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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 328-06City City of Palo Alto Manager’s Report TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER AUGUST 7, 2006 INITIATION OF REZONING TO ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT 13 DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT CMR: 328:06 PEDESTRIAN AND TRANSIT (PTOD) DISTRICT AND COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT FOR 195 PAGE MILL ROAD. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council direct the Director of Planning and Community Environment to initiate a Comprehensive Plan map amendment from Light Industrial to Mixed Use and a zone change from General Manufacturing (GM) to Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Development (PTOD) for 195 Page Mill Road which includes properties at 195 Page Mill Road and 2865, 2891, and 2901 Park Boulevard (currently, approximately 50,000 square feet of vacant industrial buildings are situated on this 2.2 acre site). BACKGROUND The proposed project is a City-initiated rezoning of three parcels to apply the Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Development (PTOD) overlay to provide housing and mixed use opportunities for the site, particularly to accommodate the designation of the site on the City’s Housing Sites Inventory (Site Number: 8-11). The potential dwelling unit yield and type of housing development under the proposed RM-40 zoning was anticipated to be approximately 46 to 62 residential units for this parcel. The current proposal also includes one additional adjacent parcel, 2901 Park Boulevard, which was not included in the Housing Sites Inventory. The property owner has submitted an application for a mixed use project, which was scheduled for review by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) on August 3, 2006. Staff determined, however, that the proposal does not comply with zoning requirements for the GM zone and that PTOD criteria would better accommodate a mixed use project. DISCUSSION The proposed action would require an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan land use designation for the site and a rezoning to the Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Development (PTOD) Combining District. CMR: 328:06 Page 1 of 3 Comprehensive Plan Designation The current Comprehensive Plan designation of Light Industrial allows for high density multiple- family residential facilities and mixed use projects that are compatible with surrounding uses. A revision to a Mixed Use designation, however, would more accurately reflect the proposed uses and the FARs outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. On October 11, 2005, the City Council reviewed and adopted revisions to the Office, Research and Manufacturing Districts of the Zoning Ordinance, and amended the proposed ordinance to prohibit all residential uses (including mixed use) in the General Manufacturing (GM) district. The application of the PTOD to this site would also provide for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and Housing Element. PTOD District Adoption and Rezoning The initial reading of the PTOD Combining District ordinance was approved by the City Council on July 24, 2006, and the second reading of the ordinance is scheduled for August 7, 2006. The PTOD Combining District ordinance (Section 18.66.060) requires that the PTOD zone be established as an overlay that is available to be applied to any specific property within the PTOD boundary upon a rezoning request by the property owner or the City. Subsequent to the rezoning, the Architectural Review Board (ARB) would review the design specifics of the project and assure compliance with development and design standards. The rezoning step will also provide for environmental review of project-specific impacts on the area. Zone Change Process The process for a City-initiated zone change is outlined in the Palo Alto Municipal Code under Section 18.98. The steps are summarized as follows: The City Council or Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) directs the Planning Director to initiate a zoning amendment. The PTC sets a date for a regular or special meeting of the PTC, including a public hearing and notice to the property owner and surrounding property owners. The Commission may recommend to the City Council approval of the rezoning, modification of the area to be rezoned, application of more or less restrictive zoning, or denial of the rezoning. The decision of the Commission is forwarded to the City Council, including the Commission’s findings and determinations for the requested zone change. Upon notice and a public hearing, the City Council takes final action regarding the zoning. RESOURCE IMPACT The implementation of the proposed ordinance amendment will require staff time to process the rezoning and Comprehensive Plan amendment for the site. The applicant will not be charged for processing the application since the rezoning is initiated by the City. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The proposed zoning change would bring the site into conformance with the Comprehensive Plan Housing Element and with policies regarding housing, mixed use, and transit oriented development. CMR: 328:06 Page 2 of 3 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW No environmental review is required to initiate the rezoning. An Addendum to the Comprehensive Plan Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) was prepared for the Housing Element and includes this site as part of the Housing Sites Inventory. Staff will determine whether the rezoning and Comprehensive Plan amendment require further environmental review upon detailed analysis of the project. PREPARED BY: CURTIS WILLIAMS Chief Planning and Transportation Official DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: ~.~a~ok~ ~~ .~STEVE EMSLIE ~ Director of Planning and Community Environment CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: EMIL~rqZi~ARRIS ON Assistant City Manager ATTACHMENTS A. Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Development Boundary Map B. Zoning Map COURTESY COPIES Planning and Transportation Commission Architectural Review Board Harold Hohbach, Court House Plaza Co. (Owner: 195 Page Mill; 2865, 2891, 2901 Park) Essex Properties (Owner: 2785 Park) Robert V. Brown (Owner: 2747 Park) CMR: 328:06 Page 3 of 3 ~A~ ~ ~¢ ~. ~~’xx ~~~/~/ /~.: /~%’/-~/ .~/.~ This map is a product of the City of Palo Alto GIS "195 Page Mill Road" Proposed Rezoning to PTOD The City of Palo Alto O’200’ ccampbe, 200~07-26 10:44:23 ~ document Is a graph~ representa[io~ only of best avagable sources. The City of Palo AJto assumes no respons~i~ty fo~ aW errors @1989 to 2006 City of P~Jo California Avenue PTOD Boundary SANTA RITA AVENUE City of Palo Alto City anager’s Repor TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: POLICE DATE:AUGUST 7, 2006 CMR:329:06 SUBJECT:POLICE DEPARTMENT’S POLICIES ON COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION This is an informational report and no Council action is required. DISCUSSIONS Recently, the Police Department has been asked about its policies regarding community notifications for various incidents. This report provides a description of the types of incidents and types of notification strategies currently in place, recent internal changes the Department has made to improve communications and some ideas the Department is currently researching. The Police Department responds to a number of incidents that require a large number of police officers to conduct extensive searches and take various types of enforcement action and/or responses. These incidents can range from searches for armed and dangerous suspects; arrests; mountain lion sightings; outside law enforcement agency requests; disasters; shootings; etc. In some of these circumstances, there is an immediate threat to public safety that is associated with the major police presence; in others, the Department wants only to notify the community. In determining the policies, the Department tries to maintain a balance between the community’s need to know versus taking an action that could cause undue fear, anxiety and possible panic. The bottom line is that when the public’s safety is in immediate jeopardy, notifications need to be made in a timely fashion. Current Policies - The Department has developed a coordinated, multi-layered plan designed to keep the public informed as to what is occurring in and around ~their neighborhoods, schools or businesses. Attachment A provides a matrix that describes the type of incident, the levels and audiences of notifications. As an example, in the case of a child abduction, the Police Department would make notifications to schools; issue an immediate press release; send email alerts to neighborhoods; contact residents via the Teleminder system; provide information on the Police Department and City’s Web site; notify City employees, the City Council; and hold a press conference and community meetings. The City Council approved the purchase of a new neighborhood alerting system as part of the Capital Improvement Budget. The current system may only be activated when there is an imminent threat to life or property per the State of California’s 9-1-1 regulations because the database used CMR:329:06 Page I of 3 contains unpublished telephone numbers. In addition, the current system has limited capacity and can make only about 600 calls an hour. Newer and more contemporary community alerting technology will allow notifications through a variety of media and provide notifications at a rate of several thousand per hour, with enhanced flexibility for use. Citizens will receive a pre-recorded message, email or text message explaining the nature of the emergency and any specific instructions that they should follow. Staff will be sending out a request for proposal to vendors next month. Prior to that time, staff will hold two community meetings to get input from residents. Staff is working with representatives from Menlo Park and East Palo Alto who are interested in joining this endeavor. Newly Adopted Internal Policies -In June, the Police Chief designated a Sergeant as the Department’s full-time Community Relations Officer for a year’s trial period. This action was taken after staff recognized the importance of having a single point of contact for the media during significant incidents and for community outreach. The Department will continue with its Public Information Officer (PIO) program because the PIOs have collateral responsibilities such as detective, patrol officer, etc. However, due to limited resources, notifications to the press and the community have not always been done on a timely basis. The Department will consequently be increasing the number of trained PIOs that respond to any significant police actions. In the past, during large-scale incidents or situations where police activity impacts neighborhoods, schools or businesses, the Department would assign one PIO to coordinate press liaison activities with the television, radio and print media as well as issuing press releases. By increasing the number of PIOs, a second and if necessary, a third PIO, will respond to assist. The second PIO will be responsible for notifying community members, schools, businesses, City employees, etc. as appropriate via emails using list-serves, telephone calls, the community alerting system and the Department website. The City’s Information Technology staff has trained the Department’s PIO on how to make changes to the Department’s website from a remote location using recently purchased wireless technology. This will allow the PIO to update the website, send press releases and list-serve notifications in "real-time" from a command post. The PIOs will also be able to provide citizens with specific safety instructions, suspect descriptions and general updated information. Citizens will be able to log-on and learn more about what is occurring in their neighborhood as it occurs. The PIOs will have access to this list-serve comprised of several hundred neighborhood associations and businesses in the field. Staff has begun posting information in the Palo Alto Weekly’s Town Square as well. Other Ideas Being Researched - Staff continues to explore new and creative ideas for improving communication with the public during an emergency. As an example, there are organizations that provide community alerts and information on-line in several communities across the country. Staff will be looking into them to see if they may be of some use. CMR:329:06 Page 2 of 3 ATTACHMENT Attachment A:Types of Incidents and Responses PREPARED BY: DEPARTMENT HEAD: DENNIS BURNS Captain[-]~ield Services ~,D~ision ! // LYNNE JOHNSON Police Chief CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: EMILY HARRISON Assistant City Manager CMR:329:06 Page 3 of 3 × X ~