HomeMy WebLinkAboutLCPA 86-02; Seapointe Carlsbad; Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA)t
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APPLICATION SUBMITTAL DATE :
AUGUST 0" 1985
STAFF REPORT
DATE : AUGUST 13, 1986
TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: PLANNING DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: GPA/LU 85-9/ZC-338/LCPA 86-2- SEAPOINTE CARLSBAD (CITY
OF CARLSBAD - Request for General Plan Amendments, Zone
Changes and Local Coastal Plan Amendments for an area
bounded by Palomar Airport Road, Interstate 5,
Poinsettia Lane and Carlsbad Boulevard, plus that area
bounded by Poinsettia Lane, Ponto Road, Carlsbad
Boulevard and the AT&SF Railroad.
I. RECOMMENDATION
That the Planning Commission ADOPT Resolution Nos. 2587, 2588 and
2589 recommending APPROVAL of GPA/LU 85-9, ZC-338 and LCPA 86-2
per staff's recommendations to the City Council based on the
findings contained therein.
11. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This report recommends six amendments to the General Plan and
seven zone changes on land within a 340 acre area located as
described above. The existing and proposed General Plan
designations are shown on Exhibit "B" and the existing and
proposed zoning designations on Exhibit "C" . Exhibit "D" lists
all of the proposed changes.
This project was originated by a request from Community Partners
for a General Plan Amendment from RMH, Residential Medium High
8-15 du/ac to 0, Office for a 10 acre parcel within the above-
mentioned area. Staff had concerns about making a recommendation
on this request because of the uncertainty of future land uses in
this portion of town. To aid staff in making decisions on this
project as well as other properties in the area, the applicant
was willing to provide the City with funds to hire a consultant
to prepare a detailed land use study of the area shown on Exhibit
"A".
The firm of Austin-Hansen-Fehlman was hired by the City to
complete this study which was known as the Seapointe Carlsbad
Study. The consultant examined the constraints and opportunities
of this area and made a number of recommendations for General.
Plan Amendments, Zone Changes and Local Coastal Plan Amendments.
This study also makes numerous recommendations for setbacks,
access points, landscape requirements and other development and
design criteria that will aid in future decision-making when
these properties are developed.
c
The discussion section of this report will examine the Subareas
(Pl-P4) (as shown on Exhibit B) that the Seapointe Carlsbad study
recommended for either General Plan Amendments, Zone changes or
Local Coastal Plan Amendments. In some areas, there were no
changes recommended.
111. ANALYSIS
Planning Issues
1) Are the proposed land uses appropriate for the sites?
2) Is the proposed zoning consistent with the General Plan
and Local Coastal Plan designations on the property?
3) Are the proposed land use and zoning designations
consistent with surrounding land uses and zoning?
Discussion
SUBAREA PI
KEY MAP
This study area is divided into two major sections, the
Bankers/Life parcel to the north and the Lusk property to the
south. The Bankers/Life parcel, approximately 36 acres in size
is located south of the sewer plant. The Lusk property is
located north of Poinsettia, east of the railroad, and west of
Avenida Encinas.
BANKERS/LIFE
Existing Proposed
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal Plan
RM
R-1-10000
Medium Density
Residential
PI/O
PM/O
Planned
Industrial/
Off ice
Staff is recommending a zoning of PM/O on this property. The
area adjacent to the waste treatment plant is proposed for
industrial development and will serve as a buffer between this
use and residential/commercial uses to the south. Through a
specific plan, office uses will also be permitted on the site and
will function as a transition between the industrial and
residential uses.
At the present time, the alignment of Avenida Encinas has not
been established. If it is located through the western portion
of the site, staff could support the use of planned industrial
uses on the west side of the street. This use would function as
a further buffer from the railroad.
-2-
The proposed changes would also require an LCP amendment from the
present Medium Density Residential designation to Planned
Industrial/Office. The Local Coastal Plan is being amended to
add a separate category for office uses. There are no coastal
resource issues on this site and the proposed designation PI/O is
consistent with Coastal policies.
LUSK -
Staff is recommending the following changes on this property:
Existing Proposed
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal Plan
RM
R-1-10000
Medium
Residential
RM/O
RD-M/O
Medium Residential/
Off ice
Office uses are proposed at the north end of the site and to wrap
around the east property line along existing Avenida Encinas.
This would create a balanced street scene with property to the
north and provide a buffer from the approved car dealerships to
the east. Multi-family residences are recommended for the
remaining area to keep community character with commercial uses
and also to support these uses. This type of housing is also
designated for the beach area by the Land Use Element of the
General Plan. Staff believes that clustered multi-family
residences would be most appropriate in this area so that noise
impacts from both the railroad and Poinsettia Lane could be
reduced by locating the dwelling units away from these noise
sources.
The zone change and General Plan amendment will necessitate a
Local Coastal Plan amendment from Medium Density Residential (4-8
du's/ac) to Medium Density Residential/Office. General
Commercial is the most appropriate designation for an office use.
The present agricultural overlay will remain on the property and
will require mitigation by the property owner prior to
d ev e 1 o pme n t .
For more details see Section P-1 of the Seapointe study.
SUBAREA P-2
This is a 3.4 acre parcel at the southeast corner of Palomar
Airport Road and Carlsbad Boulevard. It is bounded on the east
by the AThSF Railroad and on the south by the Solamar Mobile
Home Park.
-3-
Staff is recommending the following changes on this property.
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal Plan
Existing Proposed
RMH
RD-M
Open Space/Parks
TS
CT-Q
Visitor Commercial
Staff is proposing a General Plan designation of Travel Service
(TS) and a zoning designation of Commercial Tourist with a Q
Overlay (CT-Q) to be placed on this property. The use of these
classifications would allow the site to be developed with a
hotel, motel, or restaurant use and possible accessory uses which
would be integrated with the overall project. The area is
proposed to have a Q Overlay which requires that a comprehensive,
cohesive site development plan be approved prior to development
of the property. Due to the close proximity to both the freeway
and the beach, this site is an appropriate location for Travel
Service types of uses.
The above-mentioned changes will also require an amendment to the
Local Coastal Plan. The present designation is for Open
Space/Parks and calls for 800 RV parking spaces. There are no
sensitive coastal resources on this parcel. The beach at this
location is mainly cobblestones and accessed only by a dirt path.
For this reason, as well as the attendant traffic congestion
which would be created, an RV park site is an inappropriate use
at this location. Preliminary talks with the Coastal Commission
have indicated they would agree to tourist serving commercial
uses at this site.
For more details, see Section P-2 of the Seapointe study.
KEY MAP
This subarea consists of two sections known as the Community
Partners property at the north and the La Costa Downs subdivision
to the south.
community Partners
This 9.4 acre site, long and narrow in shape, is bordered by
Carlsbad Boulevard on the west, Solamar Mobile Home Park on the
north, the AT&SF Railroad tracks on the east, and the substandard
La Costa Downs subdivision to the south. Approximately 3.0 acres
of the site is considered buildable and is presently under
agriculture. The remaining acreage consists of the Canyon de Las
Encinas River channel, wetlands, and steep slopes.
-4-
.
Staff is recommending the following changes on this property:
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal plan
Existing
RMH
R-1-10000
Medium High
Residential
Proposed
OS and RMH
OS and RD-M
Open Space/
Medium Bigh
Residential
Staff has proposed that the northern salt water marsh/river
channel have both a General Plan and zoning designation of Open
Space (OS). The southern section would retain the RMH
classification but be zoned RD-M.
Staff is recommending RMH/RD-M on the southern portion of the
site to maintain compatibility with the two mobile home parks and
the unbuilt, small lot subdivision, La Costa Downs. Staff feels
if the site were zoned for Office use, it would constitute "spot
zoning" and would not be as compatible as RMH/RD-M would be with
the surrounding residential uses. This land use designation
presently extends south to Poinsettia Lane.
The change in zoning and General Plan designation to OS on the
northern portion of the site will also necessitate an amendment
to the Local Coastal Plan. This change would be from Medium High
Density Residential (1 0-20 du/ac) to Open Space/Parks. This is
in keeping with coastal policies for preserving sensitive coastal
resource areas which include wetlands and other environmentally
sensitive resources found on the adjacent slope areas. The
southern section of the site will maintain its existing LCP
designation of Medium High Residential.
For more details, see Section P-3 of the Seapointe study.
La Costa Downs Subdivision
Staff is recommending the following changes on this property:
Existing Proposed
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal Plan
RMH
R-1-10000
Medium High
Residential
RM
No Change
Medium
Resident i a1
The present zoning on this site is R-1-10000 and the General Plan
designation is RMH (8-15 du/ac). Staff is proposing the zoning
to remain as it is and the General Plafi designation to be lowered
to RM (4-8 du/ac). Staff realizes the two designations of R-l-
10000 and RM do not appear to be compatible; however, the
situation that exists is unusual. The small lot (6,000 sq. ft.)
-5-
configuration necessitates an R-1 designation; however, the small
lot size would make it impossible to stay within the General plan
category of RLM (0-4 du's/ac). A 6,000 square foot lot would
mean a density of 7.2 du/ac. For this reason, staff proposes the
next designation of RM (4-8 du's/ac).
This change will necessitate a corresponding Local Coastal Plan
amendment from Medium High Density (8-15 du/ac) to Medium
Density (4-8 du/ac). The reduction in density will still
maintain consistency with present coastal policies, will not
have any damaging affects on coastal resources and will still
allow the existing lots to be developed with single family
homes.
For more details, see Section P-3 of the Seapointe study.
SUBAREA P-4
KEY MAP
This site is 43 acres in size and divided approximately into
thirds. The northerly property, owned by Lusk, is divided from
the southern areas by Poinsettia Lane.
Northern Third
Staff is proposing the following change to this property:
Existing Proposed
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal Plan
RMH
PC
Medium High
Residential
RMH
RD-M-Q
Medium High
Residential
Staff is proposing to rezone the property to RD-M-Q and leave the
land use designation at RMH. Basically, this is just a "cleanup"
zone change due to the fact that the area was previously a part
of the old Occidental Master Plan which is no longer applicable.
The proposed zone change will not affect the land use nor the
density, but will ensure that when the property is developed, a
comprehensive plan will be implemented and approved for the
entire site prior to development.
Informal requests for an RH land use designation have been
discussed between staff and the property owner. Staff cannot
support a request for higher density due to the fact that higher
density, by its very nature, means larger building masses which
would obstruct views of the ocean.
No LCP amendments will be required with the above-mentioned zone
change.
-6-
Southern Two-Thirds
This subarea is presently vacant and relatively level on the
northerly section of the site. The southerly one-third (known as
"Ponto") consists of mixed housing and industrial uses.
Staff is recommending the following changes on this property:
General Plan
Zoning
Local Coastal Plan
Existing
RMH
PC
Medium High
Residential
Proposed
TS/RMH
CT-Q/RD-M-Q
Visitor commercial/
Medium High
Residential
Staff is proposing a combination zone of CT-Q/RD-M-Q and a split
General Plan designation of TS/RMH. The major reason why staff
assigned a combination zone and split General Plan designation
for this site was because of the uncertainty over what type of
development will take place in the immediate area. The
Batiquitos Educational Park Master Plan has an approved
commercial site of 6.8 acres which wraps around the "Ponto" area.
The uses on this site will be "directed toward the neighborhood -
Plan area". A maximum of 44 residential units will be permitted
above the ground floor of these commercial uses. Staff bel'ieves
similar land uses in the Ponto area would promote compatibility
between the two areas. The two project areas would also
compliment each other by providing more moderate accommodations,
more customers for nearby restaurants and other commercial uses
and also more support for beach-oriented vacationers. This would
be the only commercial beach area between Palomar Airport Road
(if that site is approved) and Encinitas.
* commercial needs of the residents and employees of the Master
The proposed General Plan amendment and zone change would also
require a Local Coastal Plan amendment from the present Medium
High Density Residential to Visistor Commercial/Medium High
Density Residential. This is consistent with the Coastal Act by
providing visitor commercial areas at a site which is close to
the beach and the State beach campgrounds, as well as located at
the terminus of a freeway beach exit. The Local Coastal Plan
recreation policy calls for mixed use residential and recreation
commercial across from the State park. Carlsbad's recreation
commercial designations includes golf courses, horse stables and
other uses not appropriate on this site. The tourist commercial
designation is more appropriate at this location but will
require a further amendment to the text of the Local Coastal
Plan. The present Agricultural Overlay will remain on the
property and will require mitigation by the property owner prior
to development.
For further details, see Section P-4 of the Seapointe study.
-7-
.
Circulation
Seapointe Carlsbad has extremely favorable external access since
it is bounded on the west and south by major arterials, on the
north by a prime arterial and on the east by an eight lane
interstate freeway.
The traffic analysis demonstrates some future capacity problems
at intersections along the arterial streets and at the freeway
ramps. Such problems will exist with or without the uses
proposed in the land use study. Mitigation of the problem
locations has been suggested in the land use study, and is
deemed to be reasonable and practical.
As projects are approved, there should be conditions imposed
which will give assurance that in the proper phasing and at
proper time, the project will be required to implement its fair
share of the needed mitigation.
LCP
If the Planning Commission determines that the above LCP
amendments are warranted and, therefore, necessary to implement
the City's Local Coastal Program, it should establish the State
mandated six week review period. During the period which would
begin on August 13, 1986 and end September 24, 1986 all
interested parties including other agencies would have the
opportunity to comment on the merits of the proposed amendments.
Staff would then return to the Planning Commission on October 1,
1986 with a summary of the comments received. The Commission
would determine whether modifications to any of the proposed LCP
amendments are warranted and forward its recommendations to the
City Council for final action.
-
Overall, staff believes the proposed changes will create land
uses which are more compatible with existing land uses and with
coastal policies. Safeguards have been incorporated into the
zoning and General Plan designations to ensure that development
will be compatible and well integrated with surrounding
projects.
IV. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The Planning Director has determined that this project will not
have a significant impact on the environment and, therefore, has
issued a Negative Declaration on July 5, 1986.
-8-
ATTACHMENTS
1) Planning Commission Resolution Nos. 2587, 2588 and 2589
2) Vicinity Map and Study Area
3. Exhibits "B" - "D" dated June 30, 1986
4. Environmental Document, dated July 5, 1986
5. Seapointe Carlsbad Land Use Study
6. Traffic Study
-9-
EXHIBIT A
6-30-86
STUDY
AREA
City of Carlsbad I ZC-338
SEAPOINTE CARLSBAD
- EXlSTlNG/P.--,OPOSED GENLRAL PLAN
(P-2)
/
Change
TS
Change
os
to
to
1
,! \
,NO CHANGE ;',
bty of Carlsbad
I, EXH
6-3
lBlT B
0-86
-1
RMH-KESIDEMTIAI. MEDIWHIGH' (8-15 dq/ac)
Os-OPmJ SPAclE
SEAPOINTE CARLSBAD I GPA/LU 85-9
EXlSl AJGIPROPOSEL ZONING
( P-2 1
(P-3
4 \NO CHANGE
EXHIBIT C
Change to CT-Q
hange to 0 /" ) Change to RDM \
CHANGE TO PM/O
/CHANGE TO RDM-Q
P.4
hange to
I i' !I it
City of Carlsbad
'I
6-30-86
P
M
I '
I \I
,NGE TO RDM-O/
U-PUBLIC UTILITIES
-INDUSTRIAL
C-I-COMMERCIAL-LT
C-2-COMMERCIAL-HEAVY
CT-Q-COMMERCIAL
RDM-RESIDENTIAL-MED
RMHP-MOBILE HOME PARK
R- 1 - 1 0-SINGLE FAMILY PC-PLANNED COMMUNITY
SEAPOINTE CARLSBAD I ZC-338 *
1
- E' ?BIT "D"
JLIrE 30, 1986
REQUESTED ACTIONS
I. General Plan Amendments
Subarea P-1 North
South
Subarea P-2
Subarea P-3 North
Middle
South
Subarea P-4 North
Area South
11. Zone Changes
Subarea P-1 North
South
Subarea P-2
Subarea P-3 North
Middle
South
Subarea P-4 North
South
RM
RM
RMH
RMH
RMH
RMH
RMH
RMH
R-1-10000
R-1-10000
RD-M
R-1-10000
R-1-10000
R-1-10000
PC
PC
111. Local Coastal Plan Amendments
Subarea P-1 North
* South
Subarea P-2
Subarea P-3 - North
Middle
South
Subarea P-4 North
South
Medium Residential to
Medium Residential to
Open Space/Parks to
Medium High Res. to
Medium High Res. to
Medium High Res. to
Medium High Res. to
Medium High Res. to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
PI/O
RM/O
TS os
No Change
RM
No Change
TS/RMH
PM/O
RD-M-Q
CT-Q os
RD-M
No Change
CT-Q/RD-M-Q
RD-M-Q
Planned Industrial/
General Commercial
Medium Residential/
General Commercial
Visitor Commercial
Open Space/Parks
No Change
Medium Residential
No Change
Visitor Ccmunercial/
Medium High Res.
IV . Off ice
The addition of an office category to the Local Coastal Plan as follows:
This classification designates areas which are compatible and
environmentally suited to office and professional uses, including some
canpatible and supportive related commercial uses. This land use could be
placed along major arterials without creating adverse conditions which are associated with strip development, and can be used as buffers between
commercial areas and residential uses.
* Keep Coastal Agricultural Overlay
DEVELOPMENTAL
SERVICES
LAND USE PLANNING OFFICE
NEGATIVE DECLARATION
1200 ELM AVENUE
CARLSBAD, CA 92008-1989
(619) 438-5591
PROJECT ADDRESS/LOCATION: South of Palomar Airport Road, west of
Interstate 5, north of Poinsettia Lane, including the Ponto area.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Six General Plan Amendments and seven zone
changes for the area as described above.
The City of Carlsbad has conducted an environmental review of the
above described project pursuant to the Guidelines for Implementation
of the California Environmental Quality Act and the Environmental
Protection Ordinance of the City of Carlsbad. As a result of said
review, a Negative Declaration (declaration that the project will not
have a significant impact on the environment) is hereby issued for the
subject project.
Planning Department.
Justification for this action is on file in the
A copy of the Negative Declaration with supportive documents is on
file in the Planning Department, City Hall, 1200 Elm Avenue, Carlsbad,
CA., 92008. Comments from the public are invited. Please submit
comments in writing to the Planning Department within ten (10) days of
date of issuance.
DATED: July 5, 1986
CASE NO: GPA/LU 85-9/2C-338
APPLICANT : Seapointe Carlsbad
PUBLISH DATE: July 5, 1986
Planning Director
ND 4
11/85