TITLE
Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Use District Map of the City of Long Beach as said map has been established and amended by amending portions of Part 17 of said Map from Regional Highway District (CHW) to Willow Street Center Planned Development (PD-27), read and adopted as read. (District 5)
DISCUSSION
On January 19, 2017, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and voted 4-0 to recommend that the City Council adopt Mitigated Negative Declaration 06-16 (MND 06-16), and approve a Zone Change for three parcels located at 2640 N. Lakewood Boulevard, 2610 N. Lakewood Boulevard and 4141-4217 Willow Street from the Regional Highway District (CHW) zone to the Willow Street Center Planned Development District (PD-27), and approve a Conditional Use Permit, and a Site Plan Review for the construction of a new six-story hotel (Staybridge Suites) located at 2640 N. Lakewood Boulevard.
The project site is located on the east side of north Lakewood Boulevard between the Interstate 405 freeway and Willow Street, at 2640 N. Lakewood Boulevard, and is approximately 5.6 acres (Exhibit A - Location Map). The site is currently developed with a 13-story, 172-guestroom Holiday Inn (built in 1967), a two-story, 50-guestroom hotel (built in 1978) and a 10,648-square-foot conference center (built in 1978) with surface parking. The existing two-story, 50-guestroom hotel and the associated outdoor pool will be demolished to facilitate construction of the new hotel.
The project site is currently zoned Regional Highway District (CHW), which has a maximum building height allowance of 28 feet or two stories. To allow for the proposed building height of six stories, the applicant is requesting a Zone Change to include the site in the Willow Street Center Planned Development District (PD-27), which allows a maximum height of 230 feet or 20 stories. PD-27 currently covers a ten-acre area along Willow Street, approximately 425 feet west of the project site (Exhibit B - PD-27 Map). Planned Development boundaries, such as the boundaries of PD-27, are required to be contiguous. Therefore, in order for the project site to be included in the boundaries of this district, the zoning for the area between the current PD-27 boundary and the project site would also need to be changed. As a result, two separate parcels, addressed as 4141-4217 Willow Street and 2610 N. Lakewood Boulevard, are included in this request for Zone Change (Exhibit C - Proposed PD-27 map).
A Conditional Use Permit is required for a hotel use to be located in the PD-27 district. New hotel developments are reviewed to ensure that the development is compatible with the surrounding community and that the design is of high quality. The proposed hotel’s design and its physical location were analyzed to ensure compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. The site’s proximity to the airport and the freeway provides compatibility with the surrounding commercial area. The high quality design of the building and the materials and façade treatments, with new site landscaping, will result in a positive improvement to the site and will enhance the surrounding commercial area.
Site Plan Review is required for projects containing more than 1,000 square feet of new commercial area. On February 24, 2016, the Site Plan Review Committee reviewed the project design and was supportive of the project. The proposed new hotel will feature 125 guestrooms, 2,498 square feet of conference space and a fitness center, totaling 94,299 square feet of area. The building exterior will feature smooth cement plaster and stone tiles. The ground-level exterior will be clad in cream-colored manufactured stone tile, while the upper levels will be finished with a smooth cement plaster, finished in brown and blue earth tone colors. Accent features of the facade will consist of clear glazing framed in aluminum. A new parking structure will be located along the east property line adjacent to the Interstate 405 freeway and, in conjunction with existing surface parking, will provide a total of 385 parking spaces for the site. A new outdoor pool area and landscape improvements are also included in the project (Exhibit D - Plans).
The project site is designated as Land Use Element #8 “Major Commercial Corridor.” The objectives of this land use is for “retail uses to be community or regional serving, rather than for local or neighborhood service. They should be large scale with ample on-site parking, not relying on curbside parking for primary customer service. Visitor- serving facilities, such as motels and hotels, are consistent, provided they conform to current codes and ordinances. Tall structures (over five stories) are consistent where permitted by the zoning regulations.” The new hotel meets the objectives of the General Plan as it is a “visitor-serving facility,” as well as serving the community in general, and will meet the development standards for PD-27. In addition, the Zone Change will allow the applicant the ability to improve the site with a new updated facility, as well as providing the opportunity for reinvestment into the community.
The project requires a Zone Change, a Conditional Use Permit, and a Site Plan Review approval for the construction of the proposed project. Staff is able to make positive findings for each of the requested entitlements, and the project meets the requirements and the intent of the Zoning Regulations for the approval of these permits (Exhibit E - Findings). Staff has included Conditions of Approval to ensure that the objectives of consistent, high-quality design for this project will be met, and the interests of the City will be protected (Exhibit F - Conditions of Approval).
Public hearing notices were mailed and distributed on February 13, 2017, in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 21.21 of the Long Beach Municipal Code.
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the CEQA Guidelines, MND 06-16 was prepared for the proposed project (Exhibit G - Mitigated Negative Declaration 06-16). The MND 06-16 provided three mitigation measures addressing potential biological and cultural resource impacts, specifically, disturbing nesting birds and general ground-disturbing events during construction. These mitigation measures are included in MND 06-16 as mitigated measures and as conditions of approval. MND 06-16 was distributed to public agencies and made available for public review and comment for a CEQA-required 30-day Notice of Preparation review period that started on November 16, 2016, and ended on December 15, 2016. No comments were received during this review period. The Final MND 06-16 determined that the project, in compliance with all recommended mitigation measures, would not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts.
This matter was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Michael J. Mais on February 9, 2017 and by Budget Management Officer Rhutu Amin Gharib on February 15, 2017.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on March 7, 2017. 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 January 19, 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal or local ongoing job impact associated with this recommendation.
BODY
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AMENDING THE USE DISTRICT MAP OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH AS SAID MAP HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AND AMENDED BY AMENDING PORTIONS OF PART 17 OF SAID MAP FROM REGIONAL HIGHWAY DISTRICT (CHW) TO WILLOW STREET CENTER PLANNED DEVELOPMENT (PD-27)
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
AMY J. BODEK, AICP
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER