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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCT 93-09; Ocean Bluff; Tentative Map (CT) (73)cOCEAN BLUFF PARTNERSHIP 4370 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 990 San Diego, CA 92122-1233 (619) 453-0505 December 3,1993 Mr. Lloyd Hubbs City Engineer CITY OF CARLSBAD 2071 Las Palmas Carlsbad, California 92008 Dear Lloyd It has come to my attention that during the consideration of the Aviara Phase III project at the Planning Commission meeting on December 1, 1993, Mr. and Mrs. McKinney requested that the Poinsettia Lane alignment be altered to shift the alignment north, away from their property and on to the Ocean Bluff property. The arguments that were presented in support of this request could be made by any property owner along the length of the alignment, resulting in a configuration that would defy sound planning and engineering principles. The Ocean Bluff Partners pending subdivision application design is based on City direction regarding the current Poinsettia Lane alignment The current alignment resulted from the City's insistence that the alignment respect property lines and environmental constraints to the greatest extent possible. The alignment was developed in the early Zone 20 efforts and has been shown as a preferred alignment on mapping in this area since 1986. The currently proposed alignment was shown (pending environmental review and further planning studies) along with the original alignment in the adopted Zone 20 Local Facilities Management Plan (see Exhibit 1). The original alignment, prepared as a part of the Pacific Rim Master Plan, did not respect property lines and actually split the McKinney property in half, leaving very little for future use and development As a participant in the funding the Zone 20 effort, Ocean Bluff Partnership cooperated with the City in its desire to adhere to policies relating to locations of rights of way. Ocean Bluff accepted the half width alignment in the City-endorsed design thereby relieving the McKinney's of the land dedication and improvement obligation for this portion of the roadway, not to mention the huge impact to the viability of their ownership. Mr. Lloyd Hubbs December 3,1993 Page 2 As a part of the recently filed application to subdivide the Ocean Bluff property, Ocean Bluff has been sharing the costs with several other property owners to develop engineering plans for the improvement of the much needed Black Rail access. The McKinney's have been included in briefings on this effort during the past year. They have repeatedly expressed their concerns over loss of land area. In the process of coordinating the design of our project with the Black Rail effort, it was discovered that Poinsettia Lane preliminary alignment studies had established the intersection of Black Rail too low to avoid encroaching on the existing water tanks. It was discovered that by shifting slope areas off of the McKinney site on to the Ocean Bluff site it would be possible to raise the elevation to accommodate the tanks and further reduce the Poinsettia impact on the McKinney property. sign effort was taking place as the Specific Plan was being processed. Mr. lenthorn, or Jack Henthorn & Associates, was asked to prepare an analysis of the impact of the elevation change on the McKinney property in relationship to other public easement and right of way constraints. A copy of that analysis is attached as Exhibit 2. The alignment of Poinsettia Lane will ultimately include the large water line easement encumbering the southern portion of the McKinney property (Exhibit 2) leaving a net public right of way impact of approximately 1.26 acres (25%) and a net usable site area of 3.76 acres. This includes the Poinsettia Lane setback which could ultimately be used to calculate density, and meet open space or parking requirements associated with future development Given the location of the property at a key intersection and the property's inclusion in the Zone 20 Specific Plan Commercial Overlay designator, there is ultimate development potential for clustered residential use or a commercial center of the type envisioned in the Specific Plan. If the McKinney request is granted, it would enhance the value of the McKinney site for commercial development by relieving the site of dedication and improvement obligations and transferring those burdens to the Ocean Bluff site. The Ocean Bluff project is already burdened with constraints associated with providing Black Rail Road (approximately 31,000 square feet), retention of environmentally sensitive areas (approximately 133,400 square feet), Poinsettia Lane (approximately 23,000 square feet) and an affordable housing site (approximately 33,100 square feet). These site impacts account for over 5 acres, or 16% of the 31.05 acre site. Ocean Bluff has been able to meet its affordable housing obligation thus far without seeking City financial assistance. Shifting the Poinsettia Lane alignment northerly will Mr. Lloyd Hubbs December 3,1993 Page 3 result in a loss of market rate units which provide the source of subsidy necessary to provide the required affordable housing. This will make it necessary to seek City financial assistance to relieve the additional burden that would be imposed by shifting the Poinsettia alignment further on to the Ocean Bluff property. It is not anticipated that Poinsettia Lane will be constructed in the near future. Property owners with Poinsettia obligations are seeking interim solutions to eliminate the necessity of huge front end expenditures. If the City is interested in retaining agricultural uses in this area and is willing to cooperate in interim solutions it would be several years before full width improvements would be required. The City's General Plan does not anticipate that this area will remain agricultural in perpetuity. Provisions have been included in the Specific Plan to insure continued agricultural uses in Zone 20. By viewing the construction of Poinsettia Lane on a phased basis and using modified sections in conjunction with the Specific Plan provisions, the City could extend the McKinney greenhouse operation well into the future. If the full improvement of Poinsettia is required before the McKinney's are ready to develop, the right of way area and related business value would have to be purchased. Dependent upon the expectations of the McKinney's and the developer, this could be accomplished through negotiated purchase or through use of the City powers of eminent domain. In either event, the McKinney's would be entitled to full market value for land and loss of business goodwill and income (including any loss associated with being left with areas unsuitable for greenhouse use). If the City is reconsidering the alignment, and the application of the policy that originally moved the alignment northerly, possible reconsideration should be given to the original southern alignment in that it fully eliminates environmental impacts and reduces the number of property owners impacted from ten to seven. In summary, under the current alignment proposal, the proportional public land requirement impacts between the McKinney and Ocean Bluff parcels vary by less than 10%. The ultimate impacts on the greenhouse business that the McKinney's have built over the last seven years will be offset by the normal increase in land value when they seek entitlements to develop or by purchase, if the right of way is required before the property is entitled and developed. I hope that this information is of assistance to you as you evaluate this issue. Mr. Lloyd Hubbs December 3, 1993 Page 4 In closing, it is requested that I be included in any further discussions related to the potential realignment of Poinsettia Lane that would impact the Ocean Bluff ownership and its pending development application. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at your convenience. Sincerely, Robert L. Wineteer Managing Partner RLW/mam cc: David Hauser Robert Wojick Michael Holzmiller Mike Grim o o 132' DeJONG 32.90 ac OCEANBLUFF 31.05 ac 46 400 Sf POINSETTIA LA 5.02 ac 161,837 sf NET 3.76 ac NET POINSETTIA LA BLACK RAIL POTENTAL DRIVEWAY NET AREA INCLUDING POINSETTIA SETBACK KAISER 10.03 ac C.M.W.D. mx X CO JACK HENTHORN & ASSOCIATES