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Home My WebLink About1976-02-09; Planning Commission; ; CUP 110- BATIQUITOS SUBSTATIONCITY OF CARLSBAD PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFF REPORT February 9, 1976 TO: PLANNING COMMISSION FROM: PLANNING DEPARTMENT CASE NO: CUP 110 APPLICANT: SAN DIEGO GAS AND ELECTRIC CO. SECTION I: RECOMMENDATION I. Request: The applicant requests approval of a Conditional Use Permit to allow construction operation and maintenance of a 12/138 KU electrical substation. II. Recommendation: Staff recommends the CUP 110 be APPROVED based on the following findings and subject to the following conditions: l) That the requested use is necessary or desirable for the development of the community, is essentially in harmony with the various Elements and objectives of the General Plan, and is not detrimental to existing uses or to uses specifically permitted in the zone in which the proposed use is to be located. a) The General Plan designates the site for Public Utility use. b) The facility will allow service availability to meet increasing demand in the La Costa area. c) The project location is adjacent to an established CMWD facility. 2) That the site for the intended use is adequate in size and shape to accomodate the use: a) The site is adjacent to existing transmission lines. b) The project will be centrally located to its service area. c) The surrounding topography aids in separating the site from residential uses. 3) That all of the yards, setbacks, walls, fences, land- scaping and other features necessary to adjust the request- ed use to existing or permitted future uses in the neigh- borhood will be provided and maintained. a) The project will be reviewed prior to building permit issuance to insure the above. 4) That the street system serving the proposed use is ade- quate to properly handle all traffic generated by the proposed use. a) Only occasional maintenance will be required to maintain the facility and site. b) Alga Road is sufficient to accomodate the minimally increased traffic flow. 5) The subject application has complied with the requirements of the City of Carlsbad "Environmental Protection Ordinance of 1972 11 because: a} The project is located in an urbanized area in which the natural environment has been irretrivably disturbed; b) The degree of visual impact is a matter of subjective judgement, major impacts have already been made by over- head power lines and the neighboring water tank. RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL: 1) The approval is granted for the land described in the application, and as shown on the Plot Plan submitted labeled Exhibit A, dated December 30, 1975. The location of the buildings, roadways, and parking areas shall be located substantially as shown on the plot plan labeled Exhibit B, unless indicated otherwise herein. 2) Any minor change may be approved by the Planning Director. Any substantial change will require the filing of an application for an amendment to be considered by the Planning Commission. 3) All appropriate requirements of any law, ordinance or regulation of the State of California, City of Carlsbad, and any other govern- mental entity shall be complied with. 4) A detailed automatic irrigation, fencing and landscape plan will -be sublllitted for approval to the Parks and Recreation Director and ·Planning Director prior to building permit issuance. -2- 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) All slopes shown on the preliminary 1 andscape plan labeled Exhfbit C will be hydroseeded in a manner acceptable to the Parks and Recreation Director. The site landscaping will incorporate and be compatible with the neighboring CMWD landscaping. The site fencing will incorporate and be compatible with the neighboring CMWD fencing and will utilize 81 chain link with red- wood obscuring slats. In addition to hydroseeding on the slope areas {~s nallon trees will be planted in the locations shown on ExhibitDcI'a'ted !--~-71,, Prior to final building inspection clearance, all irrigation facilities, landscaping and fencing shall be installed. All lighting shall be arranged to reflect away from adjoining properties and streets. SECTION II: BACKGROUND INFORMATION I. ~ocation and Description 8' Property: The project site 1s located on the south side of Alga Road between Alicante Road and Alisma Street. The site abuts property owned by CMWD, on which a water tank is located. The water tank site has been fenced and land- scaped. The subject property is generally flat, and was graded prior to annexation to the City. The building pad has been graded back into a hill on the north east and concrete drainage culverts installed. There are residential lots on top of the hill to the northeast. No significant vegetation exists on the site. II. Existing Zoning: Subject Parcel: North: South: East: West: III. Existing Land Use: Subject Parcel: North: South: East: West: R-1-15,000 R-2 P-C R-1-15,000 R-1-15,000 Vacant graded Single family residences and vacant Vacant Single family residences and vacant • CMWD storage tank -3- -- ·JV. Past History and Related Cases: The subject parcel was split from the CMWD parcel prior to annexation to the City. Access to the SDG&E parcel is provided from a paved gated roadway through the CMWD parcel. The subject parcel was annexed to the City as part of the La Costa annexation unzoned and therefore was automatically designated L-C (Limited Control). Because of recent changes in the L-C zone, th~ substatt6n could not be accomodated under that desi_gnation. Zone Change 171 approved by Planning Com"fssion Rese-lution No. 1218, January 28, 1976, changed the zoning on the sub- ject parcel and the CMWD parcel to R-1-15,000. The project can now proceed with a request for a conditional use permit to allow the sub-station on the R-1-15,000 zone. ENY1R01111£NTAL IMPACT INFOINATION: An Environmental Impact Assessment of the project was con- ducted and a negative declaration of nonsignificant impact tssued for the following reasons: 1) The project is located in an urbanized area in which the natural environment has been irretrivably distrubed; and 2) The degree of visual impact is a matter of subjective judgment, major impacts have already been made by overhead power lines and the neighboring water tank. GENERAL PLAN INFORMATION: Both the Carlsbad Municipal Water District facility and the subject site are designated for "U" (Public Utilities) use. MAJOR PLANNING CONSIDERATION: l ) 2) 3) 4) 5) I) Is the use necessary or desirable for the develop- ment of the community? Is the project consistent with the General Plan? Will the use be detrimental to the existing uses or to uses specifically permitted in the zone in which the proposed use is to be located? Is the size and shape of the site of tre project ade- quate to accommodate the use. Will the project be adequately separated from surround- ing residential uses. Is the street system adequate to handle traffic generated by the use. -4- SECTION III: DISCUSSION The applicant states the following in regard to the subject project: "1) SUCH a permit is warranted because of increasing electrical load ~emands in the surrounding area. The present growth rate 1s approximately 20% per year. We now find it neces- sary to construct this substation to adequately meet the electric requiruents to better serwe our·customers & re- duce the possibility of low voltage or outage problems in the. area. 2) SUCH a ~ermit will be in the interest of furtherance of publfc welfare because the station will correct a low voltage problem that will occur due to the above mentioned growth. Our substation will have no detrimentaleffect • on existing or future community or general plans and will not be detrimental to the health, safety & welfare of the public now or in the future. The substation will, in fact, provide a necessary and desirable service to our customers & neighbors in this area of Carlsbad. 3) THE proposed use will not be detrimental in any way to other neighboring properties, i.e. (noise, smoke, dust, fumes, bivration, ordors & hazards) because the station will be a low-profile type, landscpated for dust abatement and eye appeal, automatically irrigated, and fenced for safety with 8 1 view-obscuring slats. Ample setbacks have been provided between property lines & fence surrounding the substation equipment. 4) The property is more suitable for the proposed use because it is immediately adjacent to existing transmission lines, thus eliminating the need for additional rights of way and unnecessary line extensions. It is centrally located in relation to the area it will serve, thereby saving the voltage loss that exists because of the large distances between this area and the present serving substations. 5) The traffic generating capacity of the proposed use will not place an extreme demand for, or burden upon, other utilities, municipal improvements, or services because only occasional routine maintenance will be required; e.g., one trip per week by pick-up truck to check instru- ■entation of substation equipment & three to four trips per month to adequately maintain landscaping." -5- This project is consistant with the General Plan and in a location co•itted to public utility services. Staff feels that the site is adequately separated from existing and future residential development. The power line easement to the southwest and the bluff to east, com- bined with landscaping will provide visual and topographic buffers around the project. • ATTACHMENTS: Exhibits A, B, C & D ZC-171 Resolution Copy of easements on property by CMWD TH/vb/mdp -6-