TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Table 39-1 of Section 21.39.230, relating to High-Rise Overlay District, read and adopted as read. (District 7)
DISCUSSION
On January 17, 2019, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on the Laserfiche Office project, Application No. 1804-14, as described above and considered public testimony. The Planning Commission then made a general plan conformity finding pertaining to the proposed alley vacation and forwarded a recommendation of approval on each of the requested actions to the City Council (Attachment A - Planning Commission Staff Report).
The project site is located at the southwest corner of Long Beach Boulevard and 35th Street and consists of ten existing lots separated by an unimproved alley, which runs north to south between Wardlow Road and 35th Street (Attachment B - Location Map). The five lots located east of the alley fronting on Long Beach Boulevard are zoned Community Commercial Automobile-Oriented Commercial (CCA) District and High-Rise Overlay (HR-4) District. This area of the site was previously developed with a variety of uses including oil wells, a cocktail lounge, a billboard, and contractor’s office. The five lots located west of the existing alley and fronting Locust Street are zoned Single-family Residential (R-1-N) District. This area of the site was previously developed with oil wells and a single-family residence. The surrounding area is developed with a range of commercial, residential, and oil extracting uses.
The project site’s existing lots, along with the portion of the alley proposed to be vacated, will be merged into a single 2.02-acre site and developed with a four-story office building and free-standing parking structure (Attachment C - Project Plans). The 102,848 square-foot office building ranges in height from 62’9” up to 74’ and is situated on the eastern portion of the site within the HR-4 District that permits four story buildings. The allowed building height in this area of the HR-4 District is determined through the Site Plan Review process. The Planning Commission and the Site Plan Review Committee, found the height appropriate based on the proposed building form and relationship to the surrounding uses. The building design makes use of clean lines, generous floor to ceiling heights, ample window areas resulting in an attractive contemporary design reminiscent of mid-century architecture. The project was determined to be of benefit to the public interest by supporting the reinvestment and growth of Laserfiche, an existing business, within the City. Laserfiche owns several properties in the area including 3515-3545 Long Beach Boulevard and 3570 Locust Street.
A separate, free-standing, three-story parking structure with a subterranean level of parking is proposed on the western half of the site. The parking structure is 32’9” in height to the top of the parapet and 39’ in height to the top of elevator penthouse. The proposed parking structure accommodates a total of 343 parking spaces, where a minimum of 246 parking spaces are required. Vehicle access to the parking structure is taken exclusively from 35th Street. Grade-level landscaping will buffer the parking structure along three-sides from the right-of-way and adjacent single-family residences. Landscaping is incorporated along the base of the parking structure. Landscaping is tiered with taller trees and shrubs that will soften the appearance from the west elevation. In addition, the parking garage incorporates an area for bicycle parking accommodating up to 54 bicycles.
Table 1 identifies the existing and proposed Land Use and Zoning Designations associated with the project. These changes not only support the orderly development of land within Long Beach (Attachment D - Proposed Use District Maps), but also achieves consistency, which is required by state law.
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Table 1 - Project General Plan and Zoning Summary |
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Lot |
1984 General Plan Land Use Designation |
Zoning District |
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|
Existing |
Proposed |
Existing |
Proposed |
|
Lots East of Existing Alley |
Assessor’s Parcel Number |
Major Commercial Corridor (LUD # 8) |
No Change |
Community Automobile Oriented (CCA) and High-Rise Overlay (HR-4) |
Community R-4-N (CCN) and High-Rise Overlay (HR-4) |
|
|
7141-004-19 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-20 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-34 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-33 |
|
|
|
|
|
Lots West of Existing Alley |
Assessor’s Parcel Number |
Single Family (LUD #1) |
Major Commercial Corridor (LUD #8) |
Single-Family (R-1-N) |
Community R-4-N (CCN) |
|
|
7141-004-27 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-29 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-30 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
7141-004-31 |
|
|
|
|
A Zoning Code amendment to the 20-foot setback requirement for yards abutting a street within the High-Rise Overlay (HR-4) District is proposed in conjunction with this development. The purpose of the amendment is to encourage more creative building forms and massing, while maintaining adequate landscaping and buffering adjacent to the public right-of-way. To that end, the Zoning Code amendment proposes allowing the averaging of the setback for yards abutting a street (Attachment E - Draft Zoning Code Amendment). Specifically, the maximum encroachment into the 20-foot yard setback is 10-feet. The HR-4 District composes just 221 acres, or 0.7 percent, of the City (Attachment F - High Rise Overlay Map), including the easterly portion of the subject site. The proposed amendment, as it relates to this specific development site, would allow for averaging of the street yard setback along Long Beach Boulevard and the easterly 155’8” of property frontage along 35th Street.
The proposed Zoning Code amendment is consistent with the General Plan objective of preserving neighborhoods as the permitted setback averaging is adjacent to commercial zones to the north across 35th Street and the east across Long Beach Boulevard. The proposed averaging will allow for more interesting building facades by allowing portions of a building to project into the setback, where other areas are offset, without resulting in a net decrease in the buildable area for lot.
The applicant, through a Tentative Parcel Map, is proposing to assemble the 10 existing lots and portion of vacated alley into a single 2.02-acre lot that exceeds the minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet in the CCN district, for newly created lots. Additionally, the Tentative Parcel Map identifies: (1) a three-foot right-of-way dedication along 35th Street; (2) a nine-foot right-of-way dedication along Long Beach Boulevard; and, (3) a two-foot vacation along Locust Street. The proposed map supports the creation of a large lot for the development of a significant office building consistent with the intent of the General Plan.
Public hearing notices were published in the Long Beach Press-Telegram on February 12, 2019, and distributed on February 15, 2019, no responses were received as of the date of preparation of this report. Any written testimony received following the preparation of this report will be provided to the City Council, prior to the hearing. In addition, to the LBMC-required public hearing notices, the applicant held two community meetings regarding the project on May 12, 2018 and January 30, 2019, and a meeting with the Los Cerritos Neighborhood Association, a neighborhood group, on July 19, 2018.
In accordance with the Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) was prepared for the proposed project. The MND provides ten mitigation measures addressing potential air quality, biological resources, cultural resource, hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, noise, traffic, and tribal resources impacts, which are included as conditions of approval. The draft MND determined that the project, in compliance with all recommended mitigation measures, would not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts.
The MND was distributed to public agencies and made available for public review and comment for a CEQA-required 30-day Notice of Intent review period, which started on December 17, 2018 and ended January 17, 2019. Public comments were received during the public review period from various public agencies and stakeholders. Responses to these comments were prepared and are included as part of the Final MND (Attachment G- Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration 04-18). At its January 17, 2019 meeting, the Planning Commission took action to recommend approval of the project (Attachment H- Findings and Exhibit I - Conditions of Approval). Public testimony was received both in support and opposition to the project.
The Commission’s recommendation includes the incorporation of a new signal to be installed by the applicant at the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and 35th Street, which will be a benefit to both the project and community at large (Attachment I - Conditions of Approval). Although the Planning Commission’s action was a recommendation and not a final approval, an appeal was filed by Lozeau Drury LLP, on behalf of the Laborer’s International Union of North America, Local 300, on January 28, 2019, within the ten-day appeal period. On February 7, 2019, the appellant withdrew the appeal citing that they had come to a resolution with the applicant regarding their concerns (Attachment J - Withdraw of Appeal).
This matter was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Michael J. Mais and by Budget Analysis Officer Julissa José-Murray on February 12, 2019.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on March 5, 2019, pursuant to Section 21.21.504 and Section 21.25.103 of the Zoning Regulations requires a public hearing for either an appeal or a Zone Change within 60 days of the appeal filing.
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed project involves the construction of new and expanded corporate headquarters campus for Laserfiche. It is anticipated that there will be a positive impact on the local economy and job creation; however, the number of newly created jobs is unknown at this time.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AMENDING THE LONG BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE BY AMENDING TABLE 39-1 OF SECTION 21.39.230, RELATING TO HIGH-RISE OVERLAY DISTRICT
Respectfully Submitted,
LINDA F. TATUM, FAICP
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER