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Home My WebLink About0408.091, • August 22, H91 HONORABLE CITV COUNCIL HONORABLE PLANNING COMMISSION Pilo AHo, California PRIORllIES FOR PLANNING D1VISlON SPECIAL STUDjES tv 91 ·92 Members of the Council ~nd Commi$~ion; REPO;;, IN BRIEF This report identifies potenthl Plarming Division (ompren-ensive Pla.n and special studies/projects and t~e resoun:es that would be required' to undertak.e/complete them. It is intended to iid discussion at the joint City Council/Planning Corrmiss;on meeting Or! August 29, 1991. Staff believes that U,e Comprenensi'ole PTan Update should be given U,e highest priority. In addition to the Comprehensive Plan Update, limited staff resourc.es could be allocated' to only one additional special study. BACKGROUND lhe fonowing table l;sts~ 1) the spEcial studies or special projects that have been previously identified by City Council, the Planning (ommission. staff or ~ther citizen ~roup5, and 2) a sum~ary of the Plannlng Division staff resources ri!quired for their implementation or comp1etion. COMPREHENSIVE PLAM/SPECIAL STUDIES REQUIRED PLANNIHG DIYISlnK RESOURCE 1-Comprehensive Plan Update 1.S Planner Staff Time 2. Downtown Urban Design PTa~ 0.5 Planner Staff Time 3. Lind Use Revenue Anal~is 0.25 Planner Staff Time ~. Urban lane Area Study 0.33 Planner Staff Time CMR:408:91 L . , .' f .~ - ';:. -- ~. R-l Sing1~-family fo1~ow'~p studies l. Single·family Restdentill Mirdma.l staff time prior to Design Guidelines completion b. Special Street Setbacks 0.25 to 0.33 Plaoner Staff Time c. Single-Story Ove~liY Zone 0.25 to 0.33 Planner Staff Time d. Tree Ordinance and update of No estimate on staff time Street Tree ManagEJr.ent Pl i!.n 6. Soutk of Forest Arel Stud) Staff time w)ll ~ary dep~ndin9 on Counei t assignm2rrt 7. El Camino Re~l Design C.S Planner Staff 1 irrt'! Gu~delini!s B. California Avenue Business MinilTla1 for simj)le zone change, O.S District Zoning Regulations PI anner staff time for a study Update 9. [stab'ishment of 1 Townhouse 0.15 to 0.5 PleiirtH staff time lone 10. Preparation of M;)ed Use Zone 0.15 to 0.5 PT ar1ner staff time Reguh.tions In t~e tity Coun<:il and Planning (ommissior. discussion of potel'ltial Planning projects, it is also possible that ather studies/.projects may De sugge:;t':'d which are not discussed in tt1is rep'Ort. In addition.,. this r€port does not inc1ude Orl goil'o9 studies/~rojects such. .5 the annual upda.te of the Zoning Ordinance.,. modifications ttl the Architectural Review Board (ARB) Ordinance, val"ious monitoring requirements, a reeycl ing ordinance, review of the f100d zone regulations and other items <:onsidered as day-to-day p~ojects. The Planning Oi~is;on has the folTo~ing perscnnel reso~rces: A. S~ec1ai Studies 1. Carol Jansen. Chief Pl~nn'ng OffiCial, has be~r assigned one-half time to preparation of the Compr~hensi~e Plan update and or.e-haTf time to economic resource pla~rling. 2. 3. George Zimmerman. Assistant Planning Official, is res~onsible for Planning Division administration, Downtown and other data monitoring, the land Use Re\lenul:: Anal),s; s St~dy and Pi' 0 Alto Medical Fo~ndation a~tivitfes. ~ppro~imately one-half of ~is time is anticipat-elj to be a.llcco.ted t~ the CGrnprehe.r\si"~ Phn update. Jim Gilliland, Manager Speciil Projects, is lS51gned one-half time for housing and' 1S a¥anable one-half time for special studies. CIIR:408:91 p:\c'1lr\c.mrspecs 8/22/91 Page 2 L • r • ~.J. : -"',--.' " -J~~ . . , - s. wh~ch ha~e recently included the Urban D~sign Plan and Single-Family Residential Design ~u;deTines_ Sarah Chene) is oil three-Q.uarters time Senior Planner responsibTe for lid"\s.cn act'llities. with Stanford Un;yers.ity, pl"eparat1on of the federally required Comprehenshe Housi~g Affordability Strategy {eMS) and state required modifications to the Hcusiri9 £1ement. Sarah ;s expected to take a 4-to 6-month waternity leave beginning in OCtober. Lori TopleYt Planr.er, recently has bee~ respo~sible for the lonir.g Ordinance cleanup, the pt"CJ~osed office ,project for 325 lytton Avenue and the PC zone amendment for 850 Webster Street. Currently. she is responsible fer proces5;l1g the Y . .,.CA appl ication and preparing the Recycling Ordinance. She is available approximately one-ha1f time for special projects. B. Deve10pment Monitor)ng 1. ~anc;y lytle, Icnin9 I\dministn.tor, is it fun time zoning administrator and supervisor ~f deve10pment monitoring. 2. Four full-time Phnners and one three-quarters time-Planner are aSSigned to d'evelopment monitoring activities. Day-to-day application processlng and increased Citywide priorities for customer service restrict deve10pment monitoring staff from substanthl participation in special studies. These Planners eire Michae1 Sills, Planning Technician (Counter); Joe Colonna, Associate Planner {5ubdivis1ons~ environmental ilssessments, plan checking, counter cDordi~il.tion}; Gloria Humble, Associate Planner (R-l plan checks and graphics)i ~iryinia ~arhEit. Senior Planner {~RS}; and ona vacant flanner (ARB). Depending on development monitoring acti'lity, up to one-quarter time (If a de'Yelopment 1l1onitoril"lg position could be allocated toward the Comprehensive Plan update. Sta.ff Yii.cancies, stiff leii'.'es and additional large de'.'elopment monitoring projects i:an ad'.'ers21y affect the iHilabi1ity of spec.ial studies staff for additional i,5signments. For example, an application from Stanford University for the proposed Stanford West project would require the assignment of one-quarter to one-~ilf time planner for onE year. Special studies, even when prepared by ~ consultant, rec;uire significant staff time. Recently, preparation of tne Singh,,-family Residential Design GuidellnB required' the comitment of one-third time of Jim Sillilana for a nine-month period. SPECIAL STUDIES The following paragraphs describe the ongoing special stud~es and potential sgec~oi.l stud'ies. and prollides an estimate of U\e resources neces.sa.ry for a study's c~mpletion or imp1e~entation. CMR:408:91 p:\cmr\cmrspecs 8/22/91 Page 3 • • 1 i 1 I i 1 - Comprebens.ive Fldl'l tlP1ate The curr.ent tom?r~hens.ille Plan <ontains. numerous a,men.d:nent'S s.ince the Plan w,,-s last updated and publi~.hed is a single documer'lt in 195]. These amendments reflect previous studies, e.g .• the Downtown and Citywide la.nd Use Transportation Studies, is well as individual map a~endments. The Housing Element, which ~as appro'lled in J990, is t~e onl,)' element of the Compreni!nsive Plan thi!t has been completely rewritten since the early 1980~. As a result, the Comprehensi'lle PTan ;s net only a rather dated doc~ment, but because of its numerous amendments, its current form is unwieldy for ~se and reference by staff, cltizens and decisi~n makers. The basic objectives and polides of the City's Com,;Jrehensi .... e Plan may not reql~ire ~ubstantial re-,is1t1f1. Howe'¥H, they should be reaffirmed iir.j n:'1~e,,"ed for their validity and the document reWiritten so that it becomes a mol'"';:' Effective tool in guiding f~ture ~e~elopment and land use decisions in the City. Resources far the ClJmpreher!sille Plan upda.te -are limited relathe to the resources cormdtted to the original Phn's preparation between 1972 and 1976. At tnat time} over Sl{lC~OOO was allocated for professional consultant assistance and four staff members ~ere assigned exclu5i~ely for the Plan's preparation. Current resources for the Comprehens1ve Plan update are limited to one-ha1f cf the Ch1ef Phnning Official's time, approximatelY one half of the Assistant Chief Pl anning Offic;a1' s time, one-quarter of other specia1 project pl annen' tlme and one quarter ~f time from the developmer.t monitoring staff. Assistance ~lll be required from other-divis~ons/departmeTlts, e.g., Uti1ities, lransportation, Publ ic Works, En .... ' ronmer.tal Protect ~ on and Fi ri!. t imi ted' profess ional consult; ng i.ssis.tance may be reQuired te.g.~ air quality techo;cal c.nalysis)~ t1owever, ultimate responsibility for preparation of the document, coordination of acti~it1es and ~~blic re .... i€w r~sts with the Planning Oiwision. ~.Qwntown Urban Oesign Ph_!! The Downtown Urban Design PTan should be reviewed by all appropriate boards and ccrmlissions by m-id-autumn. City Ccuntil action is expe,:ted b.l' late 1991. The deliY in completicn of the Urban Design Pian illustrates t~e pitfalis that can occur when a study has a limited budget. ~~en ~olunteers with comp~ting demands are expected to com .. lete much of the .... ork, and lIthen limited staff re~Durces assigned to ill stl.ldy tire frequent1y s.hifted to other projt-cts t'!Hing, in tf!e s~,ort term, ~i9her prTorities. This plan required a one-~alf time Planner intenmltte~tly over a tnr~e-year period. land U~e Revenue Analy5i~ The City Council approved funding and the cOf1Sultant contract for t~is study;" July, 1991. Planning COlmlission revieWrt of the completed study is Expected in early i992. Staff participation includes managing the study and preparing an ana1ysis of the Study's findings for P1anning Commiss10n review and City Councll CMR:408:9! p:\cmr\cmrspecs L 6/22/9\ Page 4 • / • -----, -, - ~ ___ r policy d;rect~on. Thls $25,000 contract stud,)' will require up to a one-quarter time commitment for n'ne mont~s by th~ Assistant Planning Official. Urba~ Lane Area. The City Council,. in completing its acti.on on the Citywide land Use and Transportation Study in 1969. identified the Urban lane Arfa between the }101 iday Inn ind Town and Country Village as ha~ing the hig~est priority for a follc~-up spec.hl area study. Staff suggests that such a study be funded by de"w'elopers if they wish to redevelop several key parcels in this area. Whether such a study is funded by potential delle-lopers or H,e City. it ",ould' t'1fi\le to be manageo' by staff. ReqIJ'ired staff time for iii consultant study .... ou1d be simihr to that required for the Single-Family Residential Design GUldelines Study or one~tnird staff time for nine mont~s. R-I Single-Family Fpllow-Up Studies ). Single-family Residentia1 OeSiClrl Guideline __ !: This document is schedu1ed tD return to Council in September for final dPpro~al. 2. ~jal Stret-t Setbdcks: This study wOIJ1d defilie special strC!et s~tbat.ks for neighborhoods naving prevailing setbacks not consistent ... ,tn the "t)itS zoning reguiations. Staff be-l i eves that th\s study could be handled ·in-house~ ~ith the additional ser~ices of two student interns {i ,e., temporary staff pilid out of currer-Itly bIJd]eted' ftmds) to su:rvey Palo AHo neighborhoods. Given existing resources, this study could be completed by Autumn 1992. and ~Quld reqll'ire one-quarter to one-third Planner time for six months. 3. Sin9.Te~Storv Overlay Zone: This study would define neighborhoods that should halle an overlay zor:e 1 imitil"l9 structures to it singTe story. It also could be handled "in-house-and will require some intern time for neighborhood survi!Jls. Gillen existing resources. this study could he completed by Surrrner 1993 and ~ou' d requi re one-quarter to one-third Planner time for six months. 4. Tree Ordinance and update _of Street Tree Manageml:!fl . .t._Plarr: This study ~ou'd pro~ide for analysiS of it possible heritage tree ordirlance for sing1 e~fami1y nei ghborhoods and an update to tile current Street Tree Management Plan. This study. whic'n ~~uld reQu~re a cOQrd~nated effol"t between Planning~ the City Arborist and p~obable consultants, nas not been defined well encug~ tc a?pro~imate staff or required con~ultant time. South of Forest Av~nue The principa' tasls in the Planning Comcnission recomtl'.e.ndaticns for this area focus on several interrelated zoning issues includir1g: 1) enco'Jragement for retention of automotive sen'ice uses; 2) modific.atiof1 of (D-S permitted uses; 3) elimination of credits on parking deficits when ~ses change and intensify; CHR:408:91 p:\clllr\cmrspecs 8/22/91 Page 5 • • i i , - 4) development of a more effi·(tiYe hOIJsin9 transition on Emerson Street; ird 5) consideration of h~gher density mixed use inc.entives along the Alma corridor. If Co:.mcil directs staff to proceed ~ith the Planning COlTr.lission reccrrrnendatiol'ls~ staff believes tnat modifications for the (O-S permitted uses and elimination of credits on park.ing deficits could return to (omission and (OUrlci] for final action within the current fiscal year. Development of a more effective housing trans1t;on Oil E~rson Street could be incorporated' into a Townhouse lone and considerit;~n cf higher density ~ixed use incenti~es a10ng the Alma corridor could be il1C.luded in a Mixed Use lone s.tu.d.y. "'Thes.e s.tud.ies are d~sc~s.sed below. Modifications to the Zoning ordina~ce to enco~rage retention ~f tne autom0tivE services will require ad'dftional (o,mcil direction as to the extent of the desired changes, prior to staff being able to make an estimate on time and resource requirements. £1 Carning Real Design Guidelin~ This study has heen suggested by a number of residents in Barron ParK. Fer the study to produce useable and practical guide1ines, it ~oo1d con$titute a major undertaking of resources both in t~rms of plan preparation and public participation. As a resu1t, staff beTieves !;uch a. stLldy wou:ld reqllire the expertise ~nd third party objectivity of a professiona1 urban design f;rm/tea~ to prepare, coordinate and process the study. Based on staff experiences and t~e e~periences of ot~er cities, consultant fees of approximately SISO,nOO wou1d be reQ,uired fer sllch a study. fn additicm, because of the scope and p(Jblic interest in the study, $~gnificant staff time wOiJld be required to produce background' data; coordlnah consultants, public and staff; prepare and review draft documentation; and schedu1e and attend meetings 1n the public re.iew p~ocess. In additfon to the con~ultant contract, assi9nm~nt of a minimum o~e·ha'f. full-time Planner for one year would be require-d to manage the contract anj process. Califprnia Avenue Business District A study on this business d1strict .... as completed in 1984. However~ since that time, other commercial and irldustria1 district studies; I'lo.ve resulted in more restrictive d~velopment regulations; than those being applied to the CaTifcrnia Ave-nue Sus.liless District. As. one example. the IflQximu\)l f1ccr area raUo (FA.R) perTl'litted. 1n the Downtown CO-C district is 1 to 1, whereas the California J\l,IenLle V1aximufll is 2 to L If the Downtown regu1ati~ns could' he applied to t~e California Ayenue area through a ·simpl!" zone dange, this task could be completed w1th minimal staff time. 'Howevar, if a study is required to apply new development regulations to t~e California Avenue Business District, such a .study would requ.ire at least one·~alf of a professional position for LIp to nine mOflths to prepare the study and handle t~e coordinati Ofl. "'Townhouse Zone SJ.Y .. r:!.:t Thi!t potential study reflects deficiencies in the existing multiple·farnily regulations, which were not specifically developed for townnouse·type CMR;408;91 p:\r.:rr.f'\cmrspecs L 8/11/91 Page 6 #" '-1 ,~." .' - de .... elopli1ents including attached single-family homes; on sm.a11 ~ljts. This deficiency has ~een recognized bi staff, the Urban Design Co~~ittee (during tr.e preparation of the UI'ban Design Plan). and tne Planning Commission (during re .... iew of the Open Space reQulremer.ts for M.!.l1tipTe-Fa'llilY zone::;), and has been recognized 1" the discussions of South of Forest land use issues. lhis type of development i$ desirable in many ar!as transiti1nal to the R-J districts and Mgtle-r oensity resldent~.l and cOIT'rnercia,l cl~s.tr1cts. SiJc!; a stu-dy IflQu1d most likely require the professional ex~ertise of a consultant. However, fun1ing such oil limited' scale study 'Would not likeljl exceed $35.000, but ...,oula require one-quarter to one-haif staff time for adrn;nistration during a nine month period. Mixed Use StudY Staff ~as Dbser~ed that existing mixed use zoning regulatior.s do not encourage mixed use devel"pment. In fact? the adoption of tile {DJ o\,erlay rfquiring Phrmif'\9 COim\lsSiQf'\ a.nd City Council r.e:llie\Jf d'1sc-ourages app1ications for miJ:ed use developments. Moreover. the present zoning regulations require significant \lariances to accomplish almost anymhed-use projects. Fcl10wing a limited 4 scal.e: study to examine p~tential zoning prc'Wisions that eouid en-courage mixed-use development, additional staff and consuHant time would be required to develop mQ<lified regulat10ns. Staff estimates that consultant expenditures 'Wou1d probably e.)(ceed' S35,OOO and would requi:"e one 4 quartH to one-nal f staff time for n; ne \llOliths. SUMMftRV AND CONCLUSION Staff resources that cou1d be co~ttted to anyone of these special studies/prvjects is limited'. Staff belie ... ·es tnat the update of the Comprehensive PTan deserves consideratlon for being given t~e highest priority. Beyond the Comprehensive Plan update, staff resources could be illocated to onE additiona.l study 1nmedlately ar\d a. second' study when U,e first 15 com~lete,j. prov1ded tne directive is clear. the scope limited, and appropriate consultant funds provided, if required. Based upon the experience ~ith the Downtown Urba~ Design Plan. staff be1ieves that to make tommitments to initiate new studie5/proj~ds thlt are beyond Ue Planning Di'f'ision's current le'f'els of resourc~ or expertise ~\ll only result in significant delays in completing such studies and loss of enthusiasm for t"'e i!;sigrLment on t~e part of the vo1unteers. policj-ma.kers, stiff and tr.e {"'OmlTIunity. Re~ctf~11Y submitted. ~L4£ -;;{;?lVh L( ""'-",,~ "fORGE Z~f~ c Assistant Planning Official tMR:408:91 p: \cmr\cmrspe<:s --,--~ L ~-- tt-.,/~;z.{ ;{j~/f:-ur;l ,j KENNETH R. SCHREIBER F' Director of PTanning and C()!T:munity EI'IOIironmer.t 8/22/91 Page 1 ,