WALNUT CREEK PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT

Transcription

1 WALNUT CREEK PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT AGENDA: May 10, 2018 ITEM: 4b. ORIGINATED BY: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT PLANNING Day/Date/Time Place Project Name Application Type & App. # Project Location Thursday, May 10, 2018, at 7 PM City Council Chamber, City Hall, 1666 N. Main Street The Foundry GPA, RZ, DR, TR, TRE, Parcel Map Application No. Y Locust Street & 1501 Mt. Diablo Boulevard (APN , ) Project Description A study session regarding plans for a single-story food hall with two accessory courtyard buildings at the existing vacant site at 1250 Locust Street. The project proposes a total of 32,642 square feet comprising 8,097 square feet of new restaurant space, 10,797 square feet of common dining area, and a large outdoor patio featuring a children s play area, water feature, and games and theater space. The project requires the following entitlements: a General Plan Amendment to increase the allowable floor area ratio (FAR) of the site; a rezoning to a Planned Development designation; payment of a parking In-Lieu fee for 51 parking stalls; Design Review approval; tree removal permit; tree dripline encroachment permit; and a parcel map. Zoning General Plan CEQA Applicant Pedestrian Retail (P-R) Pedestrian Retail (PR) Proposed Addendum to the previously adopted Mitigated Negative Declaration Brian Hirahara, BH Development, 1501 Mt Diablo Blvd, Walnut Creek, CA Owner Staff Contact City of Walnut Creek, 1666 N. Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA Haley Croffoot Associate Planner (925) x2117; Croffoot@walnut-creek.org STATEMENT OF ISSUES: The applicant is seeking initial input and feedback on the proposed single-story food hall and two accessory courtyard buildings at the existing vacant site at 1250 Locust Street. The project requires the following entitlements: a General Plan Amendment to increase the allowable floor area ratio (FAR) of the site; a rezoning to a Planned Development designation; payment of a parking In-Lieu fee for 51 parking stalls; Design Review approval; tree removal permit; tree dripline encroachment permit; and a parcel map. The project site is currently zoned Pedestrian Retail (P-R). After this study session, the project will return to the Planning Commission at a subsequent meeting to request a recommendation to the City Council on the proposed plans. If the City Council approves the GPA, PD rezoning, tree permits, and parking In-Lieu fee, the project would return to the DRC for final Design Review consideration and then to the Zoning Administrator for a parcel map.

2 2 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission provide feedback on the project, including the requested General Plan Amendment, PD Rezoning, In-Lieu parking fee request, tree removal and tree dripline encroachment permit request, and parcel map, as presented in the proposed plans (Attachment 2). BACKGROUND: Disposition and Development Agreement. The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Walnut Creek (Agency) and BH Development entered into a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA), approved by City Council on August 5, 2008, for the sale and development of 1250 Locust Street (Attachment 5). The DDA was first amended on February 16, 2010, to extend the close of escrow date by 18 months due to downturn in the economy attributable to the Great Recession. On February 1, 2012, Governor Brown signed companion bills AB 1X 26 and AB 1X 27 to dissolve redevelopment agencies throughout California. Upon dissolution of the Agency, the City Council elected to become the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Walnut Creek, and subsequently approved a second amendment to the DDA on April 4, 2016 to extend the close of escrow to January 31, 2019 (Attachment 6). The proposed project is subject to the DDA as amended on April 4, 2016, and is discussed in further detail below. A previous project proposal by BH Development was reviewed by the City in The project, known as the Oak Lane project, measured 78,971 square feet in size and included four new buildings with three floors of primarily office space above ground floor retail. A Mitigated Negative Declaration was completed for Oak Lane project in May, 2008; however, no entitlements were granted. Design Review Commission Recommendation. The DRC held a Study Session for a larger-scope, two-story project on November 16, 2016, and forwarded a positive recommendation on the project to the Planning Commission on March 1, The project was then reduced in scope and underwent some significant design modifications, which were reviewed by the DRC on May 2, At the conclusion of the hearing, the DRC forwarded a positive recommendation on the revised project to the Planning Commission. The DRC was generally supportive of the project concept, building design, color and material palette, and landscape plan and encouraged the applicant to consider providing pedestrian access from Olympic Boulevard, and refine the design of trash and service building s façade facing Mt. Diablo Boulevard. SITE AND PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Site. The project site comprises two parcels that measure 57,449 square feet in aggregate. The 18,382 square foot, vacant, former Veterans Memorial site parcel is located midblock on Locust Street between Mt. Diablo Boulevard to the north and Olympic Boulevard to the south; the remaining 39,067 square feet includes the parking lot behind the former Tommy Bahama building at 1501 Mt. Diablo Boulevard (see Attachment 1). The project site is located within the Pedestrian Retail (P-R) zoning district and within the City s Core Area. Directly across Locust Street to the west (front) is the Century movie theater. To the north of the project site, on the corner of Locust Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard, sits the Union Bank, and to the south of the project site, on the corner of Locust Street and Olympic Boulevard, is Koja Kitchen and the Urban Outfitters retail

3 building. To the east (rear) of the parcel, and included as part of the project site, is the Corners property, which contains additional retail tenants fronting Mt. Diablo Boulevard and S. Main Street, including the former Tommy Bahama, Va De Vi, Tiffany, Apple, and the new Capital One Bank/Café, which has a publicly accessible rear entry leading to the courtyard of the project site. The project is proposing a lot line adjustment through a parcel map to shift the rear property line of 1250 Locust Street east to include the entire project site within one parcel. The lot line adjustment would affect both 1250 Locust and the Corners properties. Project. The revised project proposes a single-story (with mezzanine), 23,129 square-foot food hall (Building A) containing 8,097 square feet of restaurant space, 4,816 square feet of outdoor dining area and 10,797 square feet of common seating and circulation area. The food hall contains approximately 23 food service stalls on the ground floor, and one food service stall on the mezzanine. The primary entrance to the project is centered on Locust Street with a secondary access easement off Mt. Diablo Boulevard leading to the courtyard adjacent to the Va Da Vi restaurant. There are also two accessory buildings proposed for the courtyard, Buildings B and C. Building B will contain an additional 320 square feet of restaurant space located within a shipping container with additional outdoor seating area. Building C will contain 2,046 square feet of service area to house the trash and utilities required for the project site and adjacent Corner s property. An egress only access point has been provided from the property to Olympic Boulevard through the existing pedestrian easement between the Koja Kitchen (former Citra Grill) property and Urban Outfitters building. New landscaping is also proposed with this project along the Locust Street frontage and in the interior courtyard space. 3 PROJECT ENTITLEMENTS: In addition to design review, the project will require the following discretionary approvals by various City decision-making bodies: General Plan Amendment To be considered for recommendation by the, and subsequently considered for approval by the Walnut Creek City Council. Would increase the maximum FAR over the two combined parcels. Rezoning, Planned Development To be considered for recommendation by the, and subsequently considered for approval by the Walnut Creek City Council. Consistent with the previous 2008 project and DDA. Would set the FAR, parking and all operations (including trash and C.3) over the two combined parcels. Parking In-Lieu fee To be considered by the City Council to allow payment of a fee in lieu of providing required parking onsite. Parcel Map To include the lot line adjustment and be reviewed by the Walnut Creek Zoning Administrator.

4 Tree Removal Permit/Dripline Encroachments Would allow the removal of 12 trees within the project area subject to City Council approval (highest decision-making body). GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY AND CODE COMPLIANCE: General Plan/Zoning. The project site has a General Plan land use designation of Pedestrian Retail (PR), which is intended to provide for a range of retail and personal service uses that are accessed by pedestrians. Similarly, the underlying zoning is Pedestrian Retail (P-R), which is intended to provide a concentration of retail activity that is destination oriented, within the City s designated Core Area (WCMC section ). The project proposes a combination of primarily restaurant and potential retail uses that are in conformance with the General Plan and zoning land use regulations for the site. The project site is subject to the Maximum Commercial Floor Area Ratio (FAR) as shown in Chapter 4 of the General Plan, Figure 8. The current maximum commercial FAR for the project site is The proposed FAR for the project site after the property line adjustment is 0.78 (see Attachment 4). The adjacent Corners parcel has an existing FAR of After the lot line adjustment, the Corner s FAR increases to 1.36 and exceeds the allowed maximum FAR of 0.85 for the parcel. A General Plan Amendment (GPA) would be required to increase the allowed maximum commercial FAR for both parcels combined to However, the FAR will not exceed 2.0 for either site, the maximum otherwise permitted under the PR designation. Disposition and Development Agreement. The project is subject to the terms and conditions of the existing Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) approved by City Council on August 5, 2008, for the sale and development of 1250 Locust Street (Attachment 6). The DDA, as amended by City Council on April 4, 2016, outlines the Scope of Development for the project, including the following Developer s Improvement requirements: The Developer shall construct, or cause to be constructed, on the Site a mixed-use development that may include a combination of retail, restaurant, office, service commercial (and hotel), and residential uses. The Project may include underground parking spaces. Developer may request a use permit for shared parking and purchase of in-lieu parking spaces under the City s paring program to fulfill any part or all of its parking requirements for the Project. Other provisions include the compliance of architectural design, landscaping, signs, screening of trash, with the applicable standards of the City of Walnut Creek. The project is in compliance with the terms and conditions of the DDA. Height. Building height for the project is regulated by Measure A, the General Plan (Figure 10. Core Area Height Limits), and the P-R Zoning Ordinance, of which the latter two allow a maximum building height of 50 feet, while Measure A allows a maximum building height of 89 feet. The project proposes a maximum building height of 30 feet and is therefore in compliance with the maximum building height requirements. 4

5 Required Parking. Pursuant to WCMC section (Pedestrian Retail Zoning District Parking Regulations), the parking requirement for all Commercial and Community Facility uses within the Pedestrian Retail zoning district is one parking stall per 300 square feet of rentable floor area. The project proposes 8,417 square feet of rentable floor area and therefore requires 28 parking stalls. Additionally, the existing 23-stall parking lot behind the former Tommy Bahama building will be eliminated with this project. Therefore, the total parking requirement for the project is 51 stalls. The applicant is seeking to satisfy the parking requirement of 51 parking stalls with payment of a fee in-lieu of providing on-site parking (see Parking and Loading below). Frontage Improvements. In accordance with WCMC section (Improvements for Traffic), frontage improvements, both vehicular and pedestrian, are required of all projects at the time of a major renovation or substantial alteration. The project proposes improvements along the Locust Street frontage including a new, wider sidewalk with an additional bulb-out along at the center of the block, two additional street trees in front of the property, as well as frontage improvements on Locust Street adjacent to the property to the north. A mid-block crossing is proposed across Locust Street connecting the new project to the Century movie theaters block. The applicant is also proposing a loading zone along Mt. Diablo Boulevard displacing two metered parking stalls on the street. All improvements will be reviewed by the Engineering and Traffic Divisions and will be incorporated into future planned improvements along other portions of Locust Street. Tree Removal & Preservation. There are currently five trees on the subject property and 10 trees located on adjacent properties that are subject to the Tree Preservation Ordinance. Of the 15 total existing trees, four trees are proposed for removal on the subject property, and eight trees are proposed for removal on adjacent properties for a total of 12 trees. Removal of any off-site trees will require approval from the adjacent property owner. The applicant is proposing to preserve the prominent valley oak tree in the courtyard, as well as a valley oak tree and carob tree on the adjacent property to the south. Public Art. The proposed project is required to provide public art or pay an in-lieu fee equal to at least one percent of the construction cost of the completed project. The applicant is in discussions with the Arts Program Manager regarding providing public art on site to satisfy this requirement. The DRC will consider the proposed location for public art at a subsequent DRC hearing. Environmental Review. Staff is currently preparing an Addendum to the Mitigated Negative Declaration adopted by the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Walnut Creek on May 20, 2008, for the previous Oak Lane Project. The Addendum will be provided to the Planning Commission at a subsequent hearing, for which staff will be seeking a positive recommendation to the City Council for final consideration. ANALYSIS: General Plan Amendment. The project requires a General Plan Amendment to increase the maximum FAR over the two combined parcels. The project would ultimately result in a FAR of 0.78 for the subject property and 1.36 for the Corner s property, for a combined total of The 5

6 request for a General Plan Amendment to increase the maximum FAR is consistent with the original project scope under the DDA and staff is supportive of this request. Planned Development Rezoning. The project requires rezoning the property to a Planned Development (P-D) designation, as stated in the original DDA (Attachment 4, Section IV.A.3). Due to the unique nature of the proposed use, the P-D zoning regulations may also address specific requirements for loading spaces and alcohol sales and service requirements, both of which are discussed in further detail below. A draft P-D ordinance will be presented to the Planning Commission for a recommendation to the City Council at a subsequent meeting. Staff is supportive of the request for a P-D Rezoning. Site Access and Circulation. Primary access to the site occurs off Locust Street with a secondary access easement off Mt. Diablo Boulevard adjacent to the Va De Vi restaurant, and an informal access from S. Main Street through the Capital One tenant space. The plans also contemplates an egress-only path off Olympic Boulevard with a potential for service delivery through an existing pedestrian easement between the Koja Kitchen property and the Urban Outfitters building. Staff is seeking Planning Commission input on the request for a pedestrian access point off Olympic Boulevard. The original DDA required a secondary frontage off 1530 Mt. Diablo with pedestrian access to the site. While this requirement was eliminated with the Second Amendment to the DDA, staff still feels it is an important feature of the project. Additionally, the Design Review Commission requested the applicant continue to consider a pedestrian connection at this point. City Staff is currently working to address existing maintenance concerns relating to trash storage within the easement area to further encourage a pedestrian access at this point and welcomes feedback from the Commission. Parking. The project requires 28 parking stalls based on the Pedestrian Retail zoning district parking requirement of one stall per 300 square feet of rentable floor area. A previous, larger-scale, iteration of this project, as previously reviewed by the DRC, required 79 parking stalls. The revised plans and reduced project scale have decreased required parking by 65 percent. In addition, the applicant is proposing to eliminate the existing 23-stall parking lot located within the courtyard space, as contemplated in the DDA. The applicant is proposing to pay an in-lieu parking fee for 51 total parking spaces, subject to City Council review and approval. The number of parking stalls in the downtown currently available for purchase is 78 stalls. If the Council approves the in-lieu parking request, the remaining stalls available for purchase within the downtown would be 27 stalls. Additionally, the City s Traffic Engineer has determined that a trip generation study and parking study will not be required for the project and that the traffic study conducted for the previous project in 2008 is sufficient. Staff is supportive of the request for a parking in-lieu payment as it consistent with the terms of the DDA and will not exhaust the supply of parking stalls available for purchase. Staff is requesting the applicant consider additional drop-off areas surrounding the project to accommodate anticipated ridesharing users. The City is concurrently working on broader solutions to address the downtown s growing parking demand as parking is a scarce resource in Downtown Walnut Creek. The City actively manages its 6

7 parking supply to maximize the availability of spaces for all users. 7 The City Council approved a one-year Attendant Assisted Parking Pilot Program in the City s Broadway Parking Garage. The pilot program will create an 80 additional spaces with the garages. Attendant assisted parking allows cars to park in the drive aisles of the garages (behind occupied parking stalls) in a manner that still allows vehicles to enter and exit without impediment. An attendant directs customers where to park, parkers provide their keys to the attendant and the attendant moves cars into vacant spaces as they become available. Parkers then retrieve their keys from the attendant when they return to the garage. Attendant assisted parking is a cost-effective solution and differs from traditional valet parking because it utilizes space within an existing structure without having to rent additional offsite parking spaces to increase parking supply. The pilot program is scheduled to begin in late May In September 2017, the City s Transportation Commission approved removal of time limits on 1,000 on-street spaces. These spaces had previously been two-hour time limited and highly underutilized. This change essentially created new long term parking opportunities for customers and employees. Since its implementation, these spaces have experienced a 10 percent increase in occupancy. The City also continues to work closely with private parking operators in Downtown Walnut Creek to create awareness of their programs and services offered to customers and employees. Additionally, in the spring of 2018, the City will begin developing a comprehensive Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Strategic Plan. TDM encompasses a set of low-cost tools, near-term strategies, and longer-term policies to decrease dependency on single-occupant automobiles, manage parking and the efficiency of the existing transportation system, and increase transit use and active mobility. The TDM Plan will focus on the downtown Core Area and major employment centers, and is expected to be complete by the summer of Bicycle Parking. The project is also required to provide bicycle parking at a rate of 10 percent of the required automobile parking requirement. The project must provide five bicycle stalls. The project plans show bicycle racks along the Locust Street sidewalk for approximately six bikes. Staff recommends the applicant explore other locations for additional bicycle storage such as a bike room for employees or additional public bike racks to help facilitate multi-modal mobility downtown. Loading. The project is required to provide one off-street loading space based on the proposed gross floor area. In addition, the project must accommodate the loading spaces for the Corners property, which will be eliminated with the design of the new courtyard. Due to the unique use classification proposed on site, staff requested the applicant provide a project loading analysis that encompasses the expected supply/demand of the loading needs of the block. The applicant has provided a preliminary loading plan which identifies six loading zones for the site: two new loading zones on Locust Street in front of the Union Bank property; three additional loading zones on Mt. Diablo in front of Union Bank and the future Bounty Hunter, one of which will have restricted times and will operate as two metered parking stalls during peak non-loading hours; and a sixth potential loading zone off Olympic Boulevard utilizing the existing pedestrian easement adjacent to the Urban Outfitters building. Two of the six proposed loading zones will function as de facto loading zones, as they are proposed in areas otherwise designated for shuttle buses. Staff is

8 currently reviewing the proposed loading plan and will continue to work with the applicant on the overall loading needs for the project. Additional loading analysis will be provided to the Planning Commission at a subsequent meeting, though Staff welcomes Planning Commission feedback on this initial analysis. Trash and Utility Services. All trash and utility services will be located within Building C fronting Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The building will be setback 29 feet from the street to accommodate trash and utility service trucks access to the building through a roll-up steel door (a typical Republic Services truck is approximately 23 feet long). Staff analyzed the estimated trash capacity for this project using data provided by Republic Services and the applicant showing trash generation for existing restaurant businesses. The analysis includes the future Bounty Hunter restaurant space (former Tommy Bahamas), but does not consider any changes in use to the existing Corners tenants. Based on this data, the estimated total trash generation for the entire project site (The Foundry project, Va de Vi, future Bounty Hunter, and existing Corners tenants) is 175 cubic yards per week, or 25 cubic yards of trash per day. Furthermore, Staff is requesting the project provide a storage capacity for three days of trash to account for weekends and holidays when trash services are not typically provided. Therefore, the project will need to provide storage for 75 cubic yards of trash. Staff and the applicant team have been working with Republic Services and Central Sanitary District to ensure trash and service functions of the project are being considered at the design stage. The applicant is also exploring alternative means of recycling food waste, including donating leftover food to companies such as White Pony Express. The applicant is also working with a waste consulting company to support the daily operations of the waste services for the project, including pulling containers out and in everyday for pick-up, cleaning the pick-up area daily, and power washing the area weekly (see Attachment 7). Staff has requested the applicant provide a more detailed plan of Building C to confirm that the building can adequately house the required trash containers, and that these containers can be accessed by Republic Services from the Mt. Diablo frontage. Tree Removal/Tree Dripline Encroachment Permit. There are currently a total of five trees on the subject property and 10 trees located on adjacent properties that are subject to the Tree Preservation Ordinance. A revised arborist report conducted by HortScience on March 22, 2018 has been attached to this report (Attachment 3). Of the 15 total existing trees, four trees are proposed for removal on the subject property, and eight trees are proposed for removal on adjacent properties for a total of 12 trees. The applicant is proposing to preserve the prominent valley oak tree in the courtyard, as well as a valley oak tree and carob tree on the adjacent property to the south. The 12 trees proposed for removal include four Grecian laurel trees located along the southern edge of the courtyard, and eight crape myrtle trees on the adjacent property to the north as a result of the proposed street frontage improvements. Removal of any off-site trees will require approval from the adjacent property owner. The City s contract arborist has reviewed the attached revised arborist report and concluded that none of the four on-site trees proposed for removal merit special consideration for retention and that replacement trees will be more beneficial to the site. Staff is supportive of the four proposed tree removals on-site that are subject to the Tree Preservation Ordinance and is seeking PC feedback on the request. 8

9 9 Additional Project Components. Staff is currently working with the applicant to address other project components, including regulations for alcohol service across multiple tenant spaces. Staff and the applicant have been working with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to ensure the proper requirements for alcohol sales and service will be met. COMMISSION ACTION REQUIRED: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission provide feedback on the project, including the requested General Plan Amendment, PD Rezoning, In-Lieu parking fee request, tree removal and tree dripline encroachment permit request, and parcel map, as presented in the proposed plans (Attachment 2). ATTACHMENTS: 1. Vicinity and Aerial Map 2. Proposed Plans, Application No. Y Arborist Report, HortScience, March 22, Proposed FAR Guide 5. Disposition and Development Agreement, August 5, Second Amendment to the Disposition and Development Agreement, April 4, Waste Machinery Services Letter, December 3, Prepared by: Haley Croffoot, Associate Planner O:\CDD\PLANNING\1Project Files\Y16-000\Y Locust - Block C (HH)\PublicReview\PC\ _PC\ _PC.docx