None. Absent: None. Abstain: None. AUTHENTICATED BY: RON MORRISON Mayor of the City of National City, California // erk of the City of K City Ci ational City, California By: Deputy I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above and foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of RESOLUTION NO. 2007-259 of the City of National City, California, passed and adopted by the Council of said City on November 20, 2007. City Clerk of the City of National City, California By: Deputy