Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet 052510 - PC Spc Joint Mtg SPECIAL JOINT MEETING Atascadero City Council Atascadero Planning Commission Walmart / The Annex Project EIR Scoping Meeting and Project Review of the Del Rio Road Commercial Area Specific Plan Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Special Meeting follows the conclusion of the Community Forum portion of the May 25, 2010 City Council Regular Session City Hall, Council Chambers 6907 El Camino Real, Atascadero, California AGENDA ROLL CALL: City Council and Planning Commission B. PUBLIC HEARING: 1. EIR Scoping Meeting – Del Rio Road Commercial Area Specific Plan (Walmart / The Annex Project)  Fiscal Impact: This commercial project is expected to be revenue positive for the City.  Recommendation: Council conduct an EIR scoping meeting consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). [Community Development] C. MANAGEMENT REPORT: 1. Project Review – Del Rio Road Commercial Area Specific Plan (Walmart / The Annex Project)  Fiscal Impact: This commercial project is expected to be revenue positive for the City.  Recommendation: Council take public comment on general project issues and provide staff with any additional project comments not covered under the EIR scoping. [Community Development] PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the public may address the legislative bodies concerning the subject of this Special Joint Meeting, limited to three (3) minutes each. ADJOURNMENT: The City Council will adjourn to their regular session, currently in recess; and the Planning Commission will adjourn to their next regularly scheduled meeting. Please note: Should anyone challenge any proposed development entitlement listed on this Agenda in court, that person may be limited to raising those issues addressed at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City Council at or prior to this public hearing. Correspondence submitted at this public hearing will be distributed to the Council and available for review in the City Clerk's office. I, Victoria Randall, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Atascadero, declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing agenda for the May 25, 2010 Special Joint Meeting of the Atascadero City Council and Planning Commission was posted on May 18, 2010 at the Atascadero City Hall, 6907 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422 and was available for public review in the Customer Service Center at that location. Signed this 18th day of May 2010, at Atascadero, California. ___________________________________ Victoria Randall, Deputy City Clerk City of Atascadero ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 Atascadero City Council Staff Report – Community Development Department EIR Scoping Meeting Del Rio Road Commercial Area Specific Plan (Walmart / The Annex Project) RECOMMENDATION: Council conduct an EIR scoping meeting consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). DISCUSSION: Background: Project Applications The City of Atascadero has received two separate General Plan Amendment applications for the following: Walmart component: A Walmart store (consisting of approximately 123,112 square feet of retail and grocery sales floor area and 6,448 square feet of outdoor garden center), two commercial outlots (approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space total), and one multi - family residential remainder parcel (to be developed with up to 44 multi - family residential dwelling units at a later date under separate approvals) would be developed on approximately 26 acres located at the southeast quadrant of the El Camino Real / Del Rio Road intersection. Annex component: Approximately 120,900 square feet of commercial uses including food and beverage retail sales, general merchandise stores, eating and drinking places (including drive-through eating and drinking places) and one single-family residential remainder parcel (to be developed at a later date under separate approvals with up to 6 dwelling units) would be developed on approximately 13 acres a t the northeast ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 quadrant of the El Camino Real / Del Rio Road intersection and on the west side of El Camino Real. Summary On March 11, 2008, the City Council directed staff to initiate the process of amending the General Plan and analyzing the projects. In that direction, the Council also directed staff to: define a comprehensive project area boundary prepare a Specific Plan prepare an EIR to analyze the impacts of the proposed project conduct a public participation process ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 The Specific Plan The Specific Plan is currently being prepared by the applicant and the first draft is expected to be submitted to the City by June 2010. The boundary of the Specific Plan was adopted by the Council in January 2009, and is shown on the map on the preceding page. The EIR will cover all proposed development within the Specific Plan boundary. Environmental Review / CEQA Due to the size and scope of the proposed commercial projects and General Plan Amendments, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be required in conformance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIR will provide an analysis of the build-out of the planning area, including a range of project alternatives. The project alternatives will be developed by the EIR consultant to study the feasibility of reducing project impacts. The EIR is required to include a “no project” alternative. The City Council awarded an EIR contract to Michael Brandman and Associates (MBA) in 2009. MBA is an experienced and qualified professional consultant who is under contract and managed by the City. The cost of preparing the EIR is being funded by the applicants. MBA has been actively working on the project EIR since revised plans were submitted on April 5, 2010. The first step in the preparation of the EIR is the issuance of a Notice of Preparation (NOP). The project NOP was issued on May 13th and gives official notice to agencies and the public that an EIR is being prepared for the project (refer to Attachment 1). The NOP provides public agencies, organizations and members of the public the opportunity to comment on the scope and content of the EIR, and the environmental issues and alternatives to be addressed in the EIR. Scoping Meeting For projects of regional or area-wide significance, CEQA requires the lead agency (City) to conduct at least one scoping meeting during the NOP. The scoping meeting will be before a joint session of the Council and Commission. This provides an opportunity for both bodies to hear the scoping issues that are raised and also provide their own comments. The EIR consultant will facilitate the scoping meeting and will provide direction to the Council and Commission on appropriate commenting protocols. ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 The following environmental issues may be topics of the scoping meeting: Aesthetics, Light, and Glare Hydrology and Water Quality Air Quality/Greenhouse Gas Emissions Land Use Biological Resources Noise Cultural Resources Public Services and Utilities Geology, Soils, and Seismicity Transportation Hazards and Hazardous Materials Urban Decay / Blight Agricultural Resources Mineral Resources Population and Housing Recreation FISCAL IMPACT: This commercial project is expected to be revenue positive for the City. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Notice of Preparation Attachment 2: Walmart / Annex Project Plans (available for review in the Office of the City Clerk) ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ATTACHMENT 1: Notice of Preparation ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: B - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 ITEM NUMBER: C - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 Atascadero City Council Staff Report – Community Development Department Project Review Del Rio Road Commercial Area Specific Plan (Walmart / The Annex Project) RECOMMENDATION: Council take public comment on general project issues and provide staff with any additional project comments not covered under the EIR scoping. DISCUSSION: Background: Project Applications The City of Atascadero has received two separate General Plan Amendment applications for the following: Walmart component: A Walmart store (consisting of approximately 123,112 square feet of retail and grocery sales floor area and 6,448 square feet of outdoor garden center), two commercial outlots (approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space total), and one multi - family residential remainder parcel (to be developed with up to 44 multi - family residential dwelling units at a later date under separate approvals) would be developed on approximately 26 acres located at the southeast quadrant of the El Camino Real / Del Rio Road intersection. Annex component: Approximately 120,900 square feet of commercial uses including food and beverage retail sales, general merchandise stores, eating and drinking places (including drive-through eating and drinking places) and one single-family residential remainder parcel (to be developed at a later date under separate approvals with up to 6 dwelling units) would be developed on approximately 13 acres at the northeast ITEM NUMBER: C - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 quadrant of the El Camino Real / Del Rio Road intersection and on the west side of El Camino Real. Summary On March 11, 2008, the City Council directed staff to initiate the process of amending the General Plan and analyzing the projects. In that direction, the Council also directed staff to: define a comprehensive project area boundary prepare a Specific Plan prepare an EIR to analyze the impacts of the proposed project conduct a public participation process ITEM NUMBER: C - 1 DATE: 05/25/10 The Specific Plan The Specific Plan is currently being prepared by the applicant and the first draft is expected to be submitted to the City by June 2010. The boundary of the Specific Plan was adopted by the Council in January 2009, and is shown on the map on the preceding page. The EIR will cover all proposed development within the Specific Plan boundary. Project Participation Under the Council’s General Plan Amendment policy, a community participation process is encouraged for General Plan Amendments. When the Council initiated the amendment process for the Wal-Mart / Annex project, staff was directed to conduct a neighborhood meeting regarding the project and hold a joint Planning Commission / City Council meeting (refer to Attachments 1 and 2). The neighborhood meeting was held on May 5, 2010, as a “Community Open House” in City Hall. This meeting was hosted by the applicants from both Walmart and the Annex project. The public was given an opportunity to review the proposed project plans and ask questions of the project representatives, architects and engineers. City staff provided public comment cards that have been forwarded to the City Council and Planning Commission. The May 25, 2010 meeting fulfills the joint City Council / Planning Commission meeting objective. Following the close of the scoping meeting, the Council and Commission should take public comment on any general project issues such as site plan, landscaping, architecture, neighborhood interface, etc. Staff is looking for any final comments or direction on the project. The next time the project will come before either the Council or Commission will be the approval hearings early next year (2011). FISCAL IMPACT: This commercial project is expected to be revenue positive for the City. ATTACHMENT: Attachment 1: Walmart / Annex Project Plans (available for review in the Office of the City Clerk)