November 22, 2005
SUBJECT: 2005-0947 Moffett Park Specific Plan Amendment Initiation to designate a future 29 acre parcel located at the intersection of H Street and 11th Street from Moffett Park Industrial (MP-I) to Moffett Park Transit Oriented Development (MP-TOD). (Portion of APN: 110-01-031)
REPORT IN BRIEF
The City has received a request to consider a subdistrict amendment for a 29-acre area of a larger development situated within the Moffett Park Specific Plan. The Specific Plan Amendment (SPA) would address changing the subdistrict designation for a 29-acre area from Moffett Park Industrial (MP-I) subdistrict to Moffett Park Transit Oriented Development (MP-TOD) subdistrict. The primary difference between the two subdistricts is the floor area ratio limitation. MP-I has a maximum FAR for a site of 50% and the maximum FAR of MP-TOD is 70%. Changing the subdistrict would effectively increase the development potential by approximately 250,000 square feet.
The subject area is currently owned by Lockheed Martin Missile and Space Corporation and is part of its Plant 1 facilities. Lockheed Martin is in the process of subdividing 303 acres into four new parcels with a remainder parcel for the majority of the area. Lot 1 and 3 of the subdivision constitute the 51 acres of the potential development project with Lot3 being the subject area of the SPA request. The subdivision map is a separate process unrelated to the SPA request. It should be noted that Lot 1includes reservation of land for the future Mary Avenue extension. In addition to the subdivision map, the site is under the controls of Lockheed's Site and Master Use Permit and associated development agreement. Future development in the subject area may require revisions to the existing development agreement.
Staff recommendation is to initiate a Specific Plan Amendment Study for the subject area provided that it is accompanied by an application for development of the subject site and surrounding sites controlled by the applicant. Typically an applicant includes an amendment with a development application; however, due to the context of the request staff has recommended this practice as a requirement. Staff believes the development potential of the area may be able to meet the Land Use Goals and Design Objectives of the Moffett Park Specific Plan and merits a more detailed review. The study would include analysis of a proposed development's relationship to the MPSP and FAR limitations, alignment of the Mary Avenue extension, and implications of changes, if any, to the existing development agreement with Lockheed Martin.
BACKGROUND
The subject area is part of Lockheed's Plant 1 Facilities and contains existing development. The existing development includes a credit union, surface parking and office/R&D buildings. The surrounding development includes additional Lockheed facilities to the north, east, and south. Moffett Federal Air Field is located to the west. Southeast of the subject area is a light rail stop and the Class "A" R&D buildings which house, Motorola, Ariba, and Interwoven.
The subject area is part of the 414 acre overall Lockheed campus. The 414 acres are subject to the Lockheed Site and Master Use Permit and the accompanying Development Agreement that was approved in 1995 and is in effect until February 2010. The subject area is also part of a separate tentative subdivision map for 303 acres of the overall Lockheed site.
The subject site is also within the boundaries of the Moffett Park Specific Plan. The City of Sunnyvale adopted the 1,100-acre Moffett Park Specific Plan in the spring of 2004 to replace the former M-S (Manufacturing and Service) and M-3 (General Industrial) zoning districts. The Moffett Park Specific Plan's timeframe for buildout is over a twenty-year timeframe. The subdistricts of the Moffett Park Specific Plan were designed to encourage corporate office and Class "A" office redevelopment to diversify the City's industrial base. The Specific Plan also includes a provision for a Development Reserve to allow exemplary projects the benefit of additional floor area beyond the standard FAR restrictions of the subdistricts. In addition to supporting Class "A" office development, the plan addresses transportation improvements, supports use of public transit, and encourages sustainable design and green building techniques.
The proposed development area as a whole currently has two separate Moffett Park Specific Plan designations. The south portion of the site adjacent to the light rail station is designated MP-TOD (Moffett Park Transit Oriented Development) and the northern 29 acre section of the site is designated as MP-I (Moffett Park Industrial). The SPA is for the 29-acre portion of the site. The subdistricts are differentiated as follows:
MP-I
· Intended uses of general industrial, manufacturing, office, and R&D
· Standard FAR of 35%
· Maximum FAR of 50% with approved access to the development reserve
MP-TOD
· Intended uses of office and R&D, emphasis on transit resources and employment intensity
· Standard FAR of 50%
· Maximum FAR of 70% with approved access to the development reserve
EXISTING POLICY
The Moffett Park Specific Plan includes a provision that proposed changes to the plan are to be processed as amendments to the General Plan. Sunnyvale Municipal Code Section 19.92.020 authorizes only the City Council to initiate proceedings for the adoption of an amendment to the General Plan. The City process for private development requests to initiate a General Plan Amendment is initially to have City Council determine if the request warrants further study. If the initiation of a study is approved, it will allow for a formal application to be submitted to the City for complete and detailed assessment by staff of the merits of the application. Staff's assessment is forwarded to the Planning Commission for a recommendation and then it is brought to the City Council for final review and resolution. Approval of this proposed initiation does not commit the City Council to approve an amendment to the Specific Plan, nor any specific project proposal in the future.
The Moffett Park Specific Plan indicates that to approve an amendment that two findings are required. The first is that the change is in the public interest and secondly that the request meets at least one of the following:
- Meets the intent of the Specific Plan’s adopted goals and objectives; or
- Enhances the Specific Plan's ability to accommodate development needs without compromising its original goals and objectives; or
- Implements the goals and objectives of the Specific Plan or General Plan.
The following Guiding Principles and Objectives of the Moffett Park Specific Plan most directly address the proposed Specific Plan Amendment Initiation request.
3.3 Specific Plan Guiding Principles
Guiding Principle 1.0: Positively influence the Sunnyvale business climate and enhance economic vitality by providing comprehensive land use
policies and permitting processes that encourage development of additional needed Class A office space to diversify the industrial base of Sunnyvale.
Guiding Principle 2.0: Encourage and support emerging industries.
Guiding Principle 4.0: Provide opportunity for strategic retention and attraction of business and private investment.
Guiding Principle 5.0: Focus areas of higher intensity development in areas adjacent to public transportation facilities.
Guiding Principle 6.0: Streamline the land use permit and environmental review approval process
Guiding Principle 8.0: Increase utilization of public transit through coordinated land use, transportation, and infrastructure planning.
Guiding Principle 9.0: Incorporate the principles of “smart growth” into all planning decisions.
Guiding Principle 10.0: Incorporate sustainable design and green building concepts into private and public projects.
Land Use Objectives
Specific Plan Objective LU-2: Coordinate land use planning within Moffett Park with transportation planning.
Specific Plan Objective LU-3: Allow for balanced development that minimizes environmental and fiscal impacts to the City.
Specific Plan Objective LU-4: Establish land use districts that encourage high quality corporate headquarter and Class A office development.
Specific Plan Objective LU-5: Provide for higher intensity development along transportation corridors and within close proximity to rail and transit stations.
Specific Plan Objective LU-6: Provide a development reserve of additional square footage for sites adjacent to public transit facilities as an incentive to developers and to provide flexibility of use for the future needs of the City's residents and business.
Circulation and Transportation Objectives
Specific Plan Objective CIR-5: Require a correlation between higher intensity land uses in the Specific Plan project area and direct access to alternative modes of transportation.
Implementation and Administration Objectives
Specific Plan Objective IMP-4: Allow for flexibility with the Specific Plan so that it is responsive to changes in the marketplace.
Environmental Review
The proposed request to initiate a study is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and is exempt from review at this time. If the initiation for a study were approved, the subsequent proposal would be considered a project and require environmental review under CEQA. The review may be tiered from the Program EIR of the Moffett Park Specific Plan that was certified in 2003. Despite potential tiering of review, cumulative impacts of the additional development potential will be reevaluated for the development request per current CEQA Guidelines. Staff also notes that the Public Works Department is currently moving forward on an independent CEQA analysis of the alignment configurations for the Mary Avenue extension. The engineering work and environmental review of the Mary Avenue extension alignments are anticipated to be completed in two to five years.
DISCUSSION
The subject area is currently developed as part of the Lockheed Plant 1 facilities. However, the applicant intends to submit a proposal to redevelop the 51-acre site in conjunction with the SPA study for the purpose of developing high intensity Class "A" office space. Both the current MP-I and the proposed MP-TOD subdistricts allow for the same types of uses, the primary distinction between the two is the allowable intensity of development. If the study were initiated, the overall development proposal would exceed 50 acres and potentially include as much as 1.6 million square feet of office, 250,000 of which would be made possible through the SPA request. Such a development would involve the demolition of all existing facilities in the subject area.
Although the Specific Plan encourages redevelopment throughout Moffett Park, the original subdistrict designations in the Moffett Park Specific Plan were intended to guide high intensity development to the core areas of Moffett Park that have the best access to transit opportunities. The original basis for the MP-TOD district was inclusion of properties that had at a minimum 50% of their land area within a ¼ of a mile of a light rail stop. The south boundary of the subject area is located just beyond the 1/4 mile radius of the light rail station and does not meet the original standards for MP-TOD designation.
Justifications
The applicant cites the following reasons why the proposal is beneficial:
· MPSP desires redevelopment of property to high intensity Corporate Office
· The location may be developed as an integrated site with the land area near the transit station joined with the subject area
· The location is a gateway to Moffett Park and the City
Supplementing the site-specific justifications to study the proposal, the applicant has indicated the intent to propose redevelopment of 51 acres of property, not just the 29-acre section subject to the initiation request. In addition to the potential 51 acres of new development, the applicant also controls the 26.5-acre site with the Ariba, Motorola, and Interwoven tenants that abuts the 51-acre area. A future project could potentially involve blending development between the existing site and the new properties in conjunction with the alignment of the Mary Avenue extension to provide an integrated design that meets the needs of both the City and the applicant. If a development request was part of the application for the SPA the City Council would review all of the components as one project and make the final decision to approve or deny the complete request.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the City to initiate an amendment study. If the Council initiates the study, a formal application with applicable fees would need to be submitted. If an EIR was required in conjunction with the application an additional fee of 10% of the EIR cost would be required to administer the CEQA process.
As an older developed site, there is only minimal current revenue generated from property tax. Redevelopment of the site would substantially increase property tax revenues and potentially increase sales tax revenues from employees as well as businesses. In addition to ordinary taxes and fees, the redevelopment of the site would include a transportation impact fee for net new square footage as mitigation for traffic improvements to serve the development.
Conclusion
The applicant is requesting consideration of an amendment to the Moffett Park Specific Plan to change the subdistrict designation of a 29-acre area from MP-I to MP-TOD. The change would potentially permit an additional 250,000 square feet of R&D development in the subject area. The SPA would be part of a larger development context of 51 acres that includes the alignment of the future Mary Avenue extension. The Moffett Park Specific Plan encourages redevelopment of property to higher intensity Class A office to diversify the City's overall industrial base. To balance development with other factors the plan also establishes a relationship between intense site development and transportation and transit facilities.
If the SPA study were to be initiated, the project review would include analysis of a proposed development, relationship to the MPSP and FAR limitations, potential impacts on other development sites within the MPSP, alignment of the Mary Avenue extension, and implications of changes, if any, to the existing development agreement with Lockheed Martin.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Notification of the City Council meeting for this item is part of the standard agenda publication. A copy of the report has been provided to the applicant.
Staff Report |
Agenda |
|
· Posted on the City of Sunnyvale's Website
· Provided at the Reference Section of the City of Sunnyvale's Public Library |
· Posted on the City's official notice bulletin board
· Posted on the City of Sunnyvale's Website
· Publication of the Council agenda in the San Jose Mercury News |
ALTERNATIVES
1. Authorize the initiation of a Specific Plan Amendment Study for an approximate 29-acre area and allow the filing of a Specific Plan Amendment application provided an application for a development permit is also filed for a minimum area that consists of the subject site (Lot 3) and Lot 1 of tentative map.
2. Authorize the initiation of a Specific Plan Amendment Study for the 29-acre subject area.
3. Do not authorize the initiation of further study for the subject area.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Alternative 1, authorizing the submittal of an application for a Specific Plan Amendment provided it is accompanied by a development application.
Although the original MP-TOD criteria captured the parcels with the most obvious direct linkages to transit facilities, the applicant may be able to design an integrated site that meets the intent of the sub-district although it is located more than ¼ of a mile from the light rail station. Additionally, design of the site and style of development may meet other goals of the Moffett Park Specific Plan to encourage redevelopment and diversify Sunnyvale's economic base while providing for high quality and notable architectural design. These factors coupled with the ability to provide a comprehensive planning review of both the proposed private development and consideration of alignment alternatives for Mary Avenue support the proposed SPA initiation request.
Staff recommends the applicant submit a development application for a larger site in conjunction with a SPA study for the purpose of allowing a comprehensive review of the development plan for the area rather than as an isolated 29-acre parcel. The relationships of the 29-acre site to the parcels to the south are likely key factors in reviewing the appropriateness of the request and should be considered together. Limiting the development review to just the 29-acre site would diminish the capacity of the City Council to consider all the factors that would influence the potential development's appropriateness with regards to the Moffett Park Specific Plan.
A SPA Study accompanied by a development application would be reviewed by the Planning Commission for a recommendation, but the final decision on all components of the application would be within the purview of the City Council. The City Council would take action on the environmental review, SPA, and development permit request as one project.
Reviewed by:
Trudi Ryan
Planning Officer
Prepared by Kelly Diekmann, Project Planner
Reviewed by:
Robert Paternoster
Director of Community Development
Approved by:
Amy Chan
City Manager
Attachments
A. Letter of Request from Applicant (.pdf)
B. Moffett Park Subdistrict Maps (.pdf)