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CC - PUBLIC HEARING - Introduction of an Ordinance (1) Approving Comprehensive Plan (CP) - P2015054; Zoning Code Map Amendment (ZCMA) - P2015055; General Plan Map Amendment (GPMA) - P2015056; and Tentative Tract Map (TTM) - P2015057 and (2) Adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program to Allow the Subdivision of an Existing 4.35 Acre Site into 10 New Land Lots for the Development of a 90-Unit/110-Bed Senior Citizen Residential Care Facility for Assisted Living and Memory Care, Eight New Single Family Homes and the Retention of One Existing Single Family Home Located at 3814 Lenawee Avenue.
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Meeting Date: July 25, 2016
Contact Person/Dept: Jose Mendivil / Thomas Gorham CDD
Phone Number: (310) 253-5757 / (310) 253-5727
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [X] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [X] No [] Date: June 8, 2016
Commission Name: Planning Commission
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (07/01/16; and 07/19/16); On July 1, 2016, a notice was posted on the site and was mailed to all the property owners and occupants within a, 500 foot radius of the project site; (Publication) Culver City News (07/01/16 and 07/14/16).
Department Approval: Sol Blumenfeld, Director of Community Development (07/14/2016)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council introduce an Ordinance (Attachment No.1): (1) approving Comprehensive Plan (CP) - P2015054; Zoning Code Map Amendment (ZCMA) - P2015055; General Plan Map Amendment (GPMA) - P2015056; and Tentative Tract Map (TTM) - P2015057, subject to Conditions of Approval; and (2) adopting a related Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), based on the Initial Study finding that the Project, with mitigation measures incorporated, will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment (Attachment No.4).
PROCEDURE
1. The Mayor seeks a motion to receive and file the affidavit of mailing and posting of public notice.
2. The Mayor calls on staff for a brief staff report and the City Council poses questions to staff as desired.
3. The Mayor seeks a motion to open the public hearing, providing the applicant the first opportunity to speak, followed by the general public.
4. The Mayor seeks a motion to close the public hearing after all testimony has been presented.
5. The City Council discusses the matter and arrives at its decision.
BACKGROUND
R and D Development, LLC (the Applicant) is requesting approval of a Comprehensive Plan; Planned Development/Zoning Code Map Amendment; General Plan Map Amendment; and Tentative Tract Map to redevelop a 4.35 acre R1 Zoned property located north of the intersection of Lenawee Avenue and Vicstone Court and directly south of the city limit line and the City of Los Angeles in the Blair Hills area (the Project). The Project known as Culver Place will include a subdivision of the site into 10 land lots, nine of which will be R1 single family parcels. The tenth lot will be a 98,108 square foot parcel containing a 90-unit/110-bed senior citizen residential care facility for assisted living and memory care.
The Project requires approval by the City Council of the following entitlements:
• Comprehensive Plan (CP - P2015054) to establish development standards, approved land uses, and site plan and architectural design for the Project;
• Zoning Code Map Amendment (ZCMA - P2015055) to establish a Planned Development Zoning designation for the subject site;
• General Plan Map Amendment (GPMA - 2015056) to establish a Planned Development General Plan land use designation for the subject site; and
• Tentative Tract Map (TTM - 2015057) to subdivide the property into 10 land lots.
On June 8, 2016, the Planning Commission, after considering the staff report, the application materials, applicant presentation, and providing an opportunity for public comment, adopted Resolution No. 2016-P006 (Attachment No. 2) recommending to the City Council approval of the entitlements listed above. No appeals on the Planning Commission recommendation were filed and the City Council is requested to approve the entitlements with adoption of an ordinance.
ANALYSIS:
General Plan Amendment
The Culver City General Plan land use designation for the site is Low Density Single Family and a General Plan Map amendment is needed to change the land use designation to Planned Development (PD). In general, in establishing a PD District, the City Council must consider the standards for the zoning districts “most similar in nature and function to the uses proposed within the PD District” (Section 17.240.015). Nearby multi-family land uses in the vicinity of the project are designated PD in the General Plan to address the multi-family planned developments located along Lenawee Avenue and the surrounding residential neighborhoods are designated single family. The proposed project zoning will permit an assisted living/residential care facility that is “similar in nature” to the nearby multifamily development, while the single family portion of the project is “similar in nature and function” to the surrounding single family residential neighborhoods
Further, the General Plan Land Use Designation of PD is intended to address larger development sites which often consist of more than one building on sites of one acre or larger. The intent of the PD designation is to provide larger sites with the opportunity to better integrate aesthetic and functional design considerations within the project and the larger community. The assisted living portion of the project will provide housing for senior citizens, memory care patients, and veterans. The assisted living area of the project is located on the eastern portion of the site closer to the multi-family housing to the north, some of which fronts La Cienega Boulevard. Use of the reminder of the site for nine new single family lots will be consistent with the existing single family land use pattern abutting the site to the west and south.
Zoning Code Amendment
The current zoning for the site is Residential Single Family R1. In order to implement the Project, the site is proposed to be rezoned to the Planned Development (PD) zone designation. The PD zoning district is consistent with the Planned Development Land Use designation of the General Plan (noted above) and will be consistent with the surrounding residential and commercial land use designations of the General Plan. A Planned Development or PD Zone is applied to areas of large scale, multiple family residential and/or commercial complexes developed with a Comprehensive Plan. The PD Zone can only be applied to sites that are one acre or larger and this subject site is 4.34 acres.
Comprehensive Plan
A Comprehensive Plan (CP) is required for the Project pursuant to Zoning Code Section 17.560, Comprehensive Plans, in order to develop a PD Zone area, in compliance with Chapter 17.240 (Planned Development Zoning Districts). The proposed CP includes the development standards and allowed land uses in the proposed PD Zone and reflects the proposed split use of the project site with approximately half the site dedicated for nine single family parcels and the rest of the site for a residential care facility. The intent of a CP is to allow for flexibility in the application of the Zoning Code standards for large scale developments. A CP considers innovation in site planning in order to more effectively respond to site features, uses on adjoining properties, and other impacts that the Zoning Code may not be able to adequately address. The CP document, submitted as part of the Project application includes all the relevant land use and development standards for the Project including setbacks, building height, parking, permitted uses, site plan, floor plans, building elevations and renderings, building materials and colors, landscaping, and open space provisions (Attachment No. 6).
With a CP, a PD Zoning Code designation must be created that implements and regulates the specific zoning standards and allowed uses stipulated in the CP document. Further, the General Plan Land Use designation for the site must be made consistent with the new PD Zone as such a PD General Plan Map designation is required.
The Project also requires a Tentative Tract Map. Tentative Tract Map No. 72659 (Attachment No. 7) is a proposed 10 lot subdivision that will create the nine single family lots and the one commercial lot for residential care facility use. The map will include the new cul-de-sac and necessary dedications for the widening of Lenawee Avenue. The Public Works Department has reviewed the proposed subdivision and found it to be in compliance with the State Subdivision Map Act and the CCMC subdivision ordinance (Title 15 of the CCMC).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, an Initial Study prepared for the project determined that the project, with mitigation measures incorporated, will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and that a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) finding is appropriate. The MND public comment period was from May 4, 2016, through June 8, 2016. On June 8, 2016, the Planning Commission recommended to the City Council (1) adoption of the MND, in accordance with CEQA, finding the Project, as mitigated, will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts; and (2) adoption of a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP), which prescribes mitigation measures that will reduce the Project’s potentially significant impacts to a less than significant levels.
Please see Attachment Nos. 3 through 8 (Planning Commission Staff Report, Initial Study/Final MND, Traffic Impact Analysis, Comprehensive Plan, Tentative Tract Map, and draft Planning Commission Minutes) for a detailed review of the Project.
CONCLUSION
The unique size of the R1 zoned property (4.35 acres) provides the potential to create a uniquely planned and designed residential project that integrates both aesthetics and functionality within the larger community. The lot is situated in manner that allows adequate access from either Lenawee Avenue or La Cienega Avenue. Care has been taken on the part of the applicant in designing a project that makes maximum potential use of this very large property while respecting the surrounding neighborhood. The nine single family lots are oriented towards Lenawee Avenue and surrounding single family lots with either direct frontage on Lenawee Avenue or frontage on a new cul-de-sac street. Lot sizes, some large at 7,000 to 9,000 square feet and some more average in size at 5,000 to 6,000 square feet, provide ample green space and setbacks assuring the new homes are situated toward the center of the lots. Several of the new homes provide extra-long front, rear or side setbacks in relation to existing homes while reserving the closest distances to each other. The potential massing or intensity of the residential care facility is reduced with its orientation towards La Cienega Boulevard - a high speed, high traffic thoroughfare, with its maximum height of three stories and 45 feet located towards the northern part of the property. The portion of the assisted living facility closest to the homes along the north side of Vicstone Court transitions to two stories and 32 feet in height (roughly equal in height to those homes). The scale and massing of the residential care facility is similar to the multi-family housing north of it, some of which fronts La Cienega Boulevard. Staff believes that the mix of single family homes and the assisted living facility and accompanying land use standards for the project achieve both consistency and compatibility with the surrounding area.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact associated with the proposed project.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Proposed Ordinance with Exhibit A - Conditions of Approval, Exhibit B - Project General Plan Map, and Exhibit C - Project Zoning Map.
2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 2016-P006 (without attachments).
3. June 8, 2016, Planning Commission Staff Report (without attachments.).
4. Initial Study/ Final Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) dated May 4, 2016.
5. Traffic Impact Analysis prepared by Allan Engineering dated March 30, 2016.
6. Comprehensive Plan dated January 26, 2016.
7. Tentative Tract Map No. 72659.
8. Planning Commission June 8, 2016, draft minutes.
9. General Written Public Comments (if received prior to final staff report).
RECOMMENDED MOTION(S)
That the City Council:
Introduce the proposed Ordinance (1) approving Comprehensive Plan (CP) - P2015054; Zoning Code Map Amendment (ZCMA) - P2015055; General Plan Map Amendment (GPMA) - P2015056; and Tentative Tract Map (TTM) - P2015057 subject to the Conditions of Approval; and (2) adopting the related Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, based on the Initial Study, finding that the Project, with mitigation measures incorporated, will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment.