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PC - Public Hearing: Consideration of a Conditional Use Permit to establish a child daycare/private school use with an outdoor play area in the Commercial Regional Business Park (CRB) Zone and Regional Center General Plan Designation located at 5840 Uplander Way.
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Meeting Date: November 8, 2023
Contact Person/Dept: William Kavadas, Assistant Planner;
Susan Herbertson, Senior Planner
Phone Number: (310) 253-5706 / (310) 253-5727
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [X] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
City Council Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: N/A
Public Notification: (Mailed) Property owners and occupants within a 500-foot radius (10/17/2023); (Email) Master Notification List (10/18/2023),(Posted) City website (10/19/2023), Meetings and Agendas - Planning Commission (11/02/2023);
Department Approval: Mark E. Muenzer, Planning and Development Director (10/31/2023)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission 1) Adopt a Class 32 Categorical Exemption for this project, pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act Section 15332 In-Fill Development Projects, and 2) Approve Conditional Use Permit, P2023-0102-CUP, subject to the Conditions of Approval as stated in the proposed Resolution.
PROCEDURES
1. Chair calls on staff for a brief staff report and Planning Commission poses questions to staff.
2. Chair opens the public hearing, providing the applicant the first opportunity to speak, followed by the general public.
3. Chair seeks a motion to close the public hearing after all testimony has been presented.
4. Planning Commission discusses the matter and arrives at its decision.
BACKGROUND
Request
On April 26, 2023, an application was submitted by Uplander Campus, LLC (the Applicant) for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The application request is to convert an existing multi-tenant office building to allow an eight-classroom child daycare and private school use and convert the rear portion of an existing parking lot to create a 6,201 square foot outdoor play area.
Project Site/Existing Conditions
The Project Site is located at 5840 Uplander Way, east of the intersection with Bristol Parkway (see Vicinity Map, Attachment No. 2). The parcel is flat in topography and rectangular in shape, measuring 35,000 square feet. Currently, the site is improved with a 16,080 square foot two-story, multi-tenant commercial office building with 60 parking spaces. Pedestrian access to the commercial building is currently unavailable and pedestrians must cross through the singular parking lot entrance on Uplander Way to enter the building.
The Land Use Element of the City's General Plan designates this site and surrounding properties as Regional Center, which is consistent with the site's zoning designation of Commercial Regional Business Park.
The surrounding neighborhood is predominantly office park with a mix of office and research and development uses. Fox Hills Park lies to the south of the site and a larger multi-family use lies to the east of the park. The surrounding zoning and land uses are as listed below.
Location
Zoning
Land Use
North (across Uplander Way)
CRB
Various Office Uses
South
OS
Fox Hills Park
East
CRB
Medical Lab
West
CRB
Vacant Office Building
Project Description
As illustrated in the Preliminary Development Plans, the applicant proposes interior tenant improvements to the existing multi-tenant commercial building to create a single school campus with a ground floor reception area and six preschool classrooms and a second-floor office area, teachers' lounge, two kindergarten classrooms, and various activity rooms (Attachment No. 4). There will be no change in square footage of the building. A portion of the parking lot in the rear of the building will also be converted to a 6,201 square foot outdoor play area, while a portion of the side yard will be converted to an additional play area for younger children. Landscaping will be improved across the site and direct pedestrian connections will be made from the main entrance to the public sidewalk on Uplander Way. The following are the characteristics of the proposed use.
* There will be up to 144 full and part-time students.
* There will be up to 20 full and part-time employees.
* The children will range between the ages of 2 and 6.
* The use will operate between the hours of 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM, with preschool classes occurring between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM and kindergarten classes occurring between 8:30 AM and 3:00 PM.
* Student pick-up and drop-off times will be staggered in 15-minute intervals.
* Parents will be required to park their vehicles and escort their children to the building entrance.
* The preschool will enroll 108 students (84 full-time and 24 part-time) and the kindergarten will enroll 36 full-time students.
* There will be 12 preschool teachers (2 per classroom) and 2 kindergarten teachers (1 per classroom).
* The school will also employ a head of school, two foreign language directors (Chinese and Spanish), two kitchen staff members, and a security guard.
The applicant currently operates a preschool at 11269 Washington Boulevard in Culver City and is looking to move to the project location as they have outgrown their current location.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Per Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Chapter 17.220.015, private schools and child daycare centers require a CUP for establishment. Per CCMC Chapter 17.700, a preschool is considered a child daycare center and a kindergarten is considered part of a private school. The applicant is reusing the existing structure with minor modifications to the outside of the building. Landscaping will be updated, a new sidewalk will connect to the public right-of-way, and signage will be installed in compliance with all Municipal Code standards.
The project meets all other Municipal Code standards as shown in the Project Summary (Attachment No. 3). Noise and Traffic impacts that may result from project operations were analyzed and summarized below:
Noise
The surrounding neighborhood is predominantly office park with a mix of general office uses and research and development laboratories, while Fox Hills Park borders to the south. The environmental review for the project included impacts related to construction, roadway, and outdoor playground noise. Parker Environmental Consultants conducted a Noise Study to ensure impacts of the project would not affect the neighborhood (Attachment No. 5).
Construction noise impacts would be reduced due to the implementation of best management practices including following construction hours, prohibiting amplified sounds, and using noise dampening devices on equipment. These measures are incorporated as conditions of approval. In addition, the noise study indicated that construction noise would not increase ambient noise levels beyond what is existing in the project vicinity. Therefore, construction related noise impacts are expected to be less than significant.
Traffic noise would be considered an impact if there is a three decibel or greater noise increase beyond existing ambient noise. Traffic volume would generally need to double for a three decibel increase in ambient noise to occur. VMT screening for the project resulted in an approximate increase of 40 daily vehicle trips. Therefore, the amount of peak hour traffic is not expected to double, and roadway noise impacts are expected to be less than significant.
Playground noise would occur during scheduled recess times which would occur between the hours of 8:30 AM and 9:15 AM, 9:45 AM and 11:30 AM, 12:15 PM and 1:15 PM, and 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM. The playground is located in the rear of the school and will be surrounded by metal fencing with vinyl screening. The study used data from other private elementary schools to estimate a range of 61-69 decibels for outdoor school noise. The proposed playground is 150 to 225 feet from the closest sensitive uses, and calculated noise levels would range from 37 to 49 decibels, below ambient noise levels. Other sensitive receptors are located across Uplander Way or on the other side of adjacent buildings so distance would further attenuate noise to less than significant levels. Therefore, playground noise would be a less-than-significant impact on the community.
Traffic, Parking, and Circulation
Consultants prepared a transportation study to ensure that pick-up/drop-off operations would not cause a spillover effect on the surrounding streets (Attachment No. 6). The parking lot will include 37 standard parking spaces, including 2 accessible parking spaces. Six short-term bike parking spaces will be provided immediately outside the school's main entrance and 2 long-term bike parking spaces will be provided inside the school building.
The consultant surveyed current faculty/staff to estimate the number of employees that would drive alone to work (83 percent), utilize public transportation (8 percent), or be dropped-off (8 percent). The anticipated demand for staff parking would be 17 of the 35 spaces (not including ADA spaces). This leaves approximately 18 spaces available for pickup and drop-off. The consultant further surveyed average dwell times for automobiles picking up or dropping off students at the existing location. On average, parking space turnover occurs every 5 minutes in the morning and 6 minutes in the afternoon. This would equate to each parking space turning over 3 times every 15 minutes in the morning and 2.5 times every 15 minutes in the afternoon. Therefore, the amount of preschool and kindergarten students expected at any one time would not exceed the total spaces available due to turnover.
In addition, the consultant proposed a list of parking demand management measures to encourage alternative modes of transportation to and from the school, including:
* Employee Carpool Programs
* Discounted Transit Passes
* Staff Parking Cash Out/Subsidy
* Guaranteed Ride Home Programs
* Long-Term Bicycle Parking
* School Visitor Restrictions
Further, the applicant team has provided a transportation demand management plan that includes items to facilitate transit use, including a centralized transportation information display, new and continuing employee orientation, priority parking for carpools, and a student carpool program that provides tuition discounts for students that carpool to school. The project meets all applicable code standards for EV parking spaces and bicycle parking spaces.
Based on parking totals and mobility measures, traffic impacts are not expected because of the proposed project.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Two virtual community meetings were held as part of the project review. The first community meeting was held on May 5, 2022. One member of the public joined who supported the use but was concerned about traffic impacts. The second community meeting was held February 28, 2023. One member of the public joined and was supportive of the project but did have a concern about noise from the project.
As discussed above, traffic impacts from the project are not expected due to low trip generation and adequate pick-up/drop-off capacity. Also discussed above, noise from the construction and operation of the project are not expected to cause impacts to the community.
As part of the public notification process, notices were mailed to owners and occupants within five hundred (500) feet of the subject site on October 17, 2023. In addition, the notice was distributed through the GovDelivery system and posted on the City website on October 18th and 19th respectively. As of the writing of this report, staff has not received any public comments in response to the public notification of the public hearing for this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, initial review of the Project established there are no potentially significant adverse impacts on the environment and the Project has been determined to be Categorically Exempt pursuant to Section 15332, Class 32 - In-Fill Development Project. The project is consistent with the General Plan policies and Zoning Code regulations; occurs within city limits on a project no more than five acres and surrounded by urban uses; does not have value as a habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species; would not result in significant effects related to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality, and proposes to adequately provide all required utilities and public services. A Class 32 Categorical Exemption Technical Memorandum was prepared (Attachment No. 5) and analysis was provided for traffic, noise, air quality, and water quality as required for a Class 32 exemption.
CONCLUSION:
The applicant is proposing to operate a child daycare center/private school by utilizing an existing building in the Fox Hills Neighborhood. The site is in a neighborhood that is predominantly office park with a City park to the south. The applicant has worked with staff to ensure the use is compatible with surrounding commercial uses. The use will also provide a service to surrounding commercial and residential uses by providing quality childcare and education.
Based on the proposed preliminary development plans, operations description, and recommended conditions of approval, staff considers the project to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood, consistent with the Culver City General Plan and the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. Staff believes the findings for Conditional Use Permit, P2023-0102-CUP, can be made as outlined in Resolution No. 2023-P006 (Attachment No. 1).
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact from this project to the City.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Proposed Resolution No. 2023-P006 with Exhibit A: Conditions of Approval and Exhibit B Code Requirements
2. Vicinity Map
3. Project Summary
4. Preliminary Development Plans dated August 1, 2023
5. Class 32 Categorical Exemption Analysis
6. Mobility Plan
7. Preliminary Construction Management Plan
MOTION
That the Planning Commission:
1. Adopt a Class 32 Categorical Exemption for this project, pursuant to CEQA Section 15332 - In-Fill Development Projects, finding there are no potentially significant adverse impacts on the environment, and
2. Approve Conditional Use Permit, P2023-0102-CUP, subject to the Conditions of Approval as stated in Resolution No. 2023-P006