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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/06/1993, 8 - (1) REQUEST TO EXEMPT CONSTRUCTION OF A CAR DEALERSHIP AT 12350 LOS OSOS VALLEY ROAD (NEAR AUTO PAR MEEn G D city of San LUIS OBISPO COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITEM NUMBER: FROM: Arnold B. Jonas, Community Development Director /lo BY: Glen Matteson, Associate Planner SUBJECT: (1) Request to exempt construction of a car dealership at 12350 Los Osos Valley Road (near Auto Park Way) from the water allocation/offset requirement. (2) Request to waive capital facility fees for water, sewer, and a traffic signal. CAO RECOMIKENDATION: (1) By motion, rescind the previous policy to not consider individual exemption requests; (2) Adopt resolution ("P") determining that the Spring Toyota request is categorically exempt from environmental review as a minor change to land-use regulations, and approving the retrofit-exemption request, subject to confirmation, prior to issuance of a building permit, that quantity and quality of water will be adequate for intended uses. (3) By motion, deny the request to waive fees, while acknowledging that the full water facility fee would not be charged if the project is supplied entirely by an on-site well. BACKGROUND Situation/Summary To reduce construction cost for a proposed vehicle dealership, the, owner is asking the City Council to exempt the project from a code requirement to retrofit for water savings (letter, Attachment # 1) . Approving the request requires a Council policy to be rescinded. Water from a private, on-site well appears to be adequate, but may require special treatment to meet health standards. The general plan encourages vehicle dealerships to relocate from downtown to the Auto Park Way area; it also requires water demand and supply to be balanced. The applicant is also asking the Council to waive certain fees, which help pay for public facilities. There is no procedure to do so, and doing so would raise serious equity questions. However, approving the well exemption would allow the applicant to avoid paying nearly all of the water fee. Owner: S.L. Land Company Applicant: Spring Toyota (John Frangie) S'� 11M%JJJIIIJJ�JWI N city of san lois osispo Mtge COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Representative: Brian Starr, Studio Design Group Zoning: C-S-S - Land Use Element map: service-commercial/light-industrial Environmental status: Staff found categorically exempt as a minor change to land-use regulations Action deadline: State law appears to set a deadline of six months following receipt of a complete proposal, which would be September 18, 1993, at the earliest. Due to his lease provisions, the applicant needs a response much sooner. General plan The general plan Water & Wastewater Management Element establishes City policy concerning water use, conservation, and development of new sources. Groundwater is an important concern, because it is a shared resource which none of the users, including the City, can control. According to the water element, "The City does not encourage but may consider wells to provide domestic water for a private development within the city. . . Such wells may be used only when: A. The City Council approves the well proposal as part of a specific land-development project approval, and the proposed well system meets -all City standards; B. A qualified, independent hydrological investigation demonstrates that the well(s) reliably can provide sufficient quality and quantity of water for the proposed land- development project. C. The owner or developer financially guarantees any treatment system required. for the well water to meet state and federal standards and any cost of future connection to the City water system. (Users of the well water would bear additional costs of treatment. ) D. The well-water distribution system or a separate system is designed and constructed, or a separate system is provided, to eventually be connected to the City water system. " City code City code does not prevent a property owner from using an on-site well for any purposes allowed under County and State health standards. (A recent commercial project on Prado Road, in fact, does supply all its needs this way. ) City code does regulate basic plumbing and electrical features of wells. The City does not regulate groundwater withdrawals. V r� city of san lues oBispo aiis COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT The City's Water Allocation Regulations are intended to balance long-term demand and reliable supplies. Currently, they do not allow issuance of building permits for projects which would increase demand for City water. A project is presumed not to increase City water demand, and is therefor exempt from the limit, if: The project replaces a structure or facility having substantially the same type of use and size, or equal or less water use, . as determined by the Community Development Director. This is a vacant site. - The project "is provided with its own water supply which is approved by .the city. " The applicant proposes to do this. - The structure "through retrofit of permanent water-saving devices reduces use of city water in existing structures or facilities by an amount equal to at least twice the estimated water use of the proposed development, as determined by the Community Development Director . . . " The applicant does not want to do this. Council policy On June 6, 1991, by minute action, Council set policy that the City will not approve use of a private well, or dedication of a well to the City, to make a project exempt from needing a water allocation or from the requirement to retrofit. The .policy was based on the conclusion that the availability of groundwater in adequate amount and quality cannot be assured, considering recent problems with well failure and .contamination. This policy gave staff the discretion to reduce the amount of allocation or retrofitting, to the extent that well water would supply nonessential uses. (The Prado Road project mentioned above completed an offset for indoor water usage before a building permit was issued. ) If the applicant used the well for landscape irrigation and vehicle washing, staff could reduce the amount of required offset from 2. 12 acre-feet to 1.48 acre-feet. The lower amount is approximately the offset required for a house on a large lot. Any change that will permanently reduce city water usage is eligible for credit. As an example, this amount could be achieved by .retrofitting 25 one- bathroom dwellings or motel units, replacing 5-gallon toilets with 1.5-gallon toilets. This type of retrofit would cost about $4,000 to $5, 000. 83 1111atigiiwlU city of san gals OBIspo COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT In the 1991 policy, Council further stated that it would not consider individual requests for well-water exemptions, pending the -- end of the drought and the completion of a groundwater study. Reservoir and groundwater levels indicate that the drought is over. However, conservation measures are still important. The recent rains have not changed the basic relationship between pre-drought water usage levels and the amount of supply which the City can count on during a drought. A groundwater study has been completed. It found a short-term overdraft of the groundwater basin, and identified a potential for withdrawals based on more effective groundwater recharge. The current Annual Water Operations Plan provides for annual groundwater usage of 500 acre-feet, considerably lower than the maximum amounts pumped during some years of the drought. It appears that the well can supply a quantity of water far in excess of the needs of this project. The City Utilities Department and the applicant have discussed using the applicant's well as part of the City water supply system. This discussion ended because: - The well is too close to Prefumo Creek to meet State standards for municipal water supply systems; - It would draw from the same aquifer as nearby City wells; - Wells in the vicinity have been contaminated by nitrates and cancer-causing solvents. While these contaminants can be removed by proper treatment, the expense appeared unjustified for. City usage. (The applicant may find that the expense of treatment for private usage, which may have lower standards, is justified. ) Environmental review Staff has determined that the request is categorically exempt from environmental review as a "minor alteration to land-use limitations, " similar to a setback exception (Guidelines Section 15305) . The vehicle dealership itself was the subject of an initial environmental study, and was granted a negative declaration. Development of the private wellwas not subject to City environmental review, since the City's approval authority was merely ministerial. (In this situation, "ministerial" means a project meeting standards must be approved, . while a project not meeting standards cannot be approved. ) 84 ,11% JllfMll city of san dais OBrspo SIM ,= COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Fees City code requires the applicant to pay the following fees: - Water facilities, $10,510; - sewer facilities, $8,870; - Water meter, $367. The City's requirements, as applied to this project and others, are intended to assure that those who benefit from City investments or who use shared City resources make reasonable contributions to supporting them. In attempting to run the City in a businesslike way, water and sewer services are funded by users as an enterprise, rather than by taxpayers as a whole through the general fund. There are no established criteria for Council in deciding to waive fees. Doing so would raise many questions of equity and consistency. However, if the project is supplied entirely by an on-site well (except for availability of City water for fire sprinklers) , the water facility fee would not need to be paid. The only water connection expense may be a nominal amount for a fire line. Water usage charges also would be avoided. The sewer facility fee and usage charges would still be paid. The net effect of using the well to supply all uses (except fire protection) would be to reduce water and sewer fees from about $19,747 to about $9,237. A condition of project approval requires the applicant to pay $5, 000 toward the cost of traffic signals on Los .Osos Valley Road near the Highway 101 off-ramps, at the southerly extension of Calle Joaquin. The City paid about $115, 000 as its share of these traffic signals. The County and other development projects in the vicinity have contributed to the signals, which are estimated to cost about $200,000. ALTERNATIVES Besides the recommended action, the Council may do the following. Concerning the policy of considering water supply exemption requests: - Not rescind the policy of not considering individual exemption requests, and not further consider this one. Concerning the retrofit exemption request itself: Adopt a resolution to approve the retrofit-exemption request subject to different findings and conditions; 8�5 ����► iuiIIIII Ip���Ip city of san %AIS oBIspo COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT - Adopt a resolution. to deny the retrofit-exemption request; - Continue action, with direction to staff. Concerning the request to waive fees: If the Council wants to consider fee waivers, continue action with direction to staff to bring back ordinance changes establishing procedures and criteria for fee waivers. OTHER DEPARTMENT COMMENTS From administration's point of view, the relocation of Spring Toyota to the new location meets a City goal of consolidating auto dealerships along Los Osos Valley Road. Mr. Frangie has stated that, from his point of view, the costs of doing so have become excessive. He has cited that "fee waivers" are being offered to auto dealerships by other communities. While staff is not recommending such waivers, staff does recommend some flexibility on the use of the well, which would result in a lower water connection fee. The utilities, public works, and finance departments, and the city attorney, concur with the recommended action. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There is no requirement for general-public or advisory-body involvement in this particular request prior to Council action, and none has occurred. FISCAL IMPACTS There will be no direct general fund impacts from any of the alternative actions. Since staff does not know the attractiveness for the applicant of the applicant's location and water-supply options, it would not be proper for staff to speculate on indirect cost or revenue impacts. The recommended action will not significantly change the cost/revenue relationship for utility funds. RECOMMENDATION (1) By motion, rescind a previous policy not to consider individual exemption requests, and adopt a resolution (A) determining that the request is categorically exempt from environmental review as a minor change to land-use regulations and (B) approving the retrofit-exemption request, subject to confirmation, prior to issuance of a building permit, that quantity and quality of water will be adequate for intended. 8�� 11141II1�2��1 city of san'wis oBispo NNGs COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT uses. (2) By motion, deny the request to waive fees, while acknowledging that the full water facility fee would not be charged if the project is supplied entirely by an on-site well. ATTACHMENTS 1. Letter from John Frangie 2. Draft resolution "P" approving retrofit exemption request 3 . Draft resolution "D" denying retrofit exemption request GMASPRWL.CAR 8-7 . SPRING TOYOTA March 11 , 1993 Ms. Peg Pinard JiE c E 1 V a Mayor City Hall MAR 1 81993 990 Palm Street cmOFslw,.u�s San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 ' '"mcev��ce Dear Peg, I am currently trying to obtain a building permit as quickly as possible to build a new Toyota facility on Los Osos Valley Road. I have a well that will produce far in excess of any water the operation of my facility will require. I plan to use the water from my well exclusively. I need to begin building as soon as possible if I am to build in the City of San Luis Obispo.. I would like to formally request that I be allowed to be exempted from the -"retrofit" program and having any hook-up with the City water. I have not renewed my current lease in the downtown area and must have completion of a new facility by the. end of this year. I have gone way out of my way to stay within the City Plan. I purchased the land on Los Osos Valley Road and paid over $400,000 more than another location to accommodate the City Plan. I have agreed to a geological study and a foundation that have added over $300,000 to the cost of building this facility in San Luis Obispo. This project has escalated in cost far beyond the original estimate for building. I cannot continue to justify additional costs. Please assist me in getting the fees and "retrofit" requirement waived. Feel free to call me if you need additional information regarding the project or my intentions to build. Again, time is most important if I am to build in the City of San Luis Obispo. Sincerely, John S. Frangie President cc: Mr. John Dunn City Administraor 1'.A R 1 1993 CITY CO:JSF/ppi�. 1144 HIGUERA STREET 9 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401 0 PHONE, (805) 543-7� / f RECEIVED SPRING TOYOTAFEB9 Nj ��Rl'OEVELOf+MEtT February 15, 1993 FEB 1 b 199,1 Mr. John Dunn City Administrator' k_a.!tsTA;'TiON City Hall SF-:LU;s 08rSPO,cc 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Dear Mr. Dunn, I have made application to the .City of San Luis Obispo for a building permit for the new Toyota facility we have been working on for years. We are following the General Plan of the City of San Luis Obispo by building in the Auto Park on Los Osos Valley Road - moving from the downtown area. The Community Development Department has given us several pre- requisites to be-met prior to issuing a building permit. I want to complete this facility as soon as possible so I need to ask. your ^ ` assistance with these requests. r. - Please issue a water allocation based on a trade-out of water from the property. We will trade 1 .48 acre-feet of water for the water allocation rather than the offset retrofit requested. I do not feel I should be required to pay for the traffic light on Calle Joaquin. The facility is not located such that the light will be caused by our building on that location. The other businesses in the area have not been required to pay for the light. We have been requested to pay $5,000 prior to issuance of a permit. Mly property does not even border Calle Joaquin. We have been advised that $19,747.40 impact fees must be paid at the time of issuance of the permit. I have enclosed a description of the fees. We. have been in business since 1985. Since 1985 we have generated approximately $150,000,000.00 in sales. Those sales have produced a large amount of tax revenue for our community. We pay property taxes, employment taxes, income taxes, surcharges and so on. We are always in the top ten taxpayers in the City. We have gone out of our way to purchase property in the location the City of San Luis Obispo wanted us in and will continue to be a V- 1144 HIGUERA STREET 0 SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93401 0 PHONE (805) 543-7001 -2- responsible business and contribute to our community. We have already incurred many additional fees, beyond the regular permit fees, to be in compliance with the requests of the City. Our costs for building in the location the City Fathers planned has escalated above anything I imagined when I undertook this project. I know most other communities would be pleased to have our tax generating business. We have been guaranteed by our manufacturer, Toyota Motor Sales in U.S.A., if we build this new facility, our allocation of cars and trucks will be endless. This will generate much more in tax revenues for the City of San Luis Obispo, if I am allowed to build. We have employed up to 70 employees. Those employees and their families depend on our business for support. We provide health care insurance to them. We feel we are being gouged now by the fees requested. The building of this new facility will only contribute more to the community by creating jobs for people already living in San Luis Obispo as I am planning on using local contractors. The entire design and location of this new facility is planned for the City of San Luis Obispo. We have made costly changes, additions and deletions to get to the issuance of the building permit. We now need for the City to recognize our contributions to the community over the past and the tax revenues and jobs we will .provide in the future. We are not creating a new growth problem for the City but..going along with the City plan and also upgrading existing areas by getting out of the downtown area. In this tough economic time the building of this facility only enhances San Luis Obispo and the people that already live here. It really is time for the City to support business and the families dependent on that business to live. In turn, many more tax dollars will be generated for our area; rather than draining the public coffers. Please advise me as soon as possible how we can expedite handling the issues of: 1 . Trade-out water for a water allocation for the site. 2. Waive Impact Fees. 3. Waive $5,000 for traffic light. Other major businesses have left San Luis Obispo. With attractive offers from surrounding areas, it makes it difficult to agree to pay anymore fees to obtain a permit to allow me to continue to generate and pay even greater tax revenue to the City. Sincerely, Jc6n S. Frangie !J President cc: Mr. Jeff Jorgensen JSF/pp 8r10 Ii P lop Anlmv 19 RESOLUTION NO. (1993 SERIES) A RESOLUTION OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY COUNCIL APPROVING USE OF A PRIVATE WELL TO MAKE THE SPRING TOYOTA DEALERSHIP EXEMPT FROM WATER ALLOCATION/OFFSET REQUIREMENTS The Council of the City of San Luis Obispo resolves as follows: SECTION 1. Fin in A. A public hearing has been held to consider a request to approve a private well for water supply at a proposed vehicle dealership at 12350 Los Osos Valley Road, thereby malting the project exempt from the requirement to obtain a water allocation or to provide a water savings offset, pursuant to the Water Allocation Regulations [S.L.O. Municipal Code Section 17.89.030, in particular part B(4)]. B. Council has considered the report and recommendation of staff. C. The request is consistent with the general plan Water & Wastewater Management Element, in particular Policies 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6 D. A well has been developed at the subject site, and the applicant has obtained required City permits for that well. Usage of the well will be subject to approval of the County Health Department and the requirements of the State of California. E. The project will not use a significant amount of ground water. F. The request is a minor change to land use regulations, as provided in Section 15303 of the State and City environmental guidelines. G. The Council by motion had established, and has now rescinded, a policy of not considering individual exemption requests, pending the end of the drought and completion of a groundwater study. SECTION 2. Action. The request is approved subject to the following conditions: 1. Prior to issuance of a building permit without completion of water offset retrofitting, the Community Development Director must have determined that the quantity and quality of well water will be adequate for intended uses. J Resolution No. (1993 Series) Page 2 2. If the project is constructed without a connection to City water supply (except for a fire-protection line) and the project later is proposed to be connected, the connection shall not occur until all requirements in effect at that time have been met, including payment of all fees and completion of any required water usage offset. 3. The project may be connected to the City water supply, without completing a water usage offset, for fire suppression purposes only (fire sprinklers and on-site hydrant, if any). 4. The development site shall be provided a water lateral, stubbed to an appropriate location for a meter, to facilitate any future City-approved connection to the City water system which may be needed, to the approval of the Utilities Director. On motion of seconded by and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this day of 1993. Mayor ATTEST. City Clerk g�o� Resolution No. (1993 Series) Page 3 APPROVED: City Administrative Officer e COmmunl Devel 7ent Director ties Director GMASPRWL.RES - S-l3 RESOLUTION NO. (1993 SERIES) any i ng A RESOLUTION OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY COUNCIL DENYING USE OF A PRIVATE WELL TO MAKE THE SPRING TOYOTA DEALERSHIP EXEMPT FROM WATER ALLOCATION/OFFSET REQUIREMENTS The Council of the City of San Luis Obispo resolves as follows: SECTION 1. Fin in A. A public hearing has been held to consider a request to approve a private well for water supply at a proposed vehicle dealership at 12350 Los Osos Valley Road, thereby making the project exempt from the requirement to obtain a water allocation or to provide a water savings offset, pursuant to the Water Allocation Regulations [S.LO. Municipal Code Section 17.89.030, in particular part B(4)]. B. Council has considered the report and recommendation of staff. C. The Council by motion had established, and has now rescinded, a policy of not considering individual exemption requests, pending the end of the drought and completion of a groundwater study. D. Allowing the requested exemption would cause the normal level of water demand to further exceed safe yield of supplies available to the City. While the individual increment is not significant, the cumulative effect of several such exemptions would jeopardize adequate water service for present and future City water customers. E. Complying with the retrofit requirement is not a-hardship and allows reasonable use of the property. SECTION 2. Action, The request is denied. On motion of seconded by and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: 84 Resolution No. (1993 Series) Page 3 the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted this day of 1993. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk APPROVED: City Administrative Officer o y Community a elo went Director ties Director GMASPR-D.RES _ i MEETING AGENDA 8 _.,TE ITEM # MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Pinard and Council Members FROM: Arnold Jonas, Community Development Director D DATE: April 5, 1993 SUBJECT: Location Map for Council Agenda Item #8, April 6, 1993 Councilman Romero asked for a location map showing the property proposed for the new Toyota dealership on Los Osos Valley Road. I felt that other council members would also appreciate such a map, so one is attached for your information and use. COPESTO: 1 ❑•Dmotes Action /❑ FYI Ifs (J Coidl CDDDUL W CAO ❑ FN:.DIR. R5 ACRO ❑ FIREaiiu ® T—j, NEY ElFW DIFL Ir=,,K/ IG. ❑ POUCEC11 ❑ MGMT.M.1 M D P.EC.DIR ❑/F.FF�DF,L'e-.❑ UiTLDIR T2 P R 1993 U,N LUiS CBIS'PO, CA A O a PJ G—S-\PD p ,k; C: Y yC � s'.Wu.an31' •u wew..e ••t... 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