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Home My WebLink About1971-04-14; City Council; 403; GUIDELINES LOMA LAGUNA' f' il E CITY OF CARLSBAD, C A L J F' O P. ty J A *• Agenda Bill Wo. T^-3. Bate.- APRIL 14, 1971 Referred To: CITY COUNCIL ubject: ' Submitted By.-?> - . PLANNING DIRECTORFOR LOMA LACUNA, A PLANNED COMMUNITY (BECRAH , INC . PROPOSAL) Statement of the Matter The City Council, at the meeting of 3/16/71, directed Staff to prepare guidelines which will enable the applicants of~the Loma Laguna Development plan to account for deficiences in the plan and to resubmit an acceptable development plan. Exhibit 1 - See attached report. Staff Recommendations That the attached reportf containing guidelines for preparation of a Planned Community plan,.be accepted to permit the developers to resubmit. ' . ' . * AB No ,Date :APRIL 14, 1971 City Manager's Recommendation Council Action -2- J PURPOSE AilD SCOPE FOR USE OF PLANNED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTS. The P-C Zone was adopted in 1968 as a result of months of study by the Planning Commission. The ordinance was a direct result of a need to incorporate a "performance" development zone within the framework of the Zoning Ordinance. The term "performance" applies to more recent concepts of zoning regulations that provide for design flexibility in planning a development. It allows a developer to comprehensively plan a development, enjoying advantages of site planning according to the character of his property, and at the same time, instill in his plan certain development principles that contrib- ute to the implementation of the General Plan adopted in 1966. (The General Plan recognized and recommended that such an ordinance be developed.) Its use is stated on Page 41 of The Housing Element as one means of preventing some of the problems related to urban expan- sion. More specifically, it is a deterrent to development patterns of "urban sprawl." The P-C Zone is conceived with the purpose in mind of preventing total alteration of the natural topography and landscape, thereby blending development more with the natural environ- ment. Its basic objective is to prevent land pollution and still provide for the enjoyment of a maximum degree and number of amenities. This objective is based on the premise that it is important to consider the quality -^inherent in the natural environment. The con- cept of "Planned -Community Development" .strives for harmony and quality of all aspects of a residential development. Above all, P-C considers the total development as the object of the plan and ~ not certain Planned Community Developments Page Two. dominants or co-determinants of "subdivision type" dsveloorrtents . A subdivision development, according to the subdivision lavs, is based on the conveyance of land. It is aimed at the utility of dividing land and conveying ownership of individual lots to buyers who may build a home (or, buy a lot with a house already constructed) with vehicular access and all house-supporting systems (e.g., elec- tricity, communications, water, sewer and fuel.) These support systems all place important values for sustaining life within the house. Also, design standards attempt to protect the entire develop- ment from deterioration resulting from natural environmental damage and hazards and the weardown of the quality of construction. In essence, the purpose of subdivision development is to manifest the right to develop and sell land for economic profit and, at the same time, provide a product that will satisfy the consumer. The consumer or potential consumer's, satisfaction is actually what the individual thinks satisfies him. The individuals' perception of needs, along with his buying power, dictates his selection of a home to live in. The P-C Zone also provides for the capacity to fulfill the pur- pose of residential development as opposed to a subdivision that is directed toward economic ends. The application of the P-C Zone views the residential area of a community or city as a place for living, just as the business area of a community is the location of economic activity. Planned Community Developments Page Threa, II EXISTING POLICIES RELATING TO APPLICATION OF P-C ZONE. Any effort to formulate guidelines that apply to concepts of land development should initially begin with an inventory of exist- ing guidelines. The City of Carlsbad has one primary source of adopted policy that refers to land development, particularly when utilizing the Planned Community(P-C) Zone. This is referenced in The Housing Elementf with the following excerpts; Page 40: "Minimize monotony and uniformity in residential growth by" 1. Preserving geographic and natural resources. 2. Clustering residential unit types (utilization of P-C Zone.) 3. Retaining natural topography. 4. Providing contiguous open-space areas. 5. Encouraging design flexibility." Points 1 and 3 pertain particularly to grading, sculptering, or recontouring. Number 1 applies to preserving geographic and natural resources when alternative fates due any area of land result in altera- tion of vital(resource) elements of the natural environment. For instance, a canyon which is forming on the base of a slope or an eroded mesa harbors a niche of the indigenous fauna and bio-system. It contains a more distinct plant and animal life than surrounding, i. more homogenous, natural areas. Physically, it is a pronunciation in the topography. It is a feature which forms the whole character of a landscape'. Since water collects and flows into the head of a .for,-?- Planned Community Developments ' Page Four. ing canyon, resulting in more luxuriant plant life, the canyon is valued as an amenity to a population that perceives it as a "green belt." Some psychologists believe that this perception and value .experience produces a.need to identify with the vitality of the natural environment. It is possibly an experience of relating to the epitome of health. The canyon, forming the most prominent feature of the Loiua Laguna property, can readily provide the above-described value experience to an immediate resident population. Points two and four relate to the way development should be patterned in order to be more harmonious with the natural environ- ment. Also, the concept of clustering residential development permits open, contiguous areas to be delineated, thereby providing for intact, functional open'space. The term functional refers not only to recre- ation (either passive or active), but also, to its use as a develop- ment delineater. In addition to this, unbroken open space can ful- fill that human perception need described above. Planned Community Developments Page Five III GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING LOMA LACUNA PROPERTY. 1. Prepare development plan for entire nineteen acre project area. Amend Master Development Plan for 47 acre parcel. 2* Orient developed portions of property to surface conditions less than 16 percent slope. 3. " Re-sculpture topography where necessary, but cutting vertically into canyon walls or mesa walls in order to provide more level surfaces and to provide source of fill. Retain the higher elevations. (In order to create more developable areaf caution should be taken to preserve natural higher elevations. The head of the canyon can be altered by extracting a source of fill from the canyon headwalls and using this to fill the canyon head area. Broadening the more gentle slope areas (higher elevations), can be accomplished by lowering the rim areas.) 4. Locate dwelling units according to open space system, which is established according to steeper slopes and drainage areas, and recreation areas. 5. Provide for two off-street parking spaces per unit, one covered and one uncovered. One-half space per unit guest parking can be provided on-street in selected areas. 6. Set aside recreation areas for both adult and children needs 7. Units should be clustered according to topography, access/ location of recreation facilities, unit types, and ooen spac 8. Units should back up to access and parking facilities and face open space and recreation areas. 9. Congregate unit size categories to provide specialized recreation and privacy needs. 10. All information and materials as per the Planned Community Ordinance,^ should be submitted at the time application for revised Master Development Plan and Specific Plan is made, NATURAL TOPOGRAPHY DEVELOPMENT PLAN AREA (19 Acres) Develop area surfaces with small degree of sic VG CONCEPT Resculpture head of canyon, retaining •igher elevations a more deve area. 'PARTIAL' -DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT "" LOMA LACUNA COPY