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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 191-09 TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT DATE: MARCH 30, 2009 CMR: 191:09 REPORT TYPE: STUDY SESSION SUBJECT: Continuation of a Study Session to Review the Community Benefits Proposed for Negotiations Regarding the Stanford University Medical Center and Stanford Shopping Center. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council continue their review of the Community Benefits list and provide input regarding priority items to be included in the Community Benefits being considered for Development Agreement negotiations with the Stanford University Medical Center and Simon Property Group. BACKGROUND The Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project (SUMC) and the Simon Property Group’s Stanford Shopping Center Expansion Project (Shopping Center) are being evaluated in a joint Environmental Impact report (EIR) as well as various entitlements, including a Development Agreement for each project. The City Council reviewed the Community Benefits proposed for negotiations regarding the Stanford University Medical Center and Stanford Shopping Center at a special Study Session on March 14, 2009. At that meeting Council gave input and requested that the item be continued for further discussion focusing on prioritization. 1 DISCUSSION The SUMC Project Sponsors have applied for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, rezoning, architectural review, annexation of a small piece of land adjacent to the School of Medicine, and a development agreement. The Shopping Center Project Sponsor has applied for Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code amendment, a Design Enhancement exception, preliminary architectural review, and a development agreement. Community Benefits A Draft Issues List for both the SUMC and Shopping Center Projects was compiled by City staff based on aggregated comments from Council and Planning and Transportation Commission, members of the public, other City staff, and the applicants. The working list represented a record of a broad spectrum of thoughts about what should be considered in the review and evaluation of these projects and during the development agreement negotiations and EIR preparation. A preliminary version of the Draft Issues List was first presented to the Council for input at a public hearing held on November 26, 2007. An updated Issues List was presented to the Council at a special Saturday Study Session on March 14, 2009. The list distributed for the March 14 Study Session has been further refined based on Council input. For organizational purposes, the items designated as zoning ordinance components or conditions of approval have been removed from the list. As the City has independent police power to impose those items it is not necessary to include them as community benefits in a Development Agreement. The items that have been removed from the original list appear as Attachment A and will continue to be tracked by Staff as the projects move through the zoning and entitlement phase. It is important to note that Attachment A is not an exhaustive list of zoning requirements or conditions of approval. Instead, this list only represents those items that were originally identified as possible community benefits at the beginning of the community process and which upon further staff analysis have been determined to be more appropriately designated as land use requirements. Attachment B contains the remaining items which are more appropriately categorized as community benefits under the Development Agreement as they do not have the same level of 2 nexus to the projects as the items included on Attachment A. At Council’s direction, staff has added some additional information to the Community Benefits chart. Staff has identified which project will be responsible for providing the benefit (see responsible party column) and has attempted to provide a qualitative assessment of relative cost and community benefit for each item. Staff and its consultants are in the process of providing more quantitative cost data which will be summarized in the final Fiscal Impact Reports for the projects. The items that have a low to moderate cost and a high community benefit will be key focus areas for negotiation. In addition, staff is seeking Council input on staff’s relative benefit weighting for each item. In addition to the low cost/high benefit items on the list, staff will also focus its negotiations on the items with high community benefit. Finally, at the March 14 Study Session, several new items were proposed by the public and council members. Based on feedback one additional item was added to the community benefit list – provision of world class hospital for the region. While this benefit has always been implicit, it has now been added formally. There were some additional items raised by council members, but based on discussion there did not appear to be a consensus to add them at this point. In addition, there were several councilmember comments that helped clarify some of the more broadly framed items and those clarifications have been noted by staff, but not included on the revised summary list. NEXT STEPS Staff and the project applicant will continue discussions on the Community Benefits List. Staff expects to provide status updates to both the Stanford Ad-Hoc Committee as well as the full City Council. Draft Development Agreements for each project are expected to be released at about the same time as the Draft EIR is circulated for public review. The City Council will review the Water Supply Assessment on April 6, 2009. Adoption of the WSA is required prior to the release of the Draft EIR. 3 4 The City’s EIR consultant PBS&J is preparing the Draft EIR for release in April/May 2009. Once released, a public hearing will be scheduled with the Planning and Transportation Commission to allow for Commission and community member comments. PREPARED BY: __________________________________ STEVEN TURNER Senior Planner DEPARTMENT HEAD: __________________________________ CURTIS WILLIAMS Interim Director CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: __________________________________ JAMES KEENE City Manager ATTACHMENTS Attachment A: Zoning Requirements and Conditions of Approval Tracking Chart Attachment B: Community Benefits Tracking Chart