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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBackground ReportBACKGROUND REPORT History This application was submitted in 2008, with a General Plan and Zoning Map change amendment being initiated by Planning Commission on October 20, 2008. The associated environmental document (Mitigated Negative Declaration) was noticed for a 30 day period, commencing on October 14, 2010 and ending November 15, 2010. Furthermore, the City Council has most recently initiated the Street Vacation process at their meeting of September 20, 2011. This item was originally set for hearing for November 22, 2010, although it was continued multiple times due to ongoing negotiations between the project developer and potential tenants. Since the start of the project the City has updated the General Plan and Land Use Code, which no longer require any form of zone change or general plan amendment. The proposed shopping center is now allowed by right in the zones in which the project is located. Site Characteristics The approximately 26-acre project site is located east of National City Boulevard, immediately north of State Route (SR) 54, west of F Avenue, and south of 30th Street. The project area is comprised of 13 parcels, all but one of which are located within National City. One parcel, the largest single parcel within the project area, is located within the City of Chula Vista. However, the majority of the land area is within National City, thus National City is the lead agency. The majority of the parcels are zoned Major Mixed -Use District (MXD-2), with two of the remaining parcels zoned Major Mixed -Use Corridor (MXC-2) and Commercial Automotive (CA) respectively. The Chula Vista parcel is zoned Limited Industrial (IL). The CA -zoned property is also located within the City's Coastal Zone; however, this parcel is located within an area exempted from Coastal Development Permits provided no Variances are required (none are required or requested in this case). Two of the parcels are currently undeveloped — a 1.3-acre lot located south of Keystone Trailer Park and a smaller MXD-2 — zoned property in the northern portion of the project area. The remaining parcels are developed with a drive-in movie theater (Chula Vista parcel) and paved parking lots used for conducting the National City swap meet. One of the 13 project area parcels, located on the east side of D Avenue south of East 31st Street, is developed with a single-family residence. The attached location map shows the site in more detail. Proposal The project proposes new construction of approximately 165,000 square feet of commercial building area, a total of 961 parking spaces, landscaping, signage, lighting, and utilities. In addition to the on -site development with its associated internal roads and utilities, the project would include vacation of D Avenue from 31 st Street to its terminus just north of SR-54 and vacation of unimproved 32nd Street from B Avenue to F Avenue. Road improvements at the proposed project's primary access point on National City Boulevard and 33rd Street, to include construction of a new traffic signal and widening of the primary access driveway, is also proposed. The commercial development would consist of five single -story buildings ranging in height from 25 to 50 feet. Table 1 summarizes the proposed uses and area for each building, as well as the jurisdiction in which the building would be located. A Table 1 — Proposed Commercial Uses Fast food with drive -through National City 3,500 B Bank with drive -through, or retail as described below National City 4,500 C Gas station, car wash, and convenient store/retail Chula Vista 3,770 E Auto retail commercial (Carmax) Chula Vista 32,500 G Retail, home improvement store (Lowe's) (120,587 ft2 main store and 31.658 ft2 aarden center) Total National City 120,587 164,857 As a potential alternate development for Building B, the project applicant may construct an in -line retail building of approximately 7,500 square feet. Signage proposed as part of the project includes tenant signs on three sides of the proposed buildings, several monument signs on the project site adjacent to National City Boulevard and SR-54 (including a gas station monument sign), a pylon sign at the project's primary access point at National City Boulevard and 33rd Street, and two freeway pylon signs along the southern boundary of the project site adjacent to SR-54 — one in National City and one in Chula Vista. The Gateway project is expected to be developed over approximately three years, with construction beginning in the first quarter of 2012. Construction of the project is divided into two phases; the initial phase of development would include demolition, rough grading, and construction of Buildings A, B, C, and G. As part of the first phase of development, the project would construct the SR-54 westbound off -ramp improvements, the internal spine road leading from the primary project access point at National City Boulevard and traveling along the southern boundary of the project site to the eastern portion of the site, as well as the project's extension of D Avenue from the existing cul- de-sac to the aforementioned spine road. On -site utilities and connections associated with the first phase buildings would be constructed/installed at the same time as Buildings A, B, C, and G. Demolition of existing structures on the project site would include the single-family residence on the northeast portion of the site (APN 562-280-29), a former projection house in the southern portion of the site, the two existing swap meet buildings on the eastern portion of the site, and a large soldier pile retaining wall next to the projection house. Building E and the associated parking areas, on -site utilities, and connections would be constructed as part of the second phase of development. Rough grading is expected to occur as a single operation. Analysis Conditional Use Permit The proposed fast-food restaurant (Building A) requires a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) per Land Use Code section 18.22.020 (Allowed Land Uses Commercial Zones), as it is an eating place with a drive -through located within the CA zone. In addition, section 18.30.360 requires that fast ood eating places be a minimum of 300 feet from the nearest residentially -zoned property. In this case, the nearest such property is over 600 feet away. Drive -through design is regulated through section 18.41.020 (Non Residential Site Planning Standards) — subsection C (Drive -Through Businesses), which requires minimum vehicular queuing distances to be established through the CUP process, minimum interior turning radii, and drive -through window location requirements. These issues will be addressed as part of the building permit process, although there is a condition requiring compliance with the above -noted code sections. Minor Use Permit Land Use Code section 18.22.020 (Allowed Land Uses Commercial Zones), allows for banks, classified under `goods and services, retail', in the CA zone with a Minor Use Permit (MUP). A Minor Use Permit is a ministerial permit that is administered by staff with findings of approval and conditions (if necessary). Findings are essentially the same as those required by a CUP (e.g., allowed use, General Plan consistency, compatibility, physical suitability, etc). The process involves an application and property owner notification, both of which have been conducted as part of the discretionary part of this application. Therefore, findings of approval have been attached to this permit so that they are part of the overall project approval. Parkinq/Circulation/Traffic Parking — Table 4 shows the required and provided parking proposed for Gateway. Table 4 — Parking Spaces National City 643 587 -56 Chula Vista 182 374 +192 Total 825 961 +136 The Land Use Code requires that new shopping centers provide a minimum of one space per 200 square feet (5/1,000) of commercial area, which would require 643 spaces based on the 128,587 square feet proposed in National City. However, only 587 spaces are proposed, 56 less than required (9%). The applicant is requesting an exception for less than required parking, based on the fact that the individual commercial uses are separated rather than being a unified shopping center/mall. In the MXD-2 zone the parking requirement for individual commercial uses would be one space per 250 square feet (4/1,000), which would only require 515 spaces, less than proposed. In addition, the overall shopping center parking is actually 136 spaces over (17%), based on the 5/1,000 ratio, due to the Chula Vista property being over by 192 spaces. Furthermore, it is likely that patrons of the mall may park and walk to separate uses, reducing the need for parking based on each individual use. There are also three bus stops within walking distance of the center, two on National City Blvd. north of 33rd Street and one at 30th Street and D Avenue. It should be noted that plans show an alternative design for Building B, which is 3,000 square feet larger than the proposed 4,500 square -foot bank building. There would also be six less parking spaces with the altemate design. Although the parking in National City would be under by 62 spaces (almost 10%) in this scenario, the overall project would still be over by 130 spaces. For purposes of findings of approval for the requested exception, the 10% number has been assumed, even though the overall project would exceed parking requirements by 16%. Furthermore, according to SANDAG traffic generation rates, a bank with a drive -through would generate 200 average daily trips (ADT) per 1,000 square feet as opposed to only 40 ADT per 1,000 square feet for specialty retail/strip commercial. The Planning Commission conducted a hearing on this project on October 17, 2011, at which time they recommended approval of the Conditional Use Permit, Minor Use Permit, and Zone Variance based on attached findings and subject to Conditions of Approval as contained in Planning Commission Resolution No. 24-2011. Staff concurs with the decision of the Planning Commission and recommends that this decision be filed.