HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-2016 PC MinutesPlanning Commission Minutes
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SAN LUIS OBISPO
PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission was called to order on
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 6:01 p.m. in the Council Chamber, located at 990 Palm Street, San
Luis Obispo, California, by Chairperson Larson.
Chair Larson led Pledge of Allegiance.
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Commissioners
Present: John Fowler, Michael Draze, Ronald Malak, William Riggs, Hemalata Dandekar
(arrived 7:17 PM), and Chair John Larson.
City Staff
Present: Deputy Community Development Director Doug Davidson, Contract Planner
John Rickenbach, Transportation Operations Supervisor Jake Hudson, Assistant
City Attorney Jon Ansolabehere, Utilities Project Manager Jennifer Metz, and
Recording Secretary Brad T. Opstad.
ACCEPTANCE OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was accepted with change by Chair Larson to shift Agenda Forecast forward.
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Commissioner Riggs requested consideration of the Minutes of Planning Commission meetings of
January 27, 2016 and February 10, 2016 continue to March 23, 2016 meeting; agreed upon by
consensus.
PUBLIC &QMMENTS ON NON -AGENDA ITEMS
Bob Shanbrom, San Luis Obispo, spoke on campaign to insist City recognize its water shortage
before passing along any more development projects.
Lea Brooks, San Luis Obispo, representing Bike SLO County, invited Commissioners to March 16th
presentation of "How To Design Cities For People" at Bello Mundo.
Planning Commission Minutes of March 9, 2016 Page 2
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Agenda Forecast:
Deputy Director Davidson provided the Agenda Forecast through April:
March 23: Motel Inn project & San Luis Ranch study on Circulation and Infrastructure
Improvements; April 13: Use Permit hearing & draft Environmental Impact Report on Water
Resource Reclamation facility; April 27: Urban Water Management Plan (including water shortage
contingency plan) & GP Annual Report; Either April Meeting: West Creek project
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1. 175 Venture Drive & 173 Buckley Road. SPEC/ER-1318-2015 (Project PR -0090-2015):
Preliminary review of the Development Plan for the Avila Ranch project; review of
Development Plan chapters regarding Circulation and Infrastructure Framework.
Chair Larson recused and departed dais; Chair assumed by Commissioner Draze. Acting Chair
Draze provided current status of Item for benefit of Public before introducing Staff for presentation.
Deputy Director Davidson introduced Contract Planner John Rickenbach who provided the second -
half continuation of the Avila Ranch Plan, with some review but primarily circulation and
infrastructure aspects. Planner Rickenbach indicated that comments gleaned from prior meeting's
first half have been summarized for current meeting's presentation.
Contract Planner Rickenbach showed PowerPoint slides summarizing the General Plan framework
that supports the concept being proposed and the development parameters that Applicant is
following as pertinent to circulation & infrastructure considerations; indicated that if this project were
to go forward, the Airport Specific Plan would be updated to include area details under
consideration.
Contract Planner Rickenbach displayed PowerPoint slides of a proposed circulation element map
with collector roads extended through the project area, a circulation pattern map in project's six
phases, and various graphics related to proposed bicycle circulation, transit stop and infrastructure
improvements, including Water Supply and Wastewater Plans.
In response to Commissioner Fowler's inquiries, Contract Planner Rickenbach showed on a
PowerPoint schematic rendering how the upgrades to Venture Road run to Vachel Lane, but not
beyond, and pointed out a second Vachel Lane egress; indicated that a more detailed tract map
would be part of an approved project which would provide details and conditions that relate to
circulation.
In response to Commissioner Malak's inquiry, Transportation Operations Manager Jake Hudson
indicated that the project proposal is to connect Horizon Lane from Buckley Road up to the project
boundary, the expectation within the General Plan Circulation Element being that it would ultimately
continue up to Suburban Road and then on up to Tank Farm Road.
Planning Commission Minutes of March 9, 2016 Page 3
In response to Commissioner Riggs' inquiry, Manager Hudson pointed out that the Chevron Project
is going to take a Class 1 bicycle lane along the north boundary of the Avila area and then continue
it along Tank Farm Creek; shared that Class 1's are also proposed across the north side of Buckley
Road.
Applicant Representative Stephen Peck indicated Applicant began studying items toward resolution
from February 24th Planning Commission, including conventional Land Use coding, a wider range of
housing sizes with a preference for lower price point, street geometry, function of the Town Center,
off-site traffic concerns, solar votive tank placement and uses of recycled water. Mr. Peck showed
Power Point slides of the site's circulation system framework in pointing out how it is achieved
through Phases, how it all fits with Buckley extension and how bike path network is implemented.
Mr. Peck discussed project maintenance and financing as proposed to be administered by a
Community Facilities District (CFD).
Michelle Tasseff, San Luis Obispo, shared that project's impact on traffic in nearby neighborhoods
would be considerable given that area is already besieged by traffic issues, such as inordinate wait
times to merge and ineffectual signage.
Myron Amerine, San Luis Obispo, reinforced multimodal concepts as they pertain to connectivity
from, to and within project; espoused the reduction in amount of parking built within development's
structures; lobbied for City to place priority emphasis on roadways to handle the escalation of traffic
resulting from this development.
Cheryl McLean, San Luis Obispo, quoted from 1994 Land Use Element to give historical perspective
of currently relative philosophical conditions facing City regarding growth's impact on social,
economic and environmental costs and consequences; implored for common sense and deeper
evaluation.
Acting Chair Draze noted that correspondence had been received, read and put into official Record.
Mila Vujovich-LaBarre, San Luis Obispo, expressed concerns on multiple aspects of project, chiefly
climate change being the critical new factor in the water supply equation, traffic infrastructure, the
LUCE inadequately reflecting desires of concerned existing residents, and the proximity of site to
land needing to be remediated by Chevron.
Lea Brooks, San Luis Obispo, representing Bike SLO County, described the project site as an island
in need of connectivity to transportation network; expressed strong support for both a bikeway to
Higuera and Class 2 bike lanes on Buckley; showed photos of aftermath from motorist turning left
into a cyclist at Trader Joe's entrance to underscore need for much safer bicycle network serving
more neighborhoods; supported reduction in parking and increase in truer multimodal options.
Drew Munster, San Luis Obispo, CEO of Sports Warehouse that neighbors proposed development,
spoke also as avid cyclist and longtime resident off Buckley to espouse need for that County road to
fully shift to City standards prior to development; questioned use of project in a primarily agricultural
and industrial arena.
Plannina Commission Minutes of March 9. 2016 Paae 4
Sarah Flickinger, San Luis Obispo, voiced support for more careful circulation planning in southern
part of City by indicating that impacts on Los Osos Valley Road (LOVR) are attributable to recent
development that have gone unaddressed for a decade; spoke on traffic studies having been
allowed to assume that a through -connection to Broad Street at Prado Road already exists.
Camille Small, San Luis Obispo, shared her concern with the declining overall essence of San Luis
Obispo; voiced opinions that bicycle accidents would only increase if Avila Ranch was allowed to
develop and that the influx of commuters to City from other communities do not wish to live in San
Luis Obispo anyway.
Anne Wyatt, San Luis Obispo, voiced fears for proposed road -bettering projects such as double -turn
lanes which are of serious danger to cyclists; voiced concern for proposed high-density housing
being clustered in proximity to breathable dust, noxious fumes and noise from industrial exhaust
vents.
Ken Tasseff, San Luis Obispo, expressed sympathy for residents of Los Verdes and their challenges
in enduring traffic issues; requested that project not be approved unless some bypass is also
constructed to funnel traffic around Los Verdes and on to Buckley Road.
Kayla Plourde, San Luis Obispo, discussed personal experience with the daily difficulty of making
left-hand turns on to Buckley Road; voiced disapproval of number of new houses but heavily
endorsed Buckley Road improvements if Avila Ranch becomes foregone conclusion; empathized
with cyclists who ride narrow shoulder of Buckley alongside garbage trucks and delivery vans.
Ty Safreno, San Luis Obispo, CEO of Trust Automation on Suburban Road, shared concern about
lack of buffer between noisy industry zone and residences; voiced larger philosophical problem of
the imbalance occurring when creating a City community where workforce lives but does not work
versus overall LUCE Plan where one lives where one works.
Kathy Borland, San Luis Obispo, three -decade resident of Buckley Road, shared experience of
witnessing City incrementally encroach on homestead; indicated largest issue as being order of
operations in infrastructure development as evidenced by big box retail outlets built multiple years
prior to overpass construction; voiced opinion that Buckley Road should be expanded to four lanes
before Phase 1 of Avila Ranch.
Paul Rvs, San Luis Obispo, showed PowerPoint slide of Preamble of Land Use Element which
pertains to preserving natural environment and controlling excessive growth detrimental to long-term
sustainability of community; indicated that project Plan has multiple number of inconsistencies with
LUCE.
Commissioner Dandekar arrived to the dais at 7:17 PM.
In response to Commissioner Malak's inquiry pertaining to a section of text in the Avila Ranch
Development Plan, Transportation Operations Manager Hudson explained the process of how traffic
studies and analysis are performed before indicating that the difficulty in making forecasts for project
currently proposed is that it is being developed in six (6) phases with no specific time frame assigned
to each; pointed out that Operations is able to determine project's build -out in its entirety with
Plannina Commission Minutes of March 9. 2016
existing infrastructure as best evaluation scenario. Contract Planner Rickenbach contextualized the
Development Plan text by indicating "compliance with Circulation Element Level Of Service (LOS)
"D" policy" is a statement Applicant makes during traffic study ensuring it is true while it still needs to
be analyzed for verification.
In response to Commissioner Malak's second inquiry, Transportation Operations Manager Hudson
stated that through Staff's ongoing observations and analysis outside the project area, the study
area associated with Avila Ranch is currently operating at within City thresholds except for the
intersection of Vachel & Higuera; added that County intersection of Buckley and Highway 227 is
operating at LOS "D", which is satisfactory for City, but not for State thresholds in which adequate
would be LOS "C".
In response to Commissioner Malak's further inquiries, Transportation Operations Manager Hudson
shared that when Staff was working on Development Plan in the early stages, the Traffic Study
Recommendations now in the Plan stemmed from received feedback based off some preliminary
data that has evolved since then; indicated that LOVR interchange is projected to improve LOS
between LOVR/US 101 ramp junctions and LOVR/South Higuera, but since it only recently opened,
performance studies will have to be forthcoming; stated that Prado Road extension to Broad Street,
as planned in the General Plan, still requires some detailed discussions, is wholly dependent on
when development occurs along that corridor, that the Traffic Study Recommendation attached to it
has been provided by Applicant, not a component of actual traffic study, and subject to
Environmental Impact Report.
In response to Commissioner Malak's final inquiry, Contract Planner Rickenbach informed that the
site is still currently zoned Business Park, but the consideration presently in front of Commission is
the suggestion by the Applicant that this particular Development Plan replace it; later clarified this
information by stating that, ultimately, as part of LUCE update, this development is consistent with
what General Plan calls for conceptually, so if project were to be developed, the idea would be to
bring its zoning into conformance.
Commissioner Riggs expounded on the Theory of Induced Demand as it pertains to parking
resources, Level of Service city standards, land use & circulation policies and multimodal goals;
discussed the project by indicating that consistency with Circulation Element Policy 6.1.1 needs to
be given more consideration within LOS objectives, especially if City is attempting to achieve a
multimodal model.
Acting Chair Draze reminded Public that, legally, Commissioners cannot support or oppose a project
at this preliminary review; commented on phasing of infrastructure in regards to predominant amount
of traffic flowing to Vachel & South Higuera during Phase 1 and no park facilities being developed on
site until Phase 3.
Commissioner Fowler concurred with Chair Draze on phasing improvements; advocated for more
centrally -located and earlier -phased commercial area on-site; discussed efficacy of traffic studies
during extended build -out schedule; shared concerns on Chevron remediation, questioning whether
City's involvement should be escalated; discussed infrastructure priorities given level of Prado and
Unocal unknowns.
Contract Planner Rickenbach addressed Commissioner Fowler's comments regarding the
commercial point. Commissioner Fowler responded by suggesting that relocating commercial from
large artery, embedding it into development off smaller streets, potentially encourages local
Planning Commission Minutes of March 9 2016 Page 6
community use and becomes dimensionally smaller.
Commissioner Malak suggested an alternative commercial arrangement given the park next door to
site which attracts outside visitors; voiced problem in visualizing how known finite improvements
alone are going to improve Circulation with this development; shared concern about time-lags
between infrastructure upgrades and project development.
Commissioner Riggs challenged status -quo of 11 -foot public right-of-way for auto traffic in sharing
concern for development to end up with overdesigned roads; discussed the potentially shorter
timeline of future autonomous vehicles in terms of urban design implications and roadway
requirements for Level 5 Automization; advocated for formulating an up -front CFD to prioritize bulk of
infrastructure funding prior to site development.
In response to Commissioner Riggs inquiries, Transportation Operations Manager Hudson indicated
City is in process of updating short-range Transit Plan, taking into account proposed Avila Ranch,
with identified spots for new routes and service stops, the funding component for which remain fare
box revenues and transit subsidies.
Acting Chair Draze shared belief that autonomous vehicles, impacting future and multiple
infrastructure decisions, are forthcoming in the short term.
Commissioner Dandekar shared her thought that Commercial within internally -servicing complete
neighborhoods might just possibly be a figment of imagination and that people are now inherently
attracted to large -service areas; commented on live -work concept as potentially squeezing out
capacity for people creating jobs and possibly creating a dormitory town.
In response to Commissioner Fowler's inquiry, Utilities Project Manager Metz informed that
Applicant is considering two alternatives to pumping wastewater, both involving an existing lift station
at Tank Farm Road and a proposed lift station.
Commissioner Riggs suggested experimentation with a live -work loft typology, particularly on section
of site nearest quasi -industrial area, as buffer -transitional use.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brad T. Opstad
Recording Secretary
Approved by the Playrrpg Commission on April 13th, 2016
Lee Pricp
Interim City Clerk