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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-25 - SupplementalsRichland Communities DRC2022-00126 May 25, 2022 •Applicant:Richland Communities •Project Description:Review of a one (1)year time extension for a previously approved Tentative Tract Map SUBTT18908—Subdivision of approx.10.6 acres into 30 single-family detached lots. •Project Location:Northwest corner of East Avenue and Wilson Avenue •Project Site Size:10.6 acres •General Plan Designation:Traditional Neighborhood Moderate •Zoning:Neighborhood Estate 2 Project Overview •The Planning Commission approved Tentative Tract Map 18908 on September 28,2016,for an initial period of three (3)years. •The design of the proposed subdivision is consistent with the surrounding residential subdivisions within the area.The proposed 30 lots will be developed in accordance with the previously approved Low Residential District,Etiwanda North Specific Plan standards. •The applicant is requesting a one (1)year time extension in order to complete the final map process. •No modifications have been made to the map since the original approval. •The new expiration date will be April 28,2023,with approval of the time extension request.If approved,this will be the applicant's 3rd time extension request. Project Background Project Approval History Approving Authority Approval/Extension Type Approval Period Approval Date Expiration Date Planning Commission Initial Approval (PC Reso 16-48)3 Years 09/28/2016 09/28/2019 Planning Commission Time Extension DRC2019- 00564 PC Reso 19-57 1 Year 09/25/2019 09/25/2020 Planning Commission Time Extension DRC2020- 00310 PC Reso 20-44 1 Year 10/28/2020 10/28/2021 Assembly Bill 1561 Automatic Extension 6 Months 10/28/2021 04/28/2022 Planning Commission Proposed Time Extension 1 Year 04/28/2022 04/28/2023 Project Description •The subdivision is for 30 single-family residential lots. •Average density of 2.83 dwelling units per acre. •The subdivision will have two points of access:one along the future extension of Wilson Avenue and one along the future extension of East Avenue. Environmental Review •A Mitigated Negative Declaration was adopted on September 28,2016,in connection with the City’s approval of Tentative Tract Map SUBTTM18908. •CEQA Guidelines Section 15162,states that no subsequent or supplemental review is necessary if the scope of the project has not changed from that considered as part of the original CEAQ review. Public Correspondence •Notices were sent to all properties within 660 feet of the project site. •Staff received one email inquiring about the Low Residential District and if that stands for “low-income development”. Recommendation Staff recommends that the Planning Commission •Approve the requested one (1)year Time Extension DRC2022- 00126 through the adoption of the attached Resolution of Approval. JN 1076-002 May 23, 2022 Mr. David F. Eoff, Senior Planner City of Rancho Cucamonga, Planning Department 10500 Civic Center Drive Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 RE: IASP SUBAREA 18 – PAIB SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT – ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 1.0 Introduction and Background Empire Lakes Holding Company, LLC is requesting an amendment to the approved Rancho Cucamonga Industrial Area Specific Plan (IASP) Sub-Area 18 Specific Plan Amendment Project (herein “Approved Specific Plan”) (DRC2020-00164). The proposed IASP Sub-Area 18 Specific Plan Planning Area IB Amendment – Mixed Use Infill Area (herein Specific Plan Amendment”) would modify the circulation and development pattern for Planning Area (PA) IB (herein “Project site”), which represents the northern portion of the Specific Plan area (approximately 82 acres). The Approved Specific Plan and associated Final Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) (herein “Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR” or “Final EIR”), State Clearinghouse [SCH] No. 2015041083) were approved by the Rancho Cucamonga City Council in May 2016. The Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR addressed the construction-related and operational environmental impacts that would result from redevelopment of the 160-acre Empire Lakes Golf Course with a proposed mixed-use, high-density residential/commercial development. A maximum of 3,450 residential units and 220,000 square feet (sf) of non- residential uses is allowed by the Approved Specific Plan in PAI (includes PAIA and PAIB), with a maximum of 2,000 residential units and 100,000 sf of non-residential uses in PAIB. The Empire Lakes Specific Plan Final EIR was prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA, California Public Resources Code, Sections 21000, et seq.) and the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Sections 15000, et seq.). The Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR is intended to serve as the primary environmental document for all entitlements associated with implementation of the Approved Specific Plan. Pursuant to CEQA Section 21166 and Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines, no subsequent EIR may be required for a project unless the City determines, on the basis of substantial evidence, that one or more of the following conditions are met: A. When an EIR has been certified or a negative declaration adopted for a project, no subsequent EIR shall be prepared for that project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in the light of the whole record, one or more of the following: (1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; IASP Subarea 18 – PAIB Specific Plan Amendment – Environmental Review May 23, 2022 Page 2 of 5 (2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR or negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or (3) New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the previous EIR was certified as complete or the negative declaration was adopted, shows any of the following: (a) The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR or negative declaration; (b) Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR; (c) Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible, and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or (d) Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative. Consistent with this requirement, future actions related to implementation of the Approved Specific Plan, including the proposed Specific Plan Amendment, will be reviewed to determine if they are within the scope of the development anticipated and evaluated in the Final EIR. If the implementing project is within the scope of the development and analysis included in the Final EIR, no additional environmental review is required. Pursuant to CEQA Section 21166 and Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines, the analysis presented in this document evaluates the proposed Specific Plan Amendment in comparison to the Approved Specific Plan and the analysis in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR to determine if the previous analysis adequately addresses the potential impacts of the proposed Project. 2.0 Project Description 2.1 Project Location and Setting As shown on Figure 1, Aerial Photograph, the 82.0-acre Project site is located north of 6th Street, east of Cleveland Avenue), south of the Metrolink rail line, and west of Milliken Avenue, in the City of Rancho Cucamonga, in San Bernardino County. The Project site is currently undeveloped and a portion of the site was previously mass graded. An approximately 500-foot segment of The Resort Parkway has been installed north of 6th Street, but is not open to the public. The area east of the Project site is developed with the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink Station, residential uses, office and commercial uses. Existing industrial and office uses, Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) water reservoir tanks, and a Southern California Edison (SCE) substation are located west of the Project site. Approved Specific Plan PAIA is located south of 6th Street and includes existing residential and recreational uses east of The Resort Parkway; the area west of The Resort Parkway is under construction. IASP Subarea 18 – PAIB Specific Plan Amendment – Environmental Review May 23, 2022 Page 3 of 5 The Project site is zoned Specific Plan (Empire Lakes Specific Plan). The City of Rancho Cucamonga City Council adopted a comprehensive update to the City’s General Plan (herein, “GPU”) and certified a Program Environmental Impact Report (herein, “GPU EIR”; SCH No. 2021050261) on December 15, 2021. As part of the GPU, the Project site was designated “City Center”, which allows for residential development at densities ranging from 40 to 100 dwelling units per acre (du/ac), and non-residential development at a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) ranging from 1.0 to 2.0. The Project site is also within the GPU-designated Focus Area 3: Hart District, which is intended to become an intense, mixed-use transit hub of regional significance, well-connected by various modes of travel (refer to Figure 2). 3.0 Project Description The proposed Specific Plan Amendment (DRC2020-00164) involves the introduction of a new Section 8.0 to the IASP Sub-Area 18 Specific Plan, which consolidates all land use and development plan details for PAIB, and includes all modified maps, development standards, and guidelines related to PAIB. The proposed Specific Plan Amendment evaluated herein would modify the circulation and development pattern for PAIB. The existing and proposed conceptual land use plans for PAIB are shown on Figure 2. Future projects implementing allowed development in PAIB would be required to adhere to the development standards and guidelines identified in the proposed Specific Plan Amendment. The proposed Specific Plan Amendment is fully consistent with and implements the Project site’s GPU land use designation and circulation and development patterns anticipated for the HART District. As shown, the proposed conceptual land use plan would introduce a grid network of residential roadways and private drive aisles consistent with the grid system anticipated by the GPU for the Hart District. The proposed circulation system would allow for connectivity with existing and planned land uses surrounding the Project site as envisioned by the GPU, with emphasis on pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular connectivity emanating from the Metrolink station and major circulation corridors. Off-site roadways and associated connections to roadways within the Specific Plan area would be implemented by others in conjunction with future development in the area consistent with that anticipated by the GPU. While the land use plan configuration has been modified to accommodate the revised roadway network, the proposed Specific Plan Amendment maintains the Mixed Use (MU), Urban Neighborhood (UN), Core Living (CL), Village Neighborhood (VN), and Recreation (REC) Placetypes1 established in the Approved Specific Plan for PAIB, and the Mixed Use Overlay designation. These uses are distributed throughout PAIB under the Approved Specific Plan and proposed Specific Plan Amendment. The relocated MU Placetypes are within areas previously identified within the designated Mixed Use Overlay areas. Consistent with the Approved Specific Plan, the proposed Specific Plan Amendment would allow a maximum of 2,000 residential units, with a minimum requirement of 1,594 units, in PAIB. There would be a maximum of 75,000 sf of non-residential development in the MU Placetype, with an additional 25,000 sf of non-residential development for public access allowed in the REC Placetype. 4.0 Environmental Assessment The Empire Lakes Specific Plan Final EIR concluded that implementation of the Approved Specific Plan would result in no impacts, less than significant impacts, or less than significant impacts with implementation of identified Project Design Features (PDFs), Regulatory Requirements (RRs), and Mitigation Measures (MMs) for the following 1 Placetypes integrate development principles, built form guidelines, and design criteria to create holistic people-centric places instead of using traditional land use-centric regulations. IASP Subarea 18 – PAIB Specific Plan Amendment – Environmental Review May 23, 2022 Page 4 of 5 environmental topics issues: Aesthetics, Air Quality (construction-related), Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise (operational), Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, and Utilities and Services Systems. Impacts related to the following environmental topics were determined to be significant and unavoidable: Air Quality (project and cumulative operations and consistency with the Air Quality Management Plan), Noise (construction-related), Population and Housing Growth, and Traffic (project and cumulative). The proposed Specific Plan Amendment described above does not include any actions that would involve implementation of development projects in PAIB. In addition to adherence with the development standards and guidelines identified in the proposed Specific Plan Amendment, future development projects within PAIB would be required to incorporate applicable PDFs, RRs, and MMs from the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR, and would be subject to the implementation process outlined in the Approved Specific Plan Section 7.7. A portion of the Project site was previously mass graded and all uses associated with the previous golf course use have been removed. Potential impacts associated with initial mass grading activities (e.g., potential impacts to biological, cultural/tribal cultural, and paleontological resources) have occurred. Further, the proposed Specific Plan Amendment does not involve any construction activities, and future development in PAIB implementing the proposed Specific Plan Amendment would result in the same post-mass grading construction impacts as evaluated in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR for the northern portion of the Specific Plan area. This includes potential impacts related to air quality emissions, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, and noise. With respect to operations, the proposed Specific Plan Amendment would not involve any changes to the type of land uses, the maximum number of dwelling units, or the maximum amount of non-residential development allowed in PAIB. Therefore, the estimated population and employment generation, trip generation, etc. also would remain the same and would not exceed that evaluated in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR, or what is currently anticipated in local and regional planning programs, including population and employment projections. The internal roadway network would be modified to provide a grid system consistent with that anticipated in the GPU. The onsite roadways would be constructed pursuant to the design standards identified in the Specific Plan, including requirements to accommodate multi-modal transportation facilities. Although the onsite roadway network would be modified, the primary roadway connections between the Project site and existing roadways (i.e., at 6th Street, 7th Street, and at the Metrolink Station) would remain the same as that identified in the Approved Specific Plan; therefore, the distribution of traffic to off-site roadways would be similar to that addressed in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR. The proposed conceptual land use plan shown on Figure 2 depicts in-tract roadways to better demonstrate the proposed grid network system. A system of internal roadways was anticipated in the Approved Specific Plan. The proposed Specific Plan Amendment would not result in any changes to trip generation or distribution that would result in new or substantially more severe noise impacts. As identified in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR, off-site traffic noise impacts would be less than significant. Development standards and guidelines for PAIB, including standards and guidelines addressing scenic quality, would ensure that the proposed Specific Plan Amendment does not result in conflicts with existing and planned land uses, and is consistent with goals and policies outlined in the GPU. Further, the Empire Lakes Specific Plan IASP Subarea 18 – PAIB Specific Plan Amendment – Environmental Review May 23, 2022 Page 5 of 5 Amendment Final EIR evaluated potential impacts from onsite operations within PAIB, including operations within the residential, REC, and MU Placetypes and Mixed Use Overlay areas to offsite adjacent land uses, including residential uses to the east. Future development in PAIB implementing the proposed Specific Plan Amendment, including the modified Placetype configuration and relocation of MU Placetypes to other areas within the designated Mixed Use Overlay areas, would result in the same operational impacts as evaluated in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR for the northern portion of the Specific Plan area (PAIB). This includes operational impacts related to aesthetics and visual character, air quality, GHG Emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, and utilities and service systems. Further, while the reconfiguration of uses may alter the visual character of individual Placetypes as viewed from certain vantage points, as identified in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR, and pursuant to Senate Bill (SB) 743, because the proposed development north of 6th Street is a mixed use development, and on an infill site within a transit priority area, aesthetics is not considered in determining if the project has the potential to result in a significant effect pursuant to CEQA. Project-specific construction-related and operational impacts resulting from future development implementing the proposed Specific Plan Amendment would be addressed as part of the subsequent environmental review pursuant to CEQA that will be completed when individual development applications are submitted to the City. 5.0 Environmental Review Conclusion Pursuant to Section 15168(c)(2) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, “If the agency finds that pursuant to Section 15162, no new effects could occur or no new mitigation measures would be required, the agency can approve the activity as being within the scope of the project covered by the program EIR, and no new environmental document would be required.” With regard to CEQA Section 21166, and Section 15162 of the CEQA Guidelines: 1. The proposed Specific Plan Amendment does not propose substantial changes which will require major revisions to the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; 2. No substantial changes have occurred with respect to the circumstances under which development is undertaken in PAIB based on the proposed Specific Plan Amendment will require major revisions to the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; and 3. No new information of substantial importance was found that would: (a) create new significant effects; (b) increase the severity of previously examined effects; (c) determine that mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible; or (d) introduce mitigation measures or alternatives that are considerably different from those analyzed in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR that would reduce significant impacts. In accordance with CEQA Section 21166, and Sections 15162 and 15168 of the State CEQA Guidelines, and based on the preceding information, it is concluded that the proposed Specific Plan Amendment, which would modify the circulation and development pattern for PAIB, but would not change the amount or type of development allowed by the Approved Specific Plan, and will not result in environmental effects that were not examined in the IASP Subarea 18 – PAIB Specific Plan Amendment – Environmental Review May 23, 2022 Page 6 of 5 Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR. The proposed development anticipated by the proposed Specific Plan Amendment is consistent with that evaluated in the Empire Lakes Specific Plan Amendment Final EIR, and was adequately covered by the evaluation and mitigation measures in the Final EIR. There have been no changes with respect to the circumstances under which development in PAIB will be undertaken that will result in new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. Further, no new information of substantial importance shows that the proposed Specific Plan Amendment will result in new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; that mitigation measures previously found not to be feasible will now be feasible; or that there are mitigation measures or alternatives that are considerably different from those analyzed in the Final EIR that will reduce significant impacts. No additional CEQA documentation is required. Attachment A: Supporting Graphics Aerial Photograph#Planning Area IB kMetrolinkRancho CucamongaStation 6TH ST MILLIKEN AVECLEVELAND AVEAZUSA CTVINCENT AVEANAHIEM PL7TH ST FAI RWAY VI EW PLTHE RESORT PKWYSource(s): Esri, Nearmap (2022), SB County (2022) 0 250 500125 Feet JN: 1076-002 Figure 1