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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14591 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14591) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Study Session Meeting Date: 9/12/2022 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: 70 Encina Avenue: PHZ Prescreening for 20 units Title: 70 Encina Avenue (22PLN-00198): Request for a Prescreening to Consider Rezoning the Subject Property From Community Commercial (CC) to Planned Community (PC/PHZ) to Allow Development of a Building With Approximately 20 Dwelling Units and 28 Parking Spaces. Environmental Assessment: Not a Project. The Formal Application Will be Subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Review. Zoning District: CC (Community Commercial). From: City Manager Lead Department: Planning and Development Services Recommendation Staff recommends that Council conduct a prescreening and provide informal comments regarding the applicant’s request to rezone 70 Encina Ave from Community Commercial (CC) to a Planned Home Zoning (PHZ).1 Comments provided during the prescreening process are not binding on the City nor the applicant. Executive Summary This prescreening is a request by the applicant to rezone the subject property, which is currently zoned Community Commercial (CC), to Planned Home Zoning (PHZ).1 The project site consists of two parcels totaling 12,120 square feet (sf), and until recently, the site was used as a paved parking facility for Town and Country Village shopping center and is otherwise vacant. The project includes construction of a 29,076 sf building (2.40:1 FAR) with 20 residential ownership/condominium units. The project is located adjacent to Town and Country Village, on two parcels identified in the 1 Referred to in this report as "Planned Housing Zone" to emphasize the focus on housing as the benefit to the community. PAMC Section 18.38, which outlines the requirement and process for Planned Community (PC) Zoning, remains the underlying code supporting application of this policy. City of Palo Alto Page 2 Zoning Code as being part of Town & Country; however, these parcels are not under Town & Country’s ownership or control. To be eligible for the Planned Community (PC) zoning process, a PHZ application must meet two initial qualifying criteria established by the City Council: 1) provide 20% of the total units as affordable housing selected from a prescribed menu of options, and 2) provide housing units that meet or exceed the demand generated by any net new jobs. In this case, no new jobs are proposed, as this project is 100% residential. The project would meet the 20% affordable requirement. The project would require a formal rezoning application consistent with Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC), Zoning Regulations, Chapter 18.38 to allow for a Development Plan with increased height, and increased floor area ratio (FAR) compared to existing CC requirements. The project would also require an architectural review application and subdivision map application. Background On February 3, 2020, Council unanimously endorsed using Planned Housing Zoning (PHZ) for housing and mixed-use housing projects to help spur housing production. In exchange for deviation from certain standards as allowed under the rezoning, if approved by Council, the project must include at least 20% of the housing units as deed restricted for lower income households. In accordance with Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) Section 18.79.030(A), a prescreening review is required for legislative changes, including rezoning, prior to submittal of a formal application. Pre-screenings are intended to solicit early feedback on proposed projects and, like all study sessions, cannot result in any formal action. Since this proposal may return to the City Council as a formal application, Councilmembers should refrain from forming firm opinions supporting or opposing the project. Project Description A location map of the proposed site is included in Attachment A. The preliminary schematic drawings, included in Attachment D, are conceptual, as is appropriate at this stage of project consideration. As shown in these schematic drawings, the applicant is proposing a multi-family residential building approximately 29,076 sf with 20 housing units. The units would be a mix of one-bedroom units (12) and two-bedroom units (8). As part of the project, the two parcels would be merged, and the 70 Encina Avenue address would be formally assigned. Currently, the parcel address is unassigned. The development would be four-stories of residential above a one-story podium level parking, City of Palo Alto Page 3 with a proposed height of 55 feet. In conformance with the Code, this does not include the height of the rooftop mechanical equipment, which is allowed an additional 15 feet in height. This information was not included in the conceptual plans, except for a small projection that is likely the elevator tower. The primary entrances for pedestrians and cars would be provided from Encina Ave. Parking is primarily proposed on the ground floor, with parking lifts that would descend to a subterranean vault. Proposed parking facilities include two “regular” stalls, four EV Accessible stalls, six tandem stalls (allowed for residential uses when assigned to the same unit), and 16 lift stalls, for a total of 28 parking spaces. Surrounding Uses Adjacent zoning and uses include the Town and Country Village Shopping Center and associated parking areas to the south, east, and west. To the north across Encina are CS zoned office buildings. The offices are two-story and tall one-story. The portion of Town and Country adjacent to the site is mostly developed with one-story structures, though the building height increases to two stories towards the eastern side of the building. Discussion Staff will prepare a thorough analysis of the zoning and Comprehensive Plan compliance upon submittal of a formal application, if filed. A review of the conceptual plans, however, highlights key policy considerations associated with the applicant’s request. Comprehensive Plan Compliance The Comprehensive Plan designation is Community Commercial, which is defined as: Larger shopping centers and districts that have a wider variety of goods and services than the neighborhood shopping areas. They rely on larger trade areas and include such uses as department stores, bookstores, furniture stores, toy stores, apparel shops, restaurants, theaters and non-retail services such as offices and banks. Examples include Stanford Shopping Center and Town & Country Village. Non-retail uses such as medical and dental offices may also locate in this designation. In some locations, residential and mixed use projects may also locate in this category. Non-residential FARs range from 0.35 to 2.0. Consistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s encouragement of housing near transit centers, higher density multi- family housing may be allowed in specific locations. Policy L2.4 states the intent to encourage housing near “retail, employment, and transit, in a way that connects to and enhances existing neighborhoods”. In addition to being near retail, this site is also near the Palo Alto CalTrain station (.5 miles), and VTA bus lines. In terms of employment centers, it is close to Stanford University and the Stanford University Medical Center, and Downtown Palo Alto. City of Palo Alto Page 4 There are policy statements that relate to housing at the Town and Country Village. Program L2.4.4 states: Assess non-residential development potential in the Community Commercial, Service Commercial and Downtown Commercial Districts (CC, CS and CD) and the Neighborhood Commercial District (CN), and convert non-retail commercial FAR to residential FAR, where appropriate. Conversion to residential capacity should not be considered in Town and Country Village. Additionally, policies L-4.12, 13, and 14 are exclusive to Town and Country Village: • Policy L-4.12 - Recognize and preserve Town and Country Village as an attractive retail center serving Palo Altans and residents of the wider region. Future development at this site should preserve its existing amenities, pedestrian scale and architectural character while also improving safe access for bicyclists and pedestrians and increasing the amount of bicycle parking. • Policy L-4.13 - In Town and Country Village, encourage a vibrant retail environment and urban greening. • Policy L-4.14 - In Town and Country Village, encourage improvement of pedestrian, bicycle and auto circulation and landscaping improvements, including maintenance of existing oak trees and planting additional trees. These policy statements seek to preserve or retain existing amenities and commercial floor area but the concept to convert portion of the surface parking lot to housing does not appear inconsistent with these Comprehensive Plan polices. Specifically, the proposal does not reduce commercial floor are or otherwise impede the vitality of the Town & County Village. Arguably the placement of a new residential structure at the subject location disrupts the availability of parking spaces and requires consideration of drive aisle re-alignment, but this also holds true if the independently owned parcel were developed with commercial uses. Moreover, adding housing to this location may actually prove beneficial to the Town & Country Village as it introduces new residents that could shop at the market and enjoy many of the other restaurants and retail stores within the immediate proximity. Greater housing density could be achieved if the project incorporated adjacent Town & County Village parcels currently used for surface parking and still be generally consistent with the Comprehensive Plan though there would be a need to accommodate and replace any displaced parking spaces. Zoning Compliance For projects rezoning to a PHZ, Council has the authority to set the parameters for most development standards, which would be reflected in the tailored ordinance for the new PHZ District. However, for informational purposes, Attachment B compares the development City of Palo Alto Page 5 standards under the current CC zone district with the proposed project. The project is not located within the immediate vicinity of residential uses and therefore is not subject to the special standards outlined in PAMC Section 18.38.150. While this property is not under Town & Country’s control, it is considered within Town & Country by the Zoning Code. PAMC Section 18.16.030(c) states "Town and Country Village Shopping Center" is defined as all properties zoned CC and bounded by El Camino Real, Embarcadero Road, Encina Avenue, and the Southern Pacific right-of-way. In comparison to the existing zoning, the applicant is requesting that the new PHZ allow for increases in floor area and height, and an allowance for a 100% residential project. Specifically, the applicant is requesting a floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.4:1. In the CC zoning district, the FAR is determined by the use. Per PAMC 18.16.060(c), exclusively residential uses are generally prohibited in the CN, CS, and CC zone districts, except on housing inventory sites identified in the Housing Element, and on CS and CN sites on El Camino Real and CC(2) sites. In accordinance with PAMC 18.16.060 (e), the maximum floor area ratio for mixed use development for the Town and Country Village Shopping Center is limited to .50 to 1; provided that no more than .35 to 1 floor area shall be nonresidential and not more than .15 to 1 floor area shall be residential. This would limit the site to 4,241 sf of commercial development and 1,817 sf of residential development. The allowed .5:1 FAR, (.15 for a residential component), is significantly less than the proposed 2.4:1 FAR. The applicant is also requesting a height increase to 55 feet and proposes a majority of the roofline reach this limit, which exceeds the 50 foot height limit by 5 feet. A preliminary analysis of the project with the recently adopted Objective Design Standards was also completed. Complying with the Objective Design Standards allows the Architectural Review component of the project to be streamlined, however the applicant may through the PHZ process, seek exceptions to individual standards. Most of the Objective Standards are met, with a couple notable exceptions: • The building massing as proposed is not stepped back in the places where it is adjacent to a one story building. All buildings in the vicinity are one-story or two-stories. Per PAMC 18.24.050(b)(1)(B), when the height of the subject building is more than 20 feet above the average height (i.e., average of low and high roof elevations) of an adjacent building, an upper floor step back shall start within two vertical feet of the height of the adjacent building. The step back shall be a minimum depth of six feet along both the façade on the primary building frontage and the facing façade of the adjacent building, and the step shall occur for a minimum of 70% of each façade length. • A daylight plane would also be applicable in this context, which would further define the step-back (PAMC 18.24.050(b)(1)(C)). City of Palo Alto Page 6 • The façade is flat across the Encina frontage, and the Objective Design Standards require modulation. Per PAMC 18.24.050(b)(3), any building greater than 25 feet in height and 70 feet in length shall not have a continuous façade plane greater than 70% of the façade length without an upper floor modulation, which can include bay windows. Upper floor façade modulations shall be a minimum two feet in depth, which can be a recess or a projection. The proposed building includes recessed balconies, but those are not currently considered a true recess of the building. • A non-residential ground floor requires a minimum of 50% transparent glazing between four and ten feet in height from sidewalk or terrace grade (PAMC 18.24.060(c)(6)). • This project includes a ground-level parking facility, rather than an underground garage. In order to do so, the applicant must propose commercial or habitable uses at the parking facility’s edge with a minimum depth of 20 feet along the street frontage (Encina Ave. side). The alternative is to place the parking facilities underground (PAMC 18.24.060(c)(7)). • The materials were not specified in the plan set, and therefore staff did not compare these to the Residential and Residential Mixed-use Material List. Multi-Modal Access & Parking The project is located close to high-frequency transit, including the Valley Transit Authority 22 bus line (El Camino and Embarcadero stop) and within walking distance of the Palo Alto Caltrain station (0.5 mile). Stanford University’s Marguerite Shuttle also provides service from the Caltrain Station, as well as stops near El Camino and Encino Ave. and El Camino and Galvez St. This project has not yet been analyzed for consistency with the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan and other transportation policies such as Council’s Local Transportation Impact Analysis Policy adopted on June 15, 2019 (CMR 11256). This analysis would be conducted as a part of any formal application and reviewed by the Office of Transportation. The proposed project would add a new curb cut along Encina Avenue, approximately 45 feet from the existing entrance to the Town and Country Village parking lot, which has not been reviewed by the Office of Transportation at this time. The trash bins would be accessed from the Encina Avenue driveway. Parking The project would include 28 vehicle parking spaces (including two “regular” stalls, four EV Accessible stalls, six tandem stalls, and 16 lift stalls) on the ground floor, with the lifts descending into below grade vaults. This meets the Code required minimum off-street parking spaces. Six of the residential spaces would be provided in a tandem configuration, in conformance with parking regulations in PAMC Section 18.54.020(d). No loading space is required for residential use. It should be considered that associated activities to the residential City of Palo Alto Page 7 use, such as drop-off/pick-up for rideshare, loading for residents moving, or guests visiting residents may impact the adjacent Town & Country Village parking lots. This should be considered as part of any formal application. Bicycle parking is currently shown within the ground level parking garage, with access from within the garage and outside of the building in the utility corridor. The proposed bike parking area holds 20 bikes, as required by PAMC 18.52.040, and meets or can be designed to meet the requirements of a Restricted-Access Bicycle Enclosure as defined in PAMC 18.54.060(a)(2)(B). Two visitor bicycle racks would also be available in the front yard near the garage entrance. Inclusionary Requirement and Jobs Housing Imbalance The intent of limiting PC projects to residential and residential mixed-use is to address the job/housing imbalance. PHZ projects are required to provide more housing than jobs on site. As this is a 100% residential project, no new jobs would be created. The project would also provide 20% of the units at Below Market Rate in accordance with Council’s requirements for projects seeking to rezone using the PHZ process. The applicant’s representative anticipates the affordable units would allocate as follows, consistent with the City Council’s endorsed formula:2 Income Level Area Median Income Number of Units Based on a 20- Unit Project Percent of Income Restricted Units Below Market Rate Units Very Low- Income 50% and below 1 5% Low- Income 51% - 80% 1 5% Moderate- Income 81% - 120% 1 5% Workforce Housing Units Above Moderate- Income 121% - 140% 1 5% Market Rate Units Above Moderate- Income 141% and above 16 80% Total 20 Units 100% 2 City Council staff report establishing PHZ Affordable Housing Obligation: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/reports/city-manager-reports- cmrs/year-archive/2020-2/id-11478.pdf?t=43675.41 City of Palo Alto Page 8 Policy Implications Pre-screenings are intended to solicit early feedback on proposed projects and, like all study sessions, cannot result in any formal action. Therefore, informal comments from Councilmembers would not impact policy. That said, there is interest among other home builders and property owners to learn of the Council’s initial reaction to the subject request, which may influence the filing of future prescreening requests. Resource Impact The prescreening and processing of a formal application, if filed, are services paid for by fees from the applicant. Additionally, impact fees are charged on the project to account for impacts the project has on public services and infrastructure. Timeline Following the prescreening review, the applicant will consider Council’s comments and determine how they want to proceed. Any formal application to rezone the property to a PHZ would be subject to the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC), Architectural Review Board (pending compliance with the Objective Design Standards), and Council’s purview. Stakeholder Engagement The Palo Alto Municipal Code requires notice of this public hearing be published in a local paper and mailed to owners and occupants of property within 600 feet of the subject property at least ten days in advance. Notice of a public hearing for this project was published in the Daily Post on September 2, 2022, which is 10 days in advance of the meeting. Postcard mailing occurred on August 31, 2022 which is 12 days in advance of the meeting. As of the writing of this report no project-related public comments were received. Environmental Review The prescreening is a preliminary review process in which Councilmembers may provide comment, but no formal action will be taken. Therefore, no review under the California Environmental Quality Action (CEQA) is required at this time. A full review in accordance with CEQA would be initiated with the formal filing of a development application. Attachments: Attachment A: Location Map (PDF) Attachment B: Zoning Comparison Table (DOCX) Attachment C: Applicant's Project Description (PDF) Attachment D - Project Plans (DOCX) 120-33-003 120-33-004 120-33-040 120-33-038 3-010 120-34-001 120-34-002 120-34-004 120-34-015 120-33-039 120-28-097 120-28-098 120-33-002 120-34-005 120-34-006 120-34-007 120-34-008 120-34-009 120-34-010 120-34-013 120-34-014 120-33-001 120-33-044 120-33-036 120-33-006 120-34-003 120-33-041 120-33-042 120-33-043 120-33-046 A L M A ST R EE T E L C A M I N O R E A L E L C A M I N O R E A L E M B A R C A D E R O R O A D U R B A N L A N E E NC I N A AVE NUE E N C I NA AV E N U E B l d g 1 B l d g 2 B l d g 3 B l d g 4 B l d 903 905 907 921 9 25 917 90 901 1 5 3 3 9 8 8 5 5 909 8 1 8 7 5 1 7 5 6 3 2 9 8 4 1 4 4 This map is a product of the City of Palo Alto GIS This document is a graphic representation only of best available sources. Legend Assessment Parcel Palo Alto Assessment Parcel Palo Alto Assessment Parcel Outside Palo Alto abc Road Centerline Small Text (TC) Curb Face (RF) Pavement Edge (RF) Address Label Points (AP) Current Features 0'87' Attachment A 70 Encina Location Map CITY O F PALO A L TO IN C O R P O R ATE D C ALIFOR N IA P a l o A l t oT h e C i t y o f A P RIL 16 1894 The City of Palo Alto assumes no responsibility for any errors. ©1989 to 2016 City of Palo Alto efoley2, 2022-08-18 13:32:14Assessor Parcels (\\cc-maps\Encompass\Admin\Meta\View.mdb) ATTACHMENT B ZONING COMPARISON TABLE 70 Encina, 22PLN-00198 Table 1: COMPARISON WITH CHAPTER 18.16 (CC DISTRICT) Mixed-use and Residential Development Standards Note: 100% Residential not typically allowed in CC District Regulation Required Existing Proposed Minimum Site Area, width and depth No Requirement 12,118 sf 100 ft wide, 121 ft deep 12,118 sf 100 ft wide, 121 ft deep Minimum Front Yard (Encina Ave) No Requirement Vacant/parking lot 5 feet Rear Yard 10 feet 0 feet Side Yard No Requirement 9 feet left 0 feet right Min. yard for lot lines abutting or opposite residential districts or residential PC districts Not Applicable Not Applicable Build-to-lines (1) 50% of frontage built to setback on Encina Ave. Complies Max. Site Coverage 50% 6,060 sf 86.5% 10,483 sf Max. Building Height 50 feet 55 feet, 5 stories Max. Floor Area Ratio (FAR) See note (e) .15 to 1 for residential 29,076 sf 2.40 to 1 Daylight Plane for lot lines abutting one or more residential zone districts other than an RM-40 or PC Zone Not applicable Landscape Open Space 30% 31.43% Useable Open Space 150 sf per unit (Private and/or Common) Average balcony size 60 sf per unit Average common space 890 sf per unit (e) CC District Shopping Center Floor Area Ratio Regulations (1) The maximum floor area ratio for the Town and Country Village Shopping Center shall be .35 to 1; and office uses at said shopping center shall be limited to 15% of the floor area of the shopping center existing as of August 1, 1989. Hotel use shall not be included as part of the .35 to 1 maximum floor area ratio, but shall not exceed an additional .25 to 1 floor area ratio, for a maximum site floor area ratio of .60 to 1. (2) The maximum floor area ratio for mixed use development for the Town and Country Village Shopping Center shall be limited to .50 to 1; provided that no more than .35 to 1 floor area shall be nonresidential, consistent with part (1) above, and not more than .15 to 1 floor area shall be residential. (3) Stanford Shopping Center shall not be permitted to add more than 80,000 square feet of floor area to the total amount of floor area of the shopping center existing as of June 14, 1996, 1,332,362 square feet, for a total square footage not to exceed 1,412,362. Any hotel or mixed use development for the Stanford Shopping Center shall only be included if approved as part of a Development Agreement for the site. Table 2: CONFORMANCE WITH CHAPTER 18.52 (Off-Street Parking and Loading) for Residential Type Required Existing Proposed Vehicle Parking 1 per 1-bedroom unit 2 per 2-bedroom or larger unit At least one space per unit must be covered Tandem parking allowed for any unit requiring two spaces (one tandem space per unit, associated directly with another parking space for the same unit, up to a maximum of 25% of total required spaces for any project with more than four (4) units) 28 stalls required Approximately 50 parking spaces 28 parking stalls provided 2 per 2-bedroom 1 per 1-bedroom 6 tandem stalls 16 lift stalls 2 EV Accessible Stalls 2 EV Accessible Van Stalls Bicycle Parking 1 long term space per unit 1 guest space per 10 units 20 long term 2 guest/short term Loading Space None required None provided May 20th, 2022 Jodie Gerhardt City of Palo Alto Planning & Development Services Department 285 Hamilton St, 1st Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM STATEMENT RE: 70 ENCINA AVE - PHZ PRE-SCREENING SUBMITTAL Dear Ms. Gerhardt, On behalf of our client Storm Land LLC., Hayes Group Architects submits this development program Statement pursuant to PAMC 18.38.070 for a proposed multi-family residential development at 70 Encina Avenue in Palo Alto. Application of PHZ designation for this project is necessary for the following reasons: a. The underlying Zoning designation of CC would only allow for an FAR of 0.6:1. This limited development potential severely hinders the number of housing units that can be built. Coupled with the high price of land it also further challenges the inclusion of affordable housing. Under these regulations the site would be limited to a maximum of 4 residential units atop fully or semi- underground parking. Application of PHZ regulations would allow for roughly a five-fold increase in unit count as illustrated in the attached plans. The proposed residential design is supported with the surroundings as there are adjacent planned community and hospital buildings of similar height. b. The proposed uses in this project are limited to private residential condominiums, including support and amenity spaces related to residential use. Support and amenity spaces include usable open space, parking, mechanical and storage spaces, shared circulation, utilities, and trash & recycling. c. The nature of all proposed uses is that of residential living and associated activities. Each residential unit will contain its’ own private kitchen and bathing facilities, with all parking behind screened or solid walls. Portions of the site are designed as usable outdoor space for the condominium users and their guests to use. d. Below is a schedule of unit types and sizes and anticipated sales prices. Please note that sales prices are based on an estimated sales price of $1,250 per occupied square foot, not including common areas such as parking and utilities etc. unit description BR# unit size (avg) quantity sales price (avg) 2 BEDROOM 2BR 1,320 SF 8 $1,650,000 1 BEDROOM 1BR 1,035 SF 12 $1,293,750 TOTAL: 20 Note: Sales prices shown above are for market rate units. 20% of units will be sold or rented as BMR units. Pricing for Below Market Rate units shall be established by the Director of Planning & Development Services in accordance with the City’s website. If you have any questions regarding the contents of this letter or the accompanying plans, please feel free to contact me by phone or email. Jeff Galbraith Principal Hayes Group Architects Inc. (650) 223-4026 jgalbraith@thehayesgroup.com Sincerely, Attachment D Project Plans In order to reduce paper consumption, a limited number of hard copy project plans are provided to Council members for their review. The same plans are available to the public, at all hours of the day, via the following online resources. Directions to review Project plans online: 1. Go to: bit.ly/PApendingprojects 2. Scroll down to find “70 Encina Avenue” and click the address link 3. On this project specific webpage you will find a link to the project plans and other important information Direct Link to Project Webpage: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/News-Articles/Planning-and-Development-Services/70-Encina- Avenue