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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2 - 609 Palm Street (EID-0349-2017) PC Staff Report 2-28-2018Meeting Date: February 28, 2018 Item Number: 2 2 PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA REPORT SUBJECT: Review of the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the proposed Palm Nipomo Parking Structure project during the public review period. This meeting is an opportunity for the City and consultant staff to gather information from the public and Planning Commission regarding the analysis and findings of the Draft EIR. The project includes the Palm Nipomo Parking Garage project which includes five levels of parking for up to 445 parking spaces, 5,000 square feet of commercial space, and a non-profit theatre with approximately 24,000 square feet and up to 290 theatre seats. In addition, the project includes a zone change and General Plan Amendment from the current Office (O) zone and Medium-High Residential (R-3) zone to Public Facility (PF) zone. PROJECT ADDRESS: 609 Palm Street BY: Rachel Cohen, Associate Planner (610, 614, 630, 633 Palm St. & Phone Number: 781-7574 970, 972 Nipomo St.) e-mail: rcohen@slocity.org FILE NUMBER: EID-0349-2017 FROM: Doug Davidson, Deputy Director RECOMMENDATION: Take public testimony and provide input to City staff and DEIR consultants on any additional analysis or data needed to adequately evaluate environmental issue areas within the Draft EIR. No action will be taken at this time. SITE DATA Applicant City of San Luis Obispo Zoning O-H (Office with a Historic Overlay) & R-3 (Medium-High Density Residential) General Plan Office & Medium-High Density Residential Site Area ~60,329 s.f. (1.38 acres) Environmental Status A Draft EIR is now under public review until February 28, 2018. SUMMARY The project proposes a zone change and General Plan Amendment of five parcels from the current Office (O) zone and one parcel from Medium-High Residential (R-3) zone to all being Public Facility (PF) zone. In addition, the project includes the construction of an above-ground five-level parking structure, non-profit theater, and commercial space. The parking structure will provide 400 to 445 parking spaces. EID-0349-2017 609 Palm Street Page 2 Main vehicular access to the structure will be provided from Palm Street, with secondary access on Nipomo Street. The project proposes to also include 5,000 square feet of commercial space on two levels fronting Nipomo Street and a new structure for the San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (formerly known as the SLO Little Theatre) that will front Monterey Street. San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre is proposing an approximately 43-foot tall, three-story structure with a gross floor area of 23,841 square feet. 1.0 COMMISSION’S PURVIEW The purpose of this public hearing is to provide a forum for discussion of the Draft EIR during the required public review period for the document. The meeting is an opportunity for City and consultant staffs to gather information from the public regarding the analysis and findings of the Draft EIR. All comments received at this hearing will be responded to and included in the Final EIR. Both Commission and public testimony at this public meeting should be focused on the content of the Draft EIR, rather than the particular merits of the project itself. The Planning Commission is not being asked to make a recommendation or take action on the project at this time. The public comment period for the EIR was noticed to close on February 16, 2018. This review period has been extended to March 1, 2018 since the Planning Commission hearing date was postponed. 2.0 PROJECT INFORMATION 2.1 Site Information/Setting The project site is composed of six parcels; five are zoned Office with a Historic Overlay (O-H) and one is zoned Medium Density Residential (R-3) (see Figure 1). The parcels currently contain a public parking lot and five residential structures and a detached garage. The project site is bounded by Palm Street to the north, Monterey Street to the south, and Nipomo Street to the west. The proposed site is adjacent to residential units to the east, the Children’s Museum, the future Monterey Place Project and the Historic Leitcher house to the south, Mission Prep School to the north and Reis Family Mortuary to the west. Figure 1: Current site zoning; project site is outlined in red. EID-0349-2017 609 Palm Street Page 3 Table 1: Site Information Site Size ~60,329 s.f. (1.38 acres) Present Use & Development Developed with a parking lot and 5 residential units Topography Sloping Access Palm Street, Nipomo Street and Monterey Street Surrounding Use/Zoning North: R-3 (Medium Density Residential – Mission Prep School) East: O-H (Office with Historic Overlay – Reis Family Mortuary) South: P-F-H and C-D-H (Public Facility with a Historic Overlay and Downtown Commercial with a Historic and Sensitive Site Overlay – Children’s Museum, Leitcher Building, and future site of Monterey Place) West: R-3 & O-H (Medium Density Residential and Office with Historic Overlay – Residential units) 2.2 Project Description The project includes a General Plan Amendment, zone change, Use Permit, and related actions that would allow for the development of the Palm Nipomo Parking Structure. A summary of significant project features includes the following: 1. Construct a five-level above-ground parking structure that includes: a. 400 to 445 parking spaces; b. 5,000 square feet of commercial space on two levels fronting Nipomo Street; and c. Maximum height of approximately 50 feet. 2. Construct a new three-story, 23,841 square foot building for the San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre (along the Monterey Street frontage) that includes: a. Basement level - a rehearsal area, workshop, and storage; b. Main level would be comprised of a main theater with 191 seats and a smaller theater with 99 reconfigurable seats (a total of 290 seats); c. Second floor would include offices and a conference room. d. An entry plaza fronting Monterey Street and improved landscaping near the sidewalks along Palm Street, Nipomo Street, and Monterey Street; and e. A maximum height of approximately 43 feet. 3. Removal of the existing 77 space surface parking lot and demolition or relocation of the existing five residential structures and detached garage. 4. Perimeter public improvements including sidewalk enhancements, intersection improvements and landscaping. Both the parking structure and the theatre are proposed to be taller than the maximum 35 -foot height allowed in the proposed rezone of Public Facility (PF). Building height was analyzed in the Draft EIR and will be addressed in future project review. EID-0349-2017 609 Palm Street Page 4 3.0 GENERAL PLAN GUIDANCE 3.1 Conservation / Open Space Element The project includes the removal of two historic structures from the proposed project site. The Conservation and Open Space Element of the General Plan addresses historic resources by setting goals to support historic, archeological and architectural resource preservation within the City (Goals 3.2 & 3.4). These goals are supported by policies that provide guidance on the preservation and documentation of existing resources as well as parameters for new construction in Historic Districts (Policies 3.3.1., 3.3.2, 3.3.3, & 3.6.3). 3.2 Land Use Element The Land Use Element of the General Plan addresses Downtown development, parking and the development of Cultural Facilities within the City. Specifically, Policy 4.14. states that “the City shall ensure there is a diversity of parking opportunities in the Downtown. Any major increments in parking Figure 2: Proposed site layout of the parking structure with the SLO Repertory Theatre and office/commercial space. EID-0349-2017 609 Palm Street Page 5 supply should take the form of structures, located at the edges of the commercial core, so people can walk rather than drive between points within the core.” The Land Use Element also encourages additional uses that promote community cultural needs and resources, especially around the Mission Plaza area (Policies 5.2.1., Policy 5.2.2 & Policy 5.2.3). 4.0 DOWNTOWN CONCEPT PLAN In 2017 the City updated the Downtown Concept Plan in order to provide a road map for future public projects and guidance for private development in the downtown and surrounding areas. The document provides guidance on location of parking structures, promotes multi- modal transportation, and supports the development of art culture and history in the Downtown. Th proposed project is located in block 10 of the Downtown Concept plan which describes in part “A new parking structure on the corner of Palm and Nipomo Streets is envisioned to include office mixed use along Nipomo Street, the Theatre relocated along Monterey Street, and public use on a portion of the rootop.” 5.0 CULTURAL HERITAGE COMMITTEE On January 22, 2018, the Cultural Heritage Committee (CHC) provided feedback and comments regarding the Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources section of the Draft EIR. The CHC requested that sectional views be included of the structures on the sloped site in the Final EIR and that the potential feasibility of relocation/reconstruction of the adobe at 610 Monterey Street should be included in the alternatives discussion. 6.0 CEQA PROCESS City staff prepared an Initial Study pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which documents and analyzes potential environmental issue areas and highlights workscope issues that needed to be further analyzed in an EIR. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) to prepare an EIR was sent to and posted by the State Clearinghouse on December 14, 2017. The Initial Study of the Draft EIR, and the NOP can be found online at http://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/community- development/documents-online/environmental-review-documents/-folder-1903. 6.1 EIR Scope The Draft EIR incorporates the Initial Study and expands on the discussion of issues included in that document. Figure 3: Zoomed in image of Block 10 and the surrounding area and the envisioned development EID-0349-2017 609 Palm Street Page 6 6.2 Environmental Issue Areas This meeting provides a forum for the Commission to identify additional information needed to evaluate environmental issues, to point out inaccuracies in the information presented, and to review recommended mitigation measures. The Draft EIR concludes that the project will result in significant and unavoidable impacts to: 1. Aesthetics – The size, scale, and massing of the project within the Downtown Historic District 2. Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources – Removal of two historic resources from the project site. 3. Noise – Short-term construction noise. The EIR also finds that there will be significant impacts that can be mitigated to less than significant in the categories of aesthetics, cultural and tribal cultural resources, transportation, air quality, biological resources, geology and soils, and hazardous materials. The beginning of the Draft EIR summarizes the project’s impacts and mitigation measures as outlined in Table 2 below. Table 2: Location of the Summary of Environmental Impacts within the DEIR Table Class of Environmental Impact DEIR Page # 2 Class I, Significant and Unavoidable Environmental Impacts 5 3 Class II, Significant but Mitigable Environmental Impacts 8 4 Class III, Less than Significant Environmental Impacts 17 6.3 EIR Processing Requirements Under the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a 45 -day public review period of the Draft EIR is required. The required public review period for the Palm Nipomo Parking Structure Draft EIR was noticed as December 18, 2017 until February 16, 2018. CEQA does not require that a public meeting be held during the public review period, but does encourage it. The practice of holding a public meeting on the Draft EIR separate from consideration of the other project entitlements allows for direct communication between the reviewers and the lead agency and provides an opportunity for members of the public to learn of the concerns of other people testifying about the project. Staff will accept comments until March 1, 2018 since the Planning Commission meeting was postponed. Both Commission and public testimony at this public meeting should be focused on the content of the Draft EIR, rather than the particular merits of the project itself. The public meeting represents an opportunity to: 1. Obtain additional information needed to properly evaluate identified issue areas; 2. Identify issue areas that may not be covered in the document; and 3. Provide an opportunity for the public to express environmental concerns. The Final EIR is a compilation of the Draft EIR and responses to comments. Responses to comments are a written evaluation of comments on the environmental issues received from persons who reviewed the Draft EIR. The responses to comments will be prepared by the consultant and reviewed by City staff. Staff anticipates consideration of the Final EIR and other project entitlements by the Planning Commission and the City Council during the summer of 2018. The Final EIR must be certified before an action to approve the project can be made. EID-0349-2017 609 Palm Street Page 7 7.0 ATTACHMENTS 1. The Draft EIR is available for review online at the following location: http://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/community-development/documents- online/environmental-review-documents/-folder-1903. Hardcopies are also available for review at the Community Development Department (919 Palm Street) and the City-County Library (995 Palm Street).