SunnyvaleRTC

February 14, 2006

SUBJECT: Application to Initiate a General Plan Amendment for two parcels at 521 East Weddell Drive (2.29 acres) and 539 East Weddell Drive (1.37 acres) from Industrial to Neighborhood Commercial or Civic Center designation. APNs 110-14-196 and 110-14-158 respectively.

REPORT IN BRIEF

The applicant has requested Council consider the study of amending the General Plan land use designation of the subject sites to eventually allow for a child care facility (and related public and quasi-public uses). The request is based on the intent to provide community support services for the growing residential population. The applicant has expressed an interest to apply for a child care center use at 539 East Weddell Drive.

The parcel located between the subject sites has been used as a religious place of assembly since 1992, and the area north of the parcels was re-zoned as Industrial-to-Residential in 1993 and is currently transitioning to residential use.

Initiating a General Plan Amendment study would enable staff to explore land use options in the area which is transitioning to residential, while still considering the potential environmental impacts of the adjacent U.S. Highway 101 on sensitive receptors.

The staff is recommending initiating a General Plan Amendment study to consider Neighborhood Commercial and Civic Center as new land use designations for the entire block of Weddell Drive between Morse and northbound Weddell, including the site located between the two subject sites. Approving the initiation does not commit the City Council to future land use decisions regarding this property.

This item was originally scheduled for January 31, 2006, but was rescheduled due to a request by the applicant.

BACKGROUND

The subject sites are located in an area between State Highway 237 and U.S. Highway 101, west of Fair Oaks Avenue. Three parcels are located on East Weddell between Morse Avenue and the north-bound section of Weddell. The sites face U.S. Highway 101 with a 6 foot high chain link fence separating Weddell Drive from the shoulder of the Highway. The two subject parcels (2.29 and 1.37 acres) are situated on either side of a 1.21 acre center parcel, which is currently being used as a religious place of assembly. Bordering all three sites to the north is the Hetch-Hetchy Right-of-Way. North of the ROW is a large area zoned Industrial-to-Residential (also referred to as Futures 7 or the Tasman/Fair Oaks area) that is transitioning to residential use. The subject parcels and the parcels east and west of the three-parcel block are zoned Industrial and Service with an Industrial General Plan designation (see Attachment B).

Until the mid-1990s, the entire area was designated as Industrial in the General Plan. In 1993, Sunnyvale completed the Futures Study which designated the area north of the subject sites as Industrial-to-Residential (ITR). The intent was to respond to regional needs for an improved jobs/housing ratio, less congested transportation systems and better air quality. The Futures Study also recognized the need for increased density for industrial development along major transportation corridors. The subject sites are located between the ITR area and U.S. Highway 101. The properties bordering U.S. Highway 101 were not studied for potential General Plan Amendment and rezone during the Futures Study as they were considered to provide a buffer between the major transportation corridor and the transitioning residential developments just north of the subject sites.

In 2002, a study issue was considered to change industrial zoning to residential and commercial in the area bounded by State Highway 237 and U.S. Highway 101, west of Lawrence Expressway (RTC 02-276). The properties along Weddell Drive and Weddell Court, which are frontage roads along US-101 and include the subject sites, were eliminated from the study based on their proximity to U.S. Highway 101, making them inappropriate for residential development due to noise considerations.

The applicant filed an application for the two parcels to be allowed as a religious place of assembly use in August 2005, with the intent of submitting a later application for a child care center use on the 539 E. Weddell site. The applications for the place of assembly use were approved 6-0 by the Planning Commission on November 14, 2005, and were appealed (by a user of the neighboring property) to the City Council, based on concerns for traffic impacts. The Council upheld the Planning Commission approval and denied the appeal on January 24, 2006.

The applicant had initially approached staff seeking approval for a religious place of assembly for the 521 E. Weddell site and a day care center for the 539 E. Weddell site. However, the Sunnyvale Municipal Code only recognizes business-sponsored on-site child care centers in Industrial zoned areas and only through a Use Permit process. The applicant therefore expressed interest in having the General Plan amended and the sites re-zoned to allow for the child care center use. The applicant decided to pursue the Use Permits for place of assembly use prior to seeking to initiate a General Plan Amendment for the subject sites.

Council will be considering two related study issues in the next two months: Places of Assembly located within Industrial and Commercial Zones, scheduled for March 7, 2006, and Zoning Land for Service Uses, scheduled for March 21, 2006.

EXISTING POLICY

The following General Plan Goals and Policies are related to this request for a General Plan Amendment:

Land Use and Transportation Element:

GOAL C1 Preserve and enhance an attractive community, with a positive image and a sense of place, that consists of distinctive neighborhoods, pockets of interest, and human-scale development.

Policy C1.1 Recognize that the City is composed of residential, industrial and commercial neighborhoods, each with its own individual character; and allow change consistent with reinforcing positive neighborhood values.

Action Statement C1.1.3 Require appropriate buffers, edges and transition areas between dissimilar neighborhoods and land uses.

Policy C4.1 Maintain a diversity of commercial enterprises and industrial uses to sustain and bolster the local economy.

GOAL N1 Preserve and enhance the quality character of Sunnyvale’s industrial, commercial, and residential neighborhoods by promoting land use patterns and related transportation opportunities that are supportive of the neighborhood concept.

Policy N1.1 Protect the integrity of the City’s neighborhoods; whether residential, industrial or commercial.

Action Statement N1.1.3 Use density to transition between land use, and to buffer between sensitive uses and less compatible uses.

Action Statement N1.1.4 Anticipate and avoid whenever practical the incompatibility that can arise between dissimilar uses.

Policy N1.3 Support a full spectrum of conveniently located commercial, public, and quasi-public uses that add to the positive image of the City.

Policy N1.6 Safeguard industry’s ability to operate effectively, by limiting the establishment of incompatible uses in industrial areas.

Action Statement N1.13.2 Support convenient neighborhood commercial services that reduce automobile dependency and contribute positively to neighborhood character.

Action Statement N1.13.3 Provide opportunities for and encourage neighborhood-serving commercial services in each residential neighborhood.

Policy N1.14 Support the provision of a full spectrum of public and quasi-public services (e.g., parks, day care, group living, recreation centers, religious institutions) that are appropriately located in residential, commercial, and industrial neighborhoods and ensure that they have beneficial effects on the surrounding area.

Policy R1.3 Promote integrated and coordinated local land use and transportation planning.

The applicant has also proposed existing policy to match the intended rezone in their applicant letter (Attachment A).

DISCUSSION

The applicant has entered into an agreement with the Southbay Christian Center of Mountain View to sell the two parcels at 521 and 539 E. Weddell Drive for a religious place of assembly and child care center use. Staff informed the applicant that child care centers are not permitted in an Industrial zone. The applicant is therefore exploring options to amend the General Plan designation and re-zone the properties to allow for the intended use.

The optimal General Plan designation for such a use would be Public or Quasi-Public Facilities; however, the General Plan does not currently include this specific designation. The nearest related General Plan designation would be Neighborhood Commercial or Civic Center. If the site is designated Neighborhood Commercial, it would allow for more neighborhood-focused uses, such as allowing a child care center to be considered through a use permit process, and allow retail sales to be permitted by right.

If a study is initiated, it will need to include an environmental review component. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recommends that facilities that provide care for sensitive receptors for long periods of time, such as day care centers, be located at least 500 feet from a freeway. Representatives of the applicant (Classic Communities) and the intended future owner (Southbay Christian Center) were informed of CARB’s recommendation during the application process.

A study to amend the General Plan could involve review of individual parcels or of a block of parcels. Changing the General Plan designation on only the two proposed Weddell sites would result in an effect similar to “spot zoning” as the change would greatly impact the allowable uses on the “island” Industrial site. The applicant has been in discussion with the owner of the neighboring parcel, located between the two subject sites, for purchase of the property; however, a mutual agreement has not been reached to date. The centrally located parcel (531 E. Weddell) currently has served as a religious place of assembly use since 1992, which is compatible with the designations of Neighborhood Commercial or Civic Center.

FISCAL IMPACT

There is no fiscal impact from initiating an amendment to the General Plan. If the City Council initiates the study the applicant would need to file an application and pay the appropriate fees which essentially cover the cost of the study. A development project on the site would result in fees and taxes associated with receiving Building Permits. The applicant may be subject to Transportation Impact Fees for certain uses.

Conclusion

The applicant would like to use the property at 539 E. Weddell Drive for a child care center. The current zoning and General Plan designation is not compatible with the proposed use. The applicant has therefore applied to initiate a study for a General Plan Amendment for land use of their two sites at 521 and 539 E. Weddell Drive.

The subject sites are located just south of an area transitioning to residential and just north of a major transportation corridor (U.S. Highway 101). The City has established policy to support public and quasi-public services located in residential areas (LUTE policy N1.14).

A General Plan Amendment consideration will allow a review of the permitted land uses for parcels in the vicinity of area transitioning to residential. Council is already scheduled to establish related policy in March 2006 when two study issues are considered: Places of Assembly located within Industrial and Commercial Zones and Zoning Land for Service Uses.

The subject sites are currently being considered to allow a religious place of assembly use under their current zoning and General Plan designation; Council is scheduled to render a final decision on the place of assembly use on January 24, 2006.

Denying the request for a General Plan Amendment Initiation will not change any previously approved uses for the subject or neighboring sites.

PUBLIC CONTACT

The Municipal Code does not require the City to provide notices for a General Plan Initiation (GPI) hearing. However, because the subject sites straddle the neighboring church and given the pending appeal on the Use Permit for the subject sites, staff advised representatives of the owner and the tenant of the neighboring property of the proposed GPI. Staff noted to these representatives that the City Council may choose to include the neighboring church as part of a study to amend the General Plan.

This application was also listed on the City Council agenda and posted on the City’s official notice bulletin board.

ALTERNATIVES

Initiate a General Plan Amendment study of Neighborhood Commercial and Civic Center or similar designations for the entire 3 parcel block consisting of 521 East Weddell Drive, 531 East Weddell Drive, and 539 East Weddell Drive.
Initiate a General Plan Amendment study of Neighborhood Commercial and Civic Center designations for only applicant’s two parcels of 521 East Weddell Drive and 539 East Weddell Drive.
Initiate a General Plan Amendment study of a range of potential designations for a larger study area along Weddell Drive.
Defer decision on a General Plan Amendment Initiation until after the completion of the two pending study issues on Places of Assembly located within Industrial and Commercial Zones and Zoning Land for Service Uses.
Deny the request for a General Plan amendment and leave the General Plan land use designation for 521 East Weddell Drive, 531 East Weddell Drive, and 539 East Weddell Drive as Industrial.

RECOMMENDATION

Staff recommends that the City Council approve recommendation Number 1. Initiating a General Plan Amendment study would enable Council to consider optimal land uses that may provide a variety of services for residents and contribute positively to the surrounding developing neighborhood. The proposed Neighborhood Commercial and Civic Center designations are Sunnyvale General Plan categories that would allow for public and quasi-public uses for the area. Considering amending the General Plan designation for the entire block, inclusive of the subject sites as well as the neighboring church located between the two sites, allows for a greater continuity of land use and avoids the impact of “spot zoning” while not impacting the current use on the neighboring site.

Initiating the General Plan amendment does not commit the Council to future land use decisions. If a study of the General Plan is conducted and the General Plan is later amended, the applicant may pursue an application for a child care center. Such an application would require environmental review, including consideration of the impact of the adjacent U.S. Highway 101 on sensitive receptors.

The staff recommendation is based on exploring the land use of an area adjacent to the area transitioning to residential. Although staff is concerned about potential exposure of sensitive receptors to extended periods of noise or air pollution, the sites offer locational advantages for public and quasi-public uses that can be weighed against potential environmental impacts.

Reviewed by:
Trudi Ryan, Planning Officer

Prepared by: Jamie McLeod, Associate Planner

Reviewed by:
Robert Paternoster, Community Development Director

Approved by:
Amy Chan

City Manager

Attachments