TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the public hearing, and adopt resolution approving an Addendum to the Midtown Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report for the purposes of analyzing potential impacts related to the proposed General Plan Amendment GPA17-006;
DISCUSSION
On December 7, 2017, the Planning Commission (Exhibit A - Planning Commission Report) held a public hearing and voted to recommend that the City Council approve an Addendum to the Midtown Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and to approve a General Plan Amendment (GPA17-006) to change the Land Use District (LUD) Map on 13 properties from LUD #3B (Moderate Density Residential) and LUD #8A (Traditional Retail Strip Commercial) to LUD #7 (Mixed Uses) on lots located in the Midtown Specific Plan (Exhibit B - Midtown Specific Plan Map). The Planning Commission also recommended approval of a Lot Merger and Site Plan Review request for a new five-story, mixed-use development, consisting of 102 residential units, and 3,938 square feet of commercial space located at 1795 Long Beach Boulevard (Exhibit C - Location Map) in the Midtown Specific Plan (SP-1).
The General Plan Amendment is necessary after the Midtown Specific Plan (SP-1) replaced the Long Beach Boulevard Planned Development District (PD-29) in 2016 and new zoning districts were created. The underlying Land Use Designations (LUD) were to be updated as part of the City’s current Land Use Element/Urban Design Element (LUE/UDE) update (anticipated to occur within a year of the SP-1 adoption). A Mitigation Measure was included as part of the Midtown Specific Plan EIR to complete these General Plan Amendments within one year of the approval of the SP-1. However, the LUE/UDE update has thus far not been completed and has now hindered the review and processing of proposed development projects due to inconsistencies between SP-1 and the underlying General Plan land use designations. The purpose of this General Plan Amendment is to resolve the inconsistencies and to facilitate development applications for this specific portion of the SP-1. The General Plan Amendment is focused on the southwest corner of Long Beach Boulevard and E. Pacific Coast Highway in the SP-1 Transit Node High (SP-1 TN-High) (Exhibit D - General Plan Amendment Map).
SP-1 identifies several locations as strategic sites for the development of affordable housing and regulates intensity of development by maximum limits of floor area ratio (FAR), while the General Plan regulates intensity by limiting the number of dwelling units per acre. The SP-1 TN-High District allows a FAR of 4.0, 100 feet in height, and 10 stories. The 1989 General Plan Land Use Map designates the development site as LUD #7 (Mixed Uses), which allows moderate density residential developments with a maximum of 30 dwelling units per acre. The project is proposed with a FAR of 3.4, below the maximum threshold allowed (Exhibit E - Development Plans). Although the project is consistent with the FAR, it exceeds the threshold of 30 dwelling units per acre at the southwest corner of the lot, which creates an inconsistency with the General Plan. For the development project to be approved within the development allowance specified in SP-1, a General Plan Amendment is required to allow the same density as SP-1.
To ensure that properties adjacent to the project site (designated as TN-High) are also made consistent with the underlying General Plan LUD, 13 lots that are designated as LUD #8A (Traditional Retail Strip Commercial) and LUD #3B (Moderate Density Residential) are included in the proposed General Plan Amendment. The proposed General Plan Amendment will change the land use designations on the project site and 12 additional lots in the TN-High to LUD #7 (Mixed Uses). LUD #7 will allow for both residential and commercial uses with densities that are consistent with the development standards for SP-1 TN-High. Findings for the General Plan Amendment are attached (Exhibit F - Findings for General Plan Amendment GPA17-006).
The Lot Merger (Exhibit G - Findings Lot Merger) and Site Plan Review (Exhibit H - Findings for Site Plan Review) requests accompanying the General Plan Amendment are to merge two lots into one 0.98-acre lot, and to develop the site with a five-story, mixed-use building containing 3,938 square feet of ground floor commercial space, 102 dwelling units (101 affordable units) and 68 residential parking spaces. The project will consist of a mix of unit types, from one to three bedrooms, that range in size from 466 square feet to 1,100 square feet and will contain three commercial tenants, with storefronts oriented toward both street frontages. The project will lead to the removal of a vacant building, which is a blighting influence on the neighborhood, and will activate the project site with a new contemporary five-story building. To further activate the property, a mini-plaza area that acts as an extension of the public sidewalk will be provided at the north-east corner of the building.
Public hearing notices were distributed on December 20, 2017, and the notice was circulated in the newspaper, in accordance with the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. No responses were received as of the preparation of this report.
An addendum to the Program EIR (Exhibit I - Addendum to the Midtown Specific Plan EIR) was prepared to analyze potential new impacts resulting from the proposed General Plan Amendment. No new impacts were found; therefore, no further environmental review is warranted.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), LMG17-019 and SPR17-075 were evaluated in accordance with the Midtown Specific Plan EIR and associated Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP). The project’s compliance with the MMRP renders the project previously analyzed within the scope of the Midtown Specific Plan EIR. Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, no further review is required as the project is consistent with the prior EIR. Specific findings regarding compliance with CEQA are included as (Exhibit J - Environmental Compliance).
This matter was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Michael J. Mais on December 21, 2017 and by Budget Analysis Officer Julissa Jose-Murray on December 20, 2017.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on January 9, 2018. Section 21.25.103 of the Zoning Regulations requires presentation of this request to the City Council within 60 days of the Planning Commission hearing, which took place on December 7, 2017. In addition, this development project is applying for funding through the State of California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program; the deadline for submission for that program is January 16, 2018.
FISCAL IMPACT
The request is to change the land use designation on the existing Land Use Map. There are no direct fiscal or local ongoing job impacts associated with this recommendation.
BODY
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH APPROVING AN ADDENDUM TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT PREPARED FOR THE MIDTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN (STATE CLEARINGHOUSE NO. SCH2015031 034) WITH RESPECT TO GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT GPA 17-006
Respectfully Submitted,
AMY J. BODEK, AICP
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER