Title:
Title
Greenbriar Phase 2 (P18-050) [Passed for Publication 04/23/2019; Published 04/26/2019; Noticed 05/10/2019]
End
FileID
File ID: 2019-00683
Location
Location: Southwest corner of Elkhorn Blvd and Highway 99, north of Interstate 5 and east of Lone Tree Canal; APNs: 201-0300-049, -079, -080, -081, -083, -085, -087, -156, District 1
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Conduct and public hearing and upon conclusion, adopt; 1) a Resolution adopting the addendum to the previously approved Greenbriar Environmental Impact Report and adopting the Mitigation Monitoring Program for the Greenbriar Phase 2 project (Per Public Resources Code section 21166 and CEQA Guidelines sections 15162 and 15164); 2) a Resolution amending the 2035 General Plan Land Use and Urban Design Element to change the land use designations for 6.9± acres from Urban Neighborhood Low (UNLD) to Urban Neighborhood Medium (UNMD), 7.5± acres from Suburban Neighborhood High (SNHD) to Suburban Neighborhood Medium (SNMD), 7.4± acres from Parks and Recreation (PR) to Suburban Neighborhood Medium (SNMD) and among other small areas of land to account for the subdivision design; 3) an Ordinance rezoning 6.9± acres from the Multi-Unit Dwelling (R-3-PUD) zone to the Multi-Unit Dwelling (R-4A-PUD) zone, 7.5± acres from the Multi-Unit Dwelling (R-2B-PUD) zone to the Single-Unit and Duplex Dwelling (R-1A-PUD) zone, 7.4± acres from the Agriculture-Open Space (A-OS-PUD) zone to the Single-Unit Duplex Dwelling (R-1A-PUD) zone, and other small areas of land to account for the subdivision design; 4) a Resolution amending the Greenbriar Planned Unit Development (PUD) Guidelines and Schematic Plan to re-designate 7.4± acres from Park and Open Space (P/OS) to Elementary School (ES), to reconfigure the roadway network, and to account for three new single-family small lot sizes, as shown in the attached PUD Guidelines and Schematic Plan; and 5) a Resolution adopting remaining project entitlements for a Tentative Master Parcel Map to subdivide ±268 gross acres into 32 master parcels with Site Plan and Design Review deviations to minimum lot size requirements and Tentative Subdivision Map to subdivide ±268 gross acres into 1,073 parcels with Tentative Map Design Deviations to local roadway standards.
Contact: Garrett Norman, Associate Planner, (916) 808-7934; Teresa Haenggi, Senior Planner, (916) 808-7554, Community Development Department
Body
Presenter: Garrett Norman, Associate Planner, (916) 808-7934, Community Development Department
Attachments:
01-Description/Analysis
02-Background
03-Resolution: Environmental Addendum
04-Exhibit A: Mitigation Monitoring Program
05-Resolution: General Plan Amendment
06-Exhibit A: General Plan Amendment Exhibit
07-Ordinnace: Rezone
08-Exhibit A: Rezone Exhibit
09-Resolution: Greenbriar PUD Guidelines and Schematic Plan Amendment
10-Exhibit A: Greenbriar PUD Guidelines (Amended Pages 24B, 24C, 24D)
11-Exhibit B: Greenbriar PUD Schematic Plan
12-Resolution: Project Entitlements for Tentative Master Parcel Map and Tentative Subdivision Map
13-Exhibit A: Tentative Master Parcel Map
14-Exhibit B: Tentative Subdivision Map
15-Exhibit C: Tentative Map Design Deviations
16-Exhibit D: Intersection Details
17-Exhibit E: Phase 2 Illustrative Land Use Plan
18-Project Comments
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The applicant is requesting entitlements to begin the development for Greenbriar Phase 2, which consist of all land south of Meister Way. Phase 2 continues the transit-oriented development by providing 1,392 residential units, commercial sites, park land and open space amenities, and a school site, all near a future light rail station on Meister Way. The applicant’s requested entitlements are comprised of the following:
1. Rezoning and General Plan Amendment of 6.9 acres to accommodate a higher density multi-family housing project with an anticipated density of 40 dwelling units per net acre.
2. Rezoning and General Plan Amendment of 7.5 acres to replace 104± unit townhome product with traditional single-family homes.
3. Rezoning and General Plan Amendment of 7.4 acres to expand the elementary school site and thereby reducing the community park to 3.1 acres.
*Additional minor Rezones and General Plan Amendments are also included to account for the proposed subdivision design, such as roads and lot configuration. Examples include expansion of the freeway greenbelt buffer, reduction of multi-family parcel by 1.1 acres, reduction of detention lake feature by 1.0 acres, etc.
4. Planned Unit Development Guidelines and Schematic Plan Amendment to:
a. acknowledge the residential density changes indicated in items one and two above;
b. changes to the roadway network/street layout to remove 182 alley-loaded single-family housing products and replace with a traditional, front-on housing product;
c. to expand the Elementary School site by 7.4± acres and reduce the size of the adjacent community park to 2.4± acres; and
d. account for three new small-lot residential sizes - 50’x80’, 50’x85’, and 55’x85’.
5. Reconfiguring the previously approved Tentative Master Parcel Map to account for roadway and lotting changes. The Tentative Master Parcel Map subdivides Phase 2’s 268 gross acres into 32 master parcels.
6. Tentative Subdivision Map creating the individual single-family lots and neighborhood streets by subdividing Phase 2’s 268 gross acres into 1,073 parcels, comprised of the following:
a. 1,038 single-family parcels;
b. two multi-family parcels;
c. one commercial parcel;
d. three neighborhood park parcels;
e. one school parcel; and
f. 28 parcels for other project components, such as water features, utilities, and landscaped corridors.
These amendments are discussed in more detail under the Background and Entitlement Review sections of this report. The project requires council approval because the entitlements require a general plan amendment and rezones.
Public/Neighborhood Outreach and Comments: The project was routed to several community groups including Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, WalkSacramento, Environmental Council of Sacramento, Region Builders, Preservation Sacramento, Natomas Community Association, Natomas Chamber of Commerce, North Natomas Community Association, North Natomas Community Coalition, Natomas Creek Community Watch Group, and Preservation Sacramento.
WalkSacramento and the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) wrote comment letters on the project. Both letters requested the applicant consider revising the proposed intersections along Meister Way by increasing width of sidewalk and provide a bicycle ramp to increase pedestrian and bike safety, specifically for school aged children riding their bike to school south of Meister Way. The applicant was receptive to this comment and agreed to provide 8-foot sidewalks at these intersections. The applicant also provided bike lanes on Streets 1 and 16, which lead to the school site.
The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality and Management District (SMAQMD) commented on the project, stating the desire to maintain density levels with prior approvals and for each single-family home to provide an electric vehicle (EV) charging station. The projects highest density is concentrated around the light rail station, including two multi-family sites and the smallest single-family lots. Staff feels the proposed density is supportive of transit-oriented development because the highest density and other transit supportive uses, such as commercial, are located within ¼-mile. Per California’s Green Building Code and required as part of the building permit, the project must be EV-Capable by providing the necessary electrical capacity to each single-family home and within multi-family and commercial developments.
The North Natomas Community Coalition (NNCC) also provided two comment letters on the project. The first letter requested a presentation from the applicant team on proposed changes. The applicant provided a presentation and the Coalition submitted a second letter stating general support of the requested changes, specifically to the removal of the alley loaded lots. The first letter also expressed concern to the narrowness of the Meister Way overpass where it meets E. Commerce Drive. Meister Way will be designed and constructed to comply with City standards and will accommodate all modes of transportation, including vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles.
The site has been posted and all property owners within a 300-foot radius of the subject site were notified of the hearing. As of writing this report, there is no known opposition to this project.
Policy Considerations: Greenbriar Phase 2 is comprised of several General Plan land use designations but mostly consists of the Suburban Neighborhood and Urban Neighborhood designations. Suburban neighborhoods are expected to be the predominate residential development pattern that designates higher density uses near centers or major transit routes. Urban neighborhoods play a vital role in meeting business, culture, and entertainment demand. This designation is limited to the multi-family sites, which are concentrated next to the light rail transit center, commercial, and parks/open space. The following Goals and Policies from the 2035 General Plan support the project:
Goal LU 2.1: City of Neighborhoods. Maintain a city of diverse, distinct, and well-structured neighborhoods that meet the community’s needs for complete, sustainable, and high-quality living environments, from the historic downtown core to well-integrated new growth areas.
• Policy LU 2.1.3: Complete and Well-Structured Neighborhoods. The City shall promote the design of complete and well-structured neighborhoods whose physical layout and land use mix promote walking to services, biking, and transit use; foster community pride; enhance neighborhood identity; ensure public safety; are family friendly and address the needs of all ages and abilities.
• Policy LU 2.6.2: Transit-Oriented Development. The City shall actively support and facilitate mixed-use retail, employment, and residential development around existing and future transit stations.
• Policy LU 2.7.6: Walkable Blocks. The City shall require new development and reuse and reinvestment project to create walkable, pedestrian-scaled blocks, publicly accessible mid-block and alley pedestrian routes where appropriate, and sidewalks appropriately scaled for the anticipated pedestrian use.
The proposal is for a complete and well-structured neighborhood whose physical layout and land use mix promotes walking to services, biking, and transit use; fosters community pride; enhances neighborhood identity; ensures public safety; is family friendly and addresses the needs of all ages and abilities. The project, as proposed, supports sustainable growth and change through the orderly and well-planned development of up to 1,390 dwelling units that provides for the needs of existing and future residents and businesses, ensures the effective and equitable provision of public services, and makes efficient use of land and infrastructure. Commercial services, parks and open space, schools and a future light rail station is planned in this development, all of which support a well-structured and complete neighborhood with a balanced mix of land uses.
Goal H 1.2: Provide a variety of quality housing types to encourage neighborhood stability.
• Policy H 1.2.4: Mix of Uses. The City shall actively support and encourage mixed-use retail, employment, and residential development around existing and future transit stations, centers, and corridors.
• Policy H 1.3.4: Range of Housing Opportunities. The City shall encourage a range of housing opportunities for all segments of the community.
Greenbriar is envisioned as an inclusive, sustainable and vibrant community. This vision will be achieved through developing a variety of lots sizes and housing types. With approval of the requested Phase 2 entitlements, lot sizes will range from 2,788 to 5,500 square foot including unit square footages that range from approximately 400-700 square foot apartments to 1,500 to 4,000 square foot single-family homes. This will provide housing opportunities for a range of income levels and lifestyle options in close proximity to transit, shopping, services, employment, and various park and recreation facilities. Phase 2 will contribute to the Greenbriar development’s overall mix of uses and housing which includes 189 affordable senior rental units within Phase 1.
This site is part of the North Natomas Community Plan and the following goals and policies support this project:
• Policy NN.LU 1.9: Housing Type Diversity. To provide housing for the wide range of residents in the North Natomas Community, the City shall ensure residential developers provide a variety of housing types in each neighborhood. As a guideline to ensure a variety of housing types, the maximum percentage of any dominant housing type should be 85 percent and the minimum of any minor housing type should be five percent. Residential developers are encouraged to be innovative and responsive to the changing lifestyles of future residents and trends toward transit, telecommuting, zero-emission vehicles, and others.
• Policy NN.LU 1.13: Upscale Housing. The City shall encourage residential developers to provide upscale housing through lower densities and additional amenities. Upscale housing is intended to attract move-up home buyers who wish to move to or remain in the Natomas area. Homes with custom-style features would help create a more diverse and interesting neighborhood. Custom-style features could include high-quality exterior building materials, larger lot sizes, and varied setbacks. Large lots would include those that are 6,500 square feet or larger. Other features included in upscale housing are architectural variations, quality landscaping, extra vehicle storage, homeowners associations, and other attractive marketing features.
• NN.LU 1.15: Employment Center - Transit Intensification. The City shall encourage further intensification of employment uses within one-eighth of a mile of the light rail stations once funding the construction of the light rail extension is assured.
• NN.M 1.9: Park-n-Ride Facilities. The Downtown Natomas Airport (DNA) corridor Route Refinement Report identifies a need for a minimum of 900 parking spaces in the North Natomas community. The report identifies 375 park-n-ride spaces on 3.3 acres at the Truxel and I -80 station, and 225 spaces on two acres at the Town Center station. These 600 spaces would be exclusively park-n-ride spaces. The last 300 spaces would be joint-use spaces located at the Arena station. Any additional park-n-ride spaces required to meet air quality or other goals and park-n-ride spaces at bus transit centers shall be designated as permanent joint-use. Park-n-ride facilities shall maximize the use of shared parking arrangements with any public or private use.
The project is consistent with the above North Natomas Community Plan policies in that the project will be providing a range of single-family housing types with variation of lot sizes, which dictates density and intensification, but also confines housing size. The project also devotes a portion to upscale housing, which is typically seen through larger lot sizes. The desire for upscale housing is something the community has continuously expressed a need for in North Natomas. Phase 2 also devotes a 1.5-acre parcel for a park-n-ride facility adjacent to the future light rail station and the project maintains its highest density with multi-family and smaller single-family lots within a ¼-mile of the light rail station.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: The City Council approved program-level entitlements for the Greenbriar Development Project in 2008. As part of that process, on January 29, 2008 the City Council certified the EIR for the project and adopted the Mitigation Monitoring Program (Resolution No. 2008-053). The City and Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) served as co-lead agencies for the environmental document. Certification of the EIR was accompanied by adoption of a Mitigation Monitoring Program (MMP). The MMP remains in effect.
Once an EIR has been certified for a project, under Public Resources Code section 21167.2 the EIR is be conclusively presumed valid. When CEQA’s project EIR subsequent review provisions apply, the only question that may be considered before a further discretionary approval for the project is whether one of the three exceptions triggering the need for a subsequent or supplemental EIR exists. The City approved Greenbriar project entitlements for Phase 1 in P11-03, and a subdivision map in Z18-059, adopting an addendum in each case. The approval for Phase 1 included modifications to the Mitigation Monitoring Plan, as set forth in Resolution No. 2017-0207, attached to the proposed resolution for this action. The current proposal requests changes to the development entitlements for the purpose of facilitating development of the project and response to market conditions. These are discretionary actions and require compliance with CEQA. As with the Phase 1 entitlements, for Phase 2 the City also used the prior EIR for CEQA review. The City reviewed the current proposal to determine (a) whether substantial changes in the project are proposed that would require major revisions to the EIR, (b) whether substantial changes in the circumstances under which the project would be undertaken have occurred, and (c) whether new information of substantial importance is available. Each of these inquiries focuses on whether the City identifies new significant effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. The City also examines whether new mitigation measures, which the applicant refuses to implement, might be available. This process is set forth in CEQA Guidelines section 15162.
Consistent with the requirements of CEQA Guidelines section 15162, the City has examined the current project proposal in light of the circumstances that now exist, information that is now available and potential mitigation measures. The City has determined that none of the circumstances described in section 15162 is present, and that only minor changes are required in the EIR that was previously certified for the Greenbriar project. The changes in project design would not result in any significant effects not identified in the environmental document, and no recirculation is required. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15164 the City has prepared an Addendum to the EIR to satisfy the CEQA requirements.
Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15164, the decisionmaker on the project must consider the Addendum along with the original EIR before approving the project. The Addendum and other environmental documents related to the Greenbriar Phase 2 proposal and the Greenbriar project generally project are available on the Community Development Department EIR webpage at:
<https://www.cityofsacramento.org/Community-Development/Planning/Environmental/Impact-Reports>
200-Year Flood Protection: State Law (SB 5) and Planning and Development Code Chapter 17.810 require that the City must make specific findings prior to approving certain entitlements for projects within a flood hazard zone. The purpose is to ensure that new development will have protection from a 200-year flood event or will achieve that protection by 2025. The project site is within a flood hazard zone and is an area covered by SAFCA’s Improvements to the State Plan of Flood Control System, and specific findings related to the level of protection have been incorporated as part of this project. Even though the project site is within a flood hazard zone, the local flood management agency, SAFCA, has made adequate progress on the construction of a flood protection system that will ensure protection from a 200-year flood event or will achieve that protection by 2025. This is based on the SAFCA Urban level of flood protection plan, adequate progress baseline report, and adequate progress toward an urban level of flood protection engineer’s report that were accepted by City Council Resolution No. 2016-0226 on June 21, 2016 and the SAFCA 2018 Adequate Progress Annual Report accepted by City Council Resolution No. 2018-0445 on November 20, 2018.
Sustainability: The proposal helps facilitate new development in the planned master community that provides land uses that will support the future light rail station planned on Meister Way.
Commission/Committee Action: On April 11, 2019, the Planning and Design Commission held a public hearing on the Greenbriar Phase 2 project and unanimously passed a motion to forward a recommendation of approval to City Council.
Rationale for Recommendation: Staff recommends the Council approve the project based on the findings of fact and subject to the conditions of approval listed in the attachments of this staff report. Staff finds the project is consistent with the goals and policies of the General Plan related to providing a well-connected, transit supportive neighborhood; a range of housing opportunities; and a mix of uses; a location for a future school; and a variety of amenities to a range of prospective residents. This is the final phase for Greenbriar that will allows the applicant to final the maps and begin constructing public improvements, such as roads, sewer, water, and other private utilities.
Financial Considerations: A Public Facilities Financing Plan (PFFP) was approved for the Greenbriar project development in May 2017 (Resolution 2017-0208). The proposed land use changes will not significantly affect the PFFP’s identified infrastructure set, the costs of the improvements, or the approved methodology to spread those costs over the Greenbriar project development.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): No goods or services are being purchased under this report.